{"id":22405,"date":"2024-06-28T12:35:44","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T10:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=22405"},"modified":"2024-06-28T12:35:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T10:35:47","slug":"coming-up-on-carte-blanche-30-june-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2024\/06\/28\/coming-up-on-carte-blanche-30-june-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 30 June 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI consider my two days in Chernobyl among the most surreal of my life. Within hours of arriving, I was being urged to try homemade mushroom soup and locally distilled vodka. I left convinced that, if you plugged me into the national grid, I could power a laptop and small TV.\u00a0How Russian occupiers later thought it prudent to dig trenches in one of the most radioactive corners of one of the most radioactive areas on the planet is utterly baffling. On Sunday, we ask why they bothered occupying it in the first place.\u201d <\/em>-John Webb, Executive Producer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rabid Seals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cape fur seals are generally curious and friendly sea mammals. They are often found lazing around in Western Cape harbours and diving sites, and they\u2019ve become a common sight on our beaches. But in recent years, there has been a significant increase in unprovoked attacks on people both in the water and onshore. Experts say this behaviour is unusual because seals usually attack only when they\u2019re protecting their young. Now eight seals, including a pup that attacked five surfers in May this year, have tested positive for the deadly rabies virus: the first recorded cases in seals since 1981. Scientists, veterinarians and marine authorities are confounded, and companies that used to snorkel with seals have closed shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producer: Liz Fish | Presenter: Erin Bates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Time of War<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In March 2022, Russia did the unthinkable: Eight years after the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, thousands of Russian troops crossed the border as Vladmir Putin carried out his long-standing threat to invade the country again. Chernobyl, home to the world\u2019s most notorious nuclear power station, was captured and hundreds of people were trapped. Then Russian troops occupying the area began to withdraw. Now, more than two years since the war began, Carte Blanche goes inside the exclusion zone to examine why keeping Chernobyl out of Russian hands was critical to Ukraine\u2019s fightback.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producer: Floris Kotze | Presenter: Govan Whittles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hot Tea and Apricots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was a 40th birthday celebration that should\u2019ve ended in high spirits. But without warning, career woman and mom of three young children, Kim Ballantine, lost her voice. Spasmodic dysphonia, a rare and serious neurological condition, caused her vocal cords to spasm, leaving her unable to breathe and, on several occasions, at death\u2019s door. Meals were pur\u00e9ed and sipped through a straw but often triggered life-threatening spasms of Kim\u2019s vocal cords. Doctors couldn\u2019t find the cause of her condition, and she was told she would never speak again. And then, just as the family was learning to adapt to a new normal, Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer. In this remarkable story of loss and hope, love and faith, we speak to a family that stuck together through the tough times, inspiring us never to give up – no matter how dire the situation may appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producer: Joy Summers | Presenter: Masa Kekana<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Media Massacre<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another week, another blow to independent media. We send out an SOS. Comparing apples and pears\u2026 literally. The Competition Commission warns fresh produce wholesalers to stop its anti-competitive practices. Later, Ray Mahlaka tells us why he believes Transnet is about to stage the biggest turnaround in business history. And women in Soweto are saying: Funk It, I\u2019m Walking. But first: it was a lavish affair, but now the real work begins. Now that the presidential inauguration is behind us, and the fight for cabinet positions continues, we look at how the markets have responded to the Government of National Unity, President Ramaphosa\u2019s second term, and discover everyone from industry to ratings agencies believe we\u2019re finally on a road to recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n