On Pivoting

In this episode of On Pivoting, Mmamabudusha Thema reflects on the quiet seasons we often mistake for failure. The pause. The delay. The changed timeline. The season where life does not seem to be moving as quickly as we hoped. This episode is a reminder that not every slow season is wasted. Sometimes the pause is where clarity begins. Sometimes the longer path is preparation. Sometimes the unseen...

Victor Namwandi spent years building a career as an actor and model before experiencing a loss that changed the direction of his life. In this episode of On Pivoting, we explore grief, identity, career changes, entrepreneurship, purpose, and what happens when life forces you to slow down and rethink everything. This is a conversation about becoming, not arriving. If you’ve ever questioned your pat...

In this episode of On Pivoting, we sit down with writer Siya Khumalo, author of You Have to Be Gay to Know God , for a deeply reflective conversation on faith, identity, sexuality, belonging, and the courage to stop hiding. Siya speaks about learning to stop justifying his existence, unlearning religious shame, writing as a way of surviving and understanding himself, and what it means to come to l...

What does it mean to live a life that actually feels like your own? In this episode of On Pivoting, Dabu Madiseng unpacks the tension between freedom, expectation, and the quiet voice inside all of us that knows when we’re living out of alignment. From rejecting the pressure to “pick one thing” to redefining success on his own terms, Dabu speaks openly about creativity, career choices, depression,...

From electrical engineering to computer science, this is a story about choosing again and choosing better. In this conversation, Bongiwe Mokati shares how a gap year, self-doubt, and starting from zero led her to a path where she now thrives - winning hackathons, earning recognition, and building a future in tech. We talk about feeling left behind, finding your place, navigating male-dominated spa...

There comes a point where you look at your life…and you don’t recognise yourself anymore. After losing her father, Lerato Raphela turned to drugs as a way to cope. What started casually became something that slowly took over until she found herself living a life she didn’t recognise. In this episode, she shares the moment everything shifted, what it took to choose differently, and how she rebuilt...

In this episode of On Pivoting, Linda Dube joins us for a deeply honest conversation about grief, resilience, and what it means to keep going when life doesn’t pause. While completing her Master’s degree, Linda lost her mother, yet continued studying, lecturing, and showing up for life in ways she didn’t think were possible. This is a conversation about quiet resilience, the complexity of grief, a...

What does it actually mean to have a relationship with yourself? In this episode of On Pivoting, Lucinda Valentine explores self-connection beyond clichés — from disconnection and emotional overwhelm to learning how to regulate, choose yourself, and show up with clarity in your daily life. We unpack how this relationship shapes everything: how you love, how you respond, and how you move through th...

In this episode of On Pivoting, we sit down with Sindeka Mandoyi, a children’s author, literacy activist, and founder of the Chosi Chosi Book Club. But this conversation isn’t just about the work. It’s about what it costs to care. From growing up without books to building a space for children in her community, Sindeka shares what it means to constantly show up for others while quietly navigating t...

In this episode o f On Pivoting , we sit down with Sivuyile Pharela — a Digital Anthropologist exploring identity, society, and what it means to exist in an increasingly digital world. From leaving psychology after just a few days to discovering anthropology, Sivuyile shares a deeply personal journey shaped by poverty, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of understanding. We unpack broken educati...

In this episode, we sit down with Sanele Mlambo for a conversation on the quiet pivots of early adulthood, the subtle, often unseen shifts that shape who we become. We explore what it means to come back to yourself, question the path you’re on, and make decisions that feel aligned rather than expected. From navigating identity and expectations to choosing happiness over performance, this conversat...

For most of her life, Hazel was known as the high achiever. The one with good grades. The one people believed in. The one who was expected to succeed. But when she got to university, that identity began to collapse. Hazel opens up about failing, being excluded from university, the shame of returning home, and the quiet period of rebuilding herself from the ground up. In this conversation we explor...

What happens when you return to the places that raised you… and realise you don’t fit anymore? In this episode of On Pivoting , I sit down with Noentla Khumalo — spiritual healer, cultural producer, and founder of Umsebenzi WeThongo, for a deeply human conversation. We talk about growing up between worlds, feeling “too much” or “wrong” depending on the room, and what it means to stop discarding pa...

What does it feel like to step into a new environment and quietly ask yourself: Will this place see me? In this episode of On Pivoting, I sit down with Matsetsebale “Tsetse” Tleane to explore the power of geographical pivots and the discipline of not forgetting who you are while entering new spaces. From leaving Limpopo for Gauteng, to sitting in global rooms and realising that we have something t...

So many of us build our identity around what we do. In this episode of On Pivoting, I sit down with Thapelo Masebe for a reflective conversation about identity beyond titles, productivity, and ambition. We explore what happens when work stops defining you, how worth gets entangled with output, and the quiet process of becoming someone new when old identities no longer fit. This is a conversation f...

Welcome to On Pivoting .