What does it mean to fail forward in organising, and how do movements survive across generations?

In this episode, recorded at Mashujaa Heritage Archives in Kibichuku, Monica Kamandau sits down with veteran Kenyan organiser and scholar Njuki Githethwa. With nearly three decades in resistance and movement building, Dr. Njuki reflects on the evolution of Kenya’s struggles, from the Mau Mau movement to today’s Gen Z protests and the Kenya Left Alliance.

Key Ideas and Highlights

Failing forward as a movement practice

Movements must evolve, regroup, and shed their skin in order to survive. Failure is not an end point, but a foundation for renewal.

Mobilising versus organising

Life and death issues bring people to the streets, but ideology, identity, and belonging are what sustain movements over time.

Liberated zones as paths to revolution

Small, tangible victories and spaces of freedom inspire people and show what justice and liberation can look like in practice.

Licensing

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. The Beautiful Trouble toolbox inspires our podcast.

Resources & Show Links

Mashujaa Heritage Archives, Kibichuku

Fail Forward

Credits

Host: Monica Kamandau

Guest: Njuki Githethwa

Producer & Audio Producer: Rodgers George

Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum

Ep42: Civil Disobedience with Faith Kasina

When does breaking the law become the only way to survive?

In this episode, we sit down at the Kayole Social Justice Centre with organizer Faith Kasina and members of the Centre to explore civil disobedience in moments when the state fails its people. Faith walks us through protest organizing during COVID, the realities of living under Article 43 violations, and how communities confront gunism, police violence, and the politics of being branded as criminals while demanding dignity. This is a direct, honest conversation from those living the struggle daily.

Key Ideas and Highlights

• Civil disobedience emerges when government directives clash with lived reality, especially in informal settlements lacking food, water, housing, and healthcare.
• Gunism is rooted in economic deprivation and political manipulation; organizers share how political education and exposure are used to reclaim young people from being weaponized.
• Peaceful protesters are often branded as violent, yet protest remains a constitutional right. The community shares strategies for navigating this risk while staying grounded in justice.

Licensing

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. Our work is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Resources and Show Links

Kayole Community Justice Center

Article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution

Civil Disobedience Beautiful Trouble toolbox

Credits

Host: Monica Kamandau

Guest: Faith Kasina and Kayole Social Justice Centre members

Producer: Rodgers George

Music: Beautiful Trouble and Mwaduga Salum

What is the true story behind America’s gun culture beyond Hollywood’s dramatised scenes? In this Smoke Signal, we unpack the myths, realities, and politics behind gun violence in the United States through lived experience, global perception, and the unchecked power of the gun industry.

Growing up outside the U.S., many of us see America through movies: chaotic streets, armed civilians, danger at every corner. But how much of that imagery mirrors real life? In this conversation, we explore how easy access to guns, racialised oppression, economic precarity, and political mythology fuel a crisis that has become tragically normalised. From childhood gun training to mass shootings, from Walmart gun aisles to parents organizing for their children’s safety, this is a raw look at a nation shaped by firearms.

1. Hollywood vs. Reality: Movies exaggerate, but the core problem is real — guns are incredibly easy to access in the U.S., shaping both culture and violence.
2. Race, Power, and Mythology: America’s obsession with guns is tied to white settler identity, political polarisation, and billion-dollar lobby groups like the NRA.
3. Everyday Consequences: From children pretending to be armed for safety to families losing loved ones over a bag of food, gun violence reflects deeper economic and political failures.

Anyone can use this podcast for free with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and may be used for radio or any other media. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

• Home | Moms Demand Action
• Research on the U.S. gun lobby and NRA influence (https://bit.ly/4asCSFc)
• Articles on Walmart’s role in firearm sales (https://bit.ly/445b71C)

• Hosts: Phil Wilmot & Rodgers George

Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum