[SAFM] The Reality Check Series - Introduction

Professor Tshepo Madlingozi was invited as a special guest contributor to SAfm’s The National Briefing, the country’s premier weekday current affairs breakfast programme hosted by Cathy Mohlahlana. Over five consecutive mornings, from 4 to 8 May 2026, he contributed to the programme’s flagship editorial segment, Reality Check.

Described by SAfm as a “five-day journey of national reflection”, Reality Check is designed to move beyond the constraints of daily news cycles by creating space for deeper engagement with a single national issue over the course of a week. The segment aims to help listeners reflect critically on South Africa’s present realities, understand the historical and structural forces that shape them, and consider pathways towards a more just and inclusive future.

According to SAfm, Reality Check exists to “pause, reflect and think seriously about the state of South Africa — not just what is happening, but why it is happening, what it is costing us, and what must be done to change it.” Rather than offering a series of disconnected commentaries, the segment unfolds as a sustained argument developed over five days, challenging listeners to engage more deeply with the questions shaping the nation’s future.