Joseph Dana

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Notes from a Fractured Country.”Joseph here. With our attention focused on Covid-19 and US elections, we can be forgiven for missing all the explosive news out of Mozambique, a place that doesn’t make the news on a regular basis. Yet something is happening there and it has the potential to ripple across the region and beyond. Here’s the background. After five days of heavy fighting this month, ISIS-linked insurgents occupied the port town of Mocimboa da Praia in Mozambique’s northernmost province. The town is a critical link to the country’s growing natural gas sector, worth roughly $60 billion. It is also considered integral to a $23 billion natural gas project run by the French energy giant Total. Following several attacks on the city since 2017, in the latest round the insurgents reportedly sank a Mozambican military vessel and held their own against helicopter gunships flown by pilots of the South African private military company Dyck Advisory Group, which was contracted by the government. Insurgency is nothing new in Mozambique’s complicated civil war but the growing sophistication of the fighters and their weapons has created valuable opportunities for ISIS on the ground. Why is this interesting? Local grievances in a long-neglected corner of the country are being co-opted to transform the area into the next ISIS hotspot. In typical ISIS fashion, the group joins a local insurgency to add publicity and give a little aid. It then builds its brand off the global publicity of spectacular events, just as it did in the takeover of Mocimboa da Praia. Mozambique’s northern provinces have been the site of a long-simmering civil war driven by poverty and inequality. Much of the fighting has focused on port cities like Mocimboa da Praia. With the discovery of huge natural gas reserves and the possibility of profits flowing to politicians in Maputo, the area is bursting with anger and ISIS is capitalizing on this rage for its own benefit. Yet, ISIS’s focus on Southern Africa can’t be easily dismissed as mere exploitation of local grievance.While South Africa has been mostly immune from ISIS blowback, recent events have raised the prospect of trouble from ISIS’s second wave in Africa. In July, Durban police raided a kidnapping ring that led to the arrest of five foreigners linked to an ISIS cell responsible for attacks on South African mosques in 2018. The capture of suspected ISIS insurgents inside the country amplified warnings from the extremist group that South Africa should not directly intervene on the ground in Mozambique.After the port takeover in Mocimboa da Praia, ISIS warned South Africa that Europe and the United States were attempting to persuade the country to start a war, and such a decision would lead ISIS to activate its soldiers against Pretoria. The degree to which ISIS is capable of making good on its threats is unclear. The primary roadblock to intervention is not ISIS’s threats of violence, but rather the regional diplomatic struggles and the complexity of Mozambique’s fragile internal politics.Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has repeatedly refused to support regional intervention while also holding back critical intelligence from neighbors and allies. In a desperate attempt to save face and protect natural gas agreements with foreign companies, Nyusi is trying to strike bilateral deals with Zimbabwe to drive a wedge in a unified regional intervention led by the Southern African Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional organization focused on economic and security co-operation or the African Union.The situation is, in a word, untenable. Given the sophistication of the latest assault on Mocimboa da Praia and the depth of grievance with the Mozambican government, ISIS is on the verge of entrenching itself in Southern Africa. If ISIS is allowed to create a statelet in the area, the effects will be disastrous for Mozambique and the region as a whole. The Mozambique attack comes as ISIS is growing its footprint in West Africa and clashing with governments and security forces across the Sahel. Despite setbacks in the Middle East, the group’s ideology is flourishing in ignored pockets of Africa. While this might seem a world away, the reality is that this fire could blaze out of control if neglected. (JD)Photo of the day: Photo by Chris JohnsFrom National Geographic’s excellent photo of the day series: “An African jacana rests on the head of a hippo in the Zambezi River. From this perch, the jacana will pick insects off the river's floating vegetation.” The Zambezi flows through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique en route to the Indian Ocean.  (CJN)  Quick Links:Istanbul was once the primary transit point for foreign fighters joining ISIS in Syria. The group even had its own gift shop. In 2014, I paid the shop a visit for Roads & Kingdoms. (JD)The South African government has banned alcohol twice this year as part of its Covid-19 lockdown regulations. In response, South Africans have been getting creative with ways to sell booze online. (JD)Recent housing evictions and demolitions in Cape Town are reminiscent of the apartheid days. This interview with South African writer William Shoki explores the surprising details. (JD)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD) PS — Noah here. Variance, my new company, is just getting going with our Alpha. If you work in sales, services, marketing, or engineering and want to try out/give feedback on a tool to help your team work more effectively with their apps, please request an invite on the site. Thanks.—Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

