https://www.news24.com Listen Up! Is a two-person, weekly, conversational podcast featuring investment banker Mark Barnes and ranking journalist Tim Cohen. We gallop through the week’s events, offering thoughts, opinions and perspectives on South African and international affairs. We pride ourselves on being opinionated without prejudice, fun without being trivial, and thoughtful without being ponderous. Listen Up! does not reflect the editorial position of our host, News24, and quite often not even the position of the speakers. Sometimes we even agree. Sometimes... News en Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:12:53 +0200 Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:01:01 +0200 30 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss iono.fm 2.5.3.0 News24 no Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes Weekly feeds@iono.fm (Feed Manager) https://cdn.iono.fm/files/p3108/logo_9376_20250905_170803_1400.jpeg https://www.news24.com Listen Up! Is a two-person, weekly, conversational podcast featuring investment banker Mark Barnes and ranking journalist Tim Cohen. News24 episodic News24 graeme.raubenheimer@media24.com true ZA https://iono.qa/e/1651469 https://iono.qa/e/1651469 News Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:56:00 +0200 0 0 The cradle of war 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:33 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1649029 https://iono.qa/e/1649029 News Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:17:00 +0200 0 0 A soft budget and a hard Johannesburg mayoral race 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 24:53 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1647086 https://iono.qa/e/1647086 News Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:39:00 +0200 0 0 There must be better ways to choose our leaders 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 23:11 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1644540 https://iono.qa/e/1644540 News Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:05:00 +0200 0 0 The great national service debate 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:47 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1641787 https://iono.qa/e/1641787 News Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:22:00 +0200 0 0 What’s so bad about anarchy? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 23:14 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1638984 https://iono.qa/e/1638984 News Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:04:00 +0200 0 0 SA’s golden opportunity 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:54 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1636465 https://iono.qa/e/1636465 News Mon, 19 Jan 2026 17:51:00 +0200 0 0 It never rains but it pours 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:14 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1634255 https://iono.qa/e/1634255 What happens to international relations now and what has this got to do with the Peace of Westphalia? 
Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss how the international order has changed - and the local order has not.
Also, is AI investment now in a bubble? 
Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 12 Jan 2026 20:07:00 +0200 0 0 The year that started off with a bang 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 18:38 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1628900 https://iono.qa/e/1628900 Well … not really. But I felt like it did.
In South Africa, things actually went a little bit better. In the rest of the world, things didn’t go as badly as many expected at the start.
Will 2026 be different?
The only way to find out is to Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:18:00 +0200 0 0 Listen Up! end of year special: How was that for you? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:30 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1626618 https://iono.qa/e/1626618 News Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:47:00 +0200 0 0 Dubai. And the joys and dangers of ambition 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:09 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1624297 https://iono.qa/e/1624297 But is that the whole story?
Not so much says Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen. It’s like golf - the winner is not the one who does the most work but the least. This … and other bits and pieces of the news this past week. ListenUp! ]]> News Mon, 01 Dec 2025 16:51:00 +0200 0 0 How hard do South Africans work? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 20:58 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1621697 https://iono.qa/e/1621697 Whose fault is that? What does it mean? Why is that happening now? These are all questions we discuss, along with the joys of public transportation and the surprising utility and value of art. Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:32:00 +0200 0 0 How do you say 'global consensus' with a straight face? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 18:54 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1619090 https://iono.qa/e/1619090 And then there is the unexpected S&P ratings upgrade.
And the JSE hitting yet another record.
And Jo’burg looking spectacular for the G20!
Actually, wait a bit; let's not get too carried away. Jo'burg's still a bit dodgy, except where the leader convoys will go, but things do feel different.
The question now is how to maintain the momentum, and one crucial question is whether we are overpaying or underpaying our leaders, like municipal managers for example.
Listen Up! to Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen on this and the rumours of spring. ]]> News Mon, 17 Nov 2025 17:05:00 +0200 0 0 Are municipal managers underpaid? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:05 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1616709 https://iono.qa/e/1616709 Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen ask the crucial question: does that make the G20 in Johannesburg later this month a bit of a talk shop?
Was it a talk shop in the first place? What actually is the point of the G20? And the rugby. Obvs. Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:28:00 +0200 0 0 What is the actual point of the G20? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 20:35 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1614273 https://iono.qa/e/1614273 Spain’s IBEX finally surpassed its 2007 highs, and even the big European countries with the slowest growth, Germany and France, managed to join in the act. In response, South Africans have decided to take a punt - but not on the JSE, which is up almost 30% over the past year, but on online betting sites.
South Africans bet over R1.5 trillion in the past year, a 45% increase over the previous year. There are dangers and joys, in both methods of potentially losing money.
In this podcast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the season of having a punt. ]]> News Mon, 03 Nov 2025 20:17:00 +0200 0 0 Betting on sports and the stock market: you choose your poison, you take your chances 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:20 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1611803 https://iono.qa/e/1611803 News Mon, 27 Oct 2025 18:20:00 +0200 0 0 What’s coming down the track? Changes in rail transport, greylisting and art theft 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 20:24 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1609439 https://iono.qa/e/1609439 In this podcast Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss the genius of simplicity in the midst of a discombobulated world. 
