Finding Our Forgotten Connections: A Guide to Ubuntu with Bernard Mayaka

Finding Our Forgotten Connections: A Guide to Ubuntu with Bernard Mayaka

The phrase “I am because we are” is well-known, but what does it truly mean to live it? In a world dominated by hyper-capitalism and deep individualism, the African philosophy of Ubuntu offers more than a beautiful slogan—it provides a radical framework for rethinking our relationships to each other, our communities, and our work. In this episode, we sit down with Bernard Mayaka, a lecturer, social worker, and co-editor of the book The Ubuntu Practitioner. Growing up in a Kenyan community where Ubuntu was “common sense,” Mayaka has dedicated his work to making this indigenous knowledge visible and practical for a global audience. Together, we explore: * What Ubuntu is as a philosophy and a practice: Moving beyond the idea of just “being nice” to understanding Ubuntu as a “doing” and a verb that shapes daily life. * Decolonizing social work: How Ubuntu challenges the dominance of Euro-American theories in care work and offers a path toward more humane, culturally-rooted practices. * Ubuntu vs. Capitalism: Does practicing Ubuntu inevitably push us to challenge a system that rewards competition and individual accumulation? * Finding your own Ubuntu: Mayaka’s invitation to listeners from any background—from indigenous communities in the Americas to working-class neighbourhoods in Europe—to look for and reclaim their own forgotten traditions of togetherness. This conversation is for anyone who has felt the tension between the humanity they want to bring to their work and the isolating systems they operate within. It is an invitation to redefine the self, replace the “I” with the “we,” and start weaving a more connected world. For listeners who want to go deeper, here are some resources on Ubuntu and the work of Bernard Mayaka: * Mayaka, B. & Truell, R. (2021). Ubuntu and its potential impact on the international social work profession. International Social Work, 64(5), 649–662. * The Ubuntu Practitioner: Social Work Perspectives — edited by Bernard Mayaka, Consolée Uwihangana, and Adrian D. van Breda. International Federation of Social Workers, 2023. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesocialmosaic.substack.com [https://thesocialmosaic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Your Body Is Not a Trend: From Colonial Gaze to Algorithmic Beauty (and How We Refuse)

What if the way you see your own body isn’t really “your” idea at all? In this episode of The Social Mosaic, we trace a line from the colonial exhibition of Sarah Baartman to “Instagram Face,” skin‑smoothing filters, Ozempic vlogs, and “self‑care” surgery culture. We look at how beauty standards are engineered by colonial histories, medical institutions, and now by algorithms—and what it does to us when we start to believe that our bodies are projects, problems, or trends. Drawing on thinkers like Michel Foucault, bell hooks, Sara Ahmed, and Rosalind Gill, the episode explores: * Algorithmic beauty: how platforms quietly decide what a “good” face and body look like * Colorism, skin‑lightening, and the afterlives of colonialism in the beauty aisle * The long shadow of Sarah Baartman and the racial politics of curves, lips, and “Instagram bodies” * Discipline, “choice,” and cosmetic self‑harm in a culture that moralizes thinness and “glow‑ups” * How resistance narratives—fat liberation, disability justice, queer and trans aesthetics—get co‑opted into content and branding * Why there are no tidy answers, and why anger, discomfort, and refusal might still be honest starting points This isn’t a “10 tips for body positivity” episode. It’s an invitation to sit in the discomfort, notice whose stories are shaping how you see your body, and ask what it might mean to refuse. The Social Mosaic is a podcast about power, identity, and justice. If this episode stirred something—anger, relief, confusion, curiosity, I’d love to hear from you. Follow the podcast on your favorite platform so you don’t miss future episodes, and come hang out on Substack for essays, resources, and deeper conversations:→ Substack: The Social Mosaic → Instagram: @thesocialmosaic.podcast If the episode resonates, please tap follow, leave a review, and share it with someone who’s wrestling with beauty standards or their own reflection. It genuinely helps an independent show reach more people. References: * bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions * Clifton Crais & Pamela Scully, Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography * Jameela Jamil, interview “Paedophiles shape beauty standards” on The Tea with Myriam Francois * Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish * Rosalind Gill & Akane Kanai, “Woke? Affect, Neoliberalism and Consumer Culture” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesocialmosaic.substack.com [https://thesocialmosaic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Smile Like You Mean It: The Hidden Cost of Emotional Work

