Ben Rawlence is the author of City of Thorns- Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp and Radio Congo- Signals of Hope from Africa's Deadliest War. He studied Swahili at the universities of London and Dar-es-Salaam, and then an MA in International Relations at the University of Chicago. While working for Human Rights Watch in the Horn of Africa he became fascinated by the Dadaab refugee camp, which would later become the subject of his 2016 book, City of Thorns. Ben has written for the Guardian, London Review of Books, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, New Yorker and many other publications. He lives in Wales and is the founder and director of Black Mountains College, an institution dedicated to preparing people for the changes to come.