First Person

South African police sergeant, Simphiwe "Charlie" Mgwetana, fed up with putting the same kids into the back of his police van every week, decided to use his own passion to change many of their lives. If you want to be inspired, and have your faith in humanity restored, take a listen to his story...

Through a chance encounter on the street, a white Afrikaans woman discovers she has a calling that takes her deep into the heart of South Africa – and her own psyche. In the fifth edition of First Person, Marianne Thamm maps Annelie DeWet's extraordinary journey into the heart of one of South Africa’s most fundamental - and most enigmatic - traditions.

Karl Thornton risks everything for the obsession that he can’t shake and that, day after day, uses up precious resources and takes him away from his family. What is it that has taken over Karl’s life, causing him to neglect his wife and children? Marianne Thamm finds out...

* Adult content advisory * Faeth Lyon-Wall (not her real name) tells journalist Marianne Thamm about how, feeling frustrated and rejected in her marriage, she embarked on a new sexual adventure where pain and pleasure mixed – and all with the blessing of her husband, who simply said "play safe, and come home afterwards!"

Seventy-something grandmother, Monica Cromhout, has gone from law-abiding teetotaler to an evangelist for the benefits of psychedelic – magic mushrooms. Award-winning journalist Marianne Thamm charts the extraordinary journey that has led her to the forefront of the legal drive to have South Africa’s drugs laws declared unconstitutional.

First Person creators Marianne Thamm and Jayne Morgan speak to East Coast Radio's Sirshin Moodliar on Trending Tonight on this brand new wholly-South African podcast series; the state of podcasting in SA in general and who'll be featured in upcoming episodes. If you're a fan already, or just curious to know more, take a listen.

Oscar Pistorius. Everyone has a theory but what if you really knew something the police didn't? Best-selling author and journalist Marianne Thamm gets into the head of amateur detective Thomas Mollett, a man obsessed with solving two of South Africa's most famous and controversial murders - Inge Lotz and Reeva Steenkamp. What motivates him? Does anyone take him seriously? And does he really know the truth?