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The Fat Farms of Mauritania

In Mauritania, a country crippled by food shortages, obesity is viewed as a sign of wealth and prestige in a woman. To attain Mauritanian standards of beauty, many women undergo the practice of 'gavage,' or "fattening up." While traditionally the practice of fattening includes chugging camel's milk in a nomadic camp under a sweltering sun in the Sahara Desert, for a modern-day Mauritanian woman, appetite-inducing pills are the new way to pack on the pounds. Full story

Ground Zero

Mali - Under Sharia Law

When the jihadist group MUJAO took control of northern Mali's city of Gao from Tuareg rebels last September, many locals welcomed the return of law and order. But the security MUJAO offered came at a price: a harsh interpretation of Islamic law that saw public beatings and amputa… Full story

VICE News

West African Truckers

The truck driver holds a mythic stature in American music, from the hayseed hagiographies of Slim Jacobs to the liner notes of Big Black's 'Songs About Fucking.' There aren't many songs about African truckers, but they are no less champions of industry than their US counterparts… Full story

Al Qaeda Wants Africa

Are the French in Over Their Heads in Mali?

A soldier called our attention to a severed head facedown in the dust. “Is it Malian, do you think?” The gendarme kicked it over and studied the face. Dark blood dripped from its mouth. A fly crawled up its nose. “Nah, maybe Algerian or Nigerien." Full story

Africa's Biggest Film Festival Isn't Scared of a Little Jihad

While French troops were killing Islamists in Mali last month, thousands of film fans were gathering just a few hundred miles away in Burkina Faso to celebrate the best of African cinema. The festival has been running since 1969, but they still haven’t managed to get everything i… Full story

Dogmageddon

Religiosity Is Killing in Mississippi

Fifty-eight percent of Mississippi's residents describe themselves as “very religious.” The state also lays claim to both the highest teen birthrate and the highest HIV rate in young adults. In this experience we call life, there are plenty of coincidences. This is not one of the… Full story

The Fight to Stop Tanzania's Witch Doctors Butchering Albino People

In Tanzania, traditional healers and witch doctors have long considered the body parts of people with albinism as being essential to their magical recipes. These practitioners of muti—or "medicine murder"—believe that their recipes heal the sick and bestow El Dorado-like fortunes… Full story

Is This the Century of Africa's Rise?

For decades, the dominant African narrative in the media was of famine, war, and disease. Recently, in light of a perceived economic upturn and a relative reduction in famine and disease across most of the continent, the narrative has changed to one of thrusting progress. The pro… Full story

An Honest Man's Advice for Studying Abroad in Africa

When you inform your friend’s mother, splayed on her chaise longue in Santa Monica, that you’ll be embarking for an African country well known to be infested with deadly snakes and diseases where parasitic worms crawl around in your eyeballs, she will beam at you and coo, “That’s… Full story

Music World

The Only Record Store in Mauritania

While filming in Africa we passed through Nouakchott, Mauritania, and decided to stop in the country's only record store, Saphir D'or. Turns out, it rules! We chatted with Ahmede Valle, shop proprietor and seasoned DJ, about record collecting and the unifying powers of music. Full story