Breakfast with Martin Bester

Breakfast with Martin Bester spoke to South African author Deon Meyer about his new book, ‘Scorpio Rising’, and the story behind one of his earlier novels, ‘Fever’, which featured a devastating pandemic years before Covid-19 emerged.

The conversation explored how real-life events, research and unexpected connections shape Meyer’s crime fiction.

He said the resemblance between the coronavirus in ‘Fever’ and the virus behind Covid-19 was not the result of a prediction.

South Africans who cannot get credit from banks or need money quickly are increasingly borrowing from retailers, microlenders and online lenders, according to new research.

The overall ratio of debt to annual net income is rising again and now stands at 126%.

For people earning more than R50,000 a month, debt repayments take up 97% of their take-home pay. Their debt-to-income ratio is 300%, down from a peak of 340% in Q3 2024, but still the highest of any income group.

Word Unscrambler is a tool that allows users to find words from scrambled letters.

Word-finding experts at Word Unscrambler revealed the 15 words South Africans struggle to pronounce the most.

According to Word Unscrambler, South Africa’s three most searched mispronounced words in 2026 were Porsche, Shein and Worcestershire sauce. Together, they accounted for around 30% of the top searches.

In this week's Asking For A Friend, a listener sparked a debate about roundabout etiquette after asking whether drivers should indicate when they are going straight.

The motorist says they regularly see drivers signal right as they approach a roundabout, only to continue straight through.

That leaves other motorists unsure when it is safe to enter.

“Since when do we indicate to go straight around a roundabout?” the listener asked.

This prompted other listeners to share their burning questions about the things people do wrong on the road.

Canadian rapper Drake has reimagined Ella Langley’s record-breaking hit ‘Choosin’ Texas’ in his new song ‘Solar Eclipse’.

‘Solar Eclipse’ slows down Langley’s hit and gives it a hip-hop- and R&B-inspired sound.

While some of the lyrics stayed the same, Drake and Don Toliver, who is featured on the new song, took some creative liberties with other lines.