Videos
Steenhuisen: How SA will beat FMD
DescriptionJohn Steenhuisen takes Gabriel Makin through the history of FMD in SA, the challenges it has brought, and his plans going forward to beat it.
February 6, 2026
All Videos
Steenhuisen: How SA will beat FMD
John Steenhuisen takes Gabriel Makin through the history of FMD in SA, the challenges it has brought, and his plans going forward to beat it.
19 hours ago
8 min
What Would Break the GNU?
Should the DA stay in the GNU or walk away. John Steenhuisen explains what’s really at stake if that decision is made.
3 days ago
3 min
How ChatGPT Appears Intelligent
Ron Richman, CEO of InsureAI, breaks down how AI systems like ChatGPT work and why they appear so intelligent.
3 days ago
8 min
John Steenhuisen Says: Bring It On
John Steenhuisen talks about the challenges to his leadership and explains that he feels confident that he could win another term as leader of the party.
4 days ago
7 min
Dr Frans Cronje Explains If You Should Be Buying Dollars
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr Frans Cronje explains why the rand has strengthened significantly and what forces are driving the devaluation of the dollar.
6 days ago
11 min
Is This The End Of The WEF?
In this clip from Makin Sense, Simon Lincoln Reader provides insights into the latest WEF meeting and muses on whether this is the beginning of the end of its relevance.
7 days ago
12 min
South Africa's Hybrid Culture
Bonsai Shongwe comments on how South Africa is a hybrid culture between the West and Africa.
10 days ago
6 min
The Politicization Of The National Prosecuting Authority
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr James Myburgh provides comment on the history and political capture of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority.
11 days ago
9 min
Helen Zille And The DA
In this clip from Makin Sense, Drs James Myburgh Frans Cronje provide comments on Helen Zille's history in the DA and her current popularity
11 days ago
12 min
Dr Frans Cronje Explains Greenland's Strategic Importance
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr Frans Cronje provides context as to why Greenland is strategically important for the United States
13 days ago
9 min
South Africa's Iran Dilemma
In this clip from Makin Sense, Reine Opperman explains how South Africa can get caught in the crossfire between Iran and America.
14 days ago
9 min
Bonsai Shongwe - Unintended Consequences of BEE
Bonsai Shongwe explains that there are many unintended consequences of Black Economic Empowerment policies.
15 days ago
12 min
Dr James Myburgh Explains What's Happening With ICE In Minnesota
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr James Myburgh provides the context to what is happening with ICE in Minnesota.
16 days ago
7 min
Mike Sham Discusses Mandela's Missed Opportunity
Mike Sham discusses the transition from the old South Africa to the new, highlighting the initial openness of dialogue in the early '90s, which gradually diminished during the Mandela and Mbeki years. He also discusses the economic opportunities that were missed during the Mandela era.
19 days ago
9 min
Legacy Media Is Dead - Talking Sense
Mike Sham @sonacoza dropped in to have a broad discussion about the New Media landscape, his fight with the DA and South African politics.
20 days ago
53 min
Simon Reader And James Myburgh Discuss The "Disinformation-Industrial-Complex"
In this clip from Makin Sense, Simon Reader and James Myburgh delve into the complexities of censorship and disinformation in the digital age.
21 days ago
11 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 14/01/2026
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
23 days ago
2 min
Dr James Myburgh On The Allergic Reaction To Affirmative Action In America
In this clip from Makin Sense, James Myburgh explores the impact of censorship and racial politics on young white men in academia and media in America, drawing parallels between their experiences and historical contexts in South Africa. It discusses how generational perspectives have shifted, particularly in relation to the ANC and the experiences of Afrikaners.
24 days ago
7 min
Dr Frans Cronje Shares His Opinion On Maduro's Arrest
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr Frans Cronje explains the series of events that led up to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro by the Americans and how the ANC should learn from them. He demonstrates that the Americans had engaged in a slow ratcheting up of tensions that eventually led to the arrest and he argues that there are parallels to the way the Americans will deal with the ANC.
