Graded Podcast

Ben and Duran de Villiers discuss the success and creativity of entrepreneurs. Duran is a self-taught, driven and passionate engineer who has won many awards and has been featured in various publications including Forbes 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa 2015. When Duran was in his early 20s when he founded his first business, a media production company called Motion Pixel. A few yea...

Vaping addiction is slowly become a norm for teenagers throughout the world. Ben and Dr. Nicholas Chadi discuss why this is a problem and what we can do to potentially help these teenagers. Nicholas Chadi is a paediatrician specialized in adolescent and addiction medicine. He is a clinician-scientist and assistant professor of paediatrics at CHU Sainte-Justine and at the University of Montreal. Of...

What happened during World War 2 was one of the greatest tragedies in recent human history.  During this episode Ben sits down with102 year old Auschwitz survivor Ella Blumenthal. World War 2 broke out when Ella was about 18 years old and despite all the turmoil and evil done to her she survive 3 concentration camps: Majdanke, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.  In October 1940, she was put into the War...

Millie Thomas and Ben discuss eating disorders and how the voice in the back of your mind can be misleading.  Millie Thomas is the founder of HealED, and an eating disorder coach that specilises in neurolinguistic programming. After battling with Anorexia Nervosa for over 15 years and almost losing her life because of it.  Despite the enormous doubt from professional treatment practitioners, Milli...

The worlds most influential historian, David Christian and Ben discuss the history of the world, and why it’s so important to study history before moving into the future.  With an impressive amount of educational degrees behind his back, David Christian originally focused in on Russian history and then moved over to human history writ. He takes a big picture look at history and sees how human hist...

Gidon Novick and Ben discuss the incredible world of entrepreneurship and how working together with the uniqueness of people can fast-track your road to success.  As the Co-CEO of Comair for 13 years and the founder of Kulula, Gidon gives a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Focused on building socially minded businesses, Gidon brings a human persecutive to creating large scale, innovative, h...

Mark Emmerich and Ben discuss porn addiction amongst teenagers and what are the steps to overcome it.  Just like any addiction, porn addiction can leave you feeling helpless and lost. It can directly influence your relationships, your personal life and self-motivation. However, overcoming it is oftentimes a challenge in itself.  After struggle with addiction himself, Mark Emmerich embarked ons his...

It’s ok to speak up Roshni Parbhoo-Seetha and Ben discuss mental health and suicide amongst teens and adults.  Mental illness is a growing problem around the world and its stigma in South Africa prevents thousands of individuals from getting the help that they need. Roshni works with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) to help spread awareness, education and destigmatise mental...

Do you need to fail to succeed? Graded Podcast discusses entrepreneurship, building successful businesses and the grit it takes to become truly successful with Steven Schapera. Steven has more than 30 years of experience in founding and building businesses across the agricultural and cosmetics industries. He is regarded as an expert in the global cosmetics industry, having co-founded BECCA Cosmeti...

Graded podcast discusses vulnerability, depression and addiction. Ben and Henry Johnston discuss the power of your mind in overcoming life’s challenges. Of course life is difficult, but you can rise above it. Henry is a youth empowerment and performance coach, podcaster, author, and host of the world’s only metalwork for mental health retreats. Henry is an unshakeable believer in the power of self...

Graded podcast sits down with Time magazine correspondent Jamie Ducharme and discusses vaping, why people do it and how it affects individuals lives. Jamie Ducharme’s first book, Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, was published by Henry Holt on May 25, 2021. It’s a deep-dive into the e-cigarette company Juul Labs and an exploration of the complicated search for an alternative to cigarettes. Th...

Ben sits down with Dr. Richard van Zyl and discusses vaping and the potential risks it poses for teenagers and their health. With over 30 years of experience in the medical field, and specialising in pulmonology, Dr. Richard van Zyl brings his knowledge and expertise to the table on how teenagers can do more for their lung health. He has over 90 peer-reviewed publications on a wide variety of topi...

What makes certain people inspirational? What makes them exceptional? Mavuso Msimang is a South African civil servant and politician. With his substantive political background, Mr Msimang is widely recognised as a leader of change in South Africa with experience in transforming institutions. He is a co-founder of African Parks, a Johannesburg-based conservation organization, and has also served as...

How do you take your passion and love of food beyond the four corners of your home, and inspire the world? Luke Dale Roberts is one of the world’s leading chefs. He trained in Switzerland and England before heading to Asia for five years, working at several successful restaurants. Since his arrival in Cape Town in 2006, Luke has consistently proven his world-class standing with a string of awards...

There is a certain art to saving peoples' lives, but how do you break the barriers of medicine to reach new heights? Professor Adrian Alvarez from Argentina is a general surgeon and anaesthesiologist. He works as a staff anaesthesiologist at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. His major achievements include Founder President of Preoperative Care of the Obese Patient (ISPCOP) and Founder and Pre...

How do you get your unique voice and point of view out there? Jasmine Mansbridge is a professional practising artist. She has taken her art to a few mediums like sculpture, large-scale public works and intimate paintings for private collection, and more recently film and animation. Whatever her choice of art form, Jasmine brings a refined and meticulous hand to the work. Her work provokes thought...

Whether you're a budding philanthropist or an aspiring sports star, there's one secret to success. Jean De Villiers is a former South African professional rugby player and Springbok Captain, representing South Africa in the winning Rugby World Cup squad in 2007. As Head of Philanthropy at Citadel Investment Services since 2016, he now aims to provide long-term sustainability to South Afric...

Whether producing contemporary art or stepping into the limelight as a comedian, what makes you successful? Brendan Kelly is a contemporary Australian Artist. He trained as a graphic reproducer, and also worked as a standup comedian. His work evolved into a distinctive painting style which encapsulates elements of his character and life experiences. Through his art, he aims to create a unique and...

How do you producer Oscar worthy content and get to work with some of the biggest names in the film industry? David Valdes is an American film producer, known for working in the western genre. He started out his career as an assistant director and went on as producer and production manager, frequently collaborating with Clint Eastwood. David received his first Oscar nomination for The Green Mile,...

Graded Podcast is where we come together to find out the secret to success. As a 16-year old boy, I've become interested in what success is and how do you accomplish it. Throughout the podcast I sit with accomplished individuals and hear what they believe success is, the goal is to eventually have more teenagers and young adults join the conversation so we can uncover what success means to eac...