Voices from SA

Leonie Joubert studied journalism at Rhodes University after giving up art school at the same campus. She got into science writing after sailing to Marion Island on the South African research vessel SA Agulhas in 2003. Her first book Scorched, which looked at climate change in South Africa, was published in 2006.

Today she writes about science, climate change, urban development, food production and mental health. We touch on some of these issues during our conversation.

The main focus of her writing however is on climate change, the psychological impact of climate change on individuals and society and the emergence of psylocibin, a psychedelic, as a means to alleviate the impact of certain mental health issues such as depression. And perhaps even the anxiety bought about by climate change.

We chatted about her journey into science writing, her recent crisis of confidence and how she has rediscovered her strength of purpose, and the current global research into psylocibin.

Find out more about Leonie here.

Listen to the Psychonauts audio book episodes here.

Dianne Willman has worked for the National Prosecuting Authority for twenty years. She is also a Catholic priest.

Being neither religious nor particularity spiritual this episode was a bit of a departure for me. I have always been intrigued as to why somebody would believe in a God, and also interested in the role of the church as a source of comfort to an individual on the one hand, and an institution of conservatism and oppression on the other.

Dianne and I talked about faith, her calling to the priesthood, her community and wanting to create a "better" church. 

We also discussed her work at the Asset Forfeiture Unit including training of similar units in countries across the continent.

Edgar Kasenene was born in Uganda, lived in Kenya and Swaziland as a child and studied for an MA in engineering in the UK. He has lived in South Africa for the last seven years.

He joined Retro Rabbit earlier this year after a number of years with Ericson, the Swedish telecommunications company.

Retro Rabbit is a software development company that wants to put itself at the centre of the technology revolution sweeping the continent.

We had a fascinating, and for me at times mind-blowing conversation about technology, data, connectivity, the future of work, 4IR, AI, curiosity and creativity. And some other stuff as well.

Edgar says we all have to shift our minds to adjust to the new reality that technology brings.

Read more about Retro Rabbit and the Rabbiteer program here.

Victor Stephanopoli is a citizen of the world having lived in a number of countries over the years. The son of French and German parents he has lived in Cape Town since 2014. He joined MzansiSat in 2016 and is currently COO of the company.

He is fluent in several languages and has a degree in film and video production from Ravensbourne University in London. He has interested in issues around the delivery of public health, and education.

MzansiSat is a satellite broadband company that is on a mission to provide stable and affordable satellite broadband to southern Africa. It is a bold vision and we talk about some of the technical aspects of this vision as well as the potential to impact people’s lives in a number of ways.

Victor also chats about the ease of doing business in South Africa, the importance of investing in one’s colleagues and how satellite broadband can impact education across the region.

Find out more about MzansiSat here.

Mavuso left South Africa in 1963 at the age of 21. He returned with his family in 1993.He helped build the ANC armed wing uMkhonto weSizwe from scratch. While in exile he underwent military training in the USSR, studied for a BSc , and worked for the United Nations World Food Program. He is the father of my first guest Sisonke Msimang

Recently he has become an outspoken critic of former President Jacob Zuma, and what he sees as the moral and ethical decline of the ANC.

We chatted about his decision to join the armed struggle and go for military training as well as some of the logistical and political constraints of operating in exile.

We mainly though chatted about the current state of the ANC and the massive effort that is required by all citizens to save our fledgling democracy.

Lwazi worked in the emergency room at Somerset West Hospital in the Western Cape for twelve years before taking the leap into film producing. She joined Spier films as an Executive Producer in 2018. 

Her first foray into the industry was as producer of the groundbreaking and controversial  film Of Good Report in 2013. 

More recently Lwazi co-produced An Act of Defiance, a film about freedom fighter Braam Fischer.  

She is also a founding member of Sisters Working in Film And Television (SWIFT) an organisation committed to empowering women working in the industry.

Lwazi is also a co- chairperson of The South African Screen Federation(SASFED)

We chatted about her journey from medicine into film, the role of a film producer, the challenges of making a movie and her desire to change the narrative and content of south African film.

Find out more about Sisters Working in Film & Television(SWIFT) here.

Watch ThatsNotOk

John has been an activist since his student days. A qualified social worker he has supported the Xolobeni community and the Amadiba Crisis Committee for nearly 20 years in the struggle against mining prospectors.

We chatted about some of the theological and philosophical principles that guide him in his life and in his work.

John spoke about his path from observer to activist in Xolobeni, and also some of the issues around land ownership, resources, traditional leadership and  even state capture that are raised by the Xolobeni dispute

You can follow the Xolobeni story on John's YouTube channel.

Read Sam Sole's article about Xolobeni here.

John's book is entitled The Promise Of Justice

Mpho left a successful career in advertising to follow her dream of making a living out of food. She now runs the experiential catering company Food I Love You from the Victoria Yards complex in Johannesburg.

She advocates food simple, tasty food that looks and tastes fantastic.

We chatted about her early experiences in cooking, the inspiration she got from her mother and the importance of being a role-model and mentor to others.

Mpho is also involved in catering for the Including Society project that brings together a range of different people to discuss sensitive issues around transformation over a good meal.

While Food I Love You is primarily a catering company you can pop down to Victoria Yards on the first Sunday of every month and see what Mpho has on the menu. She assures me there are always plenty of vegan/veggie options available.

For more information about Food I love You, go here.

You can follow the Including Society project in Instagram.

Faith Pienaar left a promising career in wine-making to join Accountability Lab and work for, among other things, a better public service for all citizens of South Africa.

Faith is the Senior Programme Manager for Accountability Lab. The aim of Accountability Lab is to encourage good governance by highlighting the good work of public servants. This is done through the Accountability Icon campaign were community members nominate for recognition members of the public service who have preformed excellent work.

We chatted about Faith's journey into civil society and what she hoes to achieve through Accountability Lab. One of the aims is to build community-based accountability networks and support the leadership of these networks.

Find out more about Accountability Lab here.

Kevin Bloom is an author and journalist. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Maverick online news site where he has recently written a series of articles around the environment and issues of climate change and extreme weather.

In an article published a few days after we spoke Kevin wrote about a landmark case around air pollution in Mpumalanga province where President Ramaphosa is one of the respondents.

We chatted about some of the themes of his recent writing including the Xolobeni community in the Eastern Cape and its fight against the intrusion of an Australian mining company, the contradictions of government environmental policy, and the threat to Africa and South Africa  of the environmental crisis we are facing.

Kevin also spoke about the myth of "clean" coal and the forces that prevent the emergence of cheap, sustainable energy.