NYC, Summer 2022. Ngofeen gets his first big assignment at The New Yorker. It’s about the global “monkeypox” outbreak, and he’s the ideal reporter: his family comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (the virus’s origin), and infections are spreading through sexual contact within New York’s queer community, including his own social circle. With a disorganized government response and two million people preparing to attend NYC Pride in a few weeks, getting the word out is critical.

But the subject terrifies Ngofeen, having only recently left the evangelical church and broken his vow of lifelong celibacy (i.e. “you can be gay if you don’t act on it”). Now, by writing publicly about a world he rejected for so long, Ngofeen is testing the limits of the person he’s willing to become, while risking a confrontation with the community he’s abandoned. 

Ngofeen breaks his silence in this personal epidemic tale, featuring behind-the-scenes reporting, real audio interviews, flights of fantasy, and nerdy tangents into theology, science, opera, and language.

written by Ngofeen Mputubwele

directed by Alex Hare

performed by Ngofeen Mputubwele and Alex Hare

Adapted from the new podcast. Artwork: @danieleldibujo