The Alternative Breakfast

ON SCREENS – with Wenzile Albert takes a nostalgic look at iconic South African television and unpacks the excitement, memories and cultural significance surrounding the return of Top Billing.    

ALTERNATIVE FAMILY MEETING: This Mother’s Day, the Alternative Family Meeting asks a deeply emotional question: “When did you start to realise that you didn’t know your mother as just a human being?” — opening up a conversation about the hidden lives, sacrifices, dreams, disappointments and identities of the women who raised us.

PARENTING: Parenting Part 2: Gareth Carter joins survivors Bruce and Khulu for a powerful conversation about addiction, recovery and the difficult realities of intervention — including when families turn to court interdicts, forced intervention processes and professional rehabilitation in desperate attempts to save a loved one’s life.

THOUGHTS: Political economist Siyabonga Hadebe joins The Alternative Breakfast to unpack how South Africa’s modern anti-immigrant tensions are deeply connected to centuries of labour exploitation, colonial extraction, and a global economic system that continues to divide vulnerable workers against one another.   

NEWS ROUND UP: NCO Dube joins The Alternative Breakfast to unpack the Constitutional Court’s explosive Phala Phala judgment and what it reveals about parliamentary accountability, presidential power, and the state of South Africa’s democracy

FEATURE : The Alternative Family Meeting - We open up a complex and deeply personal conversation about domestic workers in South Africa — exploring trust, power dynamics, labour rights, and whether households are truly treating the people who care for their homes and children with dignity and fairness

TRAVEL: Travel Content Creator, Pumeza Cingo, joins us to share three incredible local winter travel destinations — from the mountains of Lesotho to the forests of Hogsback and the wild beauty of Kruger National Park.

NEWS ROUND UP WITH NCO DUBE: A conversation with Nco Dube unpacking his argument that the ANC’s renewal project has effectively collapsed, using the Tolashe saga as a case study of failed accountability and deeper internal power struggles

PARENTING: A conversation with Gareth Carter, Certified Case Manager Interventionist and Director at Change Addiction Rehab, on how families can intervene when a loved one is struggling with drug use in a way that shows love, sets boundaries, and leads toward recovery

OceanEL: Ocean El takes us through what’s trending on social media right now, breaking down the biggest conversations, viral moments, and what people are talking about online

ON THE SOCIALS: In this week’s On Socials segment, Ocean EL unpacks the biggest conversations dominating timelines — from the passing of Cynthia Shange and corruption debates to streaming culture, music drops, and the build-up to the legendary rivalry between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

FEATURE : The Alternative Family Meeting : Freedom day - do you remember casting your first vote in 1994. We ask the listeners to recall their experience on the road to Democracy.

MONEY: In this week’s Money feature, The Alternative Breakfast explores whether it makes more financial sense to rent or buy property in 2026 as rising living costs, interest rates, lifestyle shifts, and economic uncertainty continue reshaping how people think about home ownership with  Cindy Kruger is a real estate agent at eXp South Africa

PARENTING: The Alternative Breakfast speaks to Boitumelo Aphane about whether modern parenting styles are raising emotionally aware but less resilient children — and whether society is protecting young people too much from failure, discomfort, and real-world challenges

NEWS ROUNDUP: The Alternative Breakfast speaks to Nco Dube about why expecting poor people to always make “rational” decisions ignores the psychological, historical, and structural realities of living under constant scarcity and inequality

As ballet collides with skateboarding, BMX, and hip hop in a bold new performance at Fourways, Dirk Badenhorst tells us more about how this unexpected fusion is pushing the boundaries of movement, creativity, and what we define as art.