24 days ago
9 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 13/01/2026
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
24 days ago
2 min
Dr Frans Cronje Shares His Opinion On Maduro's Arrest
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr Frans Cronje shares whether he thinks the arrest of Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, was justified.
28 days ago
4 min
Dr James Myburgh Warns About 'Pied Piper' Figures In Politics
In this clip from Makin Sense the panel discusses the rise of right wing populist pied pipers, the role of Venezuela in destabilising the US, and why the UK economy may come right in the longer term.
January 8, 2026
5 min
Dr Frans Cronje Advises Viewers To Go Long On South Africa, But Hedge
In this clip from Makin Sense Dr Frans Cronje provides his view on the economic future of South Africa. He says that as far as emerging markets go, South Africa is one in which it is worth going long on, provided that you also hedge yourself to make sure that you can deal with the instability that the country is prone to.
January 5, 2026
4 min
Dr Frans Cronje Explains The Significance of Bill Gates' Shift On Climate Change
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr Frans Cronje discusses the significance of Bill Gates shifting his view on how severe the climate change issue is. He argues that this creates an opening for Western governments to step back from an economically damaging green agenda that has been pursued with little regard for trade offs and growth. Fellow Makin Sense regular Dr James Myburgh, Director of the Bremen Centre for Democratic Research (BRE DE RE) then asks whether this shift has changed how Western diplomats approach South Africa and their continued attempts to push green policies onto the country. Frans responds that many European governments remain committed to these policies, while failing to reckon with the downstream effect of slowing growth and keeping millions of poor South Africans trapped in poverty.
January 5, 2026
9 min
Dr Frans Cronje And Dr James Myburgh Discuss How The International Community Views South Africa
In this clip from Makin Sense Frans Cronje says that the broad acceptance of a turn away from BEE policy was one of the most significant developments of 2026. James Myburgh says that the pressure Trump placed on South Africa caught the ANC largely off guard and was so at odds with how Western nations had traditionally dealt with South Africa that it served as a very useful means of moderating that party's revolutionary ideas. Richard Tren follows up to say that Trump has on a range of issues been very effective saying "the emperor as no clothes".
January 3, 2026
8 min
Dr Frans Cronje and Dr James Myburgh Discuss The Most Important South African Stories Of 2025
In this clip from Makin Sense, Frans Cronje and James Myburgh discuss the most important South African news stories of 2025. To Frans the most important story is the acceptance of the GNU within the ANC. He points out that the coalition between the ANC, DA, and IFP in KwaZulu-Natal held firm following the failed Motion of No Confidence that was brought against the provincial government and how that bodes well for the dynamics inside of the GNU. James then goes on to discuss how the ANC started the year by aggressively pursuing a few of its populist policies, but after receiving significant internal and external pressure they have had to back off on these policy positions and have ended the year acting far more moderately than how they began the year.
December 31, 2025
9 min
Does the DA Have A Leadership Problem
In this clip from Makin Sense Mike Sham, host of the State of the Nation Podcast holds nothing back as a goes after John Steenhuisen and the DA leadership. Frans Cronje responds by urging caution before making any rash decisions.
December 24, 2025
9 min
Dr Frans Cronje And @SONAcoza Debate The Russia-Ukraine War
In this clip from Makin Sense, Frans Cronje, James Myburgh, and Mike Sham discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. Frans begins by saying that the chance of peace in Europe has certainly increased. However, he argues that for that peace to hold, the Russians would need guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO. Mike counters by asking whether the Ukrainians are biding their time and may launch another counter-offensive early in the new year. Frans responds that he does not believe the Ukrainians have the necessary manpower or the finances to drive the Russians out of their territory. He emphasises that Putin should be taken seriously when he says, "Europe will run out of Poles before we run out of Russians."
