Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit

Vigils and protests take place in North Macedonia after deadly nightclub fire; Presidents Trump and Putin to talk about peace deal; goodbye to Voice of America. Adam Gilchrist shares details on these stories with Lester Kiewit.

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Instead of an increase in the VAT, how about introducing a sin tax on gambling and the lottery? Lester Kiewit speaks to Koshiek Karan, an investment banker and financial activist, as well founder of the financial literacy platform: BankerX, about this proposal of his.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Hoodah Abrahams-Fayker, Black Sash National Advocacy Manager, about the slow and problematic card migration process being undertaken by millions of grant recipients. So far Sassa and Postbank have only managed to migrate 1,5million of 2,6million beneficiaries from the old gold card to the new, safer black card with three days before the deadline.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Dr Eleanor Armstrong, Space Research Fellow at the University of Leicester, about how to get more children into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and shatter the stereotypes that come with STEM studies. Could the answer lie in magazines or E-zines specifically aimed at young minds to show them the positives of STEM?

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Professor Mathew Schmalz, a global Catholicism scholar at the College of the Holy Cross in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about the transformative impact of Pope Francis’ leadership. Elected in 2013, Francis has reshaped the Catholic Church with a focus on the poor, inclusivity, and global outreach, championing migrants, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s leadership while facing resistance from conservative factions.

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As a follow-up to a conversation with a Noordhoek resident who is concerned over the planned construction of Padel courts at the Noordhoek Garden Emporium, Lester Kiewit speaks to Jock Kannemeyer, the owner of the nursery, to find out what will be done to minimise the impact on nearby residents who are concerned about the disruption to the tranquil life they currently enjoy there.

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Lester Kiewit interviews Dr Wessel van den Berg of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Sociology and Social Anthropology and one of the principals of the Tataokhona Project, about the state of fatherhood in South Africa.

According to the State of South Africa’s Fathers 2024 report, the percentage of children living with their biological fathers has dropped from 45.3% in 1996 to just 35% in 2023.

So, where have all the biological fathers gone? Have they abandoned their children?

"Fathers earn their income away from their families," says Van den Berg. He explains that when work becomes scarce, fathers are more likely to return to their biological families.

However, he clarifies that children often live with men who are not their biological fathers, such as a mother's boyfriend or extended male family members. "There’s a high proportion of men who provide financial support to children they are not biologically related to," he says.  However, he notes that while this is significant, it is still not nearly as high as the number of women who provide such support.

Van den Berg emphasises that the purpose of such studies is to understand how to engage men more effectively in various forms of caregiving for children.

Thank you for listening to the Good Morning Cape Town podcast.

Listen to Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit on weekdays from 06:00 am to 9:00 am on CapeTalk.

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US President orders attack on Houthis in Yemen; a rewriting of history as “anti-woke” policy takes effect; a taxi for earth as two astronauts will finally return from the ISS. Adam Gilchrist shares details on these stories with Lester Kiewit.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Prof Steven Friedman, research professor in the Humanities Faculty at the University of Johannesburg, about the alarming crackdown on US colleges and universities by the state. President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw funding from institutions that do not follow his agenda. Columbia University has been particularly hard hit with the arrest of pro-Palestine students.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Na’eem Jeenah, the senior researcher in Humanity at Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) about the expulsion from the US of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Rasool was a race-baiting politician who hates America and President Trump. The eviction order on Rasool is believed to be in response to a speech he gave during a webinar hosted by Mistra.

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