In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser

In today's short audio entry on racism - as part of anti-racism week - I read from Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper. I then use the excerpt to medidate on the importance of paying attention to how racism often teams up with other kinds of oppression all of which need to be eliminated from the world if we are serious about arriving in a truly just place.

Between now and Human Rights Day on 21st March, we are focusing on anti-racism for the week. Each day this week, on In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser, I will address, in a short audio entry, one or two aspects of the fight against white supremacy, the fight against anti-black racism and for racial equality.  In this first entry of the week, I raise and answer two questions: are all white people r...

I decided to hang out with Democratic Alliance leader and politician Mbali Ntuli. We challenged ourselves to not speak party politics, and what unfolded was a beautiful conversation about  the myriad quandaries of parenting (she is a mom to a little daughter and also currently pregnant), illness and mental health (she speaks openly about some severe existential challenges), the upsides and downsid...

I realised while digging into her archived ouput, that my friend Karima Brown, who died from covid-19 related complications exactly a year ago, was truly brilliant in many more ways than we grasp when someone is alive.  She was an excellent journalist, broadcaster and political analyst.  Her life's work deserves a rich and complete description of it, that can live permanently and be accessibl...

Despite being bored by the desperate hate speech case brought by Afriforum against Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, for the apparent singing of the allegedly hate speech-filled anti-apartheid chant, Kill the Boer, so many of you asked me for my opinion that I've reluctantly done so in this short episode.  There are three lessons here for racists that Malema freely provided. I d...

I was joined by brilliant novelist Sue Nyathi & also by exuberant Vanita Daniels, a funny and brilliant social justice activist (Rise Up Against Gender Based Violence) to talk about The Wife.  We laughed our asses off while exploring the light and shade. SPOILER ALERT- we will ruin your viewing if you've not seen it yet. But if you have, this episode is a TREAT. And even if you won't...

Towards the end of the state of the nation address last week, president Cyril Ramaphosa appeared to be inspiring us all to be "resilient". Wittingly or unwittingly, however, he was emotionally blackmailing you. I wrote about that on TimesLIVE in an analysis piece you can read ( https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/opinion-and-analysis/2022-02-13-eusebius-mckaiser-did-you-notice...

In this latest episode of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser, I was joined by two excellent former journalists, Lance Claasen and Thabo Shole-Mashao, who now allegedly play in the murky worlds of public relations, communications and, who knows, reputational management (or uhm not)! These combinations of skills and experiences made for a fascinating debate between the three of us about the politica...

This week ActionSA will reveal that former Democratic Alliance leader Athol Trollip will be joining the party founded by fellow former DA leader Herman Mashaba. I can confirm that this is the news which the party has been coy and playful about on social media, ahead of a press conference on Wednesday 9th February. In this episode of In The Ring With Eusebius, I take a close look at the implication...

 Joanne Joseph has written a brilliant work of historical fiction, Children of Sugarcane, and so I invited her back to In The Ring for a book interview. I simply had to engage the thematic range of this very exciting new book that everyone should buy and read. In this novel, we journey with an indentured labourer, Shanti, and through her arrival in Port Natal, and the stories that unfold, we get a...

Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and I jointly hosted each other in a fun, experimental set-up where I appeared on his fantastic YouTube channel, and that in turn served also as the recording of this episode of In The Ring.  We explored two framing questions about the constitution: first, is the vision for the country that is contained in the constitution the right vision for an ideal South Africa? Secondly, wou...

In this episode of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser, I hang out with top South African author and broadcaster Joanne Joseph, catching up with her on what she had been up to since leaving 702. I started off by engaging her on vegetarianism. Thereafter we talked about the media landscape generally and in particular her experience as a woman in media.  In what was a wide-ranging conversation in whi...

How should white people respond to their positionality in a world in which anti-black racism proliferates? How should men respond to their positionality in a world in which patriarchy proliferates? What does it mean to be an ally of black people? What does it mean to be an ally of women? What are the true requirements of ubuntu, and what action steps should be taken by allies to truly be productiv...

