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Eye of the Storm

SA Hosted by Sputnik Africa Podcasts

An intellectually rigorous podcast where Pieter Kriel interrogates power, democracy, ideology, and history.

19 episodesWeekly

Episodes

Deconstructing Whiteness, Christianity & Colonialism

In this episode, Pieter sits down with academic and researcher David Elliot to examine whiteness, Christianity, colonialism and the importance of deconstruction in contemporary South Africa. “There is this fundamental shared history of some kind of British colonialism.” Elliot remars The conversation explores the relationship between Christian nationalism and apartheid, and how colonial ideas about race, identity and humanity continue to influence South African society. Elliot discusses his own journey from Christian ministry towards agnosticism and how studying theology, whiteness and colonialism forced him to critically examine beliefs he had inherited. Pieter and Elliot also examine the psychology of privilege, the difficulty of meaningful engagement across racial and economic divides, and why conversations about race so often produce defensiveness rather than genuine reflection. “At the same time you critique race, you construct new ways of imagining what it means to be human.” Elliot remarks The discussion then turns to social media and the limitations of short-form political discourse, asking whether digital activism can move beyond algorithms, outrage and online arguments towards education, grassroots organising and meaningful social change. This is a platform for difficult conversations, competing ideas and uncomfortable questions about South Africa and the world.

2 months ago33 min

The EFF’s Vision for South Africa & a United Africa

In this episode, we sit down with Sam Matiase of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to ask a provocative question: Has South Africa turned its back on Pan-Africanism and the dream of a united Africa? As anti-migrant sentiment rises and marches against foreign nationals gain traction, the conversation explores whether the anger in South African townships is being directed at the real enemy or being manipulated by forces that seek to Balkanize the continent. The discussion unpacks the "Bantustan mentality," a psychological legacy of apartheid's separate development system that Matiase argues still shapes how Black South Africans view their African neighbours. "Much in much in the organizations that they are together. They are Afrophobic, they are tribalistic. They are pursuing a counter-revolutionary agenda," Matiase remarks. How does the EFF reconcile its "South Africans first" manifesto with its commitment to a united African continent, and what does the party's Marxist-Leninist identity mean for its relationship with the SACP? "We direct awareness, their consciousness towards the real enemy. The real enemy being the failure of the state to preside over capital and also to ensure that capital saves the people and not saves the rich only." Matiase remarks. Watch this episode to understand why the EFF believes the real enemy is capitalism, not the foreign national next door, and why the road to African unity runs through economic expansion beyond South Africa's borders.

2 months ago24 min

The MK Phenomenon: The Rise of South Africa’s Third Largest Party

In this episode, we sit down with Sifiso Mahlangu, official spokesperson for the MK Party, for a direct discussion on the party’s political vision, its strategy ahead of the 2026 local government elections, and its ambitions for South Africa. “Leadership is about accepting that you know something that I don’t, or you accepting that I know stuff that you don’t.” Sifiso remarks. The conversation covers economic transformation, land reform, Pan-Africanism, migration and border management, as well as the MK Party’s relationship with Jacob Zuma and whether the movement can survive beyond his leadership. “We want a united Africa, but a prosperous continent means that there must be a prosperous Tanzania, prosperous Nigeria, prosperous Morocco, prosperous South Africa.” Sifiso remarks. Watch as Pieter Kriel challenges Mahlangu on the MK Party’s policies, migration, its criticism of the ANC, and its vision for the future of South Africa.

2 months ago34 min

Changing the Way History is Taught in Africa!

