The Thinking Behind It All (TTBIA)

The people’s podcast returns with another instalment for one and all, with your team intensifying the heat in this 3rd season.

This special episode, requested by our listeners, focuses on the climate. Titled Green, we look at news narratives around climate change given the adversities experienced globally by tens of millions in communities, alongside the billions in cash that go toward green investment, climate activism, and scepticism or denialism.

In The Stars, Ledstar highlights social media behaviours and themes by contrasting Global North and Global South prominent influencer accounts as well as research speaking to users’ thoughts and actions.

In our What’s The Word segment, we are joined by researcher and content advisor on energy and minerals to the SA government, Mashudu Masutha. By analysing news and social media, she highlights narrative gaps and strengths prevalent in the climate discourse leaving media practitioners and consumers with plenty to mull on.

JB, in The Archives segment, traces concepts associated with climate science and explores how this type of scientific inquiry is understood in various parts of the world.

Our host, Melusi Ncala, is joined by podcaster, journalist and communicator Jackie Imas on the Beneath The Headlines segment as they decode and debate a text from the Financial Times written by Rana Foroohar titled "How Climate is Driving New Geostrategy."

Mathibedi Moseroe, our field reporter, is in the streets asking about the just transition and climate change. While he does this, the team is surprised by a new development.

It’s another fever-hot production meant for the coolest listeners. 😊

Audio Sources: BBC, CNN, France 24 English, Guardian News, ITV Politics, SABC, Sky News Australia, The London Standard, United Nations

Additional References: African Climate Foundation (New Economy Hub), arXiv (preprint), Daily Maverick, Earth Island Journal, Financial Times, Google Blog, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), National Geographic, NDTV, New York City Public Schools Hidden Voices series (in partnership with the Museum of the City of New York), News24, REVERB.org (in partnership with Billie Eilish), Royal Institution, Scientific American, Scientific Reports, Smithsonian Magazine, The Australian, The European Space Agency, The Guardian, The Indian Express, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TimesLIVE, UNESCO Courier

The people's podcast returns with a bold and incisive 3rd episode … a richly allegorical, analytically sharp, and urgently timely instalment that continues the season's mission of delivering critical media literacy to listeners who refuse to look away.

Drawing on one of pop culture's most enduring metaphors for megalomania and miscalculation, this episode is called Pinky and The Brain (U.S. AND ISRAEL)). We examine the destructive behaviours of the governments of the U.S. and Israel, and their role in bringing the curtain down on an imperial era while an unsettled new world order emerges. As the extraordinary becomes routine, the global community is left grappling with the haunting echoes of a world it hopes to leave behind.

The Stars with Ledstar delivers razor-sharp commentary on the silence, and the noise, coming from social media influencers, celebrities, and the entertainment industry in the face of the Venezuelan people's suffering and the bombing of a school in Iran. Who speaks? Who stays quiet? And what does that tell us?

In What’s the Word, journalist and producer, Thabo Makwakwa, offers a stark and unflinching assessment of where South Africa and the broader Global South stand as the U.S. and Israel's aggressive postures reshape the international landscape. Through the lens of news media and social narratives, Makwakwa talks about what this moment demands of us.

JB is In the Archives dusting up on her knowledge as she tries to understand what international law means and where the concept originates.

For Beneath the Headlines, host Melusi Ncala is joined by author and political commentator Kim Heller, and podcast producer and political commentator Lucy Antonatos, for a deep-dive deconstruction of Nicholas Mulder's landmark Financial Times op-ed titled: The Era of U.S. Dominance in Economic Warfare is Over.

Correspondent Mathibedi Mosiroe hits the streets of Johannesburg with a familiar voice, Isaac Ncala, to hear directly from the people, on law, on the U.S., on Israel, and on what it all means at ground level.

It's a jam-packed episode overflowing with insight, entertainment, and the provocative commentary that listeners have come to expect from Melusi Ncala and the team.

Audio sources: ABC, Al Jazeera, BBC News, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, NBC, Newzroom Africa, SABC, Sky News, Reuters, TCN, Wall Street Journal

Additional reference sources: Britannica, Business Day, Daily Maverick, Financial Times, International Law Milestones Throughout History, Mail & Guardian, News24, Reuters, the Bible (NIV) Ecclesiastes, The Guardian, The Star, United Nations, University College London (Bentham Project), Wikipedia, World History Encyclopedia

Bonus Episode: The Genesis (Final Episode of 2025)

The people’s podcast, The Thinking Behind It All, drops a special bonus episode, The Genesis, our final release of 2025.

This deeply personal episode explores the foundations and philosophy of the podcast, introducing critical literacy theory and our commitment to socially driven critical media literacy.

Host Melusi Ncala breaks down one of the year’s biggest stories: the narrative around USAID funding being pulled from South Africa following U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election.

Ncala is joined by Dr. Ana Ferreira of the Wits School of Education’s Languages, Literatures, and Literacies division to critically analyse a Reuters news text by Jennifer Rigby, Nellie Peyton, and Emma Farge.