How do you achieve it in the face of societal and business pressures: excessive borrowing against the future, an emerging gambling addiction and a crisis in the police, just to name a few. 
Also, the greatest baseball game ever. ]]> News Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:39:00 +0200 0 0 What are the odds for keeping it sane and simple? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:27 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1607014 https://iono.qa/e/1607014 Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss why people do such odd things with their alleged ill-gotten gains - like buy three Lamborghinis. Why is one, or even three, never enough?
There is lots to discuss here, please do Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 13 Oct 2025 17:02:00 +0200 0 0 Madlanga, Montana and the money 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:31 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1604619 https://iono.qa/e/1604619
Listen up! ]]> News Mon, 06 Oct 2025 19:35:00 +0200 0 0 What are the prospects of the new united party, and the United Nations? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:39 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1601998 https://iono.qa/e/1601998 Contrast that with European 15-13 victory in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. Golf supporters were, as usual, flagrantly out of hand, dropping f-bombs, harassing players and wearing odd pants. 
But what do we learn from this?
Mark Barnes and  Tim Cohen take the score. And then there is Johannesburg...
Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 29 Sep 2025 18:56:00 +0200 0 0 Rugby and golf: The various lessons of sport 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 25:21 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1599839 https://iono.qa/e/1599839 However, the honest truth is that Joburg - South Africa’s economic and cultural centre point - is very badly run and consequently it constitutes an opportunity for the DA’s new mayoral candidate Helen Zille.
Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss Zille’s chances - and the problems she might face if she does win.
Then there is also the dollar. Listen Up! ]]> News Mon, 22 Sep 2025 17:34:00 +0200 0 0 The political risks involved in being honest 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:35 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1597579 https://iono.qa/e/1597579 Mark Barnes and Tim Cohen discuss in this podcast why people call it a “debt burden”, even though nobody seems to ever put it down - we just seem to carry it further down the road.
Our advice: if you are in debt, you need to attend very, very closely to your finances - much more than people usually do. Listen UP! ]]> News Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:53:00 +0200 0 0 The debt burden, from the nation to the student body, is getting heavy 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:31 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1595154 https://iono.qa/e/1595154 What does the non-breakup of Google mean for investors? What is the future of the DA? And perhaps most importantly, with government issuing guarantees left, right and centre, what is the state of the state’s balance sheet?
Hint: we should be worried. ]]> News Mon, 08 Sep 2025 18:18:00 +0200 0 0 Moonlight musings on markets and nationhood 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 24:43 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1592762 https://iono.qa/e/1592762 We are somewhat used to it, but we like it. The courage to speak out is our motto! Also, the Post Office and the international scene. ]]> News Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:59:00 +0200 0 0 Whistleblowers popping out like rivets 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:05 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1590306 https://iono.qa/e/1590306 Mark Barnes and London correspondent Tim Cohen banter on these topics, touching on wars, Transnet, the weather and of course, rugby.
We live in an era where audacity and modernity trump moderation and conservatism. That could be good - or bad. Listen up! ]]> News Mon, 25 Aug 2025 18:42:00 +0200 0 0 What it takes to fix things: investment, the economy - the rugby! 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 25:06 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1587840 https://iono.qa/e/1587840 News Mon, 18 Aug 2025 17:29:00 +0200 0 0 Some things the National Dialogue is not talking about … but should 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 24:48 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1585442 https://iono.qa/e/1585442 The key question is whether SA’s cost of capital is too high to attract investment, and how to fix that.
And would it help if politicians were not as old as they are - and podcasters! ]]> News Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:17:00 +0200 0 0 Delivering your bribe in a bling bag and other national travails 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:02 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1583036 https://iono.qa/e/1583036 News Mon, 04 Aug 2025 16:38:00 +0200 0 0 Is South Africa setting its benchmarks too low? Johannesburg, for example 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 25:22 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1580610 https://iono.qa/e/1580610 News Mon, 28 Jul 2025 16:29:00 +0200 0 0 What DJ Sumbody teaches everybody 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 19:23 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1578282 https://iono.qa/e/1578282 News Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:45:00 +0200 0 0 Is South Africa disintegrating, and would a kiss-cam help? 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:11 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1576083 https://iono.qa/e/1576083 News Mon, 14 Jul 2025 18:13:00 +0200 0 0 Mchunu's unusual leave of absence, and SA's politics as usual 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 21:53 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1573820 https://iono.qa/e/1573820 News Mon, 07 Jul 2025 18:34:00 +0200 0 0 The truth, Trump, trade and tenders 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:01 falses Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1571420 https://iono.qa/e/1571420 News Mon, 30 Jun 2025 18:23:00 +0200 0 0 Marital matters of the GNU 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:06 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1568895 https://iono.qa/e/1568895 News Mon, 23 Jun 2025 16:00:00 +0200 0 0 It’s great to be a South African if WWIII breaks out 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 22:50 Listen Up! https://iono.qa/e/1566568 https://iono.qa/e/1566568 News Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:19:00 +0200 0 0 Mark Barnes, Tim Cohen talk global politics, local sports 0 0 Tim Cohen & Mark Barnes full 18:01 Listen Up!