Jonathan W. Rosen

Africa Fights Rising Hunger by Looking to Foods of the Past
Researchers, farmers, and global agricultural institutions are embracing long-neglected crops that promise better nutrition and more resilience to the changing climate. MIT Technology Review.

Inside a New Experiment to Find the Climate-Proof Coffee of the Future
An international public-private partnership is supercharging coffee breeding to save your morning brew. Grist.

Economic Lifeline or Climate Peril? East African Pipeline is a New Flashpoint
The 900-mile pipeline would bring needed revenue to Uganda and Tanzania. But it would disrupt thousands of lives and key wildlife habitat—to say nothing of its climate impact. National Geographic.

How a Zambian Morgue is Exposing the Real Covid Toll in Africa
One of the pandemic’s enduring mysteries is how much of Africa seemed to have been spared the worst. A study of corpses suggests it hasn’t. MIT Technology Review.

Electric Cars Are Powered by Rare Metals. Can AI Help Find Them?
Electrifying global vehicle fleets will require vast new troves of metals like cobalt and copper that may be tough to find without help from big data. National Geographic.

Kenya Straddles a Volcanic Rift: It’s a Green Energy Geyser
In 2013, fewer than 40 percent of Kenyans had access to electricity. A decade later, three-quarters do—thanks largely to geothermal power. National Geographic.

Blood from the Sky: Zipline’s Drone Delivery in Africa
In Rwanda, an early commercial test of unmanned aerial vehicles cuts a medical facility’s time to procure blood from four hours to 15 minutes. MIT Technology Review.

As World Cuts Back on Coal, a Growing Appetite in Africa
New coal plants in Africa are being financed by China and developed countries that are turning away from the technology at home. National Geographic.

Lake Kivu's Great Gas Gamble
In a first-of-its-kind endeavor, electricity-starved Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are trying to get power from a lake—and avert catastrophe. MIT Technology Review.

The Battle for Africa’s Oldest National Park
The mystery surrounding a wounded conservationist and the fight for eastern Congo’s war-torn Virunga. National Geographic.

A Casino in Every Pocket
In Kenya, and elsewhere in Africa, the rapid spread of smartphones and mobile money has come with a stubbornly persistent vice. MIT Technology Review.

Dar es Salaam Will Be a Megacity by 2030. Is it Ready?
The sprawling, seaside metropolis is the second-fastest growing city on Earth. Its planners are struggling to keep up. National Geographic.

Deported to their Parents’ Homeland, Cambodian Americans Start Anew
Refugees who fled the Khmer Rouge as children are being deported from the United States in record numbers—and are adapting as adults to life in a country most have never known. Foreign Policy.

Tanzania Was East Africa’s Strongest Democracy. Then Came ‘The Bulldozer’
John Magufuli put fighting corruption at the top of his agenda. But his “muscular nationalism” caused civil liberties to suffer. The Atlantic.

Exit the Strongman
The world saw The Gambia's Yahya Jammeh as a brutal, eccentric dictator. But his hometown still loves him. Slate.

Made in Africa: Will Ethiopia's Push for Industrialization Pay Off?
Can Africa's "developmental state" drive a manufacturing boom on the world's least industrialized continent? World Politics Review.

Last Dance for the Playboy King of Swaziland?
As Swaziland's economy struggles, Africa’s last absolute monarch faces a growing chorus of critics. National Geographic.

How Do You Say Kimchi in Kinyarwanda? 
South Korea is offering lessons from its own economic ascent to Rwanda and other African countries—and bringing business, cuisine, and rice paddies along with it. Foreign Policy.

Reunited in Rwanda
Twenty years after war left her family separated, a Red Cross letter helps a grandmother make a shocking discovery. Al Jazeera.

Running on Air
Supershoes are transforming marathoning—perhaps nowhere more than in the world’s most decorated distance running nation. MIT Technology Review.

In Uganda, a Distance Running Renaissance
Led by a duo of world-record holders, athletes from Uganda’s Mount Elgon are challenging decades of Kenyan and Ethiopian dominance. The New York Times.

Henry Rono’s Long Road Back Home
The most talented runner of his generation is at long last back in Kenya, focusing on hard-earned contentment, not long-ago records. The New York Times.

Eliud Kipchoge Emerges as the Philosopher-King of Running
The greatest marathoner in history has evolved into something of a Zen master as well. Where does that come from? Look to his heritage. The New York Times.

For Kenyan Runners, Winning Can Be a Road to Ruin
Success in a major long distance race can lift a Kenyan runner out of poverty overnight. It can also bring plenty of pitfalls, as fame and wealth often do. The New York Times.

In Kenya, Running with Chinese Characteristics
China's top runners are training under an Italian coach in a Kenyan town that has produced some of the top marathoners in history. Slate.

Line Dancing: Marches and Militarism at Wagah
A trip to the Wagah border of India and Pakistan reveals the roots of the 77-year standoff between the two countries. Roads & Kingdoms.

Of Men, Okapi, and Rebels
Jon travels to the pygymy homelands at a tense time in the Congo and finds that the Mbuti, for all their troubles, are keeping calm and carrying on. Roads & Kingdoms.

Road to a 'Cure' Costs and Pays Tanzanians
A journey to the Tanzanian hinterlands in search of a man who claims to have cured millions through an elixir prescribed by God. The Boston Globe.