Sound Waves – Podcast Training Lab

Susan Comrie

Susan is an award-winning investigative journalist with AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism with over 15 years of experience. She began her career with the investigative television programme Carte Blanche, later joining City Press before seizing the opportunity to work at amaBhungane in 2016. Her investigative work spans state capture, corruption, mining, energy, and environmental issues. Susan was part of the team that uncovered the #GuptaLeaks.

Nantal Hopley

Nantal is the founder and director of Cape Conscious Media, a non-profit podcasting and digital media studio based in Cape Town. He runs the studio full-time, producing podcasts, managing social media platforms, training and, most importantly, training the next generation of content creators.

Dennis Imaan

Dennis is an upcoming podcast producer, audio storyteller, and multimedia content creator. With a passion for audio production and experience producing and hosting a podcast series, Dennis is particularly interested in podcast training programmes that expand his skills in advanced audio engineering, narrative pacing, and audience growth strategies, aiming to elevate Africa's podcasting landscape through professional production standards and impactful storytelling.

Claude Marie Bernard Kaytare

Claude is a refugee community leader and the founder of Pax Afrika Network (PAN), a refugee-led organisation committed to supporting and empowering displaced communities. He is also the co-founder of the Southern Africa Network for Immigrants and Refugees (SANIR). His work focuses on advocating for the rights of refugees and migrants, building inclusive networks, amplifying underrepresented voices, and contributing to policy discussions that promote dignity and protection for displaced people across the region.

Simon Manda

Simon is a passionate media practitioner and disability rights advocate based in Johannesburg. As managing Editor, Director and Co-founder of THISABILITY Newspaper since 2011, he leads a multimedia platform dedicated to disability awareness and changing perceptions through storytelling.

Lameck Masina

Lameck is a seasoned journalist from Blantyre with over 30 years of professional experience. He began his career in print journalism, before transitioning to electronic media. He is an accredited stringer for the Voice of America (USA), producing radio and TV stories from Malawi, and contributes television stories to TRT World (Turkey). With a strong passion for audiovisual storytelling, he recently established a news podcast studio at his home in Blantyre.

Palesa Matabane

Palesa is a lecturer at the Durban University of Technology with over seven years of experience in storytelling and voice work. With a background in radio training from her undergraduate studies, she combines her academic expertise with her passion for community development. As a drama lecturer, she is particularly interested in adapting theatre-in-education techniques into audio formats.

Jane Claudia Mesina

Jane is an actor, voiceover artist and podcaster whose first love is the theatre. Over the years, she has expanded her craft to include film, commercial work and voiceover projects. She co-hosts and co-produces the podcast Shenanigans Ensue, and explores their conditional love for romantic comedies.

Nthabiseng Monanela

Nthabiseng is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, and creative activist who, with a background in fine arts, design, and performance. She uses creativity as a healing tool and cultural expression. She is passionate about preserving and archiving African indigenous knowledge systems through sound and creative media.

Motlalepula Mokoena

Motlalepula is a journalist, writer, and media strategist with a strong foundation in storytelling, communication strategy, and digital media. Passionate about language, identity, and cultural preservation, he is the founder of Tsa Sesotho, a brand focused on celebrating Sesotho culture through digital content, events, and podcasting.

Tendayi Nyeke

Tendayi is a director at Netflix Animation and has over 15 years of experience in live-action, where she wrote, directed, and produced award-winning multi-genre work for global markets. She is a development executive and producer for the Emmy Award-winning animation firm Triggerfish Animation. With an MBA in Music and Creative Industries, Tendayi is passionate about where art and business meet and hopes to continue to amplify diverse voices through film. Motlalepula is a journalist, writer, and media strategist with a strong foundation in storytelling, communication strategy, and digital media. Passionate about language, identity, and cultural preservation, he is the founder of Tsa Sesotho, a brand focused on celebrating Sesotho culture through digital content, events, and podcasting.

Bongiwe Zihlangu

Bongiwe is an editor at Lesotho Times and Sunday Express newspapers, based in Maseru. She began her journalism career in radio—her first passion—before transitioning into print media. She is now looking to expand into podcasting, bringing with her a strong background in interviewing across a wide range of topics and platforms.

