BrightGuide Africa The Commute

Episode 1: The idea of the USSR and the ANC

--:--
It's Episode 1 of this brand new South African podcast, the Commute! We all know vaguely that the Soviet Union supported the ANC under Apartheid, and many of the USSR's ideas from the 60s and 70s still permeate ANC's big policy ideas. Jessica van Onselen talks to Professor Irina Filatova about Russian South African relations under Apartheid, and the traces we can see of it today.

The books mentioned in this show are:
- "ANC: The view from Moscow" (1999) by Vladimir Shubin
- "The Hidden Thread: Russia and South Africa in the Soviet Era" (2013) by Irina Filatova and Apollon Davidson
4 Apr 2018 English United Kingdom News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Episode 5: The idea of China's 'One Belt One Road' push

Xi Jinping, President of China, just got the go ahead to become president for life when his party abolished term limits. Who is Xi? Should South Africa worry about all those lovely loans it took from China? And what is the not-exactly-well-named "One Belt One Road" initiative announced in 2017?…
4 Apr 2018 30 min

Episode 3: The idea of Bitcoin

South Africa topped the charts in 2017 for Google searches for the word ‘Bitcoin’. What is Bitcoin? Why is everyone so excited about cryptocurrencies? Will I be able to buy my groceries at Woolies using Bitcoin soon? Jessica speaks to Claire Ingram Bogusz to learn more about this amazing new…
4 Apr 2018 30 min

Episode 4: The idea of a (functional?) Arts Ministry

Sometimes it feels like South Africa's Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is a big nothing-burger. But given South Africa's extraordinary artistic talent pool (Trevor Noah, Black Coffee, Dada Masilo, Andile Ndlovu, Zanele Muholi etc etc etc), why do they seem to suck? Jessica talks to acclaimed playwright Mike van…
4 Apr 2018 30 min

Episode 2: The idea of Vladimir Putin

We know Vladimir Putin likes to pose shirtless while hunting bears, and that he and Donald Trump have something special going on, but how much we do know about the man himself? Jessica van Onselen continues her conversation with Irina Filatova about Putin and South Africa. The books mentioned in…
4 Apr 2018 28 min

Episode 6: The idea of Expropriation Without Compensation

#GiveBackTheLand! Yeah! But which land? And how? And to whom? And through which process? The EFF and the ANC want the South African Constitution changed to enable expropriation without compensation. Jessica talks to Professor Ruth Hall about how we can put actual human beings and their needs at the centre…
1 May 2018 31 min
All episodes