Ryan Brown
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Non-tweeting reporter and writer in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Also Africa editor for @csmonitor. Pitch me: brownr at csps.com
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Articles by Ryan Brown
This polarizing, pothole-snorkeling gran is leading the race for Johannesburg mayor
Depending on who you ask, South Africa’s national sport is soccer, rugby, or laughing your way through difficult circumstances. Case in point: Helen Zille, the leading candidate to become the next mayor of Johannesburg on Wednesday. In recent months, she has repeatedly gone viral on social media for joking about the city’s collapsing infrastructure. “Here we are with a free and wonderful Saturday afternoon snorkel,” she deadpanned in one video as she dog-paddled through a flooded pothole.
Our World: The week of Nov. 2, 2026
Nov. 02, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET | 2 min read Success story for the Seychelles’ giant tortoises Once hunted to near-extinction, giant tortoises now outnumber humans in the Seychelles, according to a recent survey reported by the Guardian. More than 180,000 Aldabra giant tortoises now make their home in the uninhabited Aldabra Atoll, up from 100,000 in the 1990s and just 1,000 in the late 19th century.
Our World: The week of Oct. 26, 2026
From the Magazine Our World is a roundup from our weekly print edition of noteworthy happenings, from our global correspondents and editors. Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Illustrations by Karen Norris/Staff By Whitney Eulich, Special correspondentAnn Scott Tyson, Staff writerRyan Lenora Brown, Africa editorTim Backshall, Staff writer Oct.
Our World: The week of Oct. 12, 2026
“Governments are trying to ... ease the pain.” That’s Paasha Mahdavi, director of the energy governance and political economy lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara, describing to the Financial Times the pressure that countries are under to combat high fuel prices exacerbated by war in the Middle East. A total of 94 countries have initiated some kind of consumer assistance, as of late September – that’s up from 56 countries in late April.
Maine’s Opera Houses Are the Light on Main Street
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. On a road trip to some of Maine’s historical opera houses this summer, two things repeatedly came up at each stop: that there were sterling acoustics and that at some point “there was a fire. …” That these theaters, all around 150 years old, are not only still standing but also very active is a testimony to the resilience of Mainers. What’s a little blaze?
On the youngest continent in the world, a push for more kid-friendly cities
Peninah Ndegwa spent years studying urban planning, but one of her most instructive moments in the field occurred far from a classroom. In 2018, she was walking through downtown Nairobi with her baby strapped to her back when, suddenly and urgently, her daughter needed a diaper change. Ms. Ndegwa scanned the streets around her, but there was nowhere to go – no clean public toilets, no public changing stations. “That was an awakening,” Ms. Ndegwa says.
Dear Pen Pal, how far is South Africa from Mexico?
On a bright Saturday morning in February, I stood in front of a classroom in Johannesburg and announced triumphantly to the 30 kids seated in front of me: “We’re getting pen pals!” Rows of blank faces stared back at me. I waited. They waited. Finally, one girl raised her hand.
A Maine Town, Once Dependent on a Paper Mill, Tries to Move On
The State of Maine is about 89 percent forest and has an $8.3 billion forestry industry. Besides logging, papermaking has always been a large part of that. At the industry’s height, there were 35 paper mills in the state. Today, there are six. The paper mill in Madison, a rugged town of about 4,700 residents where it’s not uncommon to see trucks stacked with logs coming and going, shut down in 2016.
The Malawi women’s soccer team is on fire. What that means for Africa.
Imagine the Faroe Islands beating Germany in men’s soccer. Picture Tajikistan besting Argentina. Those were the kind of odds Malawi’s women’s national team, the Scorchers, faced when they stepped onto the pitch on July 28 in Rabat, Morocco. The team’s first match in the continental championship was against Nigeria, the defending champion. The Super Falcons towered a full 117 places above Malawi in the FIFA rankings.
How two friends navigated threats of anti-migrant violence in South Africa
It was early April when the whispers began. Mobs are looting foreigners’ shops. They go door to door, and if you don’t have your papers, they beat you. Why We Wrote This African governments began repatriating their citizens from South Africa last month amid growing threats of violence against migrants. But the choice to leave is not a simple one,as illustrated by the story of two close friends: a hairdresser who returned to Ghana, and her colleague, who chose to stay.
Here's who's missing at the World Cup: Soccer-playing grannies!
Editor's Note: As the World Cup kicks off, we just got some good news about our coverage of another global soccer event: the Grannies International Football Tournament. Last year 2e published a story about this tournament — "where you've never too old to play.
Here's who's missing at the World Cup: Soccer-playing grannies! Original
Soccer-playing grannies would be at home at the World Cup The World Cup isn't the only global soccer event of note. Check out the Grannies International Football Tournament. Editor's Note: As the World Cup kicks off, we just got some good news about our coverage of another global soccer event: the Grannies International Football Tournament. Last year we published a story about this tournament — "where you've never too old to play.
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