Why is this interesting? The ISIS in Africa Edition

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Notes from a Fractured Country.”Joseph here. Year after year, endurance events continue to gain popularity. For a subset of humans, the search to find and push beyond perceived limits is an exhilarating draw. That’s obviously matched with the physical benefits of exercise. But for me, it’s the mental benefits that are particularly pronounced. Whether it’s running ultramarathons like South Africa’s iconic Comrades Marathon, climbing Yosemite’s El Capitan, or surfing some of the best waves around the world, finding that edge makes me feel alive and, ironically, in control. It was a running joke that climbing big walls was good training for working as a journalist in the Middle East, especially during the Arab Spring. But nothing I’ve done thus far has challenged my sense of endurance more than cold water swimming. The reason (and its appeal) is simple: it doesn't get easier. No matter how hard you train or how much time you spend in the sea, the water doesn’t get warmer. You might be able to deal with it mentally but your body’s natural response to the cold (read: various stages of hyperthermia) doesn’t change. Ultramarathon running is different in this regard. The more you train, the easier and shorter runs feel. When you start out, running a 5km can feel like a march to collapse. A year later, you can run 5km without breaking a sweat. Why is this interesting? Cold water swimming might not be everyone’s idea of a good, but many are finding the open ocean a perfect escape from the constant noise and distraction of life. For this reason, cold water swimming is undergoing its own popularity spike. The sheer amount of writing about the sport this year (the good stuff is linked below) indicates a broad interest. In her latest book, world-renowned open-water swimmer Lynne Cox notes that the sport of open water swimming is exploding as running did in the 1970s in the United States and Britain. There are more than nine hundred competitive open water swims across the United States. There is also a booming business in swim travel, in which swimmers fly to places like Greece, Turkey, and the Caribbean to participate in open water camps and swim along the shore, between islands, and across straits. Cold water swimming is like going from marathons to ultramarathons for die-hard open water swimmers. The extra mental challenge is deeply appealing. What separates the mental challenge of cold water swimming from other endurance sports is that the hard part begins from the moment you enter the water. When you run a marathon, the difficult patches tend to crop up later in the race. You ease into them. With cold water, there is no easing. The cold hits you like a ton of bricks and even if you begin to warm up a bit, the cold finds a way to seep in. I have a variety of ocean swimming spots within a short drive from my home in Cape Town.  Most ocean swims take place in the icy Atlantic, where water temperatures range from 10 to 15 degrees Celsius (50-59 degrees Fahrenheit) depending on the season and whether the prevailing winds are bringing with them cold antarctic currents. Ocean swimming is a fairly popular sport in Cape Town thanks to iconic swims like the Robben Island crossing and the swim around the Cape of Good Hope. After years of putting it off, I’m aiming for my first Robben Island crossing in October. Every training session for the 7.5km (4.6-mile) crossing involves a progressively longer stay in the frigid water. No matter how much you train, however, the water never gets warmer. After longer swims (generally over an hour), my body goes into a mildly hypothermic state. It can take a hot shower, copious amounts of tea, and a couple of hours to shake the “after drop” and feel normal again. The inevitably of that post-swim feeling is one of the hardest mental challenges, but I haven’t faced it alone. Most cold-water swimmers swim in groups. This is especially true for challenging training swims in the open ocean. If you encounter a problem at sea in frigid water, it’s not like you can have a rest and sort out a game plan. As soon as you break your stroke and begin treading water, the cold begins gnawing at you. During a longer swim like a Robben Island crossing, athletes are accompanied by a crew and safety boat as well as experienced swimmers who can identify the effects of serious hypothermia. Boats are also equipped with electronic shark deterrents, a necessary precaution given Cape Town’s lively, but at-risk, shark scene. Few other sports offer participants the opportunity to be part of the food chain. The science behind cold water immersion and its health benefits remains patchy, but since I began training, the effects have been incredible. My mood is elevated much more than during my running days and I feel calmer in general. It’s as if the shock of the water dissolves anxiety. Yet the training doesn’t get easier. The sense of calm cold water facilitates is unlike anything on the endurance market. Being in the middle of the ocean in nothing but a Speedo is a pure and wild experience. (JD)Swim of the day: For those interested in going deeper, here’s a Youtube video that documents the Robben Island to Cape Town Swim. (CJN)Quick Links:There’s been a small boom in writing about cold water swimming in 2020. Rebecca Mead captured the scene in Britain with an incredible eye for the New Yorker.  (JD)Bonnie Tsai wrote an entire book on the joy of swimming with special attention to the attraction of cold ocean water. No list about wild swimming would be complete with mention of Roger Deaton’s classic book on a year swimming through Britain, Waterlog (JD)Secret features in iOS14 (CJN) Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD) PS - Noah here. Variance, my new company, is looking for sales, marketing, and service teams who have recently gone remote and want to try out our new product to help drive team alignment and tool adoption. If that sounds like you, please request an invite on the site. Thanks.—Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

