The Commute

Donald Trump considers South Africa a sh*thole country – although to be fair he thinks America is a total sh*thole too. But he's gonna make it great again. What does having an American reality tv host in the White House mean for South Africa? Jessica speaks to Phillip van Niekerk, who is living and working in the Swamp itself, Washington DC.

The statement about UN voting loyalty to America mentioned in this show can be accessed here: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/nikki-haley-names-and-shames-south-africa-for-un-v

We suck at reading. South Africa came bottom out of 50 countries in a recent international assessment of reading and literacy. Other than calling for a revolution (as Tracy Chapman has been urging Jessica to do), what can we do? Well, some South Africa schools have decided they're going to switch to the Finnish education system. But what IS the Finnish schooling system? Jessica speaks to Professor Hillary Janks to find out. The book mentioned in this show is Finnish Lessons 2.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?

Counterfeit money, shipments of crack, ivory smuggling... no, this isn't a new Netflix series, it's just an average day in North Korea's underground world. And it's all happening just up the road. Jessica speaks to veteran investigative journalist Julian Rademeyer about South Africa, the DPRK, and why that North Korean restaurant in Pretoria wasn't very good. You can read the report we are discussing, "Diplomats and Deceit: North Korea's criminal activities in Africa", here: http://globalinitiative.net/diplomats-and-deceit-north-koreas-criminal-activities-in-africa/

#GiveBackTheLand! Yeah! But which land? And how? And to whom? And through which process? The EFF and the ANC want the South African Constitution changed to enable expropriation without compensation. Jessica talks to Professor Ruth Hall about how we can put actual human beings and their needs at the centre of the land debate. The books mentioned in this episode are "The Land Is Ours"; "Untitled"; and "Land Divided, Land Restored."

Xi Jinping, President of China, just got the go ahead to become president for life when his party abolished term limits. Who is Xi? Should South Africa worry about all those lovely loans it took from China? And what is the not-exactly-well-named "One Belt One Road" initiative announced in 2017? Jessica talks to Cobus van Staden, co-host of the awesome China-Africa Podcast. who explains it all. The links Cobus mentions in this show are: http://www.saiia.org.za/china?restcata=190&moduleId=534&Itemid=540 and http://www.ccs.org.za . You can listen to the China Africa podcast here: http://www.chinaafricaproject.com

Sometimes it feels like South Africa's Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is a big nothing-burger. But given South Africa's extraordinary artistic talent pool (Trevor Noah, Black Coffee, Dada Masilo, Andile Ndlovu, Zanele Muholi etc etc etc), why do they seem to suck? Jessica talks to acclaimed playwright Mike van Graan to see if this is a fair assessment, and what the problems might be.

South Africa topped the charts in 2017 for Google searches for the word ‘Bitcoin’. What is Bitcoin? Why is everyone so excited about cryptocurrencies? Will I be able to buy my groceries at Woolies using Bitcoin soon? Jessica speaks to Claire Ingram Bogusz to learn more about this amazing new world. You can visit Claire’s website at www.clairebogusz.com The links Claire mentions in the interview are: https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/09/a-decentralized-web-would-give-power-back-to-the-people-online/ and https://news.earn.com/thoughts-on-tokens-436109aabcbe And Claire recommends this great online course on how Bitcoin and Cryptos work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOMVZXLjKYo

We know Vladimir Putin likes to pose shirtless while hunting bears, and that he and Donald Trump have something special going on, but how much we do know about the man himself? Jessica van Onselen continues her conversation with Irina Filatova about Putin and South Africa. The books mentioned in this show are: - "ANC: The view from Moscow" (1999) by Vladimir Shubin and - "The Hidden Thread: Russia and South Africa in the Soviet Era" (2013) by Irina Filatova and Apollon Davidson

It's Episode 1 of this brand new South African podcast, the Commute! We all know vaguely that the Soviet Union supported the ANC under Apartheid, and many of the USSR's ideas from the 60s and 70s still permeate ANC's big policy ideas. Jessica van Onselen talks to Professor Irina Filatova about Russian South African relations under Apartheid, and the traces we can see of it today.

The books mentioned in this show are:

- "ANC: The view from Moscow" (1999) by Vladimir Shubin

- "The Hidden Thread: Russia and South Africa in the Soviet Era" (2013) by Irina Filatova and Apollon Davidson