Spring has sprung, and the world looks much brighter. We last connected with you in the middle of winter when the lockdown was at level 3. Our audio diarists are back at it to giving us a glimpse into their daily lives. In this episode, Prashalan Govender’s sister, Meshalini Govender, who worked in China when covid-19 broke out in Wuhan, shares her highs and lows on her turn home. On home ground, Motheo Mabamba speaks to her niece, Mbongovuyo Mabamba, a grade 5 learner in Pretoria, about why she would much rather be at school than home. In Makhanda, Keishaan Denston, sister to audio diarist, Junaid Denston, shares her worries about contracting covid-19 at school

Corona Diaries

Season 2 Episode 1

In this episode, we take on a thrilling journey across Mzansi. We start our journey in Johannesburg, where Kiran Molloy shares how family and friends are re-adjusting socially now that lockdown restrictions on social gatherings have eased. We stay in Gauteng, where storyteller, Sinazo Magwebu, meets with Nomvelo Shinga, who tells us how the lockdown brought her closer to loved ones. We make our way to the Eastern Cape, where we meet Makhanda local, Zimkitha Mafika, who opens up to audio diarist Kamva Buwa about starting and raising a family during a pandemic. Until our next episode, we make a pit-stop in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Durbanite, Dylan Aiston, welcomes us into his home and shares his creative process with us when making music.

Season 2 Episode 2

In this episode of Corona Diaries, we take another riveting journey across Mzansi. We gear up for an exciting trip to the Eastern Cape. We meet storyteller Nanza Platana, who introduces us to a lifelong friend of hers named, Anxiety. Journey to the Kwa-Zulu Natal to meet with Pietermaritzburger, Josie Makkink, who asked women in her life about the daily anxieties of life in Mzansi. We make our way to Johannesburg, where Renée Moyo spent the lockdown doing some introspection and telling us what she thinks not only of herself but also of her generation. We end our season journeying back to Makhanda, the City of Saints, where Bianca Mclean asked some of her friends to write short letters to themselves before covid-19 hit our shores.

Season 2 Episode 3

The first episode of Corona Diaries is hosted by Tshepiso Motloung, currently in lockdown in Diepsloot, Johannesburg. She introduces us to Hanneke Du Preez, who talks about the heroic work being done by essential workers in her community in Adelaide; Nande Siko who speaks from East London about her experience of online learning; Salena Fourie whose father is stranded in Dubai and cannot return home; and Herschell Mackelina who is teaching himself digital design in his Karoo home town of Graaff Reinett.

Season 1 Episode 1

In episode 2 of Corona Diaries, our host, based in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Raelee Seymour-Brown introduces us to more storytellers. From the Karoo of Uniondale, Salena Fourie spoke to learners and teachers about their excitement and anxieties on their return to school. In Port Elizabeth, Anathi Ndevu tells us the importance of ubuntu and humility during these unprecedented times. Christelle Ilunga, based in Cape Town, tells the story of a Stellenbosch student about being queer and living in a conservative home. Robyn Johnson, in Pretoria, reminds us to say ‘thank you’ in a moving open letter she wrote to essential workers. Lastly, we hear from Khanyisile Dlamini from Alberton, Johannesburg debunks some cartoon conspiracy theories

Season Episode 2

As Khanyisile Dlamini wraps up this season of the Corona Diaries podcast, we hear more stories from our reports that are scattered across the country. We hear from Salena Fourie, who reports on more repatriation flights bringing South Africans home. Naomi Grewan reflects on the assumptions she made before going into lockdown from her home in Centurion. Hanneke Du Preez and Terez Cairncross file stories on how romantic partners are trying to celebrate birthdays and see each other in a safe and socially distanced manner. We hear from Nande Siko welcomes us into her family home in East London to share with us how life in the Siko household has been for the past couple of weeks of lockdown.

Season 1 Episode 3

Corona Diaries is a podcast that tells stories about what life is like in South Africa in the time of COVID19, as experienced by a group of students from Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape. In March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national state of disaster, and these students were told that they had to leave Rhodes and go home. Now they find themselves studying journalism online and as a part of this learning, they are sending stories back to campus. These stories provide unfiltered and relatable content that captures various dimensions of the new normal established by the pandemic. Each story is unique but together they tell the shared story of life in the moment of the pandemic. By journeying through these stories the series builds a shared understanding of how young people in South Africa are witnessing, from a personal perspective, an extraordinary moment in world history.