The Liminal Space

This is the seventh and final episode in our series of short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. In this closing episode, we step back to reflect on what seven episodes of storytelling from Cape Town have revealed. We revisit the arc of the series, from grounding ourselves in our bodies with Bongeka and Aphiwe, to the critical hope of Ashley and Helene, the co...

This is the sixth in our series of seven short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. In this episode, we start by reflecting on how we became friends, and introduce two unlikely friends of ours: Charlton Alexander, a tour guide and facilitator who invites people to connect with the city and its stories, and Barry Lewis, an architect from the UK who has spent dec...

This is the fifth in our series of seven short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. In this episode, we begin with a wide-ranging exploration of shared consciousness, ubuntu , and the Hebrew concept of tzedakah , before introducing Leila Kidson, a social systems researcher, facilitator, and designer who co-founded the social design studio OCTOPI. Through a clip...

This is the fourth in our series of seven short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. In this episode, we explore the role music plays in grounding us, reminding us of our humanity, and giving us the courage to resist. We introduce Ncedisa Nkonyeni, an African-centred systems change and field learning partner, who reminds us about morality and what courage looks...

This is the third in our series of seven short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. In this episode, we unpack the idea of critical hope, drawing on the work of Jeff Duncan-Andrade and a powerful quote from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Hope . We introduce Ashley and Helene Visagie, founders of Bottom Up, a Cape Town youth organisation that equips teenagers with t...

This is the second in our series of seven short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. In this episode, we head to Khayelitsha, where two young founders, Bongeka and Aphiwe (Qhama), have created something remarkable: Thembisa Ratanga, a community space they describe as “a safe space in a not-so-safe place.” Through a clip from the original Liminal Space episode,...

This is the first in a series of seven short-form episodes, produced in collaboration with The Common Good Collective. What happens when imagination meets reality? In this pilot episode, we kick off a special miniseries connecting The Liminal Space with the Common Good conversation. We share what drew us to the idea of liminality and explore the stories that ground us right now; from earth as a sh...

As we mark the end of 2025, we created a brief episode to share some lessons learned during our recent “hibernation” period. During this time of quiet, seeds of possibility have been germinating underground. We’ve been slow-cooking a couple of possible collaborations, letting new ideas soften and deepen, and giving space for a few new people joining our team to find their footing. More on all of t...

We started season 2 with a question, "Can stories change systems?" We weren't sure that we would land on an answer but we thought of it as a thread we could explore throughout the season. In some episodes we had beautiful answers to that question, and even more beautiful questions. We end this season reflecting on the season. And rather than trying to summarise each conversation, whi...

Abduragman Adams (also known as Abdu Adams) is an award-winning South African actor, director and drama lecturer. He has appeared in several television shows including Heartlines, Known Gods, Rugby Motors and Die Boland Moorde . In 2015 he landed a starring role in the kykNET soap opera, Suidooster, set in Cape Town in the fictional suburb of Ruiterbosch. He also worked on 7de Laan , where he play...

Leila Kidson is a social systems researcher, facilitator, and designer focused on better integrating grassroots voices into systems design, advocacy and action. As co-founder of social design studio OCTOPI , she blends storytelling, co-creation, strategy, and intersectional feminist praxis to drive radical transformation in civic freedoms, solidarity economics, and social justice. She appreciates...

Ra-eesha Smith is an undergraduate Psychology student with a strong interest in understanding human behaviour and promoting mental well-being. Outside of academics, she is passionate about creating awareness about and addressing social injustices and inequalities. With this aim in mind, she is a youth mobiliser at BottomUp where she assists in facilitating social justice oriented events and worksh...

Originally from the Eastern Cape, Bongeka Qhanga moved to Khayelitsha, Cape Town as a child. She trained at the Shala Cape Town School of yoga and obtained her RYT200 in Yoga teaching in 2021 and is currently obtaining her RYT300 yoga teaching certificate. She is a part-time Yoga instructor at the Bridges for Music in Langa. Recently she partnered with Ikeja Wireless to bring yoga to the most vuln...

Ncedisa is an Africa-centered Systems Change and Field Learning Partner . That is to say she teaches systems change , she helps organisations apply systems change to their strategies and she partners with any collectives that are committed to discovering organisational wellbeing.   She was the inaugural Director of Bertha House,  where she founded 2s and 4s: a video music series that draws on Afri...

This episode contains descriptions of gratuitous violence. Listener discretion is advised. Nicole Joshua is a wife to one husband and a mother to one child. She is a theologian, a home executive, and is currently on a journey of discernment towards ordination in the Christian tradition. She has a deep thirst for learning, evidenced by her formal studies in accounting, theology, particularly Biblic...

This episode marks the start of a new season on the Liminal Space Podcast. This time we are starting the season with a framing question as a theme; Can stories change systems? Tristan and Rashid explore this, and other questions, through conversation, anecdote, wondering regarding the power of storytelling to shape culture, values, and possibilities. We consider how the stories we tell—and those w...

In this special bonus episode, we reflect on the journey of our inaugural season. As we revisit the precious conversations and themes we've explored, we share our personal insights, growth, and learnings which emerged over the past few months. This episode is a moment of introspection and reflection where we connect the dots between our experiences and the stories and wisdom of our incredible...

Charlton Alexander is a son of Cape Town. He loves his wife Lauren and his son Reth, and the rest of the world in its beautiful brokenness. He is a Tour Guide/Facilitator looking to move through the (liminal) spaces that tell us the stories of the people and the land. He invites guests to the city to connect with the people and land in experiences that are life altering. ‘Charlie’, as he is fondly...

Nadia Agherdine is an active citizen deeply involved in the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of immersive travel experiences. She is a Tour Operator and qualified tour guide and serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Salt River Heritage Society. Through her role, Nadia passionately works to safeguard the cultural and historical legacy of Salt River, engaging both locals and visit...

Thami is a singer-songwriter and musician, passionate about the transformative essence of musical alchemy. Her current artistic expression is rooted in creating immersive soundscapes that in some ways transcend traditional boundaries, with the potential to offer a narrative journey. She hopes to create auditory spaces that encourage restful resistance through self-reflection, while provoking forms...

Ashley Visagie is a co-founder of Bottomup which promotes critical awareness among high school students. Ashley has a deep concern for youth in South Africa who suffer because of the unjust education system and seeks to contest deficit narratives. He is optimistic that a more fair and just world is possible but also believes that the kind of systemic changes required call for engagements that are...

Thandi Gamedze is a writer, a poet, a facilitator and soon to be post doctorate fellow at ⁠ The Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice⁠ , at the University of the Western Cape. The glue connecting all the varied bits and pieces of Thandi’s work is a deep commitment to the work of critique and reimagining (as both action and reflection) towards a world that is just, nurturing and kind....

In this first episode Rashid and Tristan share the vision and purpose of the podcast. This is an introduction to our thinking about why the podcast exists and what to expect from future episodes. We introduce this podcast as a liminal space. We introduce Cape Town as a liminal space. And then we suggest that remaining in the liminal space could spur on an imagination for a better world. Storytelli...