Old-fashioned manners. In Joburg’s northern suburbs, civility is as commonplace as honest politicians, so I stick out for sticking to my old-school ways.

At one point in time I seemed to have a handle on things and would meditate or do yoga for 30 minutes before starting the day, but I haven’t done that in a while. Nowadays I usually wake up at whatever unGodly hour my dog decides she wants to go out.

I’ve been lucky to have traveled a bit in my career, so I don’t have any travel itches that need to be scratched. If anything, I’d like to explore South Africa more and maybe South America. The only rule I have about international travel these days is that I won’t support repressive regimes with questionable human rights records, and this makes my travel list significantly shorter.

I re-read a story on the Guardian website about how Finland is starting the fight against fake news by educating children in primary school to be critical thinkers. In 2014, Finland was targeted by Russia with a fake news campaign and the government realised that people needed to be educated on how to identify misinformation. An excerpt from the story: “He wants his pupils to ask questions such as: who produced this information, and why? Where was it published? What does it really say? Who is it aimed at? What is it based on? Is there evidence for it, or is this just someone’s opinion? Is it verifiable elsewhere?”

Small talk. I just don’t know how to talk to people about meaningless nonsense.

How Did I Get Blackjacks On My Unmentionables?
(Why you probably shouldn’t have mimosas after tennis at 6am and other so-called life lessons)

Onitsuka Tigers. I have the fashion sense of a 10-year-old tomboy, so I used to collect Tigers and had 11 pairs at one point. I’ve given most of them away now.

Not a fictional character, but an author I grew up reading and always enjoyed – Douglas Adams. His hilariously absurdist way of looking at life would come in handy when it looks like the world is coming to an end every other week.

Buying a house with my sister in Joburg’s northern suburbs.

Rupert Murdoch. He owns Fox News and hundreds of newspapers around the world that publish hateful propaganda, climate change lies and anti-human rights vitriol. I would try to undo some of the catastrophic damage he’s done over the years to fact-based journalism and the world.

Weird. Feisty. Outlier.

Gillian Anderson

Alt J, Ravi Shankar, Gang of Instrumentals and a few NPR podcasts.

I’ve always wanted to live either on the beach or on a farm with wide open spaces – still working on this.

It’s a toss-up between Jennifer Saunders, Tina Fey and my mother who sends me (a journalist) WhatsApps that say “Don’t forget to be peasfull today”.

Any of the owners of social media companies. I’m curious as to how they would defend the weapons of mass destruction they created when they’re not allowed to lie and they don’t have carefully prepared PR notes in front of them. Would be interesting to watch them squirm as evidence is presented on how Facebook, Twitter etc. have decimated independent journalism and fostered the growth of misinformation that has led to violent hate crimes all over the world and has enabled dictators to manipulate elections.

Twerp.

Twerp.

I don’t have much existential fear, but I am arachnophobic.

Something that entailed a lot of playtime with my hound. Also something that involved humanitarian activities that focused on educating and uplifting rural communities. I’m painfully aware that the life I live in my middle-class bubble is far removed from the lives of millions of people in South Africa who don’t enjoy the freedoms I do.

Any of the mad world leaders who are currently ruining this planet with their hateful lies and BS. What happened to smart, honest and kind politicians, or did they never exist to begin with?

What’s your secret for being optimistic in dark times?