Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Michael Brian Lee

Creator

Michael Brian Lee

Michael Brian Lee is the Mail & Guardian’s US correspondent, currently based in New York.

Foul: For the US, the lesson is not so different to the lesson for South Africa after the opening World Cup game against Mexico: stay in the room. Photo: Screenshot/Fifa

Red cards and peace treaties

Drawing parallels between South Africa's World Cup red cards and US foreign policy, this article argues that America's approach to Iran has been self-defeating. It explores the…

Africa’s best: The African story at this World Cup is not about miracles . . . it is about maturity. Photo: Fifa World Cup/X

Odds on, Africa is showing up anyway

Despite significant challenges including visa bans and exorbitant prices for tickets and accommodation, African teams are making a powerful statement at the World Cup. This…

The cluster of islands off the west coast of Africa, one of the smallest countries ever to qualify for the World Cup, did not arrive at the tournament by accident or magic. It arrived through years of patient, largely invisible construction

What Cape Verde can teach us about teamwork and breakthroughs

Cape Verde is a cluster of islands off the west coast of Africa with a total population of just over half a million people, least populous country in the continent after…

Reconnection: For immigrant and diaspora communities especially, the World Cup is deeper than sport. It is reunion, memory, identity, homesickness, pride and belonging compressed into 90 minutes. Photo: Flickr

The beautiful game stops at the border

Three dozen countries are banned from entering America in the year it is hosting the World Cup. Twenty-six of them are African. That’s half of Africa

Pseudocracy: American exceptionalism continues to present as intact, despite actions such as bombing Iran and eviscerating Venezuela. Is America’s blatant lying today, in a sense, the boldest form of truth-telling? Photo: Trump Facebook page

The creative power of lies

America’s scale of its invented narratives are hard to match. Trump has normalised the idea that rhetorical bombast matters more than accuracy

Exhibition: The talent on display at SA Innovation Week 2026 is truly inspiring. Photo: Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA

Why brilliant ideas aren’t enough

The country has the talent. It has ideas. It has institutions. What it needs is the connective tissue to turn potential into performance — and the patience to accept that…

MAGA champion: Donald Trump’s solution is to “permanently” ban
immigration from all “Third World” countries.

Inside the G20 Animal Farm

African wildlife policy must be led by African scientists and communities, not curated for private facilities an ocean away

Photo: Supplied

How Trump is constructing a new border wall

Hiking of visa price will keep out immigrant talent, erecting a new wall around the US

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Supplied

Welcome to America

I find myself in Trump’s MAGA, which is more accurately MAWA – Make America White Again

Purification: Balinese Hindu devotees perform the Melukat ritual during the full moon at Tirta Empul Temple in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Murdani Usman/Getty Images

Where faith becomes art and art becomes faith again

My experience of Balinese Hinduism — the world’s most creative religion — knocked my socks off

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

The singularity: Food for thought

A recent conference on the moment artificial intelligence becomes conscious gave the ultimate answer to the question of life, the universe and everything

Women adapt better than men according to the writer. (Getty)

Do women adapt better? Or just differently?

Either way, it’s men’s job to figure out how to catch up

Young people are asked for their opinions but these seldom translate into action. Photo: Cornell Tukiri/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Embrace the creativity of a child on Youth Day

Focus on not only young people but also children this Youth Day and use this creativity to build success

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

Adaptability trumps answers in these elections

We must ponder how we might be inspired by Africa Day to use creativity techniques in, and after, this election to create a better South Africa.

Adaptability can change your life and save the world

We need to adapt to create and we need to create to innovate – and it all starts with you

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

I dare to ask: Are women more creative than men?

Everyone can benefit from embracing their creative feminine if we enable women to create

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

Creativity and love are a continuous feedback loop

True love, if it is properly applied, can free us to transform ourselves, as well as the world around us

Sochi Olympics kick off with a glitch before fairy tale show

How to not suck at New Year’s resolutions

You’re not alone … every year far too many of us find ourselves trapped in the same cycle of broken promises to ourselves

File photo by Delwyn Verasamy/M&G

Creativity and generosity on Giving Tuesday

In the maelstrom of Black Friday deals it can be fulfilling to consider the true holiday spirit, because giving is good for you

The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in tertiary education tells the story. As of the latest figures, South Africa’s GPI stands at 1.41, meaning that for every man enrolled in higher education, there are 1.41 women. (Flickr/ https://www.microbizmag.co.uk)

How creativity solves burnout

A great way to commemorate Mental Health Month is by generating creative ideas and encouraging those around you to do the same