Stats SA registered 97,510 civil marriages in 2024, down from 150,852 a decade earlier. That's a lot less in the way of "I do". When volumes are down, businesses must get their pricing up to survive. That means charging more for existing services, or selling new things. The wedding industry seems to be doing both, as Dominique Olivier explores in this piece.

Bottled water has been sold to us as medicine, status symbol and safety net. This is a short history of paying for something that falls from the sky, as told by Dominique Olivier.

More than a century ago, two titans clashed over a groundbreaking new technology, each claiming that the reckless advancement of the other would put countless lives in danger. In 2026, there’s something about that story that sounds weirdly familiar. Dominique explains how the War of the Currents is an important historical lesson.

It's in your yoghurt, your toothpaste and possibly your next pair of boots. Dominique Olivier explains how seaweed moved from slimy beach nuisance to one of the planet's most valuable - and greenest - economies.

Once upon a time, getting lost was how you found the good stuff. Then the internet learned to predict exactly where you were going - and how to redirect you. Are we witnessing the digital flâneur's last walk? Dominique Olivier takes you back to a core memory that would be hard to replicate in today's online world.

When creative entrepreneurs address wants rather than needs, capitalism can become a lot more colourful. Dominique Olivier explores the top of the economic ladder, where experiences become products and unusual human wants become markets.

The time you see on your watch or your phone wasn't handed down by the heavens. It was set by people who wanted trains to run on schedule, and it has been running your life ever since. Dominique Olivier tells the story of the invention of time itself.

We've never had more access to information, and we've also never been more anxious. Dominique Olivier explains why a frightened population is very good for business.