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Cape Town

Screenshot from "Cape Flats Kung Fu" by Eavesdrop.

‘Planet Hip Hop’: The music will always be the voice of the people, Samy Alim says

Planet Hip Hop

As we wrap up “Planet Hip Hop,” our summer series celebrating 50 years of hip-hop music around the world, H. Samy Alim returns to talk with host Marco Werman about the next 50 years. Alim is an anthropology professor and the director of the Hip Hop Initiative at UCLA. 

Clerics carry the coffin after the funeral for Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at the St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, Jan 1, 2022.

What is aquamation, the burial practice Desmond Tutu chose instead of cremation? 

Science & Technology
Smoke rises after fires re-ignited late afternoon from the Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa

Fire reignites at South Africa’s Parliament in Cape Town

Infrastructure
South Africa's "Black Mermaid," Zandile Ndhlovu, enjoys sunrise dives in the kelp forest. 

Diving into infinity with South Africa’s ‘Black Mermaid’

Sports
A group of people hold up a large white sign with black letters and a yellow X through it.

Climate divestment activists draw inspiration from South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle

The Big Fix
Thando Hopa stands on a red carpet.

South African lawyer is first woman with albinism on Vogue cover: ‘The way I look is enough’

Media

Vogue Portugal’s most recent cover features a black woman with albinism, Thando Hopa. A lawyer and activist from South Africa, she’s the first model with albinism to appear on the cover of the global fashion magazine.

India

In India, ‘Day Zero’ is every day as water taps run dry

Nearly 163 million people among India’s population of 1.3 billion — or more than one in 10 — lack access to clean water close to their home, according to a 2018 WaterAid report. That is the most of any country in the world.

Cape Town residents gather to collect water at a spring with makshift spigots ear Table Mountain. It's one of dozens of open springs across the city where residents come to collect extra water to add to their meager daily quota of 13 gallons.

In drought-stricken Cape Town, parched residents gather at a watering hole

Environment

A natural spring in the shadow of Cape Town’s Table Mountain provides a measure of relief — and a new pop-up community — for drought-strapped residents.

Saya Pierce-Jones records a recent report on Cape Town's water crisis for Smile 90.4FM radio. In more than a year on the full-time water beat, Pierce-Jones helped listeners understand the roots of the crisis and find ways to dramatically cut their water u

Journalist on water beat helped Cape Town avoid ‘Day Zero’

Culture

When Cape Town’s growing water crisis started bubbling up last year, a local radio station in the South African city jumped on the beat with wall-to-wall coverage and water-saving tips for listeners.

People queued to collect water as fears over the city's water crisis grew earlier this year in Cape Town, South Africa.

‘Day Zero’ has been postponed, but Cape Town is still scrambling to deal with its water crisis

Business

The water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa is easing a bit, but the city and many of its businesses and institutions are forging ahead with expensive efforts to increase supply, including private desalination plants.