The year that started off with a bang

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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!
12 Jan English Explicit South Africa News · News Commentary

Other recent episodes

There must be better ways to choose our leaders

Beer and national debt, which is the most important? Barnes and Cohen discuss this crucial question. But more importantly, how are we choosing our government ministers and their entourages? Shouldn’t the ministers choose the president, rather than the president choose the ministers? Just asking. It’s time to: ListenUp! This show airs every Tuesday morning…
17 Feb 23 min

The great national service debate

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10 Feb 22 min

What’s so bad about anarchy?

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2 Feb 23 min

SA’s golden opportunity

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…
26 Jan 22 min

It never rains but it pours

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19 Jan 22 min