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International comparisons suggest that South Africans work pretty hard - around 42.2 hours a week on average. That’s higher than Brazil and Mexico, and only a little less than China. It’s about double the total hours put in per week on average in Norway. Amazing. 
But is that the whole story?
Not so much says Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen. It’s like golf - the winner is not the one who does the most work but the least. This … and other bits and pieces of the news this past week. ListenUp!

The G20 was simultaneously a grand success and a disappointing failure, and the key, according to Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen, is that there is an insufficient intersection of priorities and a lack of common purpose.
Whose fault is that? What does it mean? Why is that happening now? These are all questions we discuss, along with the joys of public transportation and the surprising utility and value of art. Listen Up!

It's been a great week for South Africa, not least on the sports field with international wins in soccer, rugby and cricket.
And then there is the unexpected S&P ratings upgrade.
And the JSE hitting yet another record.
And Jo’burg looking spectacular for the G20!
Actually, wait a bit; let's not get too carried away. Jo'burg's still a bit dodgy, except where the leader convoys will go, but things do feel different.
The question now is how to maintain the momentum, and one crucial question is whether we are overpaying or underpaying our leaders, like municipal managers for example.
Listen Up! to Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen on this and the rumours of spring.

US president Donald Trump says no US officials will be attending the G20.

Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen ask the crucial question: does that make the G20 in Johannesburg later this month a bit of a talk shop? Was it a talk shop in the first place?

What actually is the point of the G20? And the rugby. Obvs. Listen Up!

October was an extraordinary month for stock markets around the world. Every single major stock market around the world hit record highs last month, other than the Chinese CSI index which is still a long way off its pre-Covid highs.
Spain’s IBEX finally surpassed its 2007 highs, and even the big European countries with the slowest growth, Germany and France, managed to join in the act.

In response, South Africans have decided to take a punt - but not on the JSE, which is up almost 30% over the past year, but on online betting sites.
South Africans bet over R1.5 trillion in the past year, a 45% increase over the previous year. There are dangers and joys, in both methods of potentially losing money.
In this podcast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the season of having a punt.

Change is, as they say, the one constant.

In this podcast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the efficacy of rail transport, South Africa’s departure from the Financial Action Task Force greylist, trade negotiations and, of course, art theft.

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We live in an era of being overwhelmed and disorientated, so now more than ever there is a value in the distilled essence. In this podcast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the genius of simplicity in the midst of a discombobulated world. How do you achieve it in the face of societal and business pressures: excessive borrowing against the future, an emerging gambling addiction and a crisis in the police, just to name a few. Also, the greatest baseball game ever.

October is turning out to be a big month for enquiries into what happened to the money, with the continuing Madlanaga commission into allegedly corrupt police tenders, the spat between Lucky Montana and SARS, and the continuing Road Accident Fund hearing in parliament. 

Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss why people do such odd things with their alleged ill-gotten gains - like buy three Lamborghinis. Why is one, or even three, never enough? There is lots to discuss here, please do Listen Up!

Everything is united - except it’s not! In this podcast, Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the prospects of Unite for Change, comprising GOOD, Rise Mzansi, and Build One SA, and wonder why they are uniting rather than being united. And on that subject, what are the prospects for the United Nations, and must it unite for change? And gold. Listen up!

It was a big sporting weekend, but also a contrasting one. Rugby, well known for its calm, quiet, subdued supporters, who were out in force in Durban to see South Africa thrash Argentina 67-30 to top the table with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu breaking a test points record.

Contrast that with the European 15-13 victory in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. Golf supporters were, as usual, flagrantly out of hand, dropping f-bombs, harassing players and wearing odd pants. 

But what do we learn from this?

Mark Barnes and  Tim Cohen take the score. And then there is Johannesburg...

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