What happens when your life refuses to fit into a single box? In this conversation, Kojo Baffoe sits down with Dr Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, Oxford-educated scholar, SMWX host, musician and former aspiring professional footballer, to explore what it means to live between worlds.​

From dreams of playing for Liverpool and recording hip-hop with Entity alongside AKA, to studying politics, philosophy and economics, lecturing at Wits and building one of South Africa’s most influential political podcasts, Sizwe’s journey is a masterclass in convergence.​

Together they unpack regret and alternative timelines, learning to trust that “life is long” and that scattered passions eventually come together in unexpected ways. They talk about journaling as a practice of self-rescue, running two different notebooks, and using writing to design a more honest relationship with work, creativity and rest.​

Sizwe opens up about being raised by a white mother while rooted in Xhosa traditions, spending a year in the rural Eastern Cape, and learning to accept a hybrid identity that never fully belongs yet can move with ease across worlds. He reflects on parenting, his relationship with his father, and how public life, politics and social media have reshaped his sense of self and responsibility.​

The episode stretches out into African architecture, cities and history, asking how our built environment and broken historical threads shape the confidence of future generations.​

If you are a multipotentialite, a writer, a creative or simply someone trying to harmonise many selves, this is a generous, grounding listen.