About this episode

The episode explores the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa and the role of Steve Biko and Australian support in the fight for freedom.

How South Africa won their freedom from the racist Apartheid regime and the Australians who helped them fight for it. A new leader emerges in South Africa, a young man with radical ideas. Steve Biko’s ‘black consciousness’ movement inspires a generation. His murder at the hands of authorities is a moment of reckoning. When the children of Soweto township are forced to study in Afrikaans, the language of their oppressor, they rebel and set the country on fire with their resistance. Hundreds of them are killed by the regime. Steve Biko’s murder in a prison cell sparks a wave of militant activism, as the government doubles down with more violent raids and arrests. And an Australian diplomat gets swept up in the conflict.

Topics covered

• Apartheid
• South Africa
• Steve Biko
• activism
• uprising
• history
• resistance

Keywords

• Apartheid
• Steve Biko
• South Africa
• Soweto
• activism
• freedom
• resistance
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Apartheid regime

Places: South Africa, Soweto

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• Introducing: Boycott! The fight to end apartheid · March 3, 2026

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