By MAEDER OSLER
One of the most astute commentators on current South African affairs is the independent analyst J.P. Landman. I recently had the good fortune to meet him and his wife, the radio and television personality Ruda Landman, at the Paul Cluver Wine Estate in Grabouw.
Schooled in law, economics and future studies. J.P. produces an occasional newsletter in which he comments on a wide range of current political, economic and social issues. Subscriptions are entirely free.
The newsletters appear on his website, both as normal posts as well as PDFs which can be downloaded and printed.
Added to this, each newsletter is accompanied by a podcast in which Ruda stages an in-depth conversation with J.P. about its contents. They appear on a channel titled the ‘So What Podcast’, which runs on Apple and Spotify.
As Ruda informs listeners in the latest podcast, the channel recently won gold in the politics and opinion category of the inaugural South African Podcast Awards.
Aptly describing the special appeal of J.P.’s analyses, it says he uses ‘data and facts to cut through the hearsay, conspiracies and misinformation to get to the heart of issues affecting every citizen.
‘Whether it’s load shedding, corruption, politics, economics, foreign policy or anything in between, each episode will empower you with the knowledge you need to make your own informed decisions and opinions about the true state of the nation.’
The website and podcast channel can be accessed at any time. However, the best way to receive this material is to go to the website and subscribe. When a new newsletter appears, subscribers receive an email with a link that takes them straight to the new item on the website, plus a link to the podcast.
More about J.P. and Ruda
J.P. has an interesting background which seems to have enabled his unique, cross-disciplinary analyses According to his website, he holds a B.A. LLB from Stellenbosch University (1978), studied Economics at Harvard (1998 and again in 2005), and obtained a M. Phil in Future Studies (cum laude) from Stellenbosch (2003). In 2009 he completed a course at Oxford University Continuing Education on the economies of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India & China).
In 2013 he was elected for a four-month Public Policy Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars in Washington DC.
In 2006 he was appointed as a member of then President Thabo Mbeki’s Economic Advisory Panel, and later served two terms on the National Planning Commission.
He serves as a non-executive company director, and has consulted to Nedbank Private Wealth since 2000.
Ruda is well known to many South Africans as a long-standing presenter of the Television program ‘Carte Blanche’, but has many other accomplishments. Among others, she is a journalist and author, holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch, and is a former board member of Media24 and a former member of the Council of Stellenbosch University. She is also a vigorous advocate of active retirement.
Excellent interview