Today we talk to Zoë Flood who is an independent journalist and filmmaker. Based out of Kenya for much of the past decade, Zoë has reported for a wide range of international media, including the BBC, the Guardian, Al Jazeera and the Washington Post. She runs a production company based in Nairobi that provides production support across the African continent.

Zoë also produces long-form investigations, such as 'Gamblers Like Me', which she shot and directed for BBC Africa Eye and which was shortlisted for best documentary in the 2020 British Sports Journalism Awards. In 2021, she was both Edit Producer and Archive Producer on ‘9/11: Inside the President’s War Room’, the landmark BBC/AppleTV+ feature documentary to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The film has won multiple awards, including the Bafta for Editing, and was also nominated in the Best Documentary category, as well as the Editing category at the Emmys.

Zoë is also Executive Producer and Co-Producer of the ground-breaking Zimbabwean feature film 'Cook Off', streaming on Netflix since 2020. Check out more of Zoë's work at www.zoeflood.com.

So as you can imagine it is a huge episode where we get into Gratitude ImbalanceTM, what it means to be independent and not taking shit. Let us know what you think.

As usual, we hit Zoë up with the important Qs:

Last meal: A wood-fired margherita pizza

Currently reading: Chick lit!

Currently watching: Bling Empire

Listening to: ‘The rest is politics’ podcast, ‘how to fail’ podcast

Favourite unwind: long walks, reading, swimming and seeing friends

What advice would Zoë give to someone who's wondering about the next step in their career?

Think very hard about what your needs are and what your desires are, not what society's expectations are, your colleagues, your friends and family’s expectations are. We all live with many contending pressures…but taking the time and space to try and work out what it is that you want, what you need, what your values are, is a really valuable step.

A little about your co-hosts:

Anita Dullard is studying a MSc Climate and Energy Policy, taking time out from media advocacy; Avigail Shai is a diplomatic and policy adviser, and former diplomat – they met working in the international humanitarian sector, stayed for the chat and hilarity.

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