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In this episode of Talking Sense, Zakhele Mthembu, policy officer at the Free Market Foundation, sits down to chat with The Common Sense's executive producer, Gabriel Makin. They explore Zakhele's personal political development, going over what it is like to be a black South African who is also a libertarian (Zakhele may say Anarcho-Capitalist).
After that the discussion turns towards South Africa more broadly as the pair delve into what the appropriate role for the South African state is. Gabriel tries to offer Zakhele potential roles for the state in South Africa's economic development, but Zakhele is clear - the South African state should not have a direct role in the management of the economy.
The conversation ends by looking at Zakhele's work on what he calls the 'Job-seekers exemption certificate' which is a policy proposal of Zakhele's that seeks to help unemployed workers by giving them the option to opt out of some labour regulations for a limited period in order to find work. The proposal seeks to remove some of the barriers that discourage South African businesses from hiring more workers.
In this episode of Makin Sense, one of The Common Sense's two flagship podcasts, Gareth van Onselen joins Gabriel Makin for a rare inside view of the machinery of opinion research and why getting it right matters for the health of South Africa’s democracy. Gareth van Onsellen is the CEO of Victory Research, one of South Africa's top polling firms.
For viewers who only know Gabriel as the host of Common Sense podcasts this episode reveals that he also runs the research side of South Africa's Social Research Foundation or the SRF. The SRF is the poll group that called South Africa's 2024 national election result to within a percentage point. Gareth and Gabriel talk about the state of public opinion research in South Africa, how political parties misunderstand data, why polling failure can occur, and what high quality polling fieldwork really looks like. Gareth also unpacks the incentives that shape media narratives, explains why accurate data on voter opinion is rare, and reflects on the future of political analysis in a country where trust in information may be eroding.
Chapters
00:00 Understanding Polling: Myths and Realities
09:48 Polling Methodologies: How They Work
19:46 Interpreting Polling Data: Trends vs. Predictions
29:09 Recent Poll Results: Insights and Implications
30:25 Helen Zille's Impact on the DA
35:18 The Fragmentation of African Nationalism
39:48 Public Sentiment on ANC Policies 44:57 The Role of the Middle Class in South African Politics
Rob Hersov speaks exclusively to The Common Sense. In this episode of Talking Sense, South African entrepreneur joins Gabriel Makin to discuss his background, what motivated him to become politically involved in South Africa, what has been the fallout of that decision, whether there is a white genocide in South Africa and much more.
In this episode of Talking Sense, CEO of the Thabo Mbeki foundation, Max Boqwana, comes onto the show to talk about the Foundation's work, the progress South Africa has made since 1994, why the ANC is where it is today.
Executive producer, Gabriel Makin, sits down with Moeletsi Mbeki to conduct a far-ranging interview about the past, present and future of South Africa.
Benji Shulman, dropped by to explain Trump's new Gaza peace plan and its implications.
Helen Zille announced that she is the DA's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg over the weekend. Gabriel Makin had the opportunity to sit down with her to discuss how to fix the city, how she will be different from previous DA mayors, what she will and will not be able to achieve and much more.
Dr Frans Cronje, discusses the launch of The Common Sense, the real South African story of the last 30 years and where South Africa is heading.
Muzi Kuzwayo, comes on to discuss what has happened in South Africa since 1994 and how it could be a success.
Mmusi Maimane discusses contesting the election as a new party, the GNU, the progressive caucus and his policy plans for the future.