December 24, 2025
9 min
The ANC's Dilemma: Good Governance Or Ideology?
In this clip from Makin Sense, Mike Sham, James Myburgh and Frans Cronje discuss whether the ANC will fall back on ideology as it comes under greater political preasure in 2026. Mike says it will and both James and Frans explain why this is unlikely to help its fading fortunes. To stage a political recovery, Frans argues, the ANC will need to actually improve the circumstances of its supporters.
December 23, 2025
8 min
Frans Cronje Discusses The ANC's Position Going Into The Local Government Elections
In this clip from Makin Sense episode 17, Dr Frans Cronje discusses what polling indicates about the relative position of the ANC and DA at the end of 2025.
December 22, 2025
7 min
Simon Lincoln Reader and Frans Cronje discuss the UK's Potential for Recovery
In this clip from Makin Sense, Simon Lincoln Reader and Dr Frans Cronje discuss a future scenario for the United Kingdom (UK) that has been proposed by the CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon, and the CEO of Blackstone, Stephen A Schwarzman. Dimon and Schwarzman propose that the UK electorate’s reaction to the deleterious policies of their Labour government will be to elect a government that has the opposite policy platform. They posit that the new government, probably led by Nigel Farage, could bring about a series of hardline reforms necessary to stabilise the UK's budget and restore social trust. The discussion concludes on the note that, in the panic of the current moment, analysts might be underestimating the long-term upside of the UK. Makin Sense is the flagship podcast of The Common Sense, a new South African media organisation that offers independent analysis on South African and global news stories. Our foundational value is respect for the time our subscribers invest in reading, listening to, and watching our content. We stress the bridge issues that unite people and not the wedge issues that are used to divide and celebrate all the things that are good about South Africa and the world because it is in so many respects a wonderful time to be alive.
December 18, 2025
12 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 18/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 18, 2025
3 min
Dr Frans Cronje Discusses The Chinese Attempt To Change The Global Reserve Currency From The Dollar
In this clip from Makin Sense Episode 16, Dr Frans Cronje discusses China's strategy to challenge the status of the US dollar as the global reserve currency and what the implications for the US would be if China succeeded in dethroning the dollar. He also explains how China has withstood US sanctions pressures to increase goods exports through the year and rack up a record goods trade surplus. He then goes on to discuss other Chinese economic developments and their importance. Makin Sense is the flagship podcast of The Common Sense, a new South African media organisation that offers independent analysis on South African and global news stories. Our foundational value is respect for the time our subscribers invest in reading, listening to, and watching our content. We stress the bridge issues that unite people and not the wedge issues that are used to divide and celebrate all the things that are good about South Africa and the world because it is in so many respects a wonderful time to be alive.
December 16, 2025
8 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 16/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 16, 2025
3 min
Dr Frans Cronje Explains The Contradictions At The ANC's National General Council
In this clip from Makin Sense episode 16, Frans Cronje explains that at its National General Council Meeting last week the ANC committed to a set of mutually annihilating policy ideas. Makin Sense is the flagship podcast of The Common Sense, a new South African media organisation that offers independent analysis on South African and global news stories. Our foundational value is respect for the time our subscribers invest in reading, listening to, and watching our content. We stress the bridge issues that unite people and not the wedge issues that are used to divide and celebrate all the things that are good about South Africa and the world because it is in so many respects a wonderful time to be alive.
December 14, 2025
7 min
Dr Frans Cronje Says The DA Must Think Carefully About Steenhuisen
In this clip from Makin Sense episode 16, Dr Frans Cronje offers a word of caution to the DA about the prospect of removing John Steenhuisen as leader of the party. He reviews what he has achieved as the leader of the party and highlights that even though John has by no means had a perfect record, overall, the fortunes of the DA have improved under his leadership. Makin Sense is the flagship podcast of The Common Sense, a new South African media organisation that offers independent analysis on South African and global news stories. Our foundational value is respect for the time our subscribers invest in reading, listening to, and watching our content. We stress the bridge issues that unite people and not the wedge issues that are used to divide and celebrate all the things that are good about South Africa and the world because it is in so many respects a wonderful time to be alive.
