The Big Issue

High quality, varied and entertaining content for readers across age, culture, religion, gender and other demographics. Stories include reporting on local and international happenings with a ‘bigger issue’ about an individual, and unusual news or events that impact us all. The Big Issue shares in-depth interviews with local and international celebrities, artists, change-makers and thought leaders. It also focuses on local people or organisations committed to making positive changes in society – intent on finding innovative ways to effect change.

The Big Issue

Rocking your style! • From the hair salon to the maternity ward, women are encouraged to support one another through life in a style of care, consideration, and common ground.

BRAVE SOULS ON OUR ROADS • When you're out shopping, doing the school run, or driving to and from work, spare a thought for our vendors and support The Big Issue, especially during the cold winter months. Your purchase of the magazine helps create opportunities to end poverty and exclusion.

Vendor care and well-being • Our vendors' livelihoods are our top priority. While death is a tough subject, preparing for it can alleviate a huge financial burden later. Big Issue Social Worker Melody Gombakomba reports.

Vendor news Big Issue Taiwan • Big Issue Taiwan vendor Huang Da-ge: “Even now, business still isn't back to how it was before the pandemic”

GOOD READS • After closing her beloved Cape Town restaurant, The Kitchen, Karen Dudley embarked on a journey to rediscover her love for the alchemy of food, and cooking for her family. It was a journey that helped her redefine herself after being a restaurateur for 11 years, and has come together in her beautiful new cookbook, Onwards.

IN CONVERSATION WITH … • Holly Smale's adult debut novel, The Cassandra Complex, is a unique, heart-warming and life-affirming novel about one woman's unlikely journey through love, again and again… Holly chats about the idea behind the book, her adult diagnosis of autism, and using her own life as inspiration for Cassandra.

The comb and scissors of human dignity • The members of Salzburg's Barber Angels Brotherhood dress in black, and their name might make you think of motorcycle gangs. But these Angels in fact offer haircuts, beard trims and shaves to homeless, poor, and marginalised people. Their services are open to anyone who needs them, and demand is higher than ever.

HOTTER, BETTER RADIO • You would have to go a long way to beat the passion HOT 102.7FM's founder and Managing Director, Lloyd Madurai, has for radio. His dedication has taken him on a journey that culminated in his induction into the SA Radio Hall of Fame some years ago – the youngest person to receive this honour.

ROBBING OUR COASTLINES? • Mining companies are eyeing the very last unspoilt strip of the Western Cape's West Coast. There are concerns over the cumulative impact of new prospecting and a series of bad decisions …

A garden in Congo

SAFE FROM SICKNESS • The pets need their vaccinations. Can you get them safely through the maze to the Animal Clinic? Keep away from the viruses and bacteria!

MAKING GRACE • Local ultra-runner and adventurer Rehan Greeff raised a whopping £96 896 (around R2.3 million) towards NGO ForAfrika between 2017 and 2022, and recently broke the UK's National Three Peaks record for running the entire distance. As the biggest individual fundraiser for his chosen charity, ForAfrika, his inspirational story has not always been easy.

OUTSMARTING BLACKOUTS • Honest, hardworking South Africans will not be left in the dark. It's time to pull together and rise above our challenges. If anyone can do it, we can!

Forced to vaccinate? • Employers should be careful about enforcing the Covid vaccination on staff. Here is the legal...