Hearts of Oak Podcast

Ernst J. van Zyl - AfriForum, Afrikaner identity and South Africa’s State Decay Ernst J. van Zyl, head of public relations at AfriForum, joins Hearts of Oak to discuss South Africa’s political and social crisis. He explains AfriForum’s work as a large, member-funded civil-rights and community organisation: court challenges, local problem-solving where the state has failed, and a nationwide safety network. The conversation covers layered identity — why many South Africans, including Afrikaners, put culture and language before national identity — and why a highly centralised state struggles to manage deep diversity.
 
Ernst describes three decades of state-capacity decay: collapsing electricity, water, roads and rail, cadre deployment, corruption, and policies that enrich a connected elite under the language of empowerment. He details the Expropriation Act, the live court battle over property rights, farm murders, the “Kill the Boer” chant, media reluctance to challenge official narratives, and the ANC-led coalition that has not reversed those policies. The interview also looks at Orania, the limited U.S. refugee option, and AfriForum’s decision to stay and build a future for Afrikaners in South Africa rather than leave. Ernst J. van Zyl is Head of Public Relations at AfriForum, South Africa’s largest member-funded civil-rights and community organisation. A political scientist and commentator, he holds a master’s degree cum laude in Political Science from Stellenbosch University, with research on expropriation without compensation and the Zimbabwe case.
 
He has spent more than a decade analysing South African politics and culture, and several years leading AfriForum’s public communication. That work includes court challenges to the Expropriation Act, community and safety projects where the state has failed, and international briefings on farm attacks, minority rights and property rights — including at the United Nations and in the United States and Europe.Van Zyl is also a documentary filmmaker (Selfbestuur and Is Trump right about South Africa?), co-presenter of the Afrikaans politics podcast Podlitiek, and host of In alle Ernst.
 
Connect with Ernst...
 
WEBSITES  afriforum.co.za / theworldmustknow.co.za
𝕏                x.com/ConCaracal
YOUTUBE  youtube.com/@ConsciousCaracal
 

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SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/
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*Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast.

Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

Journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Sacerdoti joins Peter to talk about Jewish identity in Britain, rising antisemitism, and his two Oxford Union debates. 

He describes growing up in London as a British Jew whose father survived the Holocaust in hiding, and why he no longer sees Jewish concerns as separate from wider threats to Western society.

Jonathon recounts the 2024 Israel debate, where students abused him on camera and the Union later edited the footage, and the more recent motion that “the West is right to be suspicious of Islam” in which he was on the proposition side with Tommy Robinson and Lawrence Fox.

He discusses the Union president’s “true Islam” argument, reforming Muslims and ex-Muslims, treatment of women and apostates, protests outside the chamber, Jacob Rees-Mogg’s case against suspicion, and why he released his own recording after the Union delayed publication.

Watch Jonathon's full Oxford Union speech here https://x.com/jonsac/status/2084205655892590917?s=20

Jonathan Sacerdoti is a journalist, commentator, and analyst known for bringing clarity and balance to complex and often polarising issues. With a measured and thoughtful approach, he explores subjects ranging from extremism and antisemitism to wider cultural and political debates. From in-depth podcast interviews and public speaking to television reporting and regular written commentary he is driven by a deep commitment to accuracy and open discourse.

Connect with Jonathon...
X                                               @jonsac  https://x.com/jonsac
SUBSTACK                              https://jonsac.substack.com/
WEBSITE                                 https://www.jonathansacerdoti.com/

 

Connect with Hearts of Oak...
𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK
WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/
PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/
SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/
SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/

*Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast.

Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

Dr. Gavin Ashenden joins Peter to explore Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17 and why the Catholic Church uniquely preserves the one Church Christ founded through apostolic authority, the Mass, and Petrine headship. 

He contrasts this with Protestantism’s proliferation of denominations and reflects on his own journey into Catholicism in 2019.  

The conversation turns to the upcoming March for Life UK, the Catholic Church’s unbroken opposition to abortion from the earliest Christian writings, and Gavin's personal awakening to the scale of terminations in Britain. 
They also discuss righteous anger, the muted Christian public witness in the UK, demographic and cultural change, the loss of shared Christian memory, and why only a coherent, unified Church can effectively confront today’s ideological pressures.  

Gavin Ashenden began life intending to become a lawyer but was instead ordained as an Anglican priest, serving ten years in London parishes. After postgraduate work in the Psychology of Religion, he spent 23 years as a university chaplain and senior lecturer, with a PhD on the Oxford Inklings, teaching literature, psychology, and monotheistic mysticism.

