THE TALKING SENSE PODCAST

Financial Mail Row, Anne Widdecombe Murder, and UK Cabinet Reshuffle
In this week's edition of Talking Sense the panel covers Financial Mail Row, Anne Widdecombe's Murder, and changes in British politics.
ICC Exit, 15% Middle Class, 66% JSE Black Ownership, & Mettler State Capture
The panel unpacks South Africa’s ICC debate, the real size of the middle class, JSE ownership, state capture in Tshwane, school politics, sports quotas, family collapse and the weakening of the West.
Trans Flags In Schools, Tony Leon "State Capture" Smear, Nigel Farage & SA's 2034 Future Scenarios
In this week's Talking Sense podcast, the panel breaks down the Bishops Diocesan Collage Pride flag controversy and elite institutions playing politics, the collapsing Iran ceasefire and its implications, and the politically motivated attacks on Tony Leon over lobbying and alleged "state capture".
Mandelson's Russia Scandal, ANC Polling Collapse, Steenhuisen vs Tony Leon, UK's Wealth Crisis & Joburg's Hidden Riches
This episode of Talking Sense looks at by-election data and what it says about the ANC's electoral chances, the 30 June "deadline," why rich people are leaving the UK, and the upside case for Jo'burg.
30 June March, Keir Starmer Resigns, the ARC Conference, and Is Johannesburg Better Than London?
The panel meets in London for the first time and debates whether Johannesburg now offers young professionals a better life than London, alongside a deep dive into ARC and its challenge to Davos style elite consensus. They also unpack South Africa’s political and municipal strain, The Common Sense oil forecast, culture war flashpoints in the West, and the future of UK leadership under Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham.
Iran Peace Deal, SpaceX IPO, DA Cabinet Reshuffle, and News24 vs Afriforum
In the latest episode of Talking Sense the panel explores forgotten political memory, US Iran strategy and Israel’s security dilemma, SpaceX’s valuation and elite reaction, South Africa’s shift toward an enclave economy, and the hidden architecture of party funding and influence networks.
The Green Hydrogen "Bomb",  South Africa's Illicit Economy And California's Broken Election System
This week's of episode of Talking Sense looks at a green hydrogen project in the Western Cape, the illicit economy, elections in California, and the impact winter has on South Africa's protest cycles.
No Factories, No Votes, No Accountability, South Africa and the West Are Failing the Same Way
This week’s panel dissects South African politics, deindustrialisation, Labour’s global lessons, police failures in the Henry Nowak case, Democrats’ missteps, and ANC-DA coalition polling insights.
Talking Sense About Phala Phala, Steenhuisen In Court, AI Data Centres, And Andy Burnham
This episode tackles Phala Phala, ANC foreign funding, farming and state overreach, British Labour politics, AI’s energy demands, and whether the DA should risk governing a broken Johannesburg.
Talking Sense About Ramaphosa, Mining And BEE, Cricket SA's Failure, US Primaries, Unite The Kingdom
This week’s panel covers CSA’s Newlands ticket debacle, Trump’s midterm risks, Britain’s deepening cultural divide, Ramaphosa’s defence of BEE, and the MK Party’s latest leadership confusion.
Talking Sense About Phala Phala, Shelley Garland, Trump In China, and the UK Local Elections
This episode revisits the Shelley Garland affair, the collapse of HuffPost South Africa, and what it revealed about wokeness. The panel then turns to Phala Phala, Ramaphosa’s impeachment danger, and the political price the DA should demand. They end on the collapse of Labour in Britain, and Trump’s China visit, where the real fight may be over the future of the dollar.
Talking Sense About Fake Polls, Xenophobia, UK Elections, US Midterms, Max Du Preez And The Pope
This week the panel discusses the DA's new proposed empowerment policy, fake polls, xenophobia, and the British local elections.
Talking Sense About Trump Assasination Attempt, The DA's GNU Troubles, Elon Musk VS OpenAI And OPEC
A hard-edged panel discussion unpacking the third assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the media and political climate around it, big tech tensions between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, shifts in global energy power after the OPEC split, and the growing governance struggles of the Democratic Alliance.
Talking Sense About Geordin Hill-Lewis In The Cabinet, Legacy Media Doom-Mongers And Mandelson
Is the world really in crisis? In this episode, the panel debunks global hysteria, explores the US-Iran strategy through revolutionary theory, and discusses the UK's controversial ambassador appointment, Roelf Meyer, and Cape Town's mayoral future.
Makin Sense Of Geordin Hill-Lewis, IRR Polling Data And South Africa's New Ambassador To The US
The Common Sense panel unpacks new Institute of Race Relations polling showing South Africans remain broadly moderate, assesses Geordin Hill-Lewis’s leadership debut, and examines how flawed economic ideas have reshaped Britain’s trajectory.
Makin Sense Of Iran Hysteria, South Africa's Greatest Investor, Cadre Deployment, and The Space Race
In this episode, the panel unpacks the realities of the Iran war, assesses its true economic impact, explores Nathan Kirsh’s $29 billion deal, interrogates proposed cadre deployment reforms, and examines the strategic stakes of the emerging space race and why countries that control the 'Hormuz points of space' will control the balance of power on Earth.
Makin Sense Of The DA Congress, Solving SA's Crime Problem, The BBC and Free Speech
In this episode, the panel unpacks the roots of township crime, breaks down a major global media deal, and explains what to expect from the upcoming DA Congress, including key proposals and a leadership race. The discussion closes with two major US developments, a landmark Supreme Court ruling on free speech and new data on the economic impact of internal migration.
Makin Sense of Violent Crime In South Africa, Cuba, Good News For FMD, And New Marriage Statistics
In this episode, the panel explains how two agricultural unions and a business lobby group are pressuring the minister of agriculture, through the courts, to allow private vaccine procurement and administration to combat the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemic. It then talks through the political madness of the UK and Western energy policy broadly amidst the Iran war. Dr James Myburgh then provides a fascinating deep-dive analysis of the origins of South Africa's violent crime pandemic and its ties to armed liberation-era movements. The panel then talks about new marriage data published by The Common Sense and why the drop in the marriage to divorce rate bodes ill for the country's long-term stability.
Makin Sense of Motsepe
In this episode of Makin Sense, the panel examines the reports that Patrice Motsepe is not running for ANC leader. They then unpack the diplomatic fight between South Africa and the new United States ambassador. The focus then shifts to an Asian fraud scandal with a South African twist. The panel then studies the facts around venture capital in Africa. After which, they explore the misreporting on the recent terrorist attack in New York and they finish by discussing the surge of support for the Green Party in the United Kingdom.

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