Beer, politics and identity -- the chequered history behind Namibian brewing success

By Paul Nugent, Professor of Comparative African History (School of History, Classics and Archaeology) & African Studies (School of Social and Political Science), University of Edinburgh

A concise history of the beer industry in Namibia written by history scholar Tycho Van der Hoog begins with the pithy observation by American singer-songwriter Frank Zappa to the effect that every nation worth its salt needs an airline and its own beer.

As it happens, the first no longer holds true, while beer remains a marker of national and, for that matter, subnational identities.

The brewing industry is today regarded as a source…

Read complete article

~	Understanding the ‘Slopocene’: how the failures of AI can reveal its inner workings

~	Sexy K-pop demons, a human lie detector and shearers on strike: what to watch in July

~	‘My greatest handicap was the attitude of normal people.’ Alan Marshall’s artful polio memoir, I Can Jump Puddles, turns 70

~	We have drugs to manage HIV. So why are we spending millions looking for cures?

~	Trump’s worldview is causing a global shift of alliances – what does this mean for nations in the middle?

~	The rising rate of type 2 diabetes in young New Zealanders is becoming a health crisis

~	Budapest Pride 2025: A Record Crowd Stands Up for Democracy

~	Report reveals significant rise in civilian casualties and rights violations in Ukraine

~	Who’s the most American? Psychological studies show that many people are biased and think it’s a white English speaker

~	‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity