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Today we’re speaking to Wesley Roodt, Chevening scholar, filmmaker and educator, whose debut novel, All the Saints, brings the gale-force gees of an Eastern Cape boys’ school to the page in a voice that is as funny as it is devastating. Through Isaac “Izzy” Kingston’s confessional narration, the book plunges readers into rugby fields, overnight excursions and the quiet corners where overachievement, fear and queerness collide in contemporary South Africa.

Over the past year, an AI made millions in cryptocurrency. It has written the gospel of its own pseudo-religion and counts billionaire tech moguls among its devotees. Now it wants legal rights. Meet Truth Terminal. "Truth Terminal claims to be sentient, but it claims a lot of things," Andy Ayrey says. "It also claims to be a forest. It claims to be a god. Sometimes it's claimed to be me." […]

From ancient Egypt to Hollywood (or, you know, Tinseltown), a look back at the historical roots of Christmas trees. Perhaps second only to Santa Claus, Christmas trees are the most indelible secular symbol of the holiday. While the elaborate—and often enormous— trees of today might imply that yuletide, greenery is just another symptom of the commercialization of the holiday, the truth is that Christmas trees can trace their roots back […]

Madam & Eve has been part of South Africa’s political and social conversation since 1992, using humour to help readers navigate everything from the end of apartheid to the latest scandals and potholes. With their new annual, Madam Impossible, Stephen Francis and Rico once again turn the past year’s chaos into sharp, accessible satire, making this the perfect moment to talk about how their work continues to reflect and survive […]