Bayo Akomolafe: The Untimely

Bayo Akomolafe: The Untimely

From Long Now by The Long Now Foundation

May 20, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

Bayo Akomolafe critiques linear time and explores the concept of untimeliness through various cultural lenses.

In his Talk, poet-philosopher Bayo Akomolafe presented a riveting critique of linear time, and gave a persuasive invitation to step sideways, to slow down, to notice the cracks in our temporal systems. Through Yoruba cosmology, slave ship histories, and decolonization strategies, he invited us to look at the space between the tick and the tock, to sit in the uncomfortable and incomplete. Only here, in what Akomolafe calls “parapolitics of the untimely,” can we ask, “What does untimeliness make possible?”

People in this episode

Guest: Bayo Akomolafe

Topics covered

  • linear time
  • Yoruba cosmology
  • decolonization
  • temporal systems
  • parapolitics
  • untimeliness

Keywords

  • linear time
  • Yoruba cosmology
  • decolonization
  • temporal systems
  • parapolitics
  • untimeliness

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Yoruba cosmology

More episodes of Long Now

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Long Now podcast page.