Frankly Speaking

State Capture has dominated the South African socio-political landscape recently, culminating in an explosive report by the Public Protector outlining various cases of politicians being compromised by wealthy businesspeople. Others have argued that the focus on the Guptas and others is misplaced and should rather be directed at the looting of the state by a group of powerful businessmen referred to as the 'Stellenbosch Mafia' - people like Andile Mngxitama have insisted that individuals such as Johan Rupert need to be investigated. In this explosive show Andrew and Rori speak to Jan Bosman of the Afrikanerbond and political analyst Ralph Mathekga, to find out whether the Stellenbosch Mafia really exist and what their impact on the South African socio-political and economic landscape is. www.cliffcentral.com

What would you give up for a better South Africa? Andrew Levy opens with an extract from a short story called The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Andrew speaks to a number of guests including Vinayak Bhardwaj, Kevin Foster, Kayan Leung, Maloba Tshela, and Tizi Merafe to discuss this question. www.cliffcentral.com

The common refrain from the middle-class has been that Trump voters are unintelligent deplorables acting irrationally, but what might we be missing out on by writing their actions off as irrational? In this show Andrew and Rori speak to Tinashe Chuchu to unpack what is really happening in the hearts and minds of the majority of Americans. www.cliffcentral.com

Twenty-two years into democratic South Africa, demographics still reflect that poverty is concentrated along race lines in the country. Some have argued that after so long, apartheid can no longer be blamed for this. In this show Andrew and Rori speak to the Statistician-General, Dr Pali Lehohla and social activist Athi-Nangamso Nkopo to interrogate this issue. www.cliffcentral.com

It tends to seem that the 90's babies have found their place and their voices in shaping and making their mark on the South African political landscape, while the 80's babies have struggled to do the same. Andrew and Rori speak to fellow 80's baby, DA Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for Human Settlements, Makashule Gana, to find out if 80's babies will be remembered as inconsequential to the political history of the country. www.cliffcentral.com

Andrew Levy explores what the future of tertiary education could look like. He speaks to trends analyst Dion Chang and founder of 'We Think Code', Arlene Mulder. www.cliffcentral.com

In the fourth episode in the series, Andrew and Rori follow up the conversations that have been had on what it means at an individual level to be black, with a discussion on what it means at an organisational level. There are a range of organisations in South Africa that describe themselves and indeed prefix their names with the word "black"; the question that is explored in this show - with the help of Sandile Zungu of the Black Business Council and Tryphosa Ramano of the Association for Black Securities and Investment Professionals - is how their stated blackness impacts on their values, culture, strategy, and operations. www.cliffcentral.com

In this third episode of the series titled 'What Does It Mean To Be Black?', Rori explores the question more deeply, assisted by the CEO of Steve Biko Foundation, Obenewa Amponsah, and activist and researcher Bryan Keith Murray. They begin to define the differences between the cultural meaning of being black and the political meaning of being black. www.cliffcentral.com

In this second installment of the series titled 'What Does It Mean To Be Black?', Andrew and Rori unpack some of the discussions from the first episode... and end up even more confused and no less challenged by the thoughts that Phumi Mashigo of Womandla! and Nozipho Mbanjwa of The Talent Firm - who go so far as to challenge the relevance of the very question that underpins the show. www.cliffcentral.com

For a long time blackness has represented more than just a skin colour and more of a culture encompassing many unique nations, voices and skin colours. It has been called a state of mind, it has been called an attitude of the mind. But what exactly does it mean to be black and who gets to decide? In this show Andrew and Rori explore what the essence of blackness might be; they are joined in studio by self-confessed womanist, homosexual, progressive patriarch and Marketing and Communications Manager of Vanguard, Thato Magano. www.cliffcentral.com

In the wake of the controversy surrounding the #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh campaign, where black learners openly protested what they referred to as racist and discriminatory rules on the hair of black learners at the highly-regarded Pretoria High School for Girls, the nation was once again divided. While there was overwhelming support for the learners’ cause, there was also a dissenting view from those who feel that the whole issue is, at the least, a storm in a teacup... and at the most the work of racist agitators and petulant learners who, instead of focusing on their studies, are causing trouble. Andrew and Rori speak to Mishka Wazar, Melissa Kuhn, Logan Young and Sean Pretorius. www.cliffcentral.com

In the wake of Wayde van Niekerk's epic, world record-breaking victory in the Olympics 400m race, instead of celebrating as one, naturally, South Africans quickly turned the moment into a racially-polarised tweetstorm. On the one hand was those who celebrated under #colouredexcellence, arguing that it was time for coloured people to celebrate being coloured after having been taken for granted for a long time; on the other hand were those who were insisting that coloured people identify as black people. Andrew and Rori speak to journalist, Karima Brown and filmmaker Dylan Valley. www.cliffcentral.com

Four years after the Marikana massacre that left 41 miners dead from the bullets of police officers, Andrew and Rori reflect on the commemorative events of the fatal day (16 August 2012) and ask whether they don't suggest that in spite of what politicians say, general society has long since stopped caring about the people of Marikana and the families of the fallen miners. Politicians seem to only raise Marikana when there are political points to be scored, and on this day the people of Marikana are still crying out for justice. They speak to Joseph Mathunjwa, President of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the Democratic Alliance's spokesperson, Mabine Seabe. www.cliffcentral.com

Ever wondered what your domestic worker thinks about the way you treat her? Behind every successful man in pinstripes and woman in heels in the corporate boardroom is a humble woman in a maid's outfit back home walking the dog, feeding the kid and making sure that the whites remain white and that the darks don't fade. Andrew and Rori speak to domestic workers about how they are treated, and they reveal shocking ways in which even the more "enlightened" among us make them feel like slaves. www.cliffcentral.com

On the day of the municipal elections in South Africa, Andrew and Rori set up camp outside a voting station to engage with voters about who they are voting for and what informs their voting decisions. www.cliffcentral.com

It's that time again for the critically acclaimed CEO SleepOut™... and even after a resounding success in the first year where R26m was raised, it appears that the initiative does not have everyone won over. Andrew and Rori tackle and explore the various critiques of the event and ask, do the ends justify the means? www.cliffcentral.com

Is the SABC censoring the news or taking control of the national narrative? The media is often criticised for only focusing on the "negative" and SABC, for one, appears to have decided to change that through an editorial policy that has been labelled as censorship. Media Freedom Organiser at Right2Know, Micah Reddy, joins Rori to help explain whether what the SABC is doing is censorship. www.cliffcentral.com

In this second instalment of the series, Andrew and Rori extend the question to CEO of YFM, Kanthan Pillay, self-proclaimed foe of Frankly Speaking Roman Cabanac, and Pastor Greg Tait of the God First Church - who put a different twist to the question, leaving us asking ourselves if we are closer or further away from the answer than we were when we started. www.cliffcentral.com

The team has kicked Rorisang out of the studio and are having a frank discussion amongst whites about what they must do. This is not a prescriptive 'How To' guide... rather an in-depth look at different viewpoints and perspectives about what white people must/can/should do in SA. www.cliffcentral.com

A question heard on the street in midst of the Tshwane unrest has been why Thoko Didiza, a Zulu person, has been sent to be mayor in a majority Sotho area, when it would be unheard of for a Sotho person to be a mayor in KZN. President Zuma has also been accused of having a disproportionately Zulu cabinet. Andrew and Rori are joined by Sipho Hlongwane, Prince Mashele, Justice Malala and Muzi Kuzwayo to discuss whether this perception is fact or fiction. www.cliffcentral.com