Why is this interesting? - The Cold Water Swimming Edition

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. His last edition for us was on cold water swimming. Sign up for his newsletter: “Notes from a Fractured Country.” - Colin (CJN)Joseph here. Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, there was great concern over how the disease would affect Africa. Overcrowded and under-resourced healthcare networks across the continent, coupled with a high prevalence of other infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV, were seen as a potential timebomb. Six months later, the most dire health warnings have proven to be incorrect. Things are bad (and likely worse than official numbers imply) but they aren’t as devastating as initially feared. The real challenges are economic, many African countries are reeling from a devastating Covid-related economic fallout that demands action. Why is this interesting? As the world marked the one-millionth reported Covid-related death in September, Africa’s total was just over 35,000. That’s 3.5 percent for 17 percent of the world’s population. Is this accurate? It’s hard to say. Take East Africa, for example. While Kenya and Uganda moved quickly to implement lockdowns and social distancing, Tanzania’s president encouraged people to attend churches and mosques because he said Covid-19 was the work of the devil and prayer could defeat the virus.Unsurprisingly, exact numbers on Covid cases in Tanzania are difficult to come by. Meanwhile, Kenya (population: 51.5 million) has had 42,000 cases and 787 deaths; Uganda (population: 43 million) has had 10,000 cases and 95 deaths; and Nigeria (population: 196 million), 61,000 cases and 1,116 deaths. Tanzania, with a population of 56 million, has reported 509 cases of infection. No data is available for Covid-related deaths. Africa’s pandemic response is a convoluted and confusing story. Many governments established full and dramatic lockdowns early on. South Africa’s lockdown, which barred outdoor exercise and the sale of alcohol and tobacco, was one of the strictest in the world. Zimbabwe only began easing its lockdown in the last two months. Despite these measures, the virus has run rampant across the continent, but death rates are among the lowest globally.Scientists believe the continent’s mostly young population is the primary reason for the low death rate. There is additional research suggesting that the BCG vaccination against tuberculosis, which is provided at birth in most African countries, can produce better outcomes in younger patients. We might never know the answer, but that shouldn’t prevent action over matters within our control, namely the economic fallout.The economic consequences of the pandemic might eventually be deadlier than Covid-19 itself. Lockdowns, coupled with a plunging global economy, have put leading African economies in precarious positions. Bloomberg reports that Zambia just skipped a coupon installment on its Eurobonds last week, dramatically increasing the likelihood of a debt default. In what is becoming a test case for the upcoming debt crisis on the continent, the Zambian government called on private creditors to agree to a deferral on debt payments but many don’t want to comply. In perhaps the clearest and most significant sign of despair, South Africa accepted a $4 billion loan from the IMF. In Kenya, a regional trade hub, there was a 19 percent drop in total trade volumes in April. There was a modest increase in volume in July and August, but the damage from the initial shock has been profound and is still reverberating.At this year’s annual IMF and World Bank meetings, pressure mounted on lenders to accelerate debt forgiveness and grants to struggling African countries. The IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, called on the World Bank to disperse more grants to African countries and announced that the IMF had provided $26 billion in fast-track support to Africa since the start of the pandemic.Is this the right course of action? Perhaps immediately, when emergency fiscal support is crucial to addressing rising poverty, hunger, and deepening economic crisis. While some countries have made progress slowly building up local economic infrastructure – think fintech – there is still too little continent-wide trade. Crucially, Africa trades mostly with the world outside Africa, selling raw commodities to Asia and the West, and buying finished goods from China, for example. The Covid-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for Africa to become more self-dependent through intra-continental trade, making it more resilient in the face of global downturns. With a lower percentage of people affected by Covid-19 than elsewhere in the world, robust intra-Africa trade would provide a buffer in terms of jobs. Redirecting grants into building a bigger manufacturing sector is a critical long-term step to safeguard future generations of Africans from whatever turmoil might come their way. Covid-19 can be– indeed, should be – the crisis that finally solidifies the Africa Free Trade Agreement or ushers in a radical new economic agenda for the continent. (JD)Podcast of the Day: The Economist has been good at translating the rigor of the print product into audio formats. We’ve been tuning in to “The Intelligence.” The last episode tackled the murder of a French schoolteacher and also featured an interview with Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny about the recent attempt on his life. (CJN)Quick links:Atul Gawande has lunch with the FT (CJN)A general shout-out to Boomkat, which is one of the most interesting online record stores (CJN)A New Yorker George Packer profile worth revisiting about Jeff Connaughton, one of Biden’s long-standing aides. (CJN)

