In this week's episode with Dr JC Niala, the award-winning Kenyan-British writer, poet and anthropologist who heads Research, Teaching and Collections at the National Science Museum in the University of Oxford, we discuss the kinds of leadership roles women have played in Kenyan society from the pre-colonial era till date, how those roles have changed and why.

We also talk about the role of ethnicity and wealth in Kenyan leadership struggles, whether the mass youth-led protests of 2025 have changed the dynamics of the country and the importance of performative skills, visibility and personal leadership in galvanizing popular support in Kenya.