Coming up on
Carte Blanche on Sunday 19 July 2026:
Waters of Faith
It was supposed to be a day of spiritual rebirth. But during a church ritual in the Jukskei River four years ago, 15 people were washed away and drowned in a flash flood.
It’s a tragedy that’s becoming all too familiar to members of Johannesburg’s Emergency Medical Services team.
For believers, the river is a place of cleansing and healing; for responders, it’s too often the site of emergency and loss.
Through their eyes, and the eyes of religious leaders and survivors, we ask: Can faith and safety exist together?
Producer: Busisiwe Gumede-Chizhanje
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Toxic Potjies?
They’re a familiar sight in rural and urban communities alike: cheap replicas of cast iron potjies, smelted out of scrap metal, popular with traders and feeding schemes.
But new studies suggest they pose a hidden danger to our most vulnerable, leaching lead into food… and into the blood of the artisans who make them, and the communities who eat from them.
How did a cooking pot become a public health hazard? And will a toxic trade go unchecked?
Producer: Liz Fish
Presenter: Masa Kekana
Straw to Gold
Generations of master craftsmen are taking a centuries-old skill from the thatched cottages of the Overberg to luxury resorts across the world.
With its white-washed thatched cottages, narrow streets and historic church, Elim, in the Western Cape, feels like an open-air museum.
But it’s the epicentre of an ancient trade that’s become a luxury export: thatching.
We visit the village where a skill passed from generation to generation is bringing new opportunities and renewed purpose to one historic community.
Producer: Diana Lucas
Presenter: Govan Whittles
Premiere episodes of Carte Blanche air on M-Net on Sundays at 19h00 and are on Catch Up afterwards.