SA’s Government of National Unity is trying to get its budget passed for the second time this week, but there is something missing in the mix: growth. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss the lack of transformative projects and - since our podcast is now over a century old - how age plays into the process of a growth mentality. Also, Johannesburg.Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design by Bernard Kotze. Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, B...
Mar 10, 2025•21 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast Like much of the world, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen were mesmerised by the Oval Office showdown between US president Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy which ended in name-calling, finger pointing, and no deal. It's tempting to extrapolate too far, but it's clear a rift has developed between the post-war diplomatic reality. In this podcast we discuss this issue and how it affects South Africa, particularly our delayed budget discussions. TL;DR - self-s...
Mar 03, 2025•20 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast What was that phrase, “Vat hom!”? Well, I think we can all agree that suggesting a two percentage point increase in VAT, was really going for it. The budget and the proposed VAT increase was, somewhat inevitably, the main topic of conversation between entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick editor at large Tim Cohen. One question remains: what about looking at a few savings here and there? Just asking. We also cover other issues of national and global importance, like investments, sovereign ...
Feb 24, 2025•20 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast It's budget week, which means it's a period of festivity and celebration as we all look forward to higher taxes. Not necessarily. We will see on Wednesday. In the meantime, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss the budget this week among many other topics, somewhat in trepidation. And we reach the conclusion that the country needs to confront its weaknesses head-on and not keep looking for incremental improvements. Will that happen? Not sure. And will ther...
Feb 18, 2025•20 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast When you turn your friends into your enemies, don’t all your enemies suddenly become friends - with each other? There is an intrinsic design flaw when it comes to alienating your friends, but US President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care. But hey, he’s not totally friendless - Trump has reached out to Afrikaners and initiated a new great trek. It sticks in the craw that it takes someone like Trump to point out weaknesses in local legislation like the Expropriation Act, but that’s what entrepren...
Feb 11, 2025•21 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast There are few things more fun than buying a new car, and few things more boring than taking it in for regular and expensive services. But the utility of making regular repairs can extend the life of everything, including as it happens, your own life. In South Africa, repair culture is in urgent need of repair. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen try to keep their sagacity in repair by talking through the latest Trump Tantrum, the state of mining in South Africa and the news of the ...
Feb 04, 2025•19 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast Slightly inevitably, the GNU is going through a bout of indigestion. How serious is it? Should we be buying gold, selling the rand and stocking up on loo paper? Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and financial journalist Tim Cohen discuss why it is that political parties seem to be more interested in their internal battles than they are in the problems of the SA population at large. Somewhat appropriately, we are about to go into the year of the snake according to the Chinese lunar system. And while we ar...
Jan 27, 2025•19 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast There is no escape. This week's news is going to be dominated by the inauguration of The Donald. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss how the world will change from this week - and how it won't. All of a sudden, the world itself seems to be a different place, and we will all need to look to our laurels - if we have them. And SA's 2024 crop of matriculants seems to have laurels in huge quantities with pass rates increasing impressively. That means applications at SA's univers...
Jan 21, 2025•21 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast What is the difference between being adaptable and actually adapting? Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this and other important Darwinian questions, including the relationship between humans and yachts. And that raises the question, is Africa adapting or is it just adaptable? Are names of oceans adapting, like the African Ocean for example, formally known (somewhat unfairly) as the Indian Ocean. Its a wild start to Januworry, and we are only half way through!Production a...
Jan 14, 2025•19 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and financial journalist Tim Cohen discuss the new year, and what we can expect, coming to the conclusion that we don't actually know what to expect because, well, global uncertainty. But we do discuss ways to operate in an uncertain world, and strategies you might use. Security threats are also part of uncertainty, so the question arrises, how many members of a personal security detail does, say, the mayor of Johannesburg actually need? And lots of crucial, large number...
Jan 07, 2025•21 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast Remember when Christmas was a day? Then it became a season. Black Friday, you would think, would forever be a day, that day being, you guessed it, Friday. Turns out, Black Friday is now fast becoming a week, and will inevitably soon become a season. And talking of seasons, it has been the season of gambling, dubious state financing, election upsets, struggling governments and regime change. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and business editor Tim Cohen discuss all of the above, and more in this, our fin...
Dec 10, 2024•21 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast Pardon the confusion, but didn’t President Joe Biden say he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted recently on tax and gun charges? Turns out, he did say he would not. But then he did issue the pardon over the Thanksgiving weekend. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss forgiveness and, critically, whether you can forgive yourself. One example would be the Mayor of Johannesburg Dada Morero forgiving himself for cutting off his own electric...
Dec 02, 2024•22 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast How much is a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape actually worth? Or, to put it another way, have we all gone bananas? Which leads on to the more important topic of the value of money, and that involves inflation. And interest rates. This week entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss last week's small interest rate cut, whether it was enough, and issues related to debt. Then there is the rugby and the tricky issue of height.Production and Editing by Tevya...
Nov 26, 2024•22 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Is it Cop or cop-out; it's hard to tell. The UN’s Conference of Parties (COP) on climate action and sustainability is currently happening in Baku, Azerbaijan - the second time the conference is taking place in a petro-state. Unsurprisingly, it's currently hard to breathe in Deli. But, on the other hand, bitcoin is booming, raising the question of whether SA should rent out Simonstown, now that SA’s navy is down to a single ship. Other than that, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor...
Nov 19, 2024•20 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast How is it possible that someone so obviously flawed as a person can become president of the world's most powerful country? Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and financial journalist Tim Cohen (try!) to explain that, and other imponderables, like the global outbreak of oligarchism. Locally we discuss the powerhouse standoff between the City of Johannesburg and Eskom, and ask whether PPP's are always the solution.Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design by Bernard Kotze. Created by Mar...
