Listen Up!

NOTE: We apologise for the poor audio quality in this edition. Should South Africans spend some time after graduation working for the government? Well-known businessman Mark Barnes thinks they should – in certain circumstances. Journalist Tim Cohen thinks they should not – in any circumstances. Also, is Patrice Motsepe a good candidate to be SA’s post-Ramaphosa president? Yes, no, maybe? This is your weekly nudge to: Listen Up! This show airs every Tuesday morning wherever you get your podcasts.

South Africa’s economy might be moving forward, but the public sector is sliding into a kind of casual anarchy. Almost every robot in the country is now regarded as a suggestion, not an instruction. Is this fixable? How bad is anarchy? Corporate financier Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen ask the crucial question: What is so wrong with anarchy, actually? And what about launching a set of public referenda on crucial national questions? And the markets and more. This show airs every Tuesday morning wherever you get your podcasts.

The biggest question, when it comes to gold, is whether you say “all that glitters is not gold” or “all that glisters is not gold”. The formally accurate version from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is “glisters”, but what the bard meant was “glitters”, so that works too. Actually, that’s not the biggest question. In this episode, Barnes and Cohen discuss the much thornier issue of whether gold’s massive increase over the past few years will last, now that it has hit the $5 000 mark. And other things, like AI, chess, and sports betting. This show airs every Tuesday morning wherever you get your podcasts.

Floods in the Kruger National Park but drought in the Karoo – weather problems abound. This week, the formidable duo that is Barnes and Cohen discusses the storms all over the world, including Greenland, which US President Donald Trump wants to, um, “buy”, but the Europeans are having nothing of it – so the USA will tariff them! 6-7 and ho hum. Locally, the prime rate debate is hotting up (but it’s ROA that counts), and markets are cooling down (as value metrics change). By all means, ListenUp! This show airs every Tuesday morning wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s been quite a start to 2026, but what does it mean that the US has abducted the leader of a foreign power? 
What happens to international relations now and what has this got to do with the Peace of Westphalia? 
Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss how the international order has changed - and the local order has not.
Also, is AI investment now in a bubble? 
Listen Up!