The Jabber

As municipal elections loom in South Africa and around the world, the air is thick with the familiar refrain: 'This time it’s different.' We see prediction markets like Polymarket trying to reduce elections to logical odds, but recent election shockers - like Brazil - show how badly cold math misses the mark. Voting isn't a logical transaction; it's a deeply emotional act. Let's talk about the dan...

Our business found itself in the news recently, unexpectedly becoming the story. In moments like that, the noise ramps up immediately - inquiries, opinions, and people trying to ruffle your feathers. A colleague reminded me of Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem, 'If—. Let's talk about the discipline of keeping your head when everyone around you is losing theirs, avoiding emotional over-reactions, and n...

Watching 'The Untold Story of Vinnie Jones' brought forward a few real-life takeaways. Not every story like his ends in Hollywood; for every success, dozens get swallowed by their mistakes. But Vinnie managed something rare: he changed arenas without abandoning his core character, and he turned what felt like career-ending trouble into the exact launching pad he needed. Let's talk about survival,...

Tesla’s latest Roadster launch felt like watching 'Back to the Future' in real time - blending automotive design with SpaceX rocket engineering. Love him or hate him, what Elon Musk’s teams accomplish highlights a glaring cultural blind spot: we throw ticker-tape parades for actors, athletes, and musicians, but when do we celebrate the engineers and scientists solving humanity’s hardest problems?...

I was dressed, geared up, and stepping into the car to run the Slave Route 10km as part of my May marathon build-up. But my knee was whispering a warning. In that split second, I had to choose between the short-term ego hit of staying home or the long-term risk of derailing my main objective. I got out of the car. Let's talk about the psychological difficulty of tactical retreat, overruling our eg...

There’s a Test match between South Africa and Australia coming up at Newlands at the end of October, played right in the middle of a work and school week. I bought two tickets on the fly - I’m taking a day off, pulling my son out of school, and we're going to the cricket. Society drills the fear of God into us about falling behind, but ten years from now, no one remembers the missing attendance ma...

When you need to escape the daily grind, self-help books and analytical non-fiction often just keep your internal motor running. I recently picked up Deon Meyer’s latest Benny Griessel novel, Scorpio Rising , as a way to take a real break. Let's talk about why creative immersion is the ultimate form of switching off, why fiction activates a different part of our brain, and how stepping into anothe...

My eldest has entered his final quarter of primary school, but mentally, he’s already walking through the gates of Rondebosch Boys' High. When a major new chapter is on the horizon, finishing the current one - especially with year-end exams looming - feels like a slog. Let's talk about the friction of transition periods, why we all struggle to stay present when the future is pulling us, and how fi...

Every creator, entrepreneur, and professional hits a wall where no brilliant ideas are jumping out. When you're sitting at the desk scratching around for spark, the temptation is to wait for inspiration to strike. But real progress isn't made by waiting for lightning bolts; it's made by trusting the process. Let's talk about the quiet discipline of showing up, turning everyday observations into go...

Someone in my family printed out William Blake’s classic poem, 'A Poison Tree,' and leaving it on the table got me thinking. Blake nailed a fundamental psychological truth 200 years ago: when we speak out our grievances, they end; when we suppress them, they grow into something toxic. Let's talk about clearing the air early, choosing short-term discomfort over long-term poison, and finding true em...

Finishing Adrian Gore’s book got me thinking about the Pareto principle and the tail end of the 80/20 rule. On the surface, it breaks our brain: how can the minor things we do produce the massive majority of our results? Listening to 'The Everyday Economics of Things' podcast hammers this simplicity home - showing how tiny, niche ideas turn into juggernauts. Let's make sense of non-linear effort,...

Watching my youngest step out for his first proper hard-ball cricket match was a revelation. Sitting with the scorebook, watching him take his first wicket - and get out for a duck - hit differently than it did the first time around. By your second rodeo as a parent, the anxiety fades, the perspective shifts, and you finally get to enjoy the game for what it is: a front-row seat to their growth. T...

