ListenUP!

Epizodes

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  ListenUP! The final countdown. 01.09.2026 3min

  In this our final episode, Merchant Banker Mark Barnes and Financial Mail journalist Tim Cohen, say cheers and thanks for the fish. This show, we think, has run its course, and we just want to say a quick goodbye. Along the way, by a rough estimate, we have reached over 300000 listeners and viewers over the past three years, which is pretty cool. We are extremely grateful for those who endured our ramblings, and the fish were great!
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  The ANC and the Bokke: each snatching defeat from the jaws of victory 25.08.2026 25min

  South Africa doesn’t need a municipal election popularity contest; it needs a survival strategy. So says merchant banker Mark Barns in conversation with Financial Mail journalist Tim Cohen and former Goldman Sachs Partner and now Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School Colin Coleman. In this lively discussion, we talk about the November 4 elections not as a political event but as an opportunity to remedy municipal bankruptcy. Perhaps the answer is not a new centrist party but to create an enduring “calibrated equilibrium” between the ANC and the DA, says Coleman. Also, the rand and the global bond market. Because merchant bankers.
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  ANC and the Bokke: each snatching defeat from the jaws of victory 24.08.2026 25min

  South Africa doesn’t need a municipal election popularity contest; it needs a survival strategy. So says merchant banker Mark Barns in conversation with Financial Mail journalist Tim Cohen and former Goldman Sachs Partner and now Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School Colin Coleman. In this lively discussion, we talk about the November 4 elections not as a political event but as an opportunity to remedy municipal bankruptcy. Perhaps the answer is not a new centrist party but to create an enduring “calibrated equilibrium” between the ANC and the DA, says Coleman. Also, the rand and the global bond market. Because merchant bankers.
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  The great Johannesburg poker game 19.08.2026 9min

  The Financial Mail’s cover this week is about the political race for Joburg, the most consequential of the local government elections that are due to take place on November 4, 2026. FM senior editors Guiletta Talevi, and the writer of the cover story Shirley de Villiers, discuss the myriad possibilities in this crucial race, which could provide crucial pointers of SA future political direction.
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  What’s the word, Johannesburg 17.08.2026 21min

  With just over 80 days to go before the local government, a flood of questions arise over the future of Johannesburg. Investment banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss the issue with Financial Mail senior editor Shirley de Villiers. What is going to happen? Who will be mayor? And we arrive at a definitive answer - we don’t know. But that doesn’t hold us back from speculating, particularly about what will be necessary just to start pointing in the right direction. Also, we want to give peace a chance. Instead of thinking that might is right, why don't we think that right is might? Tough question.
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  UncoveringIT! Diamonds are forever-ish 13.08.2026 12min

  Diamonds are Forever - or perhaps not. Every week we provide a brief preview of the Financial Mail's cover story. The week the dramatic advent of lab-grown diamonds on the diamond market, its effects and consequences.
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  ListenUP! 📣 Fifa's fables, foibles and fraud 04.08.2026 20min

  How do sport and money mix? Like oil and water. It's such a difficult balance to get right; sports can generate enormous turnover and need the cash to support development and pay the players. But if you go too far, you lose sight of the public and the ethic. So its turning out for Fifa, despite a fabulous world cup. Talk about an own goal! Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this issue, and its much less benign distant cousin, war. Is any consideration being given to the possibility that the conflict between Iran and the US will go on for years, as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia have? And what’s behind it all? Listen UP!
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  Should the PIC be closed down? 27.07.2026 23min

  Since the Public Investment Corporation, the nominal investor of over R3-trillion in retirement savings of the entire civil service, now has no board or permanent CEO, not to mention a broadly poor investment record, would this not be a great time to do away with it entirely and hand the mandate to the professionals? Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this issue with SPECIAL GUEST and free market proponent Leon Louw, and you might think the answer is obvious given the panel’s pro-business makeup. But it is not. PLUS glass half full journalism.
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  ListenUP! The Meaning of Sport 20.07.2026 20min

  This weekend has seen a feast of sporting events, and your hosts, merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen dissect the soccer, the tennis, and the rugby ... deciding who should have won and who should not. Juuuuust kidding. We talk about how decision making at the peak of sporting events can be hobbled by too much mind. And there is that other sport, the Public Investment Corporation and its seeming inability to function properly. Also, Johannesburg.
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  SA’s three biggest problems, right now 14.07.2026 19min

  If you had to isolate the three biggest problems faced by South Africa right now, the quantity and variety of options would be numerous. Poverty, inequality and unemployment, are the typical trio mentioned. Merchant banker Mark Barnes, journalist Tim Cohen and SPECIAL GUEST Rob Rose make a case for an alternative trio; political parties unable or unwilling to choose the most qualified people; government over interventionism where it's unnecessary and under interventionism where it is necessary. Do you agree, or not? Also, the future of Currency!
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  Festooned with Festivities 07.07.2026 20min

