Stand Up! Business

The world and its distant relatives have had their say about the theatrical meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump. Is there anything more to say? The answer is, well, yes. Particularly, it turns out about golf, and the process of telling fibs not only about contentious local and international events, but more importantly, about your handicap. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss these and other important matters, including the utility and problems of “equity equivalents” when it comes to Black Economic Empowerment. Take a listen.

For philosophers, the truth is indivisible. But sometimes, there are those among us who think that the truth should not be divided, as such, but … why use it all? Particularly when it's really only necessary to use part of it - for reasons of convenience and utility, you understand. You just use the part that makes them look good. In this podcast, Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor-at-Large Tim Cohen discuss politicians and businesses using the convenient segmental approach to the truth over the past week. And speaking of US President Donald Trump, what is going to happen when he meets President Cyril Ramaphosa later this week? The best guess is that the partial truth will be plain to see.

What a day. The first Afrikaner “refugees” leave for the USA. On the same day, SA topped the tables in the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, winning two and coming third in another, breaking a national record. The 4x100 victory came against the mighty US team, which has won 15 Olympic gold medals in the event over the years, and the Canadian team, which won the most recent Olympic medal. As this was all going down, 50-odd Afrikaners arrived in Washington on route to Texas, where they will take up their refugee status. What is the difference between these two events? Why is SA so successful in sporting integration and so bad at political integration? Listen in.

When hunger strikes, the fiscally responsible glutton knows what to do: scout around until you find a hotel with a buffet and pile your plate like it’s a game of edible Jenga. Essentially, that is what investors have achieved over the years by backing Warren Buffett, who retired at 94 over the weekend; investment Jenga. The Economist calculates that from 1965, when Buffett made his first investment, to the end of last year, Berkshire’s value rose by more than 5.5 million percent, on average 20% annually. The S&P 500 gained 39,000% over that time. Buffett is now worth $162 billion, and he is now going to devote himself to giving most of it away. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen unnecessarily add to the superlatives, and conclude that SA could do with some of that investment nous. Enjoy.

Most arguments in favour of freedom are positive: the correlation between freedom and human development goals is, generally speaking, pretty strong. But actually, the most powerful arguments in favour of freedom are negative: if you live in a place where freedom is limited and autocrats, your chances of ending up dead are pretty high. South Africa celebrated Freedom Day this week, and in this podcast, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss the famous - and famously cryptic - line in Kris Kristofferson’s song Me and Bobby McGee, “freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose”. And we conclude, actually, it isn’t.