Qualla: The Daily Talk https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:17 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: The Daily Talk https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk The Daily Talk: Introduction https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk/ Every morning, Alfred J. Sirleaf walks to Tubman Boulevard, picks up a piece of chalk, and writes the news. No printing press, no server farm, no satellite uplink. The Daily Talk is a blackboard propped along one of Monrovia's busiest thoroughfares, three panels wide and roughly ten by fifteen feet, where headlines and editorials appear in white lettering alongside hand-drawn symbols. A bottle of dirty water means oil prices are in the news. A blue helmet signals United Nations peacekeeping activity. A devil marks stories about the Ebola virus. For the many Monrovians who lack electricity or money for a newspaper subscription, this chalkboard is their front page. The New York Times once called it the most widely read report in the city.

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/c/0/7/the-daily-talk-wp/ec07-the-daily-talk-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Daily Talk: Born from the Ashes of War https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk/ Sirleaf founded the Daily Talk on May 14, 2000, during a period when Liberia was still reeling from the devastation of its first civil war. An inventor and father of three, he believed that a well-informed citizenry was the foundation of the country's recovery. In post-war Liberi...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/c/0/7/the-daily-talk-wp/ec07-the-daily-talk-born-from-the-ashes-of-war.mp3 0:06 2 full The Daily Talk: The Price of Speaking Freely https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk/ Critical reporting carries consequences everywhere, but in Liberia under President Charles Taylor, the consequences were severe and personal. Just months after the Daily Talk first appeared, Sirleaf's coverage of Taylor's government landed him in jail. Government soldiers smashed...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/c/0/7/the-daily-talk-wp/ec07-the-daily-talk-the-price-of-speaking-freely.mp3 0:06 3 full The Daily Talk: A Language All Its Own https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk/ The Daily Talk is written in Liberian English, the creole-influenced variety spoken on Monrovia's streets. But Sirleaf goes further, adding pictorial symbols so that those with limited literacy can follow the stories. The visual shorthand turns the blackboard into something close...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/c/0/7/the-daily-talk-wp/ec07-the-daily-talk-a-language-all-its-own.mp3 0:06 4 full The Daily Talk: Knocked Down, Written Back Up https://qualla.com/the-daily-talk/ In 2018, a vehicle slammed into the blackboard and destroyed it again. This time, the response was international. U.S. Ambassador Christine A. Elder attended the reopening ceremony two months later, while USAID provided funding for reconstruction through the nonprofit Internews. ...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/c/0/7/the-daily-talk-wp/ec07-the-daily-talk-knocked-down-written-back-up.mp3 0:06 5 full