I really don't wanna sell you this podcast episode with a lengthy description. Can I just say this - if you listen to only ONE episode of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser in 2022 it will probably have to be this one. Lebogang is a brilliant guest. Energetic. Passionate. Intellectually stimulating. And as a feminist and social activist she gives us a masterclass on feminism and realpolitik t...

Veteran African National Congress  leader and member of Cabinet Lindiwe Sisulu has written a column ( https://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/opinion/lindiwe-sisulu-hi-mzansi-have-we-seen-justice-d9b151e5-e5db-4293-aa21-dcccd52a36d3 ) that has everyone talking. It essentially critiques the rule of law, the judiciary and the constitution but it is hard to know precisely what the main thesis and argument is...

Hawu. It's not even 2022 properly yet and a call center agent tries her luck selling stuff. We haven't even paid for Dezemba bills!  So. I had a choice: end the call quickly or have a bit of fun. I decided to have fun. Because, YOLO. Enjoy!

Janet Gourand (Sobriety Advocate & Recovery Coach), who runs the brilliant online community portal, Tribe Sober, joined me to talk about the 2022 Dry January challenge. See whether you can go alcohol free for 30 days; you may just like it! It runs for any 30 consecutive days of your choice between now until end of January. Get an early start.  You will get online daily support and, in turn, yo...

Sisonke Msimang joined me to debate whether or not, when his legacy is properly considered, Archbishop Desmond Tutu can be located along the spectrum of Black Radical Thought.  Msimang argues that not only is Tutu undeniably radical in his racial politics, but that we should also push back against notions of non-racialism that wrongly associate the doctrine with colourblindness and polite politics...

Former president Jacob Zuma's medical parole was taken away today by the Johannesburg High Court. Arthur Fraser, in his then capacity as National Commissioner of Correctional Services, had granted Zuma medical parole. This decision was declared unlawful and set aside. Zuma must return to prison. And, none of the days wrongly spent away from prison as a medical parolee, will count towards his...

Musician Kabelo Mabalane recently admitted on Instagram that although he is part of an anti-GBV campaign (#NoExcuse), that "as a young man [he] too was a perpetrator of this shameful cowardly behaviour."  But what exactly did he do at the height of his fame when TKZ was massively popular and their sounds were the soundtracks to our youth? What is the source of his shame?  What does it ev...

I asked philosopher Lucy Allais to join me to help us think philosophically about some of the debates around vaccines for covid-19. If, for example, I do not want to get vaccinated, is it okay to straightforwardly choose to not getvaccinated? Lucy doesn't think so, and in this episode of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser she systematically talks us through the ethical issues by asking, &apos...

I sat down with former Bain partner Athol Williams to talk about his excellent and disturbing new book, Deep Collusion: Bain and the capture of South Africa. It is clear that Bain's South African leadership was dishonest before the Nugent Commission about its role in the hollowing out of South African Revenue Service.  We explore in this podcast how Bain groomed the likes of Sipho Maseko (Tel...

In the latest Episode of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser,  I am in conversation with ART OF THE SUIT Business and Executive Coach Dawn Klatzko, about what to do and not to do while in search of a job, and climbing the ladder in your firm or within your industry. This episode is filled with practical career development tips, whether you are an unemployed graduate or a mid-career professional fee...

We refer to taxes imposed on consuming alcohol as 'sin taxes' because of the association of alcohol with many social sins. This is not entirely unjustified if one looks at what fuels violence, and other anti-social behaviours in our society, but is that the whole story? We particularly view sheebens and taverns as moral hazards in ways in which clubs and pubs in urban areas are not. Is t...

Author and commentator Sisonke Msimang joined Eusebius on In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser to discuss the legacy of apartheid's last leader, F W de Klerk. Did he fully and adequately account for apartheid and his role in it ? Did he deserve a Nobel prize for peace? Is it "too soon" to criticise him or does he not deserve a quiet period of mourning before critical legacy debates ar...