Here’s a question: When did you last have to smile when you didn’t feel like smiling? Perform calm when you wanted to scream? Absorb someone else’s anger as if it cost you nothing? Welcome to emotional labour—the invisible work that holds everything together but leaves you wondering: where is yourself in all of this? In 1983, sociologist Arlie Hochschild studied flight attendants and discovered something revolutionary: they weren’t just serving drinks—they were selling their smiles, their warmth, their carefully managed emotions. She called it “emotional labor.” But here’s what Hochschild couldn’t have imagined: The curtain never falls anymore. The stage is infinite. The audience is everywhere, watching, recording, judging—even when you think you’re alone. In this episode, we explore: * The commercialization of human feeling—when your heart becomes part of your job description * The infinite stage of social media—why both posting and lurking require exhausting emotional work * The unbearable feed—managing grief, rage, and helplessness while being expected to stay productive * The feminist killjoy’s emotional labor—educating, explaining, and managing others’ discomfort with your existence * The intersectional dimensions—how gender, race, class, and immigration status determine who does emotional labor and under what conditions * Where is yourself?—what happens to your sense of self when you’re always performing We ask the questions that matter: What emotional labor are you doing that you didn’t even recognize as labor? What would it feel like to refuse? And how do we build spaces where we don’t have to perform? This isn’t just theory. This is survival. Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of genocide, violence against women, ongoing global crises, and the emotional toll of bearing witness. Please care for yourself while listening. References for Further Reading: * Arlie Russell Hochschild - The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling (1983, 2012 edition) * Rosalind Gill & Akane Kanai - “Woke? Affect, Neoliberalism and Consumer Culture” (2020) The Social Mosaic: Where we examine the patterns of power, identity, and justice that shape our world—and imagine how to weave something better together. Subscribe to our page: thesocialmosaic.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesocialmosaic.substack.com [https://thesocialmosaic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Who Cares? The Hidden Labour Holding Everything Together

What holds society together? It’s not just laws or economies—it’s care. The invisible, undervalued work of keeping people alive, healthy, fed, and emotionally stable. Yet we treat care as if it just... happens. Naturally. For free. In this episode, we explore why care work is overwhelmingly done by women—especially poor women, racialized women, and migrant women—and why capitalism depends on this labor while refusing to pay for it. Drawing on Joan Tronto’s ethics of care, Nancy Fraser’s feminist economics, and Ubuntu philosophy’s principle of “I am because we are,” we examine how care is simultaneously essential and exploited. We’ll unpack the gendered division of care work, the crisis of social reproduction under neoliberalism, and what it would mean to build a world that actually values care as the foundation of human life.References: * Tronto, J. (2013). Caring Democracy: Markets, Equality, and Justice * Fraser, N. (2016). “Capitalism’s Crisis of Care,” Dissent * Hochschild, A. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling * Mayaka, B., & Truell, R. (2021). Ubuntu and its potential impact on the international social work profession. International Social Work, 64(5), 649–662 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesocialmosaic.substack.com [https://thesocialmosaic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Beyond Labels: Why One Size Never Fits All

Have you ever felt like people only see one part of who you are? Like you're constantly being reduced to a single checkbox—your gender, your race, your job title—when the reality is so much more complex? In this episode, we explore intersectionality: the idea that our identities don't exist in isolation but overlap, interact, and create unique experiences that can't be understood by looking at just one piece of the puzzle. We move beyond the buzzword to show how intersectionality actually works in everyday life—from job interviews where you can't tell if you were dismissed because you're a woman, an immigrant, or working class (or all three), to workplaces where diversity statements look great on paper but nothing actually changes. Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term "intersectionality," alongside insights from bell hooks on how we learn through conversation and Sara Ahmed's concept of "institutional non-performativity" (when organizations say the right things but don't do them), this episode reveals why seeing the whole person matters—not just for justice, but for survival. We'll explore: -Why saying "I don't see colour" is actually a problem -How power operates differently depending on which identities you hold -The difference between diversity statements and actual change -Why your feminism needs to account for race, class, disability, and sexuality This isn't just academic theory—it's a survival tool. Whether you've felt invisible in spaces that claim to celebrate diversity, or you're trying to understand why some people's experiences differ so dramatically from your own, this episode offers a framework for seeing more clearly. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thesocialmosaic.substack.com [https://thesocialmosaic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]