Why is this interesting? - The COVID and Africa Edition

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa-based writer. He is the senior editor at Exponential View. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Notes from a Fractured Country.” - Colin (CJN)Joseph here. It’s been a rough year for South Africa. The country’s response to Covid-19 has been anything but efficient given delays in receiving vaccines, government corruption, and multiple waves of lockdowns. When things appeared as if they couldn’t get much worse, they did. Last month, Durban and Johannesburg were engulfed in widespread protests that rapidly descended into looting and attacks on critical infrastructure. The motivation for these protests and riots was ostensibly the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, who governed over nearly a decade of systematic corruption and the emptying of state finance coffers. (According to Bloomberg, more than $35 billion is estimated to have disappeared from state coffers during his tenure.) Zuma has been wrangling with the legal system since he was replaced by current president Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to power on a promise of rooting out graft. Far from being found guilty, Zuma was put in prison for contempt of court after he refused to participate in the latest trial against him in June. Zuma’s supporters throughout KwaZulu-Natal, the province where he is from, and that forms the backbone of his political support, threatened mass protests in the event he was taken to jail. Few could have expected how severely they would deliver on their promise. Why is this interesting?Most of the world saw the stark images of thousands of people looting shopping centers during the violence that consumed Durban and Johannesburg in July. What was absent from the international coverage were the various other attempts at sabotage that took place during the days of chaos. Cellular infrastructure was destroyed, key South African ports were blocked, and chemical plants were set on fire. In the world’s most economically unequal society, the mass looting of shopping centres is easily understandable. It doesn’t take much to direct thousands of hungry and desperate people to loot a grocery store. The widespread attempts at economic destabilization are more difficult to understand. Why would someone protesting the arrest of Jacob Zuma set a chemical plant on fire or destroy a cellphone tower? The answer to these questions requires a bit of history. During the fight against Apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) created an armed wing known as uMkhonto we Sizwe (“spear of the nation” also known as MK) in the wake of the Sharpeville Massacre. The armed unit trained across Africa with trips to Russia and China following Nelson Mandela’s keen interest in Maoist and Cuban military strategy. Julia Lovell, in her recent book Maoism: A Global History, recalls that as Nelson Mandela prepared for the ANC’s shift to armed struggle, “he carefully read Mao’s milestones in the Chinese revolution and made dozens of pages of notes.” Moreover, African guerilla fighters (presumably including ANC fighters) would recite Mao’s “Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention” and reminded each other that “the popular masses are like water and the army is like a fish.” Jacob Zuma is a uMkhonto we Sizwe veteran, having joined the militia in 1962. After serving a ten-year sentence on Robben Island for “conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government”, Zuma set up and directed the group’s underground recruitment network. During his time as president, Zuma surrounded himself with a patronage network of MK veterans who both enabled and benefited from his years of corruption. As it became clear that Zuma and other high-ranking political allies would be facing justice, his MK comrades seemingly hatched a plan to destabilize South Africa’s vital infrastructure in order to foil President Ramaphosa's judicial efforts (and retain as much control over the government as possible). Borrowing a page from Mao’s playbook, the MK veterans used a smokescreen of poor people looting department stores to attack vital infrastructure and destabilize the country. It’s safe to say that a contingent of South African resistance figures would rather let the country burn in the midst of a global pandemic than face justice for crimes of corruption. For now, the violence has calmed down but the fight against corruption is anything but over. The unrest demonstrates that the ANC still has a significant amount of internal work to do before it has fully transitioned from a liberation movement to a governing party. Court of the day:Joseph’s local court in Cape Town (CJN) Quick links:Cape Town is fighting with the South African government to source its own renewable energy. This fight for energy independence might be a blueprint for other cities dealing with climate change in the future. (JD)South Africa has shipped 32 million doses of locally manufactured Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines to Europe in recent months even though millions across Africa haven’t received a jab. (JD)Amidst the pandemic and the civil unrest, South Africa’s national rugby team is once again the focal point of a “divided nation.” South Africa is a Country that doesn’t see the team rising to the challenge. (JD)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD) —Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

