Endless Returns (Episode 11, Audio Only) | Fela Kuti: Fear No Man
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About this episode
What if history doesn’t move forward — but in circles?
In this episode, we trace the haunting idea of repetition through the music of Fela Kuti and the lived reality of Nigeria’s youth. From the rise of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to the explosive #EndSARS protests of 2020, Fela’s voice echoes across decades — warning, witnessing, and mobilizing.
Through firsthand accounts from activists, musicians, and survivors, we hear how Fela’s songs became the emotional engine of a new movement. We follow the story of Obianuju, whose brother disappeared into police custody. We meet Rinu Oduala, DJ Switch, and others who helped ignite nationwide protests — and who paid a devastating personal cost when the military opened fire on peaceful demonstrators at Lekki Toll Gate.
Set against Nigeria’s long cycles of power, protest, and repression, this chapter asks: What does it mean to resist when the same patterns keep returning? And why does Fela’s music still feel like it’s speaking directly to the present?
⚠️ Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of police violence and state repression.
🎧 This episode is part of This Is Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, an Audible Original series created by Jad Abumrad.
About Fela Kuti: Fear No Man:
From Higher Ground Audio and Audible Originals comes an epic new documentary podcast from Jad Abumrad, creator of Radiolab and Dolly Parton’s America.
In a world on fire, what can art do? Fela Kuti: Fear No Man explores the life, music, and radical spirit of the Nigerian icon who invented Afrobeat — a sound that fused funk, jazz, and resistance into one of the most explosive musical movements of the 20th century.
Through vivid storytelling, original interviews, and rich archival sound, Jad Abumrad traces how Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s music became both a cultural revolution and a spiritual weapon. Featuring insights from Fela’s friends, family, and collaborators — and voices like Questlove, Ayo Edebiri, and even President Obama —…
- Posted by
- Higher Ground Productions, the YouTube channel of HIGHER GROUND PRODUCTIONS, on 2026-01-06
- Rights holder
- HIGHER GROUND PRODUCTIONS, whose own site links this channel (checked 2026-10-31)
- Length
- 49 min
- Where it plays
- Wherever YouTube plays: its rights holder sets no limit
- Made for kids
- No, as YouTube designates it
- Language
- English, as YouTube records it
- What it is
- A full episode, as its rights holder calls it
- Who can watch here
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