761: Bradley Steyn | Undercover with Mandela's Spies Part Two

Dec 8, 2022

Bradley Steyn, an expert on risk mitigation and racial injustice, shares gripping tales from his youth in Apartheid-era South Africa. He recounts witnessing the Strijdom Square massacre and the deep-rooted emotional scars it left him. Steyn talks about being recruited as a double agent for the anti-Apartheid struggle, revealing moral dilemmas and intense experiences from his covert operations, including preventing an assassination plot against Mandela. His stories offer a profound perspective on the complexities of espionage, activism, and social justice.

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ANECDOTE

Taxi Wars Violence

Bradley Steyn describes the violent taxi wars in South Africa.
Rival cartels attacked passengers and drivers to enforce market share.

ANECDOTE

First Shooting

Working for Major Miller, Steyn's group protected a taxi association leader.
During an ambush, Steyn was shot, narrowly missing his heart.

ANECDOTE

Meeting Kumalo

Steyn's team kidnapped Stephen Kumalo, a KGB-trained ANC operative.
Kumalo's words about the ANC's inclusive Freedom Charter deeply impacted Steyn.

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Bradley Steyn (@bradley_steyn_) is an expert on risk mitigation, operational support, and racial injustice. He is the co-author of Undercover with Mandela's Spies: The Story of the Boy Who Crossed the Square, a memoir of his time as a double agent working for Nelson Mandela during the dying days of South African Apartheid. [This is part two of a two-part episode. Make sure to check out part one here!]

What We Discuss with Bradley Steyn:

Bradley shares his observations as a white kid growing up in Apartheid-era South Africa.
How, as a teenager, Bradley bore witness to the brutal Strijdom Square massacre, in which white supremacist Barend Hendrik Strydom calmly took the lives of eight People of Color and injured 16 with a 9mm pistol.
The PTSD, nightmares, anger issues, and emotional distress Bradley was forced to cope with in the aftermath of this horrific experience — and still deals with more than three decades later.
How Bradley was recruited for undercover duty by the feared security police of the Apartheid government while working as a bouncer at a Pretoria gay bar.
What led to Bradley's dedication to the anti-Apartheid struggle and his service as a deep cover double agent within the Department of Intelligence and Security under the directive of Chris Hani's and Nelson Mandela's paramilitary wing, uMkhonto weSizwe.
And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/761

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