The Armed Wing Edition

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa-based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Both/And” - Colin (CJN)Joseph here. The most powerful person in the Middle East is not a household name, and that’s probably no accident. Mohammed Bin Zayed, the 61-year-old Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, became the ruler of the UAE after his brother, Sheikh Khalifa, died earlier in May. The ascension of MBZ, as he is known, won’t change much in the UAE since he had been the country’s de facto ruler for more than a decade, but it’s probably time that more people learn about how he conducts business. Under MBZ’s leadership, the UAE has become a military and economic powerhouse. While Dubai often receives the lion’s share of attention regarding the UAE’s accomplishments, the critical decisions are made (and paid for) in Abu Dhabi. In line with his “little Sparta” approach to statecraft, MBZ has used Abu Dhabi’s vast oil wealth (the Emirate is home to the world’s sixth-largest oil reserves and has a $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which is under MBZ’s control) to build one of the region’s most formidable military machines. The UAE has bought American and French war machinery for decades, but the country has gone after bigger ticket items like the F-35 fighter jet in recent years. As an absolute monarchy, the UAE also has one of the most advanced domestic surveillance systems globally, thanks to major investments in Israeli surveillance technology. Long before the normalization agreement with Israel, Abu Dhabi had bought Israeli surveillance technology like Pegasus from the much-maligned NSO Group. Mass surveillance systems like the Falcon Eye, which is currently deployed in Abu Dhabi, haven’t received much coverage. Abu Dhabi commissioned a film about its military a couple of years ago.While I was living in Abu Dhabi, MBZ was larger than life. His almost elusive style of conducting matters of state was the stuff of legend. I would often hear incredible stories about his private army of ex-South African Apartheid soldiers that would be dispatched on a whim to Somalia or Libya to carry out operations. It’s nearly impossible to determine if these stories are real but suffice it to say MBZ's calculated demeanor has led to some fascinating tales. He also had a habit of making surprise visits to local coffee shops and holding informal meetings with citizens known as a majlis.Why is this interesting?Together with Israel and Saudi Arabia, the UAE is one of America’s most important allies in the Middle East. Yet, America is struggling to ensure that its allies work in unison. This is clear in Israel’s adventurous military actions and aggressive congressional lobbying but is becoming more evident in the UAE-American partnership as well. To say that MBZ is bold in his foreign policy would be a gross understatement. While he might not be widely known, he has been deeply involved in the geopolitics of the Middle East and beyond since he began running the UAE. In a brilliant profile, the New York Times notes that “for decades, [MBZ] has been a key American ally, following Washington’s lead, but now he is going his own way. His special forces are active in Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Egypt’s North Sinai. He has worked to thwart democratic transitions in the Middle East, helped install a reliable autocrat in Egypt, and boosted a protégé to power in Saudi Arabia.” This type of “going his own way” was recently on display when the international community began cutting ties with Russia over the Ukraine conflict. The UAE, along with Israel, were steadfast in their relationship with Russia, with MBZ going so far as to state Russia’s right to defend itself on March 1. The UAE continues to be a haven for Russian oligarchs and their assets despite the international backlash. The spike in oil prices means that the UAE is again flush with cash. Now that MBZ has moved from de-facto leader of the UAE to ruler, more people should get to know the Middle East’s most powerful person. (JD)Quick links:A couple of years ago, the UAE set up its own national security agency and staffed it with former American NSA operatives. The operation didn’t go as planned. Reuters delivers the details in this fascinating expose. (JD)The ongoing war in Yemen is one of the world's worst. In many ways, this is MBZ’s war and blowback in the form of missile attacks on Abu Dhabi is starting to bite. (JD)Mercenaries are popular in the UAE. A deep dive into their role in the UAE’s domestic and foreign policy. (JD)WITI x McKinsey:An ongoing partnership where we highlight interesting McKinsey research, writing, and data.Digital transformation on the CEO agenda. What does a successful digital transformation look like? Get up to date on what CEOs and other leaders should know as they embark on the journey, including metrics that matter, common obstacles and how to navigate them, opportunities in tech talent, and more. Don’t miss it.–-Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD) —Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!). 

