Pope Francis, not for nothing the namesake of St Francis of Assisi, died on Easter weekend, a wonderful coda to a remarkable career. Francis was a compassionate reformer who tried to modernise the church, and it was a mark of his humility that
The stock markets around the world are in a funk following the decision by US President Donald Trump to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on more or less all the US's trading partners - except they weren't reciprocal, they were punitive. Then, there
A while ago now, a Twitter post called “My f** Marelize!” went viral. The pathos, the humor, and the undercurrent of frustration were all captured in an 18-second video of a mother trying to teach her hapless daughter (we assume) how to ride a
Government is always looking for money to take rather than money to make, says entrepreneur Mark Barnes in this discussion over the news of the week with Daily Maverick editor at large Tim Cohen. Which leads us to the delicate issue of the Napp
In this episode entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick editor at large Tim Cohen discuss branding - and that's not the kind you do to the cow. How important are brands (very), how do you work out what a brand is worth (complicated), and mo
Let's get some things straight. There are only three (expletive deleted) sources of capital; debt, tax, and foreign investment. Well, actually there are more, but as entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Larger Tim Cohen discuss
SA’s Government of National Unity is trying to get its budget passed for the second time this week, but there is something missing in the mix: growth. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen discuss the lack of transform
Like much of the world, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen were mesmerised by the Oval Office showdown between US president Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy which ended in name-calling, finger pointing, an
What was that phrase, “Vat hom!”? Well, I think we can all agree that suggesting a two percentage point increase in VAT, was really going for it. The budget and the proposed VAT increase was, somewhat inevitably, the main topic of conversation
It's budget week, which means it's a period of festivity and celebration as we all look forward to higher taxes. Not necessarily. We will see on Wednesday. In the meantime, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Daily Maverick Editor at Large Tim Cohen d
When you turn your friends into your enemies, don’t all your enemies suddenly become friends - with each other? There is an intrinsic design flaw when it comes to alienating your friends, but US President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care. But
There are few things more fun than buying a new car, and few things more boring than taking it in for regular and expensive services. But the utility of making regular repairs can extend the life of everything, including as it happens, your own
Slightly inevitably, the GNU is going through a bout of indigestion. How serious is it? Should we be buying gold, selling the rand and stocking up on loo paper? Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and financial journalist Tim Cohen discuss why it is that
There is no escape. This week's news is going to be dominated by the inauguration of The Donald. Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss how the world will change from this week - and how it won't. All of a sudden, the world i
What is the difference between being adaptable and actually adapting? Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this and other important Darwinian questions, including the relationship between humans and yachts. And that raises
Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and financial journalist Tim Cohen discuss the new year, and what we can expect, coming to the conclusion that we don't actually know what to expect because, well, global uncertainty. But we do discuss ways to operate i
Remember when Christmas was a day? Then it became a season. Black Friday, you would think, would forever be a day, that day being, you guessed it, Friday. Turns out, Black Friday is now fast becoming a week, and will inevitably soon become a se
Pardon the confusion, but didn’t President Joe Biden say he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted recently on tax and gun charges? Turns out, he did say he would not. But then he did issue the pardon over the Thanksgiving wee
How much is a banana stuck to the wall with duct tape actually worth? Or, to put it another way, have we all gone bananas? Which leads on to the more important topic of the value of money, and that involves inflation. And interest rates. This w
Is it Cop or cop-out; it's hard to tell. The UN’s Conference of Parties (COP) on climate action and sustainability is currently happening in Baku, Azerbaijan - the second time the conference is taking place in a petro-state. Unsurprisingly, it'
How is it possible that someone so obviously flawed as a person can become president of the world's most powerful country? Entrepreneur Mark Barnes and financial journalist Tim Cohen (try!) to explain that, and other imponderables, like the glo
Botswana voters have just done something incredible - they voted out the party that has been running the country for 58 years and which brought about one of the continent’s greatest economic achievements. This is just one of the surprising elec
Why is the medium-term budget statement like Johannesburg water supply? This is one of the key questions in our podcast this week, in which entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor discuss the said budget, some related questions li
For the first time in front of a live audience, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss the latest turn of events in the South African Rugby Union buyout saga, the twists and turns in the US election and the surp
This week, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and Business Maverick editor Tim Cohen discuss the proposed sale of a stake in the Springboks (skande!) and the politicisation of the weather (double skande!). It turns out the weatherman is not out to get yo