It was never my dream to start my own podcast. I’m a writer and always have been. I’ve never listened to the radio; I find the conversations awkward and, often, a bit embarrassing. As my friends and family know, I don’t even talk on the phone that much.
But a few years ago, mostly because of peer pressure, I downloaded a podcast app and signed up for a couple of episodes. And I was hooked. Here was a medium I could get behind. Russ Roberts’s EconTalk, Steven Levitt’s People I (Mostly) Admire, and Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook’s The Rest is History, to name a few, have provided countless of hours entertainment.
Over the years, a few friends and students have suggested I start my own one. But the thought never really appealed to me. I might be a bit of a contrarian, but I’m not a debater. I don’t think I’ve got a voice for radio – and an Afrikaans accent. And writing allows you to delete (multiple times), to fine-tune your argument before releasing it to the wider world.
Perhaps being stuck in traffic one morning convinced me that the printed word is not the only way to reach a wider audience. Also, I really wanted an excuse to speak to the world’s leading scholars, and a podcast sounded like a great one. Since the publication of Our Long Walk to Economic Freedom, I’ve also been invited to several podcasts, and it turned out to be much more fun than I expected.
So here we are: A new Our Long Walk podcast. Above is a link to the trailer. You can also find it on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We release the first episode next week.
I am joined on the podcast by Jonathan Schoots. Jonathan has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago. He then spent time at LEAP, and is now at Lund University in Sweden. Jonathan and I disagree on many things, as the first episode should make clear, but we are both eager to understand the world – and, in particular, our country and continent – and to discuss ideas for how to make it better.
Though our first episode is a conversation with each other, Jonathan and I will interview leading scholars, most of whom are based outside South Africa. Our first guests will be Bronwen Everill (Princeton), Ken Opalo (Georgetown), and James Robinson (Chicago). We will also be experimenting a lot: don’t be surprised to hear AI-generated music that reflects the research interests of our guests.
Creating a podcast, much like winning the World Cup, is a team effort. The podcast is sponsored generously by The Millennium Trust, which funds the Chair in Economics, History, and Policy that I hold at Stellenbosch University. We have acquired the production services of Voice Note Productions, with the incredible Vasti Calitz and Andri Burnett directing and editing our (sometimes rambly) conversations. Kelsey Lemon capably helps with background research.
As always, feedback is welcome. Send us the names of scholars you think we should interview, topics you’d like to hear discussed, or new technologies we should try out.
Ultimately, Our Long Walk is about ideas to build a more prosperous, more inclusive society. And sharing them with those who can make it happen. I hope you will join us on this new journey.
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