What’s to learn from racism in America?
Racism has become an increasingly salient issue around the world.
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Whose family, whose values?
An anti-gay, anti-sex-ed conference supported by the American religious right is coming to Cape Town next year. It will be as awful as you’d imagine.
Let’s get over our Africa fatigue and be courageous Africans instead
A week ago today, I flew to Accra, capital of Ghana, with colleague Hermann Pretorius, head of Strategic Communications at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), to attend Atlas Network’s 2026 Africa Liberty Forum, and present a case study of
I love democracy
I love democracy. I love the excitement and energy of election day, the lines at the polling station, the feel of the pen in my hand as I mark the ballot, the counting of the ballots. The fun doesn't end there; I love the sleepless nights as
The greatest political writer
‘We thought we liked this new way we were, these new deregulated humans, fearful of nothing. But I think we have deluded ourselves. We have filled our boots, and deluded ourselves’.
AfriForum is clearly right about political interference in school sports
I sometimes have to pinch myself and remember that in 2026 there are still South Africans who have somehow missed that state race regulation remains a living part of our public life. The persistence of this denialism speaks to the difficulty of meaningful reform, as we are not
This column was written by AI… wait, no, it wasn’t, was it?
I have been writing professionally for 15 years, starting with a novel in 2011. AI-assisted writing only arrived somewhere around 2023, but it took off in 2025 as the LLMs got pretty good at it. I was not interested in
SA’s new reality since June 30th | Jonathan Katzenellenbogen
Jonathan Katzenellenbogen discusses the new reality in which South Africa has found itself since the 30 June anti-immigration protests. They reveal a state that has largely lost control of law and order and its ability to direct events. Article discussed:
Johannesburg: On a knife edge between a DA victory and a coalition mess
Last weekend, during a voter registration drive in Johannesburg, the DA’s mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, was greeted by an ANC activist with a long show of a middle finger.