Jeremy Maggs’s most listened-to podcasts of 2025

South Africa closed 2025 with a mix of grit, frustration, and quiet forward motion.

It was a year in which ordinary people asked for nothing more complicated than clarity. Clarity on energy rules, clarity on transport regulations, clarity on workplace expectations and clarity from the justice system.

Moneyweb@Midday

The stories that gained the most traction on Moneyweb@Midday in 2025 reflected this demand.

Confusion around new solar regulations exposed just how urgently the public needs certainty from Eskom as households and businesses try to stabilise their own supply.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

The Transport Department’s mixed messages on car licence rules caused widespread irritation and reminded government of the national cost of inconsistent communication.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Limpopo’s preparations for more than a million Easter pilgrims showed how stretched provincial infrastructure remains.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

The debate over whether year-end bonuses are a worker right or a discretionary reward opened a window into workplace anxiety in a tightening economy.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Even high-profile criminal matters, which touched a national nerve, revealed how deeply South Africans look to the courts for reassurance that the rule of law is intact.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

These were the issues that dominated conversations because they cut directly into the lived experience of people trying to navigate a tough environment with limited room for error.

This domestic terrain formed the backdrop to a year of broader policy and geopolitical interrogation on Mandates & Megaphones.

Mandates & Megaphones

South Africa stepped into its G20 presidency with ambitions that required more than ceremonial participation, and the programme reflected that seriousness.

The call from Business Leadership South Africa for global investors to stop underestimating the country came at a moment when South Africa’s credibility was being tested on the world stage. It was not a plea but a strategic argument that the country is repositioning itself through energy reform, institutional rebuilding, and a more assertive global posture.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala’s contribution sharpened the question of whether capital allocation and state capability can finally move in the same direction. His insistence that political intent and execution capacity must synchronise if Africa is to seize its demographic and economic opportunity set a high bar for leadership.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

A conversation on taxing the super-rich captured one of the defining tensions of global politics. Inequality is now a hard economic and geopolitical variable and the debate played out during South Africa’s presidency as a test of who has the courage to push genuine reform.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

The examination of whether South Africa could convert its G20 role into influence asked the uncomfortable but necessary questions about middle power diplomacy, multilateral drift and the widening gap between aspiration and delivery.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

And the argument from SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac that business cannot sit outside these debates was a reminder that corporate leadership must be involved, informed and visible if South Africa is to shape the rules of the global marketplace.

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

A common truth

Taken together, the national stories that shaped the news cycle and the strategic conversations that defined the Mandates & Megaphones agenda reveal the same truth.

South Africa is not out of the woods, but it is also not drifting.

It is a country that demands competence from those who govern, coherence from those who regulate and seriousness from those who lead.

As we move into 2026 the signals are unmistakable. Policy clarity will matter as much as policy ambition. Execution will matter more than promises. Accountability will matter more than rhetoric.

The public appetite for straight answers is growing, and the country’s progress now depends on whether institutions, policymakers and business leaders are prepared to provide them.

If the past year has shown anything, it is that South Africans understand the stakes and are watching carefully.

The year ahead will be demanding, but it will also be decisive for those willing to meet that demand with focus, honesty, and intent.

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