Please direct your attention to Ep. 2: Fiammetta the Fly, in which we spotlight Oromay—a 1983 novel written by Baalu Girma and translated in 2025 by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu—and discuss propaganda in journalism, women and revolution, and spiders.

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In our upcoming episode, we test the blurry boundaries between journalism and espionage, news and propaganda, spokesperson and puppet - and how now, more than ever, we may need Oromay's insights to help us navigate our own political waters, muddied by news media, puppets, and propaganda alike.

While a compelling narrative in its own right, "Oromay" is also historically significant: Like Tsegaye, Baalu Girma was the propaganda chief for the Derg, and with the cataclysmic failure of the campaign, he similarly became disillusioned, choosing to stay in Eritrea, rather than return to Ethiopia.

"Oromay" was an instant hit, but was quickly confiscated, and soon, Baalu Girma himself disappeared - likely abducted and killed by the Derg for his portrayal of their leadership and their failure in Eritrea.