In the 1980s he smuggled Bibles and medicine to dissident Christians behind the Iron Curtain, including Catholic seminarians in Czechoslovakia, and endured arrests by Communist security services.

He served on the Church of England’s General Synod for twenty years, was Chaplain to the Queen for nine years, and presented a BBC Faith and Ethics radio programme for four years.
He became a Catholic in 2019 and served as Associate Editor of the Catholic Herald. Influenced by recusant English Catholics, St John Henry Newman, and G.K. Chesterton, he has written for The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, and other outlets, and spoken at conferences across Europe and America.

Connect with Gavin...

𝕏                         @gavinashenden https://x.com/gavinashenden
SUBSTACK              https://drgavinashenden.substack.com/

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WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/
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SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/
SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/

*Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast.

Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

We are delighted to have Nick Freitas join us to discuss his move to Blaze TV, the Christian faith that shapes all his work, and why he is fighting for Christendom rather than a secular vision of Western civilization. He shares insights from his book The Man Book on manhood, fatherhood, marriage, generational stewardship, and building lasting family legacy, along with practical thoughts on public speaking and reflections from his time in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Nick Freitas is a former U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) combat veteran, conservative leader, author, and media host.After enlisting following high school, he served with the 82nd Airborne and 25th Infantry Divisions before joining the Green Berets, completing two combat tours in Iraq and rising to the rank of Sergeant First Class. Honorably discharged in 2009, he later served with distinction as a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2026.A devoted Christian, husband to his high-school sweetheart Tina, and father of three, Freitas is a leading voice on faith, family, biblical masculinity, and personal responsibility. He is the author of The Man Book: A Point-by-Point Guide to Sucking It Up and Getting the Job Done and hosts the popular shows Making the Argument with Nick Freitas and The Why Minutes. In 2026 he joined Blaze Media, where he continues to champion strong families, individual liberty, and the principles that built America, reaching millions through his platforms.

The Manbook: A Point-by-Point Guide to Sucking It Up and Getting the Job Done – A No-Nonsense Guide to Mental Toughness and Professional Growth
BUY ON AMAZON https://a.co/d/0d7xOkY5

Connect with Nick...
𝕏                  @NickJFreitas  https://x.com/NickJFreitas
BLAZE TV       https://get.blazetv.com/nick/
YOUTUBE      https://www.youtube.com/@Nickjfreitas
INSTAGRAM   https://www.instagram.com/nickjfreitas/

 

Connect with Hearts of Oak...
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WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/
PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/
SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/
SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/

*Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast.

Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce joins us to discuss the upcoming March for Life UK on 5 September in Westminster. 
She details the morning Life Fest programme, including the pro-life family summit on the theme “abortion hurts the family,” a new youth summit for 18–35s, age-appropriate sessions for children and teens, and a hall of pro-life organisations. 
Isabel and Peter cover abortion’s wider impact on mothers, fathers, siblings and relationships, the importance of church involvement, UK abortion law (pills by post and the recent decriminalisation vote), the power of careful language, and an update on her ongoing legal case over silent prayer near an abortion clinic.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is Co-Director of March for Life UK and Campaign Director of 40 Days for Life Birmingham. A longstanding Catholic pro-life advocate and crisis-pregnancy volunteer for over 20 years, she has helped organise peaceful prayer vigils and practical support for women, while building the annual March for Life into one of the UK’s largest pro-life gatherings. Known internationally for her quiet courage in defending both the unborn and the fundamental freedoms of thought and prayer, she continues to lead with clarity, compassion and unwavering commitment to the dignity of every human life.

𝕏            @IsabelVSpruce  https://x.com/IsabelVSpruce
                @march4lifeuk https://x.com/march4lifeuk

WEBSITE                https://www.marchforlife.co.uk/
INSTAGRAM           https://www.instagram.com/marchforlifeuk/
YOUTUBE                                https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmUBF1SGVxQh9QPox8gZ8WQ

Connect with Hearts of Oak...
𝕏                         x.com/HeartsofOakUK
WEBSITE            heartsofoak.org/
PODCASTS        heartsofoak.podbean.com/
SOCIAL MEDIA  heartsofoak.org/connect/
SHOP                  heartsofoak.org/shop/

*Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast.

Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on 𝕏 x.com/TheBoschFawstin