From loss, conspiracy theories, femicide, lockdown, to 'stolen' elections, PPE corruption and remote church, 2020 felt like it was one of those years you’d rather forget. Remembering can be painful, but there are a few things that happened in 2020 we should probably revisit, and a few things we may need to remember moving forward as we try to make sense of what we just went through and look ahead to our post-2020 life.   Connect with us:  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/walking_on_water_mzansi/  Email: [email protected]  Support the podcast: Donate via PayPal   Links from the episode:  Politically Aweh clip - PPE corruption: The ANC’s Personal Payment Extravaganza   Mail and Guardian article - Infodemic to infowar: The circus of disinformation will spin on  Music:  Special Thanks to Stevener - Black Excellence 600  Musical interludes - waykap and Bonkers Beat Club

Author, poet, playwright, actor, educator, activist. Dr. Sindiwe Magona is one of South Africa's greatest treasures. Her books have pushed boundaries and challenged our collective thinking about family, HIV/AIDS, poverty and finding your own voice. In the conclusion of this 2-part episode, Ayanda and Dambudzo have a freewheeling conversation with Mam' Sindiwe on life, writing and all things South Africa.  Links to some key books by Dr. Sindiwe Magona: Mother to mother - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Mother_to_Mother.html?id=CZeFWXG4-SgC&redir_esc=y Beauty's gift - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Beauty_s_Gift.html?id=1_7KuwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y Chasing the tails of my father's cattle - https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Tails-My-Fathers-Cattle-ebook/dp/B01HELURNC Push-push! and other stories - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Push_push_and_Other_Stories.html?id=adOXQQfHDr4C&redir_esc=y To my children's children - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/To_My_Children_s_Children.html?id=MCMFtMy8w9gC&redir_esc=y Forced to grow - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Forced_to_Grow.html?id=UDxBKCnHu_4C&redir_esc=y Music:  Stevener - Black Excellence 600

Author, poet, playwright, actor, educator, activist. Dr. Sindiwe Magona is one of South Africa's greatest treasures. Her books have pushed boundaries and challenged our collective thinking about family, HIV/AIDS, poverty and finding your own voice. In part 1 of this 2-part episode, Ayanda and Dambudzo have a freewheeling conversation with Mam' Sindiwe on life, writing and all things South Africa.    Links to some key books by Dr. Sindiwe Magona: Mother to mother - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Mother_to_Mother.html?id=CZeFWXG4-SgC&redir_esc=y Beauty's gift - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Beauty_s_Gift.html?id=1_7KuwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y Chasing the tails of my father's cattle - https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Tails-My-Fathers-Cattle-ebook/dp/B01HELURNC Push-push! and other stories - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Push_push_and_Other_Stories.html?id=adOXQQfHDr4C&redir_esc=y To my children's children - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/To_My_Children_s_Children.html?id=MCMFtMy8w9gC&redir_esc=y Forced to grow - https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Forced_to_Grow.html?id=UDxBKCnHu_4C&redir_esc=y Music:  Stevener - Black Excellence 600

Have you ever had the feeling that everyone else is ‘crushing it’ except you? Or a nagging thought when you’ve accomplished something amazing and yet you feel it only happened due to sheer luck or being helped by other people? If every external indicator is that you earned your success, and yet you feel like you've faked your way into the room, you may be struggling with 'impostor syndrome'. Impostor syndrome is at work when you feel you somehow don’t deserve to be where you find yourself, that you don’t belong, whether it’s at a university, as a manager at your place of work or in a relationship. It produces a deep sense of doubt about your own capability; you feel like you’re a fraud and live with the fear that you’ll be discovered or exposed as incompetent or incapable. Most studies have shown it’s more common in women and disproportionately affects underrepresented minorities and immigrants. This phenomenon can prevent you from taking risks that may jeopardise your current position; it drains your confidence in your ability to achieve your goals and succeed in life; you end up either overworking to prove yourself, or self-sabotaging to avoid feelings of inadequacy; you can’t enjoy success because you feel it’s unearned; you underestimate yourself while overestimating the capacities of others. According to authors Lisa and Richard Orbe-Austin, it can “feed feelings of anxiety, low self-esteem, depression and frustration due to the thoughts and behaviors that result.” In this episode, Ayanda and Dambudzo take a layperson's look and dive into the impostor phenomenon, dissecting it and breaking down how it affects people, derailing them from the joy, peace and comfort of the Lord. As we are not professional therapists, if you're struggling with impostor syndrome, or what you think may be impostor syndrome, seek the help of a professional or consult some of the resources recommended below. Resources: Own Your Greatness: Overcome Impostor Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed in Life. By Drs Lisa Orbe-Austin and Richard Orbe-Austin Unlocking Your Authentic Self: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome, Enhancing Self-confidence, and Banishing Self-doubt. By Dr. Jennifer Hunt Music: Special thanks to Stevener - "Black excellence 600"