The MBZ Edition 

One from the archives today. Back tomorrow. -Colin (CJN) Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa-based writer. He is the senior editor at Exponential View. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Both/And.” - Colin (CJN)Joseph here. Microdosing psychedelics such as magic mushrooms and LSD has been popular for some time. People have reported surprisingly positive results from increased clarity to reduced social anxiety. With psychedelics being legalized or decriminalized in cities and states across the country, microdosing is bound to take off in popularity in the coming months and years. The venture capital interest in psychedelics is extraordinary. One remarkable aspect of the microdosing boom is how difficult it is to find clinical results demonstrating its effectiveness. Earlier this year, a study in the UK found that “the psychological benefits linked with taking regular, small doses of psychedelic drugs are likely the result of users’ expectations.” That’s not very encouraging. My relationship with microdosing used to be ambivalent. In South Africa, microdosing is popular among the health food and yoga crowd, so I associated it with something you might do between activated charcoal juices and raw cacao smoothies. But it’s moved far beyond this crowd. I recently discovered that many friends and family have been microdosing for years with excellent results. My path to microdosing came after I embarked on a so-called psilocybin journey. The experience entails consuming a “hero’s dose” of 5 grams of dried magic mushrooms alone or with a guide, in a quiet setting, usually wearing a blindfold. Such a journey provokes deep introspection and, in my case, deep emotional healing. Strangely enough, this journey was my only experience with psychedelics of any kind, and it was life-changing. I detailed the trip in a recent edition of my newsletter. Having experienced a profound connection with the plant’s consciousness while on my journey, I began to think that microdosing could hold great value for me. I understand that it might sound crazy to say that I have connected with a plant, but it’s the only way to describe my journey. This connection made me think about microdosing differently. It’s as if the plant and I have gotten to know each other and can work together going forward. Why is this interesting? After the journey, I took the plunge into microdosing, and my results have been fantastic. I have been following the rough guideline of the Fadiman protocol, where I consume a small dose of mushrooms (I started with 80mg but ended up increasing the dosages to 150mg) every three days. Because it is a subthreshold dose, you aren’t meant to experience any visuals or hallucinations. Instead, I have experienced a heightened sense of calm and increased focus on the days I dose. On the other days, I have noticed an evident absence of anxiety. It probably helps that I have stopped drinking coffee, but that’s another story. The challenge with microdosing is finding what dose and frequency work for you. I started with a small dose and gradually increased it until I found something that worked. This isn’t regular pharmaceutical medicine; there is no doctor who I can call to help with these variables. Thus, a certain amount of self-guidance is required, which might turn off a large number of potential microdosers. That being said, I’m not totally on my own. The guide who assisted on my journey has helped me through the initial stages of microdosing. There are other mushroom guides focused specifically on microdosing and offer professional services, mostly on WhatsApp. As society opens itself up to the power of these medicines to transform mental health, we need to figure out a way to tap into the knowledge and experience of these guides.  This is easier said than done. By and large, guides operate in the shadows because the substances they work with are often still illicit. Finding a guide for my psilocybin journey was anything but easy. There is also an overrepresentation of charlatans parading as shamans with little to no understanding of what they are doing. From the Amazonian jungles of Peru to the wealthy suburbs of Cape Town, an entire cottage industry of guides has sprung up, eager to provide people with a spiritual awakening for the right price. A reckoning of sorts is bound to occur as the industry formalizes and more medical professionals begin prescribing psychedelic treatments. Microdosing might not be for everyone, but it's a powerful treatment for depression and general malaise when used wisely. (JD)—WITI x McKinsey:An ongoing partnership where we highlight interesting McKinsey research, writing, and data.How industrial technology is creating a more inclusive economy. McKinsey reveals 35 cutting-edge companies in the industrial tech sector, highlighting a robust “titanium economy” that creates American jobs and fuels innovation. They’re some of the fastest-growing and most profitable in the US. Check it out. —Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD)—Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