Nov 11, 2024•23 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast Botswana voters have just done something incredible - they voted out the party that has been running the country for 58 years and which brought about one of the continent’s greatest economic achievements. This is just one of the surprising election results around the world, which includes elections everywhere from Japan to Moldova. And of course, there is the big one this week. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss what might be underpinning these chang...
Nov 04, 2024•19 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Why is the medium-term budget statement like Johannesburg water supply? This is one of the key questions in our podcast this week, in which entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor discuss the said budget, some related questions like SA's recent per capita GDP growth, and how it relates to the government of national unity. We also discuss the D-day election in the US, solutions to Cape Town's traffic jams, and the art of slapping. Seriously.Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shap...
Oct 28, 2024•20 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast For the first time in front of a live audience, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss the latest turn of events in the South African Rugby Union buyout saga, the twists and turns in the US election and the surprising similarities - and differences - between the state of the equity markets in 2024 with those in the dot com era of 2000. And we take questions from the audience of some of Johannesburg’s most influential lawyers and bankers brought together by leadin...
Oct 22, 2024•24 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast This week, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss the proposed sale of a stake in the Springboks (skande!) and the politicisation of the weather (double skande!). It turns out the weatherman is not out to get you, but maybe the weather authorities are - particularly if you live in Johannesburg.Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design by Bernard Kotze. Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Oct 15, 2024•19 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss whether the state pensioners’ fund manager, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) which now has R2.7-trillion under management, should be split up. Also, does the GNU mean SA will stop drifting into the ambit of authoritarian regimes? And finally, is sports betting a financial risk to sports enthusiasts or a financial boon to sporting codes. Or both!Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design by Bernard K...
Oct 08, 2024•20 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss the importance of chickens and China this week, in light of the application for VAT-exempting chicken. This leads to a proposal by Mark that we dispense with tax entirely other than VAT, which could see feathers flying. Moving on to our authoritative knowledge on other topics, we discuss who South Africans would prefer to be the next US president and conclude anyone other than Trump would probably be fine.Production and Edit...
Sep 30, 2024•21 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast Are diamonds really forever? This is just one of the questions we chat about this week. There are so many changes taking place, as the dramatic snowfall in KZN underlines, it raises the question of how do you roll with the changes. Adaption is harder than many imagine, and small problems can become very big, very fast, as SA's failing municipalities show. But some things don't change: we will always have the braai - happy heritage day.Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design...
Sep 23, 2024•22 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Pets, specifically cats and dogs, suddenly became a topic of international interest after they somehow contrived to make an appearance at the debate between former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Pity the poor town of Springfield, Massachusetts whose city officials now have to investigate whether legal Haitian immigrants are “eating the cats”. It's our pet topic, as is international interest rates which will start coming down this week. What are the consequences and w...
Sep 16, 2024•19 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast Lots of important financial news came tumbling out this week concerning Transnet, the Post Office, Eskom, the construction mafia and VBS. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss the difference - and the similarities - between fraud and ineptitude, which actually quite often go together. We also talk about the extent to which wealth has grown around the world (it has, by leaps and bounds) and where it grew the most. There is also a sports riddle.Production and Edit...
Sep 10, 2024•20 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast Investment banker Mark Barnes and business journalist Tim Cohen discuss the ongoing financial scandals revealed over the past week, include the potential bankruptcy of water boards and ongoing "Red Roses" PPE tender scandal. We also discuss the inauguration of the two-pot system for retirement savings, which leads to large discussion about the nature of debt. We consider the concept of trillion, companies with market capitalisation of over a trillion dollars, and particularly Nvidia and its futu...
Sep 02, 2024•17 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen consider the consequences of a failed census. They are probably a lot more serious than most people think. Disputes about the validity of SA's 2022 census will complicate services provision, and highlight the degree of semi-gration out of Johannesburg. Another fire in downtown Joburg underlines once again the need for decisive, informed, and active leadership. Also, what financial benefits do you get from which university degree? Calculations on the return on investment...
Aug 26, 2024•19 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick Editor Tim Cohen discuss the end of the EFF bromance between new MK member Floyd Shivambu and EFF leader Julius Malema, and wonder about when the politics will settle. The move is emblematic of a new era in SA politics as a result of the end (for the time being anyway) of single party dominance. The result is that political affiliations are becoming more variable and loyalties will probably be less enduring. The same is true of municipal politics as...
Aug 19, 2024•19 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick Editor Tim Cohen discuss the reasons why government and business are becoming new best friends - and the limits of the new relationship. Why is it happening, and what are the consequences? They also discuss why it is that the phrase “per capita” explodes on Google search in New Zealand during the olympics. The olympics came to and end the past Sunday, and the medal count tells an interesting story about how the world is developing. South Africa did ...
Aug 12, 2024•20 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast This week we discuss the sporting spirit of the Olympics, the stock market correction and volatility likely to follow, and whether common purpose finally prevailsProduction and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design by Bernard Kotze. Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Aug 06, 2024•23 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know how much actual gold there is an Olympic gold medal? (Hint: not much.) 2024 is the year of elections with huge numbers of voters expressing their choices. And how is it going so far. You have to say pretty well. And what about the important process of shopping. How is retail changing. Its all in our podcast today.Production and Editing by Tevya Turok Shapiro. Music & Design by Bernard Kotze. Created by Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen, Bernard Kotze & Branko Brkic.
Jul 29, 2024•19 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast 
