The In-Between — newsletter archive
Read past issues of The In-Between, the newsletter companion to Yorùbá: History, Identity & the In-Between. Long-form essays, reading lists, and historical reflections by Zack Shittu.
- Season 2: Ep.1: Everything Changed Overnight (8 August 2026) — On January 1st, 1914, in a government building in Lagos, the British grafted two colonies into one and called it Nigeria. That's a tree falling in a very distant forest. The question this episode asks: did the proverb hold — or did the tree, this once, reach all the way home?
- The Crown Was Hollow: How Britain Ruled Yorubaland Without Ruling I (26 July 2026) — YHIB — The Crown Was Hollow: Yorùbá — History, Identity & the In-Between A new episode is live withzackshittu.com · YHIB Podcast & Documentary Series New Episode Season 1 · Episode 4 Season One · 2026 The Crown Was…
- The Quiet Migration (15 July 2026) — This issue is about movement. The kind that reshaped Yorùbáland under colonial rule without a single treaty being signed — and the kind I've been doing myself, camera in hand. Four pieces below. Read them in full on the site.
- He invented 'Yoruba' then smashed its gods (11 July 2026) — Around 1809, a boy was born in Osogun, Yorubaland. His name was Ajayi. History remembers him as Samuel Ajayi Crowther: enslaved at twelve, freed by the Royal Navy, and the man who became the first African Anglican bishop. He wrote the first grammar of the Yoruba language, translated the Bible into Yoruba, and — through that translation — helped invent the very idea of a single "Yoruba" people out of the Oyo, Egba, Ijebu, and Ekiti. He also entered sacred shrines and destroyed Yoruba carvings with his own hands.
- New Episode: When Europeans Arrived — YHIB S1E6 is live (27 June 2026) — This is the pivot episode of the season. For five episodes, we've been building a picture of nineteenth-century Yorùbáland on its own terms — the collapse of Oyo, the rise of Ibadan, the construction of Yorùbá identity. Episode 6 introduces the force that redirects all of it: European arrival.
- The In-Between: Issue No. 02 · Ìrìnkèrindò (7 May 2026) — The In-Between — Issue No. 02 Issue No. 02 · May 2026 · withzackshittu.com The In-Between Yorùbá — History, Identity & the In-Between Opening Note When Episode 1 went live, I expected disagreement. I expected questions.…
- Issue No. 01 - April 2026 (30 April 2026) — The In-Between — Issue No. 01 Issue No. 01 · April 2026 · withzackshittu.com The In-Between Yorùbá — History, Identity & the In-Between Opening Note I grew up Yorùbá. I just didn't know what that meant. Not really. I…