In this episode, we sit down with Tebogo Maneli, a history teacher and educationist, for a wide-ranging and provocative discussion on the state of history and education in South Africa. Maneli argues that history is far more than memorising dates and events, exploring whether it should be compulsory until Grade 12, whether teachers are adequately equipped to teach it, and why the quality of education can depend so heavily on the passion and preparation of individual educators. The conversation examines South Africa’s history curriculum, the teaching of pre-colonial African civilisation and indigenous knowledge, and whether learners should be exposed to the histories of countries across the African continent. Maneli also reflects on the importance of teaching young people to question authority, challenge ideas and develop their own intellectual positions. “Until you feel comfortable with challenging me when I am wrong, I have not taught you adequately,” Maneli remarks The discussion also confronts the inequalities between South Africa’s public and private schools, the different resources available to teachers, and whether the country’s education crisis is fundamentally a problem inside the classroom or the result of broader socioeconomic conditions. Maneli further explores discipline, co-educational schooling, race, socioeconomic privilege and the challenges of teaching politically and historically sensitive subjects to young people with different backgrounds and beliefs. The conversation expands into Pan-Africanism, youth engagement and the role education can play in creating a more critically conscious society. “You are not your situation,” Maneli tells South Africa’s youth, arguing that education remains essential for young people to compete and participate meaningfully in society. Watch this episode for a blunt discussion about history, education, inequality, discipline, critical thinking and the responsibility of Africa's teachers to prepare a generation capable of questioning the world around them.

3 months ago34 min

Herman Mashaba on Coalition Politics, Immigration & Rebuilding South Africa

We discuss the rise of coalition politics in South Africa and what it means for the country’s political future. The conversation looks at ActionSA’s experience in local government, the challenges of governing through coalitions. Can political parties overcome ideological and personal differences to provide stable and effective government for all people?

3 months ago33 min

The Rejection of Afrikaner Refugees

In this episode, host Pieter Kriel delivers an unfiltered and intellectually honest monologue on the recent return of so-called Afrikaner “white refugees” from the United States, the myth of white genocide, and the deeper history of manufactured fear in South Africa. Kriel begins by rigorously defining the term “refugee,” arguing that applying it to Afrikaners who sold properties, gave away pets, left jobs, and paid their own way to the US on claims of persecution is both factually and morally wrong. True refugees, he insists, flee war, dictatorship, or total collapse with no other choice, they do not liquidate generational assets in the expectation of permanent residence. The recent rejections by US authorities for false pretences, he contends, simply confirm what many already knew: the narrative was never grounded in reality. “Calling white South Africans, specifically those of Afrikaner descent, refugees, in the case of going to the United States specifically, is intellectually dishonest. And it is an insult to actual global refugees,” Kriel remarks. The monologue confronts the privilege-disguised-as-exile psychology, the impossibility of preserving Afrikaner culture inside an assimilatory American system, and the selective humanity that elevates farm attacks while ignoring the far higher daily toll of violence on women and children in townships. It ends with a direct challenge, if the concern is genuine safety, work with civil society and demand real solutions; if the motivation is economic anxiety or rejection of equality, say so honestly. “To the oppressor, equality sometimes feels like oppression,” Kriel remarks while stressing that South Africa’s doors remain open and that the country was built on the principle that anyone can become South African. Watch this episode for an unapologetic examination of the returned exodus, the long history of white panic, and the difference between genuine refuge and constructed victimhood.

3 months ago23 min

Your Algorithm is Your GOD

In this episode we sit down with Dr. Tristan Kapp, scholar of digital religion and analyst of the intersection between technology, belief, and power, for a sharp and historically grounded conversation about the image of Donald Trump as a messianic figure and the deeper currents of Christian nationalism it reveals. Dr. Kapp unpacks the viral image of Trump as a “doctor” healing America, framing it as a modern form of apotheosis, the elevation of a political leader into a quasi-divine redeemer. Drawing on the biblical figure of Cyrus and ancient patterns of rulers sanctifying their power through divine association, he shows how this narrative resonates strongly with certain Afrikaner communities in South Africa who have long cast themselves as an embattled, covenantal people. “This sort of narrative of what they call apotheosis… is essentially what scholars of religion tend to refer to this… where he is portrayed as a godlike figure, where he is elevated from a mere mortal to this divine figure, which sort of reinforces the sort of theological authoritarianism,” Kapp remarks. “We need to be intolerant towards intolerance… to ignore these things at your own peril, but to not avoid engaging with them… By interrogating these things and by opening these things up to scrutiny is, I think, important here,” Dr Kapp asserts Dr. Kapp makes a strong case for recognising these movements as threats to democratic openness, for confronting rather than ignoring the online ecosystems that sustain them, and for refusing the sacralisation of any political leader. Watch this episode for a historically informed analysis of how religion, algorithms, and nationalism are being fused into a new form of theological authoritarianism, and what it will take to resist it.

