Coversations With Gabriel

In this episode of Talking Sense, the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Dr Warren Goldstein, drops in for a long-form interview with The Common Sense's executive producer, Gabriel Makin. The conversation touches on topics ranging from the Chief Rabbi's background, the intersection of Judaism and modernity, his experiences after the 7th of October massacre, the subsequent war in Gaza, the lessons learned from his activism for Israel and the South African Jewish commuity, the future of Jews globally in the face of rising Western antisemitism, and much more.

In this episode of Makin Sense, Gareth van Onselen joins Gabriel Makin for a fast moving and deeply analytical conversation. The discussion ranges across the state of public opinion research in South Africa, how political parties misunderstand data, why polling failure is so common, and what high quality fieldwork really looks like. Gareth unpacks the incentives that shape media narratives, explains why accurate voter insight is so rare, and reflects on the future of political analysis in a country where trust in information is rapidly eroding. The episode offers a rare inside view of the machinery of opinion research and why getting it right matters for the health of South Africa’s democracy.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Polling: Myths and Realities
09:48 Polling Methodologies: How They Work
19:46 Interpreting Polling Data: Trends vs. Predictions
29:09 Recent Poll Results: Insights and Implications
30:25 Helen Zille's Impact on the DA
35:18 The Fragmentation of African Nationalism
39:48 Public Sentiment on ANC Policies
44:57 The Role of the Middle Class in South African Politics

In this episode of Makin Sense, ex-mayor of Tshwane and current Tshwane mayoral candidate, Cilliers Brink joins Gabriel Makin for a far-ranging discussion. The discussion touches on the previous Tshwane administration, what being the mayor of a city is like, what Cilliers experienced in his first term as mayor, what brought his coalition down, why he continues the fight and much more.

In this episode of Talking Sense, Gabriel Makin sits down with Piet Le Roux, CEO of Sakeliga to discuss their work and the future of South Africa. The conversation touches on Sakeliga's litigation efforts against BEE, NHI, the Expropriation Act and failing municipalities. The conversation also looks at President Ramaphosa's impact on the country and whether it is worth it for the unitary state to hold together.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Who are Sakeliga?
03:25 The power of litigation
04:30 Driefontein expropriation case
09:00 Fighting expropriation
12:00 What is "3rd-Wave BEE"
19:00 Litigating against BEE
22:40 The problems with the NHI
26:17 The collapse of local municipalities
31:15 Who is "President Ramaphosa"
37:00 What motivates the ANC?
42:10 What should South Africa be?

In this episode of Talking Sense, CEO of the Institute of Race Relations, Dr John Endres discusses the Institute, its submissions to parliament on the Climate Change Act and the Electoral Amendments bill. He then also discusses what it means to be a South African liberal and defends liberal ideas.

https://irr.org.za/

In this episode of Talking Sense, Gabriel Makin interviews the founder of Pomegranate media and distinguished political economist Moeletsi Mbeki. The discussion is far reaching, touching on why the Mebki family turned out to be so special, the history of South Africa, the ANC, the democratic period and how the DA is the future of the country

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:08 What makes the Mbeki family so special
03:00 African middle-class and organised labour
08:00 The bloat of the South African state
11:00 No difference between the 'era's' of the ANC
14:00 'Fat' in the SA economy
15:30 Is the ANC dead?
23:00 Why the ANC cannot reform
30:00 Big business and BEE
34:20 South Africa's current political transition
37:00The DA liberalism problem
45:00 Helen Zille and Johannesburg
50:30 South Africa, the United States and 'the New World'
57:00 Invest in Human Capital

In this episode of Talking Sense, director of the Middle East and Africa Research Institute, Benji Shulman, dropped by to explain Trump's new Gaza peace plan and its implications.

CEO of the Free Market Foundation, David Ansara, joins Gabriel Makin for this episode of Talking Sense. The topics range from the history of the FMF, the goals of socialist movements, how to fix South Africa, the cost of BEE and much much more.Links to the FMF:https://freemarketfoundation.com/https://freemarketfoundation.com/the-costs-of-b-bbee-compliance/

In this episode of Talking Sense, Gabriel Makin chats with author, speaker and think-tank founder, Phumlani Majozi. The discussion touches on Phumlani's background, Zimbabwe and SA, government policy, South Africa's economy and much more.

Phumlani's links:
https://www.youtube.com/@majozishow
https://x.com/EconomicsMajozi

Editor of The Common Sense, Dr Frans Cronje, sits down with The Common Sense's executive producer to discuss the launch of The Common Sense, the real South African story of the last 30 years, the 2024 election and where South Africa is heading.