Nelson Mandela, the first president of South Africa after apartheid, has a claim to being the most highly respected African leader in modern history.

As well as celebrating Mandela’s legacy as a fighter for human rights, equality and social justice, the Day also promotes the fight against poverty.

In this special (brief!) episode, Conor speaks to Richard Stengel, a former managing director of Time magazine, who served in the Obama White House as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and a close collaborator with Mandela on the latter’s acclaimed autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

They talk about the extent to which ending poverty played an important role in Mandela’s activism and political career.

The UN remembers Nelson Mandela’s commitment to fight poverty and inequity: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152116