The episode also features responses from students at City, St George’s, University of London, reflecting on the article. Along the way, Ncala shares insights into the origins of his podcasting and storytelling journey.

Reflective, intimate and engaging … this is an episode to end the year with.

🎧 Featuring audio from BBC, ABC News, CBS News, SABC News, Sky News, and Newzroom Africa.

The people’s podcast returns with an introspective and highly thought-provoking 2nd episode!

Not to be missed, and certainly not for the faint-hearted, Running His Mouth unpacks the G20 media narrative, explores the diplomatic spat between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump, and critically examines how global news outlets have reported on South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Ledstar, in the Stars segment, breaks down social media reactions to the summit, spotlighting commentary from Roland Schoeman, Karabo Mahapa, and social-justice organisations such as Women for Change.

International relations expert and policy analyst Mzuvukele Ngese offers sober analysis on whether media coverage truly reflects realities on the ground and shares key insights into dominant global perspectives on G20 politics.

JB, In the Archives, takes us down memory lane with a look at the origins of the G20 and how it compares to other global blocs. In our Beneath the Headlines segment, Lucy Antonatos and Melusi Ncala unpack a Financial Times article by Monica Mark and Rob Rose.

While, our field reporter, Mathibedi Mosiroe, hits the streets to find out what everyday people understand about the G20, plus a surprise call you won’t want to miss.

It’s a jam-packed episode, with Melusi Ncala pushing political boundaries and making all of us just a little uncomfortable in the best possible way.

Featuring audio from: Eyewitness News, SABC, Associated Press, News24, Al Jazeera, TRT World, The Guardian, BBC, PBS, ABC, Newzroom Africa and Forbes.

Additional reference sources: Financial Times, Politico, Reuters, People’s Daily Online, CBS, The Washington Post, Brown Political Review, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Policy Centre for the New South, Time Africa, Wikipedia and World Economic Forum.

It’s official, Season 3 of the people’s podcast is here!

We kick things off with “MK Marks the Spot,” diving into the explosive story that’s shaken South Africa since July 2025, when General Lieutenant Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi blew the whistle on deep-rooted corruption within the South African Police Service (SAPS).

From leaked reports to media spin, there are narratives on narratives, and the TTBIA team is unpacking them all through sharp analysis, insights and fearless commentary.

Did South Africa’s ambassador to France, Nathi Mthethwa, really die by suicide or is there more to the story? We mull on this question.

How are influencers and socialites shaping the national conversation around General Mkhwanazi? Ledstar unpacks this in The Stars segment.

Policing expert Dr. Mpho Matlala from UNISA joins us to unpack what policing looks like and what the media is and isn’t telling us. In The Archives with JB, we go even deeper into the history that brought us here.

Host Melusi Ncala is joined by Jackie Imas and Sboniso Nyide to critically dissect an article by News24’s Karyn Maughan and Bernadette Wicks, while field reporter Mathibedi Mosiroe hits the streets to capture South Africans’ reactions to the unfolding SAPS saga.

It’s an episode packed with storytelling and bold critique, with Ncala drawing on critical media literacy theory and his anti-corruption activism to help make sense of the storm.

🎙️ Featuring voice over by Julie Béguin and audio from SABC, eNCA, Daily Maverick, France 24 English, Newzroom Africa, South African Parliament Channel, Talk Radio 702 FM and Power987 FM.

Referenced sources include Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Eyewitness News, News24, Name Explain, World History Encyclopedia, American Society of Overseas Research and SA History Online .

The people’s podcast returns with a preseason drop!

In this bumper bonus episode titled Smoke and Mirrors, we dig into the politics behind South Africa’s so-called ‘Government of National Unity’ (GNU). We unpack its formation, challenges, and chances of survival — and ask whether it’s truly a unity project at all.

Political analyst Kim Heller joins us with incisive commentary. Ledstar (Naledi Ncala) gives the lowdown on what your faves, GaytonMcKenzie, Ntsiki Mazwai, Thandiswa Mazwai and others, have been up to.

Jessie B compares the current GNU under Pres. Ramaphosa and the DA to the 1994 Pres. Mandela-led version, while Lana Manson dissects media coverage from Daily Maverick, FT and IOL.

Host, Melusi Ncala, and our Community correspondent, Mathibedi Mosiroe, take to the streets to hear from everyday South Africans — but an unexpected twist changes the game.

Hit play as we trace the storylines shaping South African politics, from the ANC and DA to the MK Party, EFF, Pres. Jacob Zuma, and Julius Malema.

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Audio credits: In this episode, we use clips from AlJazeera, BBC, CNN, SABC, eNCA, NewzroomAfrika, the DA, the EFF, the MK, The HustlersCorner podcast, Club Shay Shay podcast and the Tucker Carlson Podcast. We also reference reporting from News24, the Financial Times, Reuters, Daily Maverick, Independent Online and TimesLive.

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