We're Brothers

Join us for an eye-opening conversation with anthropologist Joshua Rubin, who sees rugby as a kind of performance shaped by politics and history. Through years of research and powerful conversations with coaches, players and officials in Blue Bulls country, the Boland and Eastern Cape, Josh shares how this beautiful game has shaped his perspective. Whether you're a die-hard rugby fan or just c...

South African sports historian Hendrik Snyders came by to talk rugby history, rugby politics, Rassie Erasmus, and his favorite Springbok players. We're Brothers is a series of conversations between brothers, David in Cape Town and Sean in New York, and guests exploring politics, culture, sports, and transatlantic connections. We post once a week.

Filmmaker, DJ and academic Dylan Valley joins us to talk about white South African refugees, hip hop influencers, drill rap, and Jean Grae’s new memoir—not exactly flattering to her father, Abdullah Ibrahim. We're Brothers is a series of conversations between brothers, David in Cape Town and Sean in New York, and guests exploring politics, culture, sports, and transatlantic connections. We pos...

After the initial group of 59 white South African refugees arrived in the U.S. last month (with all other refugee programs officially on hold or scrapped), another nine arrived last week. We provide an update on some of them—though honestly, we’re getting tired of the “story,” which increasingly feels like a giant racist Ponzi scheme. Meanwhile, very few visitors – including those from countries t...

In this episode, we discuss the Brooklyn premiere of "When I Say Africa," a new film executive-produced by Sean. We also share updates on the biographies of the 59 white South African refugees—four of whose stories we’ve already explored. Plus, we review Vinicius' latest documentary and dive into the aesthetic politics of YouTube "journalism," with a look at content creator...

This episode focuses on a single subject: the meaning behind the made-for-TV spectacle of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Washington, D.C., aimed at "resetting" the country’s relationship with the United States. Central to this effort is countering the fake news narrative that black South Africans are deliberately targeting and murdering white farmers because of their race—a cla...

We’re back after a short break—David was working long hours on a film set, so there wasn’t much time to record. We start by catching up, then dive into the hot topic on both sides of the Atlantic: the fake news surrounding white “Afrikaner” “refugees.” That conversation branches out in many directions. Whites, including Afrikaners, make up about 7% of South Africa’s population but own 73% of priva...

In Episode 9, we explore the topic of DNA testing. Growing up, we never knew our paternal grandfather—our father doesn’t even know who his father was. What we do know is that our paternal grandmother was descended from enslaved people brought from Mozambique at the end of the seventeenth century. But our grandfather’s identity remains a mystery—or perhaps closer to being revealed than we once thou...

In this catch-up episode, Sean and David begin by congratulating their nephew, Caleb, and niece, Lauryn, on graduating from university and another nephew on completing a marathon. David then shares the details of a bizarre Uber ride, discusses the issue of gun violence in Cape Town (David's friend, Clayton, who lives in Ocean View in Cape Town's southern peninsula, was shot and is paralysed as a r...

In this episode, Brazilian novelist and journalist Marilene Felinto joins us from São Paulo to discuss racism in South America. I’m not sure who told David to wear an Argentina national team shirt, but right off the bat, Marilene declares Argentina, followed by Chile, as South America’s most racist countries. She also has strong words regarding the tendency of black Brazilian footballers to “white...

A white rugby coach once suggested that Cheslin Kolbe should switch from outside back to scrumhalf because he was too small. In 2025, Kolbe is named South African Rugby Player of the Year. Sean and David note how a sport once associated with muscular whiteness is now dominated by black South African players.  Louis Saha is seven times as wealthy as his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.  Why do ra...

In a football-heavy episode, Sean and David praise Benni McCarthy’s appointment as Kenya’s new head coach but call out unflattering images in some media coverage. They agree Afcon is a major tournament and discuss the chaos of football ownership in South Africa. The conversation shifts to crime in South Africa, emphasizing the real victims aren’t Trump’s refugees. It’s personal: recently, their fi...

Sean and David Jacobs invite Sean's 15-year-old son, Leo, to share his recollections of a recent visit to Anfield to watch Liverpool play. David talks about attending a reunion in Cape Town with relatives from their family line (their father's side) descended from enslaved Mozambicans. This leads to a broader discussion of their father's biography (they briefly introduced their mother&...

In Episode 3 of "We're Brothers," David and Sean Jacobs discuss whether David romanticizes his childhood; fascist teachers and corporal punishment in South African schools; whether sports figures, like popular South African rugby player Siya Kolisi, could succeed in politics (the cue is the long tradition of sports personalities in the US running for political office) and the disrupt...

In Episode 2, Sean and David – brothers in real life – discuss listener reactions to the first episode of WE'RE BROTHERS. Some people seem to think Sean is a hater of Cape Town, while others are curious if there are any famous figures from Goodwood aside from Eben Etzebeth (who, by the way, is actually from Parow). Sean brings up a few Communists who lived there. The conversation then shifts to mo...

In Episode 1, Sean and David - brothers IRL- introduce themselves and the idea behind "We're Brothers." They then discuss Cape Town being voted the best city in the world (16:10), explore the potential costs for sports people to align themselves with political parties or movements, especially in more conservative sports like rugby (28:03), and examine people picking up American accents on the way...