In part two of our reflections on living during a pandemic, we look at how churches in Cape Town and South Africa broadly have been responding to the situation. Through a retrospective that looks at past plagues, we learn some of the positives and negatives that people lean into during times such as these. We also delve into how governments have coped during this time, speaking into issues such as corruption over PPE and repression of democratic freedoms. There is much to rejoice over in the responses of individuals and organisations to the Covid-19 crisis; however, there is also much for us to be lamenting over. Personally and collectively, there is much contemplation and action for us to engage in.   Connect with us online:  Email - [email protected]  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/walking_on_water_mzansi/  Links to resources:  Blog post by Vinoth Ramachandra - https://vinothramachandra.wordpress.com/2020/03/  Blogpost on how the Church dealt with plagues in the past - https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2020/how-did-early-christians-respond-to-plagues  On Christian responses to the bubonic plague - https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-49/black-death-christian-response-third-world-died.html  On Beyonce's "Black is King" - https://www.essence.com/entertainment/only-essence/beyonces-black-is-king-criticism/  https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/i-hope-my-ancestors-were-goat-herders-not-kings-and-qu-1844593249  Original music:  Special thanks to Stevener

Life in 2020 has been dominated by the horizon of Covid-19 which has eclipsed what we would term 'regular' life. While dealing with Covid-19 and the dislocation it's caused, it's not as if everything else in life has slowed down. An uptick of gender-based violence during the lockdown and incidents of racism have also been regular features while we deal with the multi-faceted losses of Covid-19. In this episode, Ayanda and Dambudzo spend some time looking at these intertwined realities and reflect on hope in times like these. Our hope lies in Jesus, our anchor in all seasons of life, especially in turbulent days.  (At the time of recording, incidents such as the alleged police killing of 16-year-old Nathaniel Julies from Eldorado Park hadn't occurred, that's why our conversation doesn't reflect on that incident.)   Find us online:  Email - [email protected]  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/walking_on_water_mzansi/  Links to resources:  Podcast on "Ambiguous loss" - https://onbeing.org/programs/pauline-boss-navigating-loss-without-closure/   A father fights back - an inspiring story of a father who brought his daughter's rapist to justice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDp6_9a-rVY   Update on Nathaniel Julies' case - https://ewn.co.za/2020/08/29/two-officers-accused-of-fatally-shooting-nathaniel-julies-to-appear-in-court Article on GBV on the need for action, not more legislation - https://mg.co.za/opinion/2020-07-12-south-africa-has-the-legislation-but-not-enough-action-against-gender-based-violence/  Original Music:  Special thanks to Stevener for Black Excellence 600  Introductory audio clip of Jacob Blake's sister courtesy of MSNBC.

People may have forgotten that apartheid in South Africa and the trans-Atlantic enslavement of peoples were justified and authorised not only politically, but theologically as well. The theologians who did this work were not on the fringes, but 'pillars' of the establishment - a number of their works are still required reading in seminaries. While some have examined and repented of the roots and fruit of these and other dangerous theologies, others have uncritically continued to hold to theologies and practices that at best passively, and at worst actively, support ongoing unjust and ungodly configurations of Church and society. What does the prophetic witness of the Church look like in this season of protests against police brutality and apparent disregard for black and brown lives across many societies? What does the voice of God through the Scriptures say to us, and is our theology robust enough to sustain us as we navigate these waters? In this clip, Dambudzo and Ayanda look at how deficiencies in our theology can leave us being merely reactive and unprepared in times such as these, and how we need deeper readings of Scripture combined with Spirit-led truth-telling and lament for us to live up to our vocation as the multicultural and global people of God. Find us: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/walking_on_water_mzansi/ Email - [email protected] Links to resources: N.T. Wright on 'Undermining racism' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwohWaJHOp0 Article by Mmusi Maimane on the church and its prophetic voice - https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2020-06-09-as-the-voice-of-the-oppressed-the-church-should-be-preaching-black-lives-matter-the-loudest/#gsc.tab=0 Book by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah - "Unsettling Truths: The ongoing, dehumanizing legacy of the doctrine of discovery"  Book by Jemar Tisby - "The color of compromise - The truth about the American Church's complicity in racism" Book by John W. de Gruchy and Charles Villa Vicencio - "Apartheid is a heresy" Music: Stevener - Black Excellence 600

