Deji Olukotun is a writer and activist. In addition to writing fiction, he directs global advocacy campaigns for Access Now, a nonprofit that defends the rights of digital technology users throughout the world. After completing his undergrad at Yale, he attended Stanford Law School, then studied creative writing at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. While in Africa he explored his roots in his father’s native country of Nigeria. It was then he became inspired to write his first novel, “Nigerians in Space,” which was published in 2014. A sci-fi thriller, the novel wrestles with the phenomenon of brain drain — the emigration of people seeking educational and career opportunities abroad. The sequel, “After the Flare,” expands on the struggles and triumphs of Africans working in space programs and was released in September 2017 and this conversation will be around the themes covered in this book.