PAGECAST

Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. 

In this episode News24 Books Editor Shaun de Waal is in conversation with Author Siphiwo Mahala about Blame Me On History by Bloke Modisane.

Feeling an exile in the country of his birth, the talented journalist and leading black intellectual Bloke Modisane left South Africa in 1959. It was shortly after the apartheid government had bulldozed Sophiatown, the township of his childhood. His biting indictment of apartheid, Blame Me on History, was published in 1963 – and banned shortly afterwards. Modisane offers a harrowing account of the degradation and oppression faced daily by black South Africans. His penetrating observations and insightful commentary paint a vivid picture of what it meant to be black in apartheid South Africa. At the same time, his evocative writing transports the reader back to a time when Sophiatown still teemed with life. This 60th-anniversary edition of Modisane’s autobiography serves as an example of passionate resistance to the scourge of racial discrimination in our country and is a reminder not to forget our recent past.

Thanks for tuning in, enjoy the chat!

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Pagecast, a podcast series presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.

In this episode, we're joined by Sewela Langeni, the owner of Book Circle Capital, a bookstore specialising in African Literature. She sits down with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene, the author of the novel Innards, for an engaging discussion.

Set in Soweto, the urban heartland of South Africa, Innards tells the intimate stories of everyday black folks processing the savagery of apartheid. Rich with the thrilling textures of township language and life, it braids the voices and perspectives of an unforgettable cast of characters into a breathtaking collection flush with forgiveness, rage, ugliness and beauty.

Relax and immerse yourself in this compelling conversation, enjoy it!

Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!

Join us in this episode as Hanlie Theron from Bargain Books shares her top picks for holiday reading and recommendations for your reading list.

Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous holiday period!

Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!

Join us in this episode as we drop by the Exclusive Books Sandton staff to discover their top picks for holiday reading and recommendations for your reading list.

Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous December!

Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!

Join us in this episode as co-producer of Pagecast Maryam Adams chats with Sewela Langeni about her holiday reading!

Sewela is the owner of Book Circle Capital, an independent bookshop focusing on African literature based at 27 Boxes in Melville, Johannesburg.

Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous December!

Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!

Join us in this episode as we drop by the Exclusive Books Cavendish staff to discover their top picks for holiday reading and recommendations for your reading list.

Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous December!

In the latest episode of Pagecast, Batya Bricker, General Manager of Books and Brand at Exclusive Books, engages in a fascinating conversation with the world-renowned classicist, Professor Mary Beard, about her new book, "Emperor of Rome."

This book offers a unique take on the lives of Roman emperors, challenging traditional chronological storytelling. Professor Beard examines the true nature of imperial power, the actual dynamics within the Roman palace, and the lives of those surrounding the emperor, including his family, rivals, and the general populace.

Her insightful narrative provides a fresh perspective on Roman history and its enduring influence on modern society.

Tune in for an intriguing discussion!

In today's episode of Pagecast, join legendary broadcaster Jenny Crwys-Williams as she interviews Beverley Roos-Muller, the author who vividly brings to life the experiences of the Muller brothers during the Boer War.

‘. . . it is nine months this evening since I last saw the light in my own house, when I had to tear myself away from all that is dear to me. And today is also my little son’s birthday. Oh, how I long for home.’

So wrote Michael Muller in 1901 as he gazed at the lights of Cape Town from a ship bound for Bermuda, after months of internment in a British POW camp in Simon’s Town. The camps were full, so Boer prisoners were being sent to other parts of the empire. Michael’s brothers, Chris and Pieter, were exiled to Ceylon, while Lool was held in the Green Point camp in Cape Town.

Remarkably, three of the brothers kept diaries – the only known instance of this happening in the Boer War. They recorded their intimate thoughts and turbulent emotions, and the diaries gave them agency. The scrawled notes of Chris on the evening after the legendary Magersfontein battle, the rain-dashed pages written by Lool in Colesberg, and the angry words penned by Michael about his treatment at Surrender Hill, have the urgency of men determined to go on record.

When Beverley Roos-Muller first began to explore writing about the Boer experience of the war, she read the tiny war diary of Michael, grandfather of her husband, Ampie Muller. It led her to the discovery of the other diaries and many more documents. She also records the brothers’ difficult return home and examines the consequences for South Africa of the bitterness this strife invoked.

This is a beautifully told account of the fellowship of four brothers in war, their capture and their eventual recovery.

Thanks for tuning Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. In today's episode Joanne Lefson and Brandon de Kock chat about Pigcasso - The Painting Pig That Saved a Sanctuary.

When Joanne Lefson took on a piglet at her animal shelter, the young sow proceeded to eat everything in her stable but a paint brush. In a flash of inspiration, Joanne attempted to introduce the pig to the art of painting - and thus Pigcasso was born.

Starting out with a humble canvas on the sanctuary wall, Pigcasso's paintings are now owned by the likes of George Clooney, she has a Swatch watch design partnership, a wine label, and has eclipsed the previous world record holder for animal art. She's been commissioned by Nissan and has had exhibitions in Cape Town, Munich, and Amsterdam. More than that, Pigcasso's art funds the food and veterinary services for all the animals at the sanctuary.

Pigcasso is the story of this unique pig and of the circumstances that brought her and Joanne together to take the art world by storm and form a unique and unbreakable bond.

Enjoy the chat!

Thanks for clicking play on this episode of Pagecast. In today's chat, Mark Gevisser, editor of 'The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated,' is in conversation with activists Mark Heywood and Kumi Naidoo, two of the contributors to the book.

Written from the maxim “it takes a lawyer, an activist, and a storyteller to change the world", The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated shows how the law and social movements can reinforce each other in the struggle for justice and freedom.

In these vibrant narratives, 25 of the world’s most accomplished movement lawyers and activists become storytellers, reflecting on their experiences at the frontlines of some of the most significant struggles of our time. In an era where human rights are under threat, their words offer both an inspiration and a compass for the way movements can use the law – and must sometimes break it – to bring about social justice.

The contributors here take you into their worlds: Jennifer Robinson frantically orchestrating a protest outside London’s Ecuadorean embassy to prevent the authorities from arresting her client Julian Assange; Justin Hansford at the barricades during the protests over the murder of Black teenager Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Ghida Frangieh in Lebanon’s detention centres trying to access arrested protestors during the 2019 revolution; Pavel Chikov defending Pussy Riot and other abused prisoners in Russia; Ayisha Siddiqa, a shy Pakistani immigrant, discovering community in her new home while leading the 2019 youth climate strike in Manhattan; Greenpeace activist Kumi Naidoo on a rubber dinghy in stormy Arctic seas contemplating his mortality as he races to occupy an oil rig.

The stories in The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated capture the complex, and often-awkward dance between legal reform and social change. They are more than compelling portraits of fascinating lives and work, they are revelatory: of generational transitions; of epochal change and apocalyptic anxiety; of the ethical dilemmas that define our age; and of how one can make a positive impact when the odds are stacked against you in a harsh world of climate crisis and ruthless globalization.

Contributors: Phelister Abdalla, Alejandra Ancheita, Joe Athialy, Baher Azmy, Pavel Chikov, Ghida Frangieh, Njeri Gateru, Mark Gevisser, Robin Gorna, Justin Hansford, Mark Heywood, Benjamin Hoffman, David Hunter, Ka Hsaw Wa, Julia Lalla-Maharajh, Kumi Naidoo, Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo, Katie Redford, Jennifer Robinson, Ayisha Siddiqa, Eimear Sparks, Klementyna Suchanov, Marissa Vahlsing, Krystal Two Bulls, David Wicker, Farhana Yamin and JingJing Zhang.