The descent of our fathers
A remembrance for Father's Day.
South Africa
Captain Kolisi
South Africa's national rugby team, the Springboks, gets a black captain for the first time in its history--24 years after the end of Apartheid.
Flight of the Boers
South Africa's lead anti-land reform organization is cultivating its relationship with the international far right.
The rise of the gangster state in South Africa
President Jacob Zuma oversaw a rise in political violence across all sectors of South African society.
This mother of mine
On Mother's Day — a dedication to hardscrabble mothers.
Social media and political violence in Cape Town
Reporting on protests in poor communities where the mainstream media lacks, social media picks up the slack. This isn't always a good thing.
All the colors of jam
I had told many half-truths before, but those little lies were cute compared to this, the first time I told a big lie.
The Importance of Reading ‘Khwezi’
The Jacob Zuma years were especially damaging for re-introducing South Africans to political leaders who did not fear shame.
No more caricatures
Engaging seriously with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s life could help us understand how South Africa got where it is and where it’s going.
Winnie Mandela and the people’s doctor
The murder of Abu Asvat has clouded Winnie Mandela's legacy. Their deep friendship symbolized what could have been in the struggle for freedom.
You strike a woman, you strike a rock
What is it like to be a woman leader in South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters?
Action on land reform lags behind debate in South Africa
Land reform dominates public debate in South Africa. But it comes with a lack of data and a clear policy.
Wokeness and the professional outrage machine
Social media group-think derails any chance for a progressive political movement.
No platform for Apartheid
30 years ago, free speech advocates were more willing to tolerate far-right voices than oppose them. It's now happening again.
David Goldblatt at the Centre Georges Pompidou
The South African photographer has a complicated place within his country's photographic culture.
The peculiar nostalgia for the former Bantustans in South Africa
Some South Africans are looking back on the apartheid era's Bantustan homelands with reverence. Here is why.
Cape Town’s exceptionalism
Cape Town has always been like other African cities in how it treats its poorer, black, residents. The water crisis just amplifies these divides.
The water point
The author returns to her home town, Cape Town, which may soon become the world’s first major city to run out of water. The crisis also exacerbates old divisions.
The Lame Duck President
Reflecting upon the Jacob Zuma tenure at the head of South Africa and the prospects of a Cyril Ramaphosa presidency.
How to subvert the Hollywood Western
An interview with the South African director and writer of 'Five Fingers for Marseilles,' a Western set in that country, and starring an all black cast.