Alexander McCall Smith on North African Democracy

The Takeaway

Born in what is now Zimbabwe, best-selling Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith has shown millions of Americans a lighter, more human side of Africa. Best known for the “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series of novels, Smith is also emeritus professor of medical law at the University of Edinburgh, and a world renowned expert on bio-ethics.  Celeste sat down with Smith to discuss his newest novel, “The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party,” at the Great Hall of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. In this clip, the two discuss the great waves of social change sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East.  Andrew McCall Smith ponders whether or not the events in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries could begin a revolution in the international understanding of Africa.   
You can hear the full conversation here:  

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