3 months ago34 min

Africa's Young Men are Being Left Behind!

In this episode we sit down with Dr. Charley Pietersen, youth mentor, author, humanitarian, and founder of the Growing Up Without a Father foundation, for a direct and necessary conversation about the African boy child being left behind. Dr. Pietersen argues that the heavy focus on empowering the girl child, while essential, has created a dangerous imbalance by neglecting young men. Without parallel investment in the boy child, societies produce angry, directionless young men who struggle to relate to empowered women, fuelling gender-based violence and deeper social breakdown. Dr. Pietersen makes a strong case for practical, community-rooted solutions, mindset change, and collective responsibility across families, institutions, and the continent to stop leaving African young men behind. Watch this episode for a grounded discussion of the boy-child crisis, the cost of imbalance, and the choices required to restore balance and build a future that includes all of Africa’s youth.

3 months ago27 min

Nuclear Energy: Africa's Path to Prosperity

In this episode, we sit down with Princess Mthombeni, founder of Africa for Nuclear and a leading advocate for nuclear energy as a driver of African development, for a blunt discussion on why nuclear power is essential to the continent’s industrial future. Princess traces South Africa’s nuclear journey from the SAFARI-1 research reactor of the 1960s, still producing critical nuclear medicine isotopes today — to Koeberg’s decades of baseload power, while explaining how the ambitious 9,600 MW nuclear programme of the Zuma years was derailed by politics rather than technical or economic realities. The conversation challenges the narrow focus on renewables, using the Komati plant as a cautionary example of lost capacity, jobs and local economic life, and makes the case for both conventional reactors and small modular reactors suited to inland regions. Princess highlights the su§perior financing and delivery models offered by partners such as Rosatom, the employment and industrial spin-offs of nuclear construction, and the broader applicatio1ns of nuclear technology in water desalination and medicine. “Nuclear brings prosperity. Every developed nation has a nuclear program, and that’s just the reality,” she remarks. Looking ahead, she sketches a continent that refuses the perpetual “Dark Continent” label, one of lights, industries and dignity rather than continued resource extraction and energy poverty. “I’m looking at Africa that is powered and Africa that has lights at the end of the tunnel,” Mthombeni remarks Princess Mthombeni makes a clear case that energy is the foundation of development, that Africa must beneficiate its own resources, and that nuclear technology, properly negotiated and deployed, can deliver the jobs, industrialisation and long-term prosperity the continent needs. Watch this episode for a development-first, unapologetic argument on why nuclear energy belongs at the centre of Africa’s energy future.

3 months ago29 min

Digital Colonialism in Africa

In this episode of Eye of the Storm, we sit down with Molatelo Racheku, a leading BRICS+ diplomatic analyst, to dismantle the myth of connectivity as some sort of liberation. As undersea cables wrap around the continent and 5G towers crop up in our cities, a provocative question emerges: Is Africa’s highly anticipated digital dividend actually becoming a modern Berlin Conference?

4 months ago27 min

Eye of the Storm

Episodes

Deconstructing Whiteness, Christianity & Colonialism

The EFF’s Vision for South Africa & a United Africa

The MK Phenomenon: The Rise of South Africa’s Third Largest Party

Changing the Way History is Taught in Africa!

Herman Mashaba on Coalition Politics, Immigration & Rebuilding South Africa

The Rejection of Afrikaner Refugees

Your Algorithm is Your GOD

Africa's Young Men are Being Left Behind!

Nuclear Energy: Africa's Path to Prosperity

Digital Colonialism in Africa

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