Open Book Podcast

Open Book Festival is an annual literary event in Cape Town featuring panelists from all over the writing and publishing spheres. It is a place where writers and audiences are brought together and meaningful discussions are made possible.In this event Foluso Agbaje, Pumla Dineo Gqola, Goretti Kyomuhendo and Athambile Masola speak to Mbali Sikakana about writing feminist histories, and filling in the gaps in the official archives. This is a recording of a live event that took place at the September 2025 edition of the Open Book Festival. The festival is made possible by the support of the City of Cape Town, the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Wheatfield Estate Foundation Trust.

In this event Siphokazi Jonas and Vusumzi Ngxande speak to Vuyo Koyana about reclaiming a spiritual inheritance and returning to the heart/core of Isintu. This is a recording of a live event that took place at the September 2025 edition of the Open Book Festival. The festival is made possible by the support of the City of Cape Town, the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Wheatfield Estate Foundation Trust.

In this event, Nkgopoleng Moloi, Pieter Madibuseng Odendaal and Lwando Scott speak to Rebecca Davis about the safety of queer people on our continent and in our cities. This is a recording of a live event that took place at the September 2025 edition of the Open Book Festival. The festival is made possible by the support of the City of Cape Town, the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Wheatfield Estate Foundation Trust.

Cape Town’s premier poetry slam proudly presents the Slam City Showcase!A celebration of new talent, lyrical grit, and poetic brilliance in different African languages. Each month, the city’s boldest voices battle it out for the grand prize and the coveted title of Slam City Champion. From every slam, a Top 5 emerges; poets whose performances moved both judges and audiences alike. This showcase brings together those powerful voices: the ones who’ve been slamming for their lives, month after month.The Slam City Showcase is a testament to how the intensity of slam poetry cultivates discipline, dedication, and camaraderie. Join us as we shine a spotlight on Cape Town’s community of poets who are living, writing, and igniting the mic. Featuring: Mfundi the Poet, Gali Gali, Riyo, Rea Mmethi, Mtunzikazi Ngozana, Ntsako Layn, Vusumzi Mpofu and InzimaMusicians: Chosi and Mishy KopeHosted by Thapelo Tharaga and Zizipho Bam.This is a recording of a live event that took place at the September 2025 edition of the Open Book Festival. The festival is made possible by the support of the City of Cape Town, the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Wheatfield Estate Foundation Trust.

Better Late is where the country’s most brilliant, bewildering, and occasionally unhinged creatives - Yaaseen Barnes and Callum Hitchcock - band together on the set of a Late Night TV show to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is going on at the Open Book Festival.Joining them for conversations that matter are two very special guests, who you may recognise if you have been anywhere with internet access in the last few years — Settle down, brother! It’s not Grok — it’s Dan Corder and Céline Tshika.This is a recording of a live event that took place at the September 2025 edition of the Open Book Festival. The festival is made possible by the support of the City of Cape Town, the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Wheatfield Estate Foundation Trust.