ListenUP!

The Durban July, Opera at La Scala, and the Soccer World Cup: we are festooned with festivities, and we discuss them! Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen are joined by arts writer and enthusiast extraordinaire Sarah Buitendach to talk about some of the amazing events of our time, and artists in general. Also, if it's OK for presidents to second-guess referees, where were you when...

ListenUp: Xenophobia in SA The terrible prospect of xenophobic violence is once again afflicting South Africa this week, dragging Mzanzi into the fraught global political issue of immigration. Having the national soccer side booed in the US by other African nations at the World Cup is deeply sad, but then again, so is struggling to find your job back home. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalis...

Is investing in art actually an investment, or just a pleasure posing as a share portfolio? Merchant banker and artist Mark Barnes discussed this, the art scene, and whether Picasso’s work will eventually become valuable with journalist and art critic Tim Cohen. SPECIAL GUEST, executive director of auctioneers Strauss and Co. SUSIE GOODMAN joins in order to add some actual knowledge to the discuss...

South Africa’s agricultural exports could well hit record levels in 2026, surpassing even a spectacular 2025, despite Donald Trump’s tariff cadenza last year. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this, and other matters agricultural, with SPECIAL GUEST Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz. Amid the deluge of bad news confronting both the country and the world — and the...

It turns out that foreign affairs are much more complicated than you might imagine - even when they don’t involve an Italian lover. To find out more, Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen talk to SPECIAL GUEST journalist and foreign affairs correspondent Linda van Tilburg about why the 10 Downing Street cat Larry seems to have more chance of maintaining his domicile than other recen...

With South Africa’s unemployment rate up again among many other problems, to what extent has local politics reached its nadir? To put it another way, is the political system capable of achieving the needs and requirements of the  population - both locally and in the world? Yes, says Investment banker Mark Barnes and SPECIAL GUEST Ann Bernstein, head of the Centre for Development and Enterprise. Jo...

With South Africa’s unemployment rate up again among many other problems, to what extent has local politics reached its nadir? To put it another way, is the political system capable of achieving the needs and requirements of the  population - both locally and in the world? Yes, says Investment banker Mark Barnes and SPECIAL GUEST Ann Bernstein, head of the Centre for Development and Enterprise. Jo...

What does it mean for you and your investments that global public sector debt has now breached the $100-trillion mark, and by the end of the decade government debt will probably reach 100% of global GDP. It's confusing. Debt is a facility, a promise, a tool, a shock absorber … and a trap door. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discussed this topic with Special Guest Rob Rose. Al...

To unravel, as much as we can, a chaotic world at the moment, merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen draw on the services of Special Guest Iraj Abedian, economist and thinker extraordinaire for this episode of ListenUP! The consequences of the widening war in the Middle East are hard to predict, but one thing is very clear: we are surrounded by the tyranny of mediocrity, locally and...

Look just a little under the surface, and big changes are starting to take place in South Africa. From the introduction of the private sector into Transnet into the competitive dynamics of the contest for Johannesburg, the times they are a’changing - at last. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discussed these and other changes with Special Guest! the leader of RizeMzanzi and chai...

The DA has just chosen a new leader and leadership team, and the personable Geordin Hill-Lewis is now the Federal leader of the DA, who has set the party the target of becoming the country’s largest party. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this question, only somewhat cynically, with special guest Ryan Coetzee. Coetzee is a political advisor long associated with the DA w...

What will the effects and consequences be for the conflicts developing in the Middle East? Big questions! And what does Machiavelli have to do with it? Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen attempt to answer these questions, this week with Special Guest Giulietta Talevi! Also, the dark side of the moon.