The Microdosing Edition

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a South Africa-based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Both/And” - Colin (CJN)Joseph here. Earlier this year, my wife and I moved to Kommetjie, South Africa, a small village near the tip of the Cape Peninsula known for its coastline, surfing, and natural vistas. Since the Covid-19 lockdowns, Kommetjie has grown in size as newly minted remote workers have left the city center in search of value and fresh air. The influx of new residents (and the sheer number of new housing developments) has caused a flare up in a long-standing struggle between baboons and the human residents of the Cape Peninsula. With the craggy hills and plentiful native fynbos plants, baboons have thrived in the area for much longer than people have lived here. With urban growth, baboons have grown accustomed to eating human food left in trash cans and kitchens just a stone’s throw away from their natural habitat. Baboon in my neighbors house a couple of weeks ago. Most days, I see troupes of baboons casually walking down the street or climbing trees around our neighborhood. Days after we moved, my wife and I were shopping for food in Kommetije’s only deli. As we were looking for bread, a baboon walked into the store, grabbed a loaf of bread, and walked out as if it owned the place. Then a group of baboon rangers, which are partially financed by the city, came running up the street firing paintballs at the animal. Unfazed, it climbed on to the roof of a nearby house and peacefully ate the bread. These close encounters are exciting (especially for our four year old), but the baboon issue is reaching crisis levels in the Cape Peninsula. Why is this interesting? Achieving coexistence between baboons and humans is a contentious issue. The baboon habitat is shrinking and their reliance on human food (especially fruit trees) is growing as the city expands south. Baboons don’t pose a significant bodily threat to humans, but they often wreak havoc on property. On our community chat group recently, someone shared a photo of their backdoor hanging from its hinges saying they had been robbed. After close inspection, it turned out to be the work of a baboon, who was able to rip the door open and destroy the home’s kitchen in search of food. Another shot that includes my garden. Steps have been taken to mitigate the baboon issue. We have several WhatsApp groups to alert the community when baboons enter our neighborhood so that we can close our doors and windows. Our trash cans have special locks designed to keep the baboons out. The rangers do their best to keep the troupes away from populated areas. But these measures amount to little more than a band-aid for the deeper challenge and some have taken to killing baboons outright.  One idea that has been tested in other parts of Cape Town is an advanced electric fence designed to keep the baboons confined to their natural mountain habitat. I am not sold that this is the total solution. Given South Africa’s crime situation, many homes and estates already have fencing that baboons have no problem finding ways around. No matter what we come up with, the baboons will find a way to our food. Writing in Architectural Review earlier this year, Tim Dee shared my perspective, “the baboons are definitely – defiantly – winning these battles. But it’s our species’ fault. We have allowed these behaviors to arise: our urban way of living has shown the baboons theirs. Why shouldn’t they ape us? Worse than that, though, winning these battles might mean that the same animals will, ultimately, lose the war.”  Urban growth shows no sign of slowing, so we either have to live with baboons or ship them off to another part of the country. Stranger things have happened but for now the baboons have the upper hand. (JD)Quick links:The killing of Julius, the head of one baboon troupe, earlier this year became a major issue between animal rights groups and city authorities. What happened next highlights the impasse in finding a solution to this crisis. (JD)Kommetjie is home to some of the best big wave surfing spots in Africa. Surfer’s Journal produced an excellent video about Sunset Reef, which breaks a couple of hundred meters in front of my house. (JD)Helpful tips if you ever need to keep a baboon out of your home. (JD)—Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD)—Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing.