As the Black Lives Matter protests unfolded in the United States and across the world after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, politicians and other leaders here in South Africa echoed the hashtag and decried police brutality. When we witnessed scenes of protestors in the US being beaten, teargassed and pepper-sprayed by police while protesting peacefully, our minds and eyes were drawn closer to home. What does Black Lives Matter mean in South Africa? Does it have resonance here, and are politicians and leaders being truthful and consistent about honouring the lives of their fellow black citizens and Africans as their hashtag activism would have us believe? In this clip, Ayanda and Dambudzo try to push beyond the rhetoric and look at many instances of police misconduct and excessive use of force that raise questions about policing in South Africa and our commitment to honouring the marginalised. Find us: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/walking_on_water_mzansi/ Email - [email protected] Links to resources: - Article on Collins Khosa and his death at the hands of the SANDF - https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/sandf-report-on-the-death-of-collins-khosa-a-sham-49083492 - Article on statistics of police misconduct based on the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) - https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-10-02-ipid-paints-a-grim-picture-in-2017-18-558-deaths-from-police-action-and-201-deaths-in-custody/#gsc.tab=0 - Article on alleged police brutality - https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/saps-rape-gender-based-violence-langa-khayelitsha-gbv-30-june-2020/ - Article on statistics concerning police officers killed while on or off duty - https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-09-12-crimestats-police-murders-down-most-cops-are-killed-while-off-duty/ - Article on police and use of deadly force - https://www.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/use-deadly-force-to-protect-yourselves-against-criminals-cele-tells-cops-20191224 Music: Stevener - Black Excellence 600

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in the United States, protests erupted there and across the world. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter once again came to the fore, with individuals using it as a rallying cry to marshal support against police brutality and toward reform of policing and dignity for black and brown communities. As those protests occurred, counter-protests also sprang up, and ‘All Lives Matter’ became the slogan for some. What does a sensitive reading of this season and of history yield? Is #BlackLivesMatter a racist call, as alleged by some, or are people mistaking symbols for actual progress and so failing to understand the times and what they require of us? In this brief excerpt, Ayanda and Dambudzo look at these and other questions, calling for clear eyes as we view history and empathy when we witness the suffering of fellow human beings. Find us: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/walking_on_water_mzansi/ Email - [email protected] Links to resources: Calvin Michaels on "Symbolism" as a distraction from real progress - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbnA8KEq8f4 Book by Mark Charles and Soong Chan Rah - "Unsettling truths: The ongoing, dehumanizing legacy of the doctrine of discovery" Music: Stevener - Black Excellence 600

In the last episode of this season, Ayanda and Dambudzo go on a freewheeling journey discussing the books they’re reading towards their graduate degrees, and the various questions they pose about living faithfully, consistently and with accountability. From autobiographies to political theology texts, from intergenerational trauma to our complicity in the exploitation of others, join Ayanda and Dambudzo as they unravel a complex narrative of the contradictions and joys of living in South Africa today.   Resources mentioned in the episode:   Es’kia Mphahlele – Down Second Avenue   Ellen Kuzwayo – Call me woman   Albert Luthuli – Let my people go   Sindiwe Magona – To my children’s children   Bloke Modisane – Blame me on History   Sisonke Msimang – Always another country: A memoir of exile and home   Camara Laye – The dark child   Tsitsi Dangarembga – Nervous Conditions   Frantz Fanon – Black skin, White masks   Music:   Special thanks to Stevener - Black Excellence 600