  The Durban July, Opera at La Scala, and the Soccer World Cup: we are festooned with festivities, and we discuss them! Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen are joined by arts writer and enthusiast extraordinaire Sarah Buitendach to talk about some of the amazing events of our time, and artists in general. Also, if it's OK for presidents to second-guess referees, where were you when you were needed Mr Ramaphosa?
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  ListenUp: Xenophobia in SA ... again 30.06.2026 20min

  ListenUp: Xenophobia in SAThe terrible prospect of xenophobic violence is once again afflicting South Africa this week, dragging Mzanzi into the fraught global political issue of immigration. Having the national soccer side booed in the US by other African nations at the World Cup is deeply sad, but then again, so is struggling to find your job back home. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen wrestle with the issue, offering some ideas on a subject that has many aspects and few obvious solutions. A little soul searching might help. Also, traveling thousands of kilometers through Southern Africa - the reason Mark has been AWOL for the past month - what do you see, what do you learn, and what does it feel like to get back home.
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  How do you start investing in art? 01.06.2026 26min

  Is investing in art actually an investment, or just a pleasure posing as a share portfolio? Merchant banker and artist Mark Barnes discussed this, the art scene, and whether Picasso’s work will eventually become valuable with journalist and art critic Tim Cohen. SPECIAL GUEST, executive director of auctioneers Strauss and Co. SUSIE GOODMAN joins in order to add some actual knowledge to the discussion. Turns out, African art and artists are coming into their own, and selling for high prices around the world. Also, the Johannesburg Art Gallery cadenza.
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  SA agricultural sector is blooming 25.05.2026 23min

  South Africa’s agricultural exports could well hit record levels in 2026, surpassing even a spectacular 2025, despite Donald Trump’s tariff cadenza last year. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss this, and other matters agricultural, with SPECIAL GUEST Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz. Amid the deluge of bad news confronting both the country and the world — and the deluge of rainfall across much of South Africa — this is a fabulous turn-up for the books. As your mother always told you, it is basic etiquette not to complain about farmers with your mouth full.
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  What is happening to the world? Literally. 18.05.2026 23min

  It turns out that foreign affairs are much more complicated than you might imagine - even when they don’t involve an Italian lover. To find out more, Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen talk to SPECIAL GUEST journalist and foreign affairs correspondent Linda van Tilburg about why the 10 Downing Street cat Larry seems to have more chance of maintaining his domicile than other recent residents. And there is also the meeting between US president Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which seemed to elicit more photographs than policies. Also, AI.
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  The Prime Minister, the President, and the lettuce 13.05.2026 23min

  With South Africa’s unemployment rate up again among many other problems, to what extent has local politics reached its nadir? To put it another way, is the political system capable of achieving the needs and requirements of the  population - both locally and in the world? Yes, says Investment banker Mark Barnes and SPECIAL GUEST Ann Bernstein, head of the Centre for Development and Enterprise. Journalist Tim Cohen is, as always, more sceptical. And dentistry!
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  The Prime Minister, the President, and the lettice 13.05.2026 23min

  With South Africa’s unemployment rate up again among many other problems, to what extent has local politics reached its nadir? To put it another way, is the political system capable of achieving the needs and requirements of the  population - both locally and in the world? Yes, says Investment banker Mark Barnes and SPECIAL GUEST Ann Bernstein, head of the Centre for Development and Enterprise. Journalist Tim Cohen is, as always, more sceptical. And dentistry!
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  The Trappings of Debt. Literally. 05.05.2026 21min

  What does it mean for you and your investments that global public sector debt has now breached the $100-trillion mark, and by the end of the decade government debt will probably reach 100% of global GDP. It's confusing. Debt is a facility, a promise, a tool, a shock absorber … and a trap door. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discussed this topic with Special Guest Rob Rose. Also running. Not us. Other people.
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  The tyranny of mediocrity 27.04.2026 23min

  To unravel, as much as we can, a chaotic world at the moment, merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen draw on the services of Special Guest Iraj Abedian, economist and thinker extraordinaire for this episode of ListenUP! The consequences of the widening war in the Middle East are hard to predict, but one thing is very clear: we are surrounded by the tyranny of mediocrity, locally and internationally. And in South Africa’s case, AI is clearly not helping much - although it might just be helping itself! Why, you ask? ListenUP!
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  The Great South African Reboot 21.04.2026 49min

  Look just a little under the surface, and big changes are starting to take place in South Africa. From the introduction of the private sector into Transnet into the competitive dynamics of the contest for Johannesburg, the times they are a’changing - at last. Merchant banker Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discussed these and other changes with Special Guest! the leader of RizeMzanzi and chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts Songezo Zibi. Also, are you in favour or against Starlink - let us know.