The Alternative Breakfast

GUEST- Clayton Weimers, Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders USA On 3 May 2025, World Press Freedom Day focused on the profound influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on journalism and media under the theme "Reporting in the Brave New World – The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media." The event highlighted how AI had increasingly shaped the way news...

Guest:  Wilmi Dippenaar- Chief Executive Officer at South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (Sappin) Kelly Smith and her co-accused have been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her daughter, Joshlin Smith. The Western Cape High Court has found that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, sold...

GUEST: Shareen Richter - International Laughter Professor Shareen Richter is a globally certified Laughter Coach, TEDx speaker, and workplace wellness expert with over 20 years’ experience. She has trained thousands of individuals across continents and has been featured on leading media platforms sharing her contagious passion for mental wellness through the power of laughter. As South Afric...

Guest: Michael Atkins - Elections Analyst In today's Civic Education, we talk about municipalities and what happens when a councillor can no longer hold their position. A by-election is held for a specific ward. What is the process? Who is responsible for holding? Do people still participate in these smaller elections that impact service delivery in their neighbourhoods? To tell us more about how...

Guest: Dr Shaheda Omar - Executive Director of the TeddyBear Foundation   Kelly Smith and her co-accused have been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her daughter, Joshlin Smith. The Western Cape High Court has found that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn, sold the then six-year-old girl for the purpos...

Guest: Adv. Chris Maree - Family Advocate-Chris Maree. I was with the Office of the Family Advocate for 23 years and Head of the Pretoria Office of the Family Advocate for 16 years. I am now in private practice practising Family Law Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn have been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her daughter, Joshlin Smith. The Western Cape High Court has found...

GUEST Marcus Botha - Head of Corporate Tax Consulting at BDO and was previously the South African Leader of Tax Reporting & Strategy (TRS) at PwC and Head of Tax Risk at one of the big four banks. He has extensive experience in tax strategy, tax related internal audit, governance and enterprise risk management. The scrapping of South Africa’s proposed VAT increase from 15% to 15.5% has b...

Guest: World Wide Fund for Nature- CEO Morné du Plessis A fierce legal and environmental battle has erupted over plans by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC) to mine phosphate within the boundaries of the ecologically vital West Coast National Park. The Kropz Elandsfontein mine, majority-owned by ARC, seeks to access phosphate deposits in land that conservationists say is...

Jud Cornell mentor to Ukwanda Puppetry 

Prof. Martin Wiegt - Professor of Mathematics in the Mandela Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences at the Nelson Mandela University

Dr. Khosi Jiyane – Clinical Psychologist 

Maphoka 'Puky' Ramokoatsi, Director of Programmes.at Kick4Life Foundation

Gugu Zondi, Manager: Integrated Catchment Management at Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo

Guest: Sophila Motsumi - founder of Otsile Bokamoso (translation: the future is bright) Our next guest started an after-school support organization after volunteering at a primary school and noticing the pupils were struggling with reading and writing. Her organization opened its doors in 2018 with the aim of helping Grade 1 to Grade 3. The organization has helped 2000 learners so far and employed...

Guest: Hannelie Warrington-Coetzee is a Johannesburg-based visual artist and honorary research fellow at the Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand. Our guest today is Johannesburg-based visual artist and honorary research fellow at the Global Change Institute. Her work blends environmental science with socially engaged art, focusing on site-specific interventions in public and n...

GUEST:  Dr. Sandra Lai, a senior scientist at Oxford University’s WildCRU research unit - Their research on carnivore ecology in extreme environments provides valuable insights into the behaviour, movement, and ecological roles of species like the dire wolf. By examining trophic interactions and social dynamics in living carnivores, their work helps reconstruct the life-history traits a...

GUEST: Chris Pappas - Mayor of Umgeni Local Municipality Our next guest argues that if we are serious about service delivery, we need to equip and support local municipalities. He shares his insights on local governance: who holds the purse strings, explains how the levels of government work together , how municipality collects its revenue and accountability. He argues that South Africa can use lo...

Global Recession and Depression Guest: Zimasa Vabaza - Economist, content strategist and entrepreneur In the opinion of some economic analysts, there's a growing concern about a potential global recession or even depression in 2025. This would be the first of its kind since 2007. What are the signs of a recession? What does a depression look like almost 100 years since the last event? One of the t...

Is it time to take a bold stand about smartphones in schools? Guest: Former police commissioner Riah Phiyega- she is now the CEO of  Safer  SA Foundation  Smartphones have become a near-permanent fixture in students’ lives, shaping how they learn, communicate, and navigate the world. But as concerns grow over declining academic performance, rising mental health challenges, and...

Guest: Prof Renata Schoeman, Head of Healthcare Leadership at Stellenbosch Business School Despite one-third of South Africans experiencing a mental health condition and more than 27% of South Africans affected by depression, only 5% of the national healthcare budget is allocated to mental health services. 

Community: - The role and importance of BRAIN BREAKS – how to stretch, move and play your way to optimal productivity at school and work with Gemma Thompson - Head of Development at Good Work 

Civic Education: CheatGPT crisis – SA universities faced with a burgeoning degree of AI-written academic assignments with Charne Lavery, associate professor in English at the University of Pretoria

: Thought leaders ,storytellers and griots:  Stressed and overextended’: nearly ‘half of SA teachers’ eye exit in 10 years with Dr Helen Hofmeyr, lead author of The Teacher Preferences and Job Satisfaction report