Coversations With Gabriel

Two years after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, Chief Rabbi of South Africa Dr Warren Goldstein sits down with Gabriel Makin. He describes what that day meant for South Africa's Jewish community, why he calls it a genocide averted, and what 3,800 years of Jewish history teach about enemies who say they want you dead. He explains why he stood up to the ANC government after, in his words, it de...

A collaboration between The Common Sense and the African Renaissance Podcast (Thabo Mbeki Foundation). Former EFF MP Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, now a senior fellow at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, sits down with Gabriel Makin to unpack his 11 Theses on the Call for a Batho Pele Convention. He argues that South Africans traded their agency for the ballot ("we vote, and then we wait"), that local government...

Washington has run out of patience with Pretoria. Joshua Meservey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and one of the voices behind the new US visa restrictions, tells Gabriel Makin why the Trump administration moved to "the stick", what the five asks actually are, and why he believes the South African government has been trying to run out the clock. He traces the rift back to the Biden years: a...

"South Africa belongs to all who live in it." Princy Mthombeni wants that line out of the Constitution. She chairs South Africans for Constitutional Reform, the movement that grew out of her viral review of the whole Constitution. She tells Gabriel Makin that the Constitution must change in other ways too. She wants the president elected directly by the people rather than by Parliament, citizen re...

In this episode of Conversations with Gabriel, Gabriel Makin speaks to Rob Katzen about how a group of old boys helped turn Johannesburg’s Jeppe High School for Boys from a declining public school into one of South Africa’s strongest education success stories. Rob explains how Jeppe had fallen into serious decline by the mid-2000s, with falling applications, deteriorating infrastructure, lower fee...

In this episode Gabriel Makin is joined again by producer, pastor and youtuber, Bonsai Shongwe. The conversation starts on the question of the African National Congress' influence in South African churches. Bonsai explained that while the ANC used to hold huge sway over the politics of South Africa's churches, that influence has waned dramatically. Following this, the conversation turns to Gabriel...

In this episode Gabriel Makin is joined by the Head of Policy for the Democratic Alliance (DA), Mat Cuthbert. The conversation begins with Mat's background and then transitions to his role in proposing the fundamentally important "Economic inclusion for all" bill, which seeks to restructure the way that the South African state does empowerment policy. Mat explains that the changes he is proposing...

In this episode Gabriel Makin is joined by the DA's eThekwini (Durban) mayoral candidate, Haniff Hoosen. The conversation begins with Haniff's background, highlighting his over 30 years in South African politics and his decision to come out of retirement to run for mayor. After that the conversation turns to the problems that currently beset Durban: failing infrastructure, rampant crime an...

In this episode Gabriel is joined by Wandile Sihlobo, who is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber and the Presidential Envoy on Agiculture and Land. The discussion begins with a brief introduction to Wandile and the overall state of South African agriculture, where Wandile highlights how the agricultural industry in South Africa is flourishing. From there the conversation turns...

In this episode ofConversations with Gabriel, Gabriel Makin and Dr James Myburgh give a definitve historical analysis on the uniquely South African problem of farm murders. The conversation traces the ideological history and how the propaganda and underground campaign of MK in the mid-80s laid the groundwork for the later explosion of violent crime in South Africa. The conversation goes through th...

In this episode of Common Sense Conversations, Gabriel Makin talks to Nicholas Nyati about his running for Deputy Federal Chairperson of the DA. The conversation ranges through a number of topics, covering Nicholas's background, his entry into politics, his goals for the next DA Congress, and his goals for the DA. He also explains two of the six resolutions that he is proposing at the upcoming...

In this episode of the Talking Sense Interview, Gabriel Makin and James Lorimer go into a deep dive into South Africa's mineral and petroleum resources. They explore where South Africa's oil comes from. What effect the Iran war could have on the country's oil supply and price. And South Africa's massive potential in the industry. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to South Africa's Fu...

In this episode of the Talking Sense Interview, Gabriel Makin and Helen Zille discuss the Johannesburg results from the latest SRF/The Common Sense poll. They unpack the DA's progress and what the polling data reveals about her prospects of securing a majority in the city.

In this episode of Talking Sense John Steenhuisen strikes back against a Common Sense editorial that called for him to be fired. He argues that he has done a very competent job in addressing South Africa's Foot and Mouth pandemic and that The Common Sense was way off base to suggest anything else.

Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, joined Gabriel Makin to talk about Cape Town and South Africa. The conversation looks at his successes in the city, what challenges he has faced, and what is needed to make South Africa successful. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Common Sense website: https://thecommonsense.co.za -...

Economics and Policy Editor of The Common Sense, Bheki Mahlobo spoke to Gabriel Makin about his background, the views that shaped him and how to understand South African economics. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Common Sense website: https://thecommonsense.co.za --------------------------------------------------------------------...

Chairperson of The DA Federal Executive and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille joined Gabriel Makin to talk about Johannesburg, race for mayor, the ideology of the DA and the difference between the ANC and DA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Common Sense website: https://thecommonsense.co.za -------------------------------...

The Leader of the DA and Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen joined Gabriel Makin to discuss his tenure as leader of the party, the GNU, the disagreements with the ANC, his potential reelection campaign and much more. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Common Sense website: https://thecommonsense.co.za -------------------------...

Mike Sham @sonacoza dropped in to have a broad discussion about the New Media landscape, his fight with the DA and South African politics. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Common Sense website: https://thecommonsense.co.za State of The Nation Podcast: youtube.com/@UCMHEDVFW5sUeHr5KMIOHuyg -------------------------------------------...

In this episode of Talking Sense, Zakhele Mthembu, policy officer at the Free Market Foundation, sits down to chat with The Common Sense's executive producer, Gabriel Makin. In the episode they explore Zakhele's personal political development, going over what it is like to be a black South African who is also a libertarian (Zakhele may say Anarcho-Capitalist). After that the discussion turns towar...

In this episode of Talking Sense, the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Dr Warren Goldstein, drops in for a long-form interview with The Common Sense's executive producer, Gabriel Makin. The conversation touches on topics ranging from the Chief Rabbi's background, the intersection of Judaism and modernity, his experiences after the 7th of October massacre, the subsequent war in Gaza, the lesson...

In this episode of Makin Sense, Gareth van Onselen joins Gabriel Makin for a fast moving and deeply analytical conversation. The discussion ranges across the state of public opinion research in South Africa, how political parties misunderstand data, why polling failure is so common, and what high quality fieldwork really looks like. Gareth unpacks the incentives that shape media narratives, explai...

In this episode of Makin Sense, ex-mayor of Tshwane and current Tshwane mayoral candidate, Cilliers Brink joins Gabriel Makin for a far-ranging discussion. The discussion touches on the previous Tshwane administration, what being the mayor of a city is like, what Cilliers experienced in his first term as mayor, what brought his coalition down, why he continues the fight and much more.

In this episode of Talking Sense, Gabriel Makin sits down with Piet Le Roux, CEO of Sakeliga to discuss their work and the future of South Africa. The conversation touches on Sakeliga's litigation efforts against BEE, NHI, the Expropriation Act and failing municipalities. The conversation also looks at President Ramaphosa's impact on the country and whether it is worth it for the unitary state to...

In this episode of Talking Sense, CEO of the Institute of Race Relations, Dr John Endres discusses the Institute, its submissions to parliament on the Climate Change Act and the Electoral Amendments bill. He then also discusses what it means to be a South African liberal and defends liberal ideas. https://irr.org.za/