As the cloud of Manchester City's financial charges lingers and motorsport continuously revisits race results months down the line (like Isack Hadjar's hollow F1 podium shift), we have to ask: do retrospective penalties ever actually deliver justice? Awarding titles in boardrooms long after the confetti has settled is an empty exercise. If rules were broken, penalties must look forward, action mus...

My wife and I were looking for a niche UK shop in Cape Town over the weekend, but instead of opening Google, we searched TikTok. As someone working in media, I’m watching search behaviour shift in real time. With AI Overviews wiping out web traffic and video becoming the primary lens for discovery, the way we find the world around us has changed forever. This is a public episode. If you would like...

As my younger brother sets off on another boat journey, it got me thinking about the two fundamental types of people: Trees and Boats. Those who farm and root down, and those who wander and navigate the open seas. Which one are you? In an evolving world with changing family dynamics, is the real challenge learning how to be a mix of both? Let's jabber. This is a public episode. If you would like t...

Watching the recent Pink Day ODI at the Wanderers brought back a vivid memory from 2006. I was en route to Wits Business School for a group assignment when a mate called with a free ticket to the Wanderers. I turned it down because Australia was scoring too fast and duty called. Hours later, I turned on the car radio just as the Proteas pulled off the record-breaking 438 chase. It was a stark less...

The school holidays are back, and for those of us who work from home, the boundary line between professional life and home chaos has completely evaporated. When the fridge doors are swinging and the walls start creeping closer, trying to force full productivity at the kitchen table is a losing battle. Let's talk about tactical escapes, changing your scenery, and why heading to a local cafe or a We...

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy with my boys sent me down memory lane. Peter Quill’s prized possession was a humble cassette tape - a mixtape. It got me thinking about the sheer manual labour of making tapes back in the day: hovering over the record button, rewinding, calculating tape lengths. Spotify has made music effortless, but did we lose something when we lost the friction? This is a public...

My brother and I recently recorded a short video on breathwork and the simple power of nasal breathing. It made me realise how often we forget that we carry a manual remote control for our own nervous system. Let's talk about the mechanics of the nose, Box Breathing, the 4-7-8 method, and how taking charge of your breath is the ultimate way to assert control when life gets noisy. This is a public...

Driving seven hours from Cape Town to Plett with my youngest was a reminder of how much focus the road demands. The Garden Route is breathtaking, but when you have precious cargo, your eyes can't leave the bitumen. Let's talk about Full Self-Driving, why human pride often blocks technological advancement, and how automated transport isn't about laziness - it's about buying back presence and connec...

You can hit the gym, go for a run, and do everything right to get the neurons firing, but the first day back after a great break is never easy. The inbox is flooded, the routine feels heavy, and the reality of work hits hard. Let's talk about the re-entry tax, dropping the perfectionism, and remembering that ‘this too shall pass.’ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with ot...

I was listening to Morgan Housel’s podcast recently, and he unpacked a concept that hit me: anticipation always inflates or deflates reality. If you dread something, it usually surprises you; if you’re over-the-moon excited, reality often struggles to measure up. Let's talk about the constant battle to strip out emotional projection - especially with our kids - so we can actually be present in wha...

My eldest was at cricket trials recently, and he was the only one in his group of mates who didn't make the second round. As parents, our instinct is to immediately spin life lessons and try to fix the pain. Let's talk about why sports cut hard, why platitudes fail, and how sitting with disappointment is where true resilience is born. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wit...

I sat at the dinner table tonight looking across at my family. My youngest was grinding through English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa spelling lists. My oldest was rehearsing his Afrikaans mondeling. My wife and I were answering emails. Welcome to the new age dinner table - noisy, chaotic, and completely ours. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc...

I tried going completely phone-free for one day over the weekend, and it felt almost impossible. One ‘urgent’ message, and the whole experiment fell apart. Let's talk about why total bans rarely work, why technology needs a ‘cheat meal’ philosophy, and how finding the right mixture beats all-or-nothing thinking every time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subs...