Sihle Khumalo has written a fascinating, witty, brilliantly researched new book, Milk The Beloved Country  One of our continent's best writers, Zukiswa Wanner, came over to my house, and after a hearty lunch we hit the 'record' button for this edition of In The Ring.  We dissected Sihle Khumalo's new book, reading from it, telling you why we both loved it (for overlapping but also different reasons), and debating where and how we think he might have done things differently (or not). Dig in!  ..read more

Redi Tlhabi, well-known South African journalist now based in London and working across the globe, joined me for a bloody fascinating and blunt conversation about South African media. It was wide-ranging and interesting.  Dig in. Debate it. Share it widely ..read more

In this edition of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser, I reflect on both Freedom Day and Worker's Day.  I spend some time arguing that my generation and those of you who are younger shouldn't be ahistorical and glib about the achievements of those who came before us. That said, we have to be rigorous in our conceptualisation of 'freedom': what precisely is it? Unless we do some definitional work, we can't mind the empirical gap between the normative vision of the constitution and our present social un/realities.  I end this edition by weaving all of that material, in turn, into a s ..read more

All I ask is that you listen to this entry of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser. It is ONLY 6min20sec.  Only engage me afterwards. Just do me that favour.  ..read more

In this exceptionally short audio entry, I voice my argument, first published by TimesLIVE ( https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/opinion-and-analysis/2023-04-11-eusebius-mckaiser-the-opposite-of-pointing-out-western-moral-viciousness-isnt-to-let-putin-off-the-hook/ ), for why South Africa should arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin should he come to our country. Have a listen ..read more

I tweeted a picture of Julius Malema marching to the Uganda embassy where he spoke - with the rainbow flag wrapped around it - condemning the bill criminalising identifying as gay in Uganda. I accompanied the tweeted image with the following words: @Julius_S_Malema thanks for showing leadership today and not being worried about homophobic backlash even among some of your supporters online. Shame on the ANC government for SILENCE. Doing right isn't about calculating how many 'likes' you'll get. #GayRightsAreHumanRights *** A friend of mine called me and wondered why I would praise Male ..read more

I listened to John Steenhuisen's acceptance speech after he was re-elected as the federal leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's official opposition in parliament. This is a very important leadership position given that the DA is the second largest party in the country. I was shocked by the bizarre content at the heart of the speech. It was filled with relentless negativity and fear mongering, which bodes very poorly if this is a dress rehearsal for how the DA will approach the 2024 national elections.  There were at least six massive own goals - more - but let's focus illu ..read more

This week, former president Thabo Mbeki wrote an extraordinary 17-page letter to deputy president Paul Mashatile. In it, he essentially critiqued various shortcomings of the current ANC parliamentary caucus. In this edition of In The Ring With Eusebius McKaiser, I do several things: a) explain the essential point of the letter; b) explain the structure and logic of the letter in a bit more detail; and (most importantly perhaps) c) offer you political analysis of what is at play here, which may not be apparent if you merely focus on the Phala Phala and Eskom case studies that drive the overt a ..read more

Why do so many people obsess about what queer people do, and how we identify? The latest expression of hatred is in Uganda, where a bill has been passed that now even criminalises merely IDENTIFYING as gay. Yes, you've read correctly.  Now it is up to the president - a long-time homophobe - to decide whether or not he sign it into effective law. Everyone must oppose hatred wherever it rears its head. I analyse in detail in this episode why the entire international community ought to be outraged when human rights are trampled on. But I also look at specific aspects of this bill that ar ..read more

Are you confused that Somizi and Mohale were never married? "How so?", you may have asked yourself. Are you also confused as to why Somizi, rather than Mohale, is the one who wanted to sustain the claim that there WAS a valid marriage in place? After all, wouldn't Somizi, more than Mohale, be excited to know there was no valid marriage in place? If Mohale is the alleged gold digger, why wouldn't Somizi be happy to accept that they were not spouses?! Confused?  Let me help you out. I do two things in this episode: a) answer these questions AND (far more importantly) b) I will persuade yo ..read more