This week you're in for a treat. It's a 3-for-1 special as I made the most of my recent Jozi trip and convinced a few ex-guests to let me record our "Ah, we should totally catch up," conversations. I met up with Eric Jansen, Rofhiwa Maneta, and Leah Jazz, and had 3 vastly different conversations.

Eric Jansen was originally on episode 51 which, at this point, feels like a lifetime ago. Things were looking up for Eric the last time we chatted, but, like most comedians, he found his career coming to a screeching halt when the pandemic hit. Eric shares just how tough things have been and we also discuss the awkwardness of getting back on stage now that things are steadily opening up again. Keep up with Eric on Instagram.

Rofhiwa Maneta and I actually chatted pretty recently on episode 102 but we still had plenty to talk about when we met in person for the first time. His book about his policeman father, "A Man, A Fire, A Corpse" is finished and will be published in November. We find out what it's like to write honestly about your own blood and we discuss some of the realities of being a cop. Keep up with Rofhiwa on Twitter.

Leah Jazz and I go waaaaay back but we haven't chatted in a while so this was really just catching up with an old friend. Leah was last on the podcast for episode 33 when her radio career was just starting to take off. Now she's a regular part of the 5FM lineup with a boundary-pushing show that airs every weeknight at 10 pm. We chat about making the most of opportunities as you never know how long you'll have them for. Keep up with Leah on Instagram.

This feels like a return to the roots of this podcast as these are the first in-person interviews I've done since the pandemic hit. It's pretty weird to think that I've done more interviews for this podcast via remote recording than in person, but I'm super grateful that I've had the opportunity to keep things going. That being said, I've thoroughly missed doing these interviews in person and I'm looking forward to getting to have more face-to-face conversations.

Episode 74 - Mbali Ntuli

The Almost Perfect PodcastBy Bob PerfectSep 04, 2020