The Baboon Edition

Joseph Dana (JD) is a longstanding friend of WITI and a Cape Town-based writer. He formerly edited the opinion pages at The National in Abu Dhabi and served as Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Istanbul bureau chief. Sign up for his newsletter: “Both/And” to read more about Cape Town’s vibrant psychedelic scene - Colin (CJN)Joseph here. I struggled to find an opening to why Cape Town is interesting. There are too many ways to answer the question. The city’s natural beauty is almost unparalleled (Rio could give Cape Town a run for its money). There are few other places where you can go on a world-class hike through the smallest flora kingdom in the world, have lunch among vines that once produced one of Napoleon’s favorite wines, and finish the day swimming or surfing in crystal clear water with dolphins and orcas. From an outdoor perspective, Cape Town and its surrounding landscape offer a lifetime of exploration and hidden surprises. Yet, that beauty belies a form of segregation hardwired into the DNA of Cape Town’s urban environment. For all its majestic beauty, Table Mountain sits at the center of this segregation. Below the iconic mountain face, the central business district rolls out to the sea, surrounded by several exclusive suburbs that hug the narrow stretch of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Lion’s Head, the other famous mountain landmark of the city. Around the backside of Table Mountain, more upmarket suburbs like Constantia dot the mountain’s slopes and valleys. These rolling foothills and forests give way to the Cape Flats, a windswept collection of shanty towns with some of the highest levels of gun violence in the world. Table Mountain sticks out like a giant thumb, separating the haves from the have-nots as if the city occupied two different countries. NYT Video of 36 hours in Cape Town:With the opening of new direct flights to the United States since Covid and the South African Rand at an all-time low against the Dollar, Cape Town’s popularity is unavoidable. Throngs of tourists escaping the Northern Hemisphere winter every year barely get a sense of the complexity that exists just under the city's surface. You can easily visit Cape Town and only see the shanty towns on the taxi ride from the airport to the city center.Cape Town’s summer (December-February) is the high season for tourism, but winter offers spectacular sunsetsBefore you start thinking this will be a diatribe using Cape Town as an example of the failure of post-Apartheid South Africa to heal its historical wounds and move forward as an equal society, it’s not one of those pieces. However, South Africa's painful history is part and parcel of what makes Cape Town so interesting. There are efforts to bridge the gaps and dismantle segregation, but they have proven much harder than in other South African cities. Cape Town was the first city in the world to be founded by a multinational corporation (The Dutch East India Company) in 1652. Since then, it has served as a beacon for European colonialism, and all it entails in Africa. Evidence of human settlement in the Cape Peninsula predates colonialism, extending at least 100,000 years into our past. In the mountain ranges north of the city, you can find ancient rock art from the San and Khoisan tribes. The more time you spend in this part of the world, the more you become attuned to the depth of history it offers. That’s one of the most intriguing aspects of Cape Town beyond its breathtaking beauty and stark politics of inequality. The land has a deep memory that reveals itself in unexpected places if you remember to look for it. Cape Town is a remarkably insular city. The stereotypical Capetonian is aloof with planning and doesn’t like to venture too far from their little slice of the city. My wife is from Cape Town, and we moved here permanently in 2018. Last year, we moved about 40 minutes south of the city center towards Cape Point (you can read about our baboon neighbors). With two young children and my insatiable surfing addiction, it was an obvious place to be. Yet, many of my wife’s lifelong friends have only visited once or twice. Missioning down to the “deep south,” as it’s known, is described literally as “going to that side of the world.” The Cederberg mountains outside of Cape Town are like a land that time forgot.What Cape Town has in natural beauty and dense politics, it lacks in luxury offerings. There are some outstanding hotels and unique restaurants (Ellerman House is a WITI favorite), but don’t expect to find the highest luxury beyond a couple of staple institutions. Come to Cape Town for the history, the fresh air, and the allure of wellness. The city excels in everything from yoga retreats to 100-mile ultra marathons. The global interest in plant medicine and psychedelics is particularly vibrant. If you consider how South Africa’s history is lived here and investigate the city’s evolution in lockstep with colonialism, Cape Town presents a unique window into the complex nature of society worldwide. Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Joseph (JD)—Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) —Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).