December 13, 2025
9 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 12/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 12, 2025
3 min
Frans Cronje Suggests the US Could Sanction South Africa
After Marco Rubio's letter saying that Poland is going to be invited to the G20 instead of South Africa, Frans Cronje suggests that amid rising tensions between the US and SA the Trump Administration's next step could be to sanction South African individuals and entities.
December 11, 2025
6 min
Frans Cronje On The ANC's Future
In this clip from Makin Sense episode 15, Dr Frans Cronje discusses what the potential futures of Cyril Ramaphosa and John Steenhuisen. The conversation focuses on the dynamics within the ANC and the DA and explores whether either leader is going to survive going into the New Year and the looming Local Government Elections.
December 10, 2025
6 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 10/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 10, 2025
3 min
Dr James Mybugh explains the data, history and facts of Farm Murders
In this clip from Makin Sense episode 15, Dr James Myburgh explains the data, history and facts of Farm Murders. He goes in to the history of the attacks that emerged in the 80s, the rapid increase in the farm murder rate in the early 90s, the political response of the 200s and what the position is today.
December 9, 2025
15 min
The DA's growth in the polls: real or fleeting?
In this clip from Talking Sense, Gareth Van Onselen, CEO of Victory Research, explains whether the growth that the DA has seen in polling reflects a real change in the underlying voter dynamics in South Africa or if it is a quirk in the polling data outside of an election year.
December 9, 2025
8 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 09/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 9, 2025
3 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 05/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Frans Cronje takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 5, 2025
1 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 04/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Marius Roodt takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 4, 2025
2 min
James Myburgh on The ANC's Strategic Shift Under Trump Pressure
In this clip from Makin Sense, Dr James Myburgh dives into the complex tactics of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), exploring its dual approach of radical and moderate strategies. The discussion examines the ANC's unwavering commitment to the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and the balance of forces that influence its political decisions. Myburgh also explores the generational dynamics within the party and the external pressures—especially from the Trump administration—that shape its policy stance. Makin Sense is The Common Sense's flagship podcast, where Gabriel Makin engages with key political analysts and leaders to decode critical issues and trends shaping South Africa and the world.
December 4, 2025
12 min
Simon Lincoln Reader Gives An Honest UK Budget Speech
In this clip from Makin Sense, Simon Lincoln Reader delivers his take on what an honest UK budget speech would have been. Simon is an entrepreneur that has started businesses in South Africa and The United Kingdom and he also moonlights as The Common Sense's United Kingdom correspondent. He joins a panel of South Africans that live scattered across the world to explore South African and global news stories. Makin Sense is the flagship podcast of The Common Sense, a new South African media organisation that offers independent analysis on South African and global news stories. Our foundational value is respect for the time our subscribers invest in reading, listening to, and watching our content. We stress the bridge issues that unite people and not the wedge issues that are used to divide and celebrate all the things that are good about South Africa and the world because it is in so many respects a wonderful time to be alive
December 2, 2025
10 min
Top 5 Stories of The Day - 02/12/2025
In this clip of Morning Sense, Warwick Grey takes us through today’s top five stories.
December 2, 2025
2 min
Dr Frans Cronje discusses the change in perception of the DA, EFF and MK
Frans Cronje and the panel discuss how voter perceptions of the DA have chnages, the extent of common ground on values between South Africa's voters, and the future prospects of the EFF and MK.
December 1, 2025
10 min
Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen explains South African government spending
In this clip from an episode of Talking Sense, South Africa’s Deputy Finance Minister, Ashor Sarupen, sits down with The Common Sense’s executive producer, Gabriel Makin to discuss how government spending works.
November 28, 2025
12 min
