---
title: "Episode 1 - Democracy, you'll miss it when it’s gone"
description: "Investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille set out on a road trip through post-uprising South Africa in search of answers to help explain what is happening to the country’s democracy and, by extension, to many other democracies around the world. They meet with two self-described community activists in Durban, who stepped in to the void created by a government that couldn’t cope, during the eight days of riots that followed former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration in July 2021. Then, they make their way up to the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, to the birthplace of a presidential hopeful, whose story is representative of the devolution of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress. A new podcast tells this story of South Africa’s democratic meltdown, and places it in the context of a global surge in illiberalism. Meet the Highwaymen stealing your democracy."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "PODCAST: THE HIGHWAYMEN"
author: "Richard Poplak and Diana Neille"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/richard-poplak-and-diana-neille/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-23-listen-episode-1-well-miss-it-when-its-gone/"
published: "2022-10-23T23:05:30"
updated: "2023-09-06T11:19:52"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 14
---

# Episode 1 - Democracy, you'll miss it when it’s gone

> Investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille set out on a road trip through post-uprising South Africa in search of answers to help explain what is happening to the country’s democracy and, by extension, to many other democracies around the world. They meet with two self-described community activists in Durban, who stepped in to the void created by a government that couldn’t cope, during the eight days of riots that followed former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration in July 2021. Then, they make their way up to the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, to the birthplace of a presidential hopeful, whose story is representative of the devolution of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress. A new podcast tells this story of South Africa’s democratic meltdown, and places it in the context of a global surge in illiberalism. Meet the Highwaymen stealing your democracy.

By Richard Poplak and Diana Neille · Published 24 October 2022, 01:05 SAST · Updated 6 September 2023, 13:19 SAST

## Content

[Media](https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=INBROAD8671518172&light=true)

*Read more in*Daily Maverick*: "[Meet the Highwaymen stealing your democracy](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-26-meet-the-highwaymen-stealing-your-democracy/)"*