Lynsey Chutel

@lynseychutel.bsky.social

Journalist • Author • African • Bibliophile Reporter for NY Times in London. Co-Author of Coloured: How Classification Became Culture

“Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today.” Jesse Merkel spoke at a news conference outside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, where his 8-year-old son, Fletcher, was one of two children fatally shot at a back-to-school Mass on Wednesday. Read more: nyti.ms/45HBSKN

Paul Simon, trying to resurrect his solo career, defied a cultural boycott on apartheid South Africa in search of new music. He recorded a classic album and created a political minefield. The artists I spoke to saw it as their big break, but what did it help the struggle as a whole? Listen & LMK:

Lynsey Chutel@lynseychutel.bsky.social · last yr.

Was Paul Simon’s Graceland Appropriation or Appreciation? Four decades later this album is still the first encounter most international audiences had with South African music. But can you divorce the sound from the politics? My first radio outing on BBC Radio 4 is live www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Was Paul Simon’s Graceland Appropriation or Appreciation? Four decades later this album is still the first encounter most international audiences had with South African music. But can you divorce the sound from the politics? My first radio outing on BBC Radio 4 is live www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Artworks, Paul Simon's Political Storm

The legacy of one the most popular and controversial album releases ever - Graceland.

bbc.co.uk

At 13, Charlotte Brontë collected her poems in a tiny self-published anthology that already hinted at her ambition. For the first time Brontë’s teen poetry has been published. I got to read them, and those poems and they are lovely. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/b...

At 13, Charlotte Brontë Already Knew How Good a Writer She Would Be (Gift Article)

An anthology of her teenage poetry, published for the first time, shows ambition, even if the verse isn’t perfect.

nytimes.com

The children died one after the other. In Sudan, ravaged by civil war where more than half the population is acutely hungry, my colleague @declanwalsh.bsky.social reported on the harrowing consequences Trump’s aid cuts. The photos by Ivor Prickett heart wrenching. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/w...

As Famine Rages in Sudan, U.S. Aid Remains Scarce (Gift Article)

The stark consequences of the rollback are evident in few places as clearly as in Sudan, where a brutal civil war has combined with a staggering humanitarian catastrophe.

nytimes.com

Treasury bonds are traditionally seen as a safe haven in times of economic turmoil, because they offer investors a guaranteed payment backed by the U.S. government. Instead, investors are selling the assets. Here's what to know.

Another Rocky Day in Markets: Stocks and Bonds Sink

With the S&P 500 near a bear market, shares in Europe and Asia fell as China and other major U.S. trading partners confronted significantly higher tariffs. Investors also sold U.S. bonds.

nytimes.com

Lesotho built its textile industry in part thanks to AGOA, a US-trade agreement. Some of your favourite denim brands were made in Lesotho and exported to the US. Now, Trump’s new 50% tariffs threaten to decimate that industry and shed thousands of jobs. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/b...

Lesotho Has Few Options to Counter 50% U.S. Tariffs (Gift Article)

In Lesotho, which makes denim that goes into U.S.-branded jeans, both the private sector and the government were weighing their next moves.

nytimes.com

After the Spellow Library in Liverpool was targeted during England’s unrest last summer, more than 10,000 people donated to its restoration. The restored library has become a moment of hope in an otherwise grim chapter. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/w...

Anti-Migrant Rioters Set a U.K. Library on Fire. The Community Rallied.

After the Spellow Library in Liverpool was targeted during England’s unrest last summer, more than 10,000 people donated to its restoration.

nytimes.com

Unbelievable: After more than a decade the M23 rebels have are back, seizing Goma, a major city in the eastern DRC. Backed by Rwanda, M23 plans to occupy the mineral-region for the long term. Rwanda denies those accusations. Reporting by @ruthmaclean & Caleb Kabanda www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/w...

Rebels Backed by Rwanda Announce Capture of Key City in Eastern Congo (Gift Article)

The M23 militia, funded and directed by Rwanda, said it had seized the city of Goma, terrifying its people, many of whom sought shelter there after fleeing the rebel advance.

nytimes.com

Profiling Thandiswa Mazwia was so intimidating. She’s been the voice that sang South Africa’s post apartheid hopes and disappointments. Despite a gruelling tour schedule and a long day of rehearsals, she was open and funny and indulged me. Here’s our conversation. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/w...

The Voice of South Africa’s First Post-Apartheid Generation (Gift Article)

Thandiswa Mazwai has sung of South Africa’s highs and lows since the country became a multiracial democracy 30 years ago. “My calling is to sing the people’s joy, to sing the people’s sadness.”

nytimes.com