Zambian radio show’s wisdom lives on through Emory researchers’ interactive exhibit

There is an old Bemba proverb from Zambia that serves as an enduring compass for navigating the unknown: Kabusha takolelwe bowa. 

Translated literally, it means “the person who inquires first is not poisoned by a mushroom.”

At its heart, this saying is a testament to the power of human connection and humility, suggesting that survival and wisdom do not come from pretending we have all the answers, but from having the vulnerability to ask questions. 

Decades ago, this exact philosophy formed the bedrock of the legendary Zambian radio show “Kabusha takolelwe bowa.”

The show and its philosophy have been given a vibrant new life in recent years by Emory University researcher Debra Vidali, associate professor of anthropology, and Kwame Phillips, a 2014 James T. Laney Graduate School alumnus who is now associate professor of critical media practices at the University of Southampton. 

Vidali and Phillips have developed a traveling exhibit — the Kabusha Radio Remix — that stands as a modern champion of the Bemba philosophy through its multi-sensory, multimodal art installation.

Remixing a historic radio talk show for a new generation

Hosted by the late David Yumba, the Kabusha Takolelwe Bowa talk show featured letters from listeners seeking guidance on everything from deeply personal dilemmas to broader societal shifts. 

The show ran for 25 years, with Yumba acting as a trusted community elder figure and applying the ancient proverb to a modern audience. 

During her anthropological fieldwork in Zambia, Vidali recorded and archived hundreds of hours of different Zambian broadcasts, including Yumba’s talk show. 

In the years following her ethnographic research, an exhibition came to mind. 

“I became interested in creating an exhibit to provide a window into the power of Zambian radio advisors and the challenges of archiving,” Vidali says. 

This led to her partnering with Phillips. He specializes in creative sound projects and sensory media production and was in Emory’s PhD program at the time. As the idea took shape, Vidali and Phillips sought help from other scholars interested in telling the story of Yumba and the Bemba proverb. 

They collaborated with Zambian experts to produce Bemba-language transcripts and English-language translations of the original material. They also recorded new questions, which were remixed with the archived audio.

The result was a pioneering leap into multimodal scholarship: an exhibit designed to achieve a total corporeal encapsulation of the audience. 

Rather than offering a passive listening experience, Vidali and Phillips crafted a “Remix Period Room” that deliberately engages multiple senses to spark deeper reflection among audiences.

When visitors step into the exhibit, they don’t just hear the crackle of remixed archival audio; they interact with a tangible, physical space designed to mimic the homey, familial atmosphere of a radio-centric era. The remixed audio of Yumba’s talk show is housed in a physical cassette tape, playing from a retro boombox resting on a table, flanked by a calendar, mug and physical writing materials. 

By mixing visual, sonic and tactile disciplines, the project bridges gaps of understanding across cultures, inviting modern audiences to slow down and physically inhabit an archival arena that honors the material realities of the past. The emotional and conceptual apex of the exhibit happens at the interactive letter-writing station, where the ancient Bemba tradition of seeking counsel comes full circle. 

Here, visitors are invited to sit at the table, pick up a pen and handwrite their own letters to the late Yumba. It is a space where the past and present collide in a remarkably intimate way.

Building a place to be seen and heard

The exhibit’s first installation was in Washington, D.C., in 2014 through the Ethnographic Terminalia Collective, curated by Thomas Miller. Since then, the exhibit has travelled to Paris; London; and, most recently, Tartu, Estonia. 

With support from Emory’s Program to Enhance Research and Scholarship (PERS) and other funds, Phillips and Vidali took the project to Estonia, where international festival attendees and UNESCO delegates representing more than 50 countries engaged with the exhibit. 

Reflecting on the profound ways this cross-cultural journey has impacted the work, Phillips emphasizes the significance of this exhibit engaging with different geographies and generations.

“We created it more than 10 years ago, and the world has changed significantly in that time,” he says. “So, the ways in which people engage, the questions they ask, the letters they write are impacted by this all. What I think remains the same is that there is an intimacy to letter writing and a power to asking the universe to answer a question you have.” 

Vidali voiced similar sentiments. “It’s been fascinating to see the range of questions that people have. Some raise big philosophical and moral questions, some write direct political questions and some have cried while writing their letters. 

“I never thought that the installation itself might be cathartic for some people,” Vidali says. “But it makes complete sense, because that is what David Yumba also offered to many Zambians during his lifetime: a place to be heard and be seen.”

Photos courtesy of Debra Vidali and the Kabusha Radio Remix Project.