The Big Issue

High quality, varied and entertaining content for readers across age, culture, religion, gender and other demographics. Stories include reporting on local and international happenings with a ‘bigger issue’ about an individual, and unusual news or events that impact us all. The Big Issue shares in-depth interviews with local and international celebrities, artists, change-makers and thought leaders. It also focuses on local people or organisations committed to making positive changes in society – intent on finding innovative ways to effect change.

Meet our Vendors • Monetary donations for an unborn baby, as well as donations for appliances can go a long way for our Big Issue vendors.

Finding peace, one picture at a time

Small acts. Big difference.

RUN. SWIM. REPEAT. • On Heritage Day, Torpedo SwimRun took over Plaisir Wine Estate near Franschhoek. The idea is simple: run, swim, repeat – shoes on, across the farm’s dams and through the fynbos. Families, first-timers and seasoned athletes raced the long, short and kids’ sprint courses, then celebrated with boerie rolls on the lawns.

Honouring the architects of South African hip-hop • Prophets of da City (POC) are not merely a hip-hop group; they are the foundational architects of South African hip-hop, a cultural force that weaponized rhythm and rhyme in the fight against apartheid, and a prophetic voice that continues to resonate in the country’s ongoing struggle for true freedom.

The field is not level • Education, money, networks, timing, and luck matter too

The hidden cost of financial stress at work • Financial stress is a retention problem, but most employers are still treating it like general wellness.

It takes all sorts • Matric, the last chance to milk the cow.

Bridging the AI gender gap • Women are not adopting AI at the same rate as men are. A Harvard Business School paper found that the gap between the adoption rate of AI was 47.8% for men and 39.3% for women.

Could your pharmacy be a safe place? • From 25 November to 10 December, South Africa observes the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.

Big GENDER reveal • Gender-based violence and femicide (GBV-F) is a crisis woven into all cultures. We normalise domination over empathy, entitlement over equality.

The greying economy • Every economy is planning for the future, yet few are preparing for the one that has already arrived.

CAN WE BRING CHRISTMAS HERE? • Space Between Breaths is a lived journey into presence, inspired by my mother’s battle with stage 4 cancer and the quiet moments that changed my understanding of love, grief and what it truly means to be here. I hope this excerpt offers readers a small invitation to pause.

[ READ ALL ABOUT IT ] • It was about 30 years ago. In our tiny garden in Green Point (before it became grand and was known as Gôm Point) there was a huge palm tree.

Loss in the time of trees

Probiotics 101: What you need to know • The word “probiotic” now appears on everything, from supplement bottles and yoghurt tubs to fermented drinks. It is often used as shorthand for good gut health, but that description leaves out an important detail: probiotics are not a single ingredient with a single purpose.

Lion's Mane: Beyond the hype • Some wellness ingredients arrive with a burst of hype and fade almost as quickly. Others stay in the conversation because there is more to them than a passing trend. Lion's Mane belongs in the second category.

World Food Day • Every year on 16 October, we observe World Food Day, a moment intended to focus attention on hunger, nutrition, and the fundamental right of every person to adequate food.

What can an extinct plant teach us about the future? • What...