The Alternative Breakfast

SOCIALS: Resident Gen Z Ocean L unpacks two uncomfortable realities of social media culture —  the way appearance can turn friendship and self-worth into competition among young women

REFLECTIONS: Professor Daniel Le Roux reflects on whether we are genuinely teaching people to become responsible digital citizens, or whether the normalisation of online humiliation, harassment and cruelty is quietly reshaping how we treat one another. 

THOUGHTS: Professor Chrysis Sofianos examines the shift away from exaggerated cosmetic enhancement towards a more individualised idea of ageing, where the aim is to look refreshed and well while preserving the features that make a person recognisably themselves .

FOOD: Registered dietitian Lerato Radebe unpacks why changing the way we eat is rarely as simple as knowing what is healthy, and where nutrition ends and psychology, culture, emotion and readiness for change begin.

NEWS ROUNDUP: Nco Dube examines President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest objection to Advocate Thandazani Madonsela as evidence leader in the Phala Phala impeachment process, and asks whether constitutional procedure is being used to protect due process — or to repeatedly delay accountability.

FOOD: Brittany Kesselman and Chef Mokgadi Itsweng explore the often-overlooked role women have played — and continue to play — in shaping South Africa’s food systems, from preserving seeds and indigenous knowledge to reimagining traditional ingredients in contemporary kitchens

TRAVEL: For Women’s Month, Ondela Mlandu, communications and multimedia specialist and travel writer, joins The Alternative Breakfast to explore some of the best destinations in Africa and South Africa for women travelling solo — from culturally rich cities and coastal escapes to mountains, wildlife and small-town getaways

NEWS ROUNDUP: The Alternative Breakfast examines the argument made by Writer, Blogger and social commentator Nco Dube that while South Africa’s police uniforms and political order changed after 1994, elements of an old policing culture may have survived — raising difficult questions about lethal force, constitutional accountability and a public increasingly willing to accept violence i...

REFLECTIONS: Itumeleng Makgetla joins The Alternative Breakfast to reflect on whether South Africa’s democratic transition resolved the conflicts inherited from apartheid, or whether the country achieved political peace while leaving the deeper socioeconomic tensions around inequality, land, unemployment, race, migration and trust in government largely unresolved

SOCIALS: Ocean L and special guest Adrian Hughes unpack the growing call by South African TikTok creators to boycott the platform on 1 September over concerns about creator monetisation, asking whether deleting the app can genuinely shift the balance of power between creators and the platform

WOMANS MONTH: Dr. Olayinka Adeniyi, legal academic and human rights researcher at the University of Pretoria, joins us to examine why South Africa's celebration of women's resilience must evolve into a deeper conversation about the unpaid care work, institutional failures and structural inequalities that continue to shape women's daily lives.