Paulo Dias and the South African Podcasters guild
(South Africa in person & online experts)

Paulo Dias is a leading podcast strategist, producer, and thought leader in the South African audio landscape. After a successful career in radio, he pivoted to podcasting, where he consults widely with media agencies and broadcasters, and contributes to publications like MarkLives and The Financial Mail’s Redzone. He leads training initiatives such as Podcast Inspiration Days and is a course contributor at The Media Academy. Paulo is also a founding member of the South African Podcasters Guild (SAPG), a network of over 350 audio professionals dedicated to growing and professionalising the industry. As part of this programme, Paulo will lead local insight sessions and draw on SAPG’s broad expertise to bring in additional South African practitioners to support the training.

Philip Artelt (Germany - in person expert)

Geographers are the last experts for the big picture, it is said. Philip studied Geography to get the big picture, already with journalism in mind. He worked in newsrooms, as a reporter and multilingual journalist in different European countries mostly for the radio. Currently he does trimedial science and education reporting with a focus on radio for the German public broadcaster ARD. If he finds time and peace of mind, he also does longer radio features and writes articles about the world of (short) films. He also enjoys passing on his knowledge in training young, aspiring radio makers in Germany.

Claire Richard (France - in person expert)

Claire Richard is an author and documentary maker for radio and print. She is particularly interested in the intersections between intimacy and politics, digital cultures and forms of collective action.

She came to podcasting by chance in 2013 and hasn't left since. She writes radio dramas (“Alice et Hadrien”, “La Dernière Nuit d'Anne Bonny”, “Les Chemins de désir”) for Arte Radio and France Culture, and produces documentary podcasts for Arte radio, France Culture, Binge...

Her radio work has won several national and international awards (Prix fiction radio Télérama, Prix Italia, Prix Europa, Grand Prix de l'écriture radiophonique de la SGDL, Prix fiction SACD Paris Podcast Festival, Prix Nouveau Talent radio SACD...).

She has published two literary accounts with Le Seuil, Des Mains Heureuses (2023) and Les Chemins de désir (2019), as well as books on activist groups and initiatives (La santé communautaire, Technopolice, published by Editions 369, Young Lords, published by Editions de l'Echappée).

Dina Elsayed (Germany - online expert)

Dina Elsayed is a seasoned podcast producer based in Berlin with a journalism origin story, a background film production, and a knack for creating standout audio content. Her work has landed on NPR, RBB, and the Goethe Institute’s Zeitgeister. Now as Original Content Manager at Audible, she aims to develop, produce and release the next wave of must-listen podcasts. 

Mihlali Ntsabo: Lead Project Coordinator & Peer Mentor (South African)

Mihlali Ntsabo is an award-winning journalist and digital communications strategist with over a decade of experience across print, radio, and digital media platforms. His career highlights include producing and hosting impactful news podcasts and contributing to some of South Africa’s leading newsrooms, including News24 and Eyewitness News.

Expanding beyond traditional journalism, Mihlali has also led communications strategy in the NGO and corporate sectors, where he has successfully shaped advocacy-driven campaigns and forged authentic connections with diverse audiences. Currently the Digital PR Lead at Tishala Communications, multi-award-winning PR and marketing agency, Mihlali develops and executes innovative digital strategies that elevate brand narratives and foster engagement. His expertise continues to position clients at the forefront of media relevance and influence.

Tebadi Mmotla: Assistant Coordinator & Peer Mentor (South African)

Tebadi Mmotla is a journalist, producer, and podcast host with over seven years of experience. She holds degrees in Politics and International Relations, Journalism, and Media Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand. Her work focuses on the intersections of gender equality, health, and human rights, and she has produced and hosted several impactful podcasts over the past five years. In 2022, she was selected for the prestigious Sound Documentary programme at the Ecole nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Currently, Tebadi works with the Casual Workers Advice Office (CWAO), where she produces and hosts Buwa Basebetsi, a weekly current affairs show addressing issues faced by precarious workers in South Africa. The show is distributed to community radio stations and via social media, making it accessible to farm, factory, retail, and domestic workers. Tebadi’s journalism has appeared in 11 prominent South African publications, and her work with CWAO Radio contributes to the global Labor Radio Podcast Network, amplifying worker voices worldwide.

Vulane Mthembu

Project Coordinator Gamebox
Goethe-Institut Johannesburg

Tel.: +27 11 442 3232
vulane.mthembu@goethe.de

Lauren Fletcher

Audiovisual Project Manager
French Institute of South Africa (IFAS)

Tel.: +27 11 403 0458
lauren.fletcher@frenchinstitute.org.za