A Stranger, a Suitcase and a Story

Anton and Ben
  • 5.0 (1)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY

We all carry a suitcase packed with stories from where we’ve come from and dreams of where we’re headed. A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story is a podcast about people who’ve left home to build a new life in a new land. Hosted by two immigrants, Anton van der Walt and Ben Liebenberg, this series explores the emotional, professional, and entrepreneurial journeys of immigrants who’ve rebuilt, reinvented, and reimagined their lives. Inspired by Bruno Catalano’s sculpture I Viaggiatori, this podcast dives into the themes of identity, belonging, resilience, and the spaces we fill along the way.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Serious Work, Good Wine with Paul Fontanot

    What happens when a career built on facts, figures, and investigations collides with the very human question of where, and how you want to raise a family?   Anton and Ben sit down with Paul Fontanot, whose journey spans forensic accounting, partnership, migration, and a surprisingly memorable introduction to Australian wine. Paul grew up in Germiston and built his career in forensic accounting, work that demands precision, judgment, and the ability to sit with uncomfortable truths. That path eventually led him to Australia, where he rebuilt from scratch and went on to become a partner in a leading law firm, proving that starting again doesn’t mean starting small.   But this conversation is not just about professional success. Paul reflects on the decisions behind the move — weighing responsibility to family against familiarity, choosing long-term stability over short-term certainty, and learning that belonging takes effort, not entitlement. Australia didn’t hand him a life; it invited him to build one.   And then there’s the wine. A vineyard in the Hunter Valley, a father-in-law with strong opinions, and a lesson in humility that says more about migration than any spreadsheet ever could. It’s funny, grounding, and deeply Paul - a reminder that no matter how serious the work, life has a way of keeping you human.   This episode is about competence without ego, ambition without noise, and the courage to rebuild with your values intact.   🎧 Listen to Episode 22 of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story at https://3spod.comAlso available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode22 #PaulFontanot #ForensicAccounting #MigrationStories #StartingAgain #Belonging #Leadership #Identity #SouthAfricansAbroad #Podcast

    1h 4m

  2. 30 JAN

    Starting Again, together with Kevin & Romaine Mackenzie

    What happens when your big adventure finally arrives… fourteen years late and just weeks before the world shuts down?  Anton and Ben sit down with Kevin and Romaine Mackenzie, a Johannesburg-born couple whose migration story is as much about partnership as it is about place. After waiting 14 years for a US visa to come through, they packed up their lives and arrived in Chicago in January 2020, driving into the city on a cold, dark, rainy night, only weeks before COVID changed everything.  This is a story of starting again together. Of leaving behind family, familiarity, and identity and discovering how much migration reshapes not just where you live, but who you become. Kevin reflects on rebuilding from scratch as an entrepreneur with no network, no shortcuts, and a restless need to stay bold. Romaine shares the emotional cost of leaving a life she deeply believed in, and what it means to re-anchor yourself when safety, trust, and certainty fall away.  At the heart of this episode is family. Watching their son Max navigate a new country, a new school, puberty, and lockdown until a chance baseball try-out at Oz Park changed everything. Sport became community. Community became belonging. And slowly, Chicago started to feel like home.  This episode is about mindset over nostalgia. About not trying to replicate your old life but re-engineering it. About resisting self-sabotage, choosing boldness, and learning to live forward without comparison.  If migration doesn’t just change your address, but your identity, who do you become on the other side?   🎧 Listen to Episode 21 of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story at https://3spod.comAlso on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode21 #MigrationStories #FamilyJourney #StartingAgain #Identity #Belonging #Chicago #SouthAfricansAbroad #Podcast

    1h 18m

  3. 15 JAN

    Dr Manny Pohl: The Things You Can Live With

    What if success is not measured by what you accumulate, but by what lets you sleep at night?  Anton and Ben sit down with Dr Manny Pohl in Episode 20 of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story. Our first episode of 2026, and a fitting one to begin the year.  Manny’s story starts on the Blyvooruitzicht gold mine near Carletonville, a place defined by hard work, hierarchy, and deep community. It’s where he learned early that who you are, and how you treat people, matters long after the mine closes.  Manny did not migrate chasing adventure. He moved for his three sons to give them opportunity, stability, and a fair shot at the future. Australia was a deliberate choice. What followed was a leadership journey shaped less by titles than by principles: courage to make hard calls, humility to start again, and an unwavering belief that relationships are built by how you show up when no one is watching.  Along the way, Manny became a Freeman of the City of London and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, not for self-promotion, but for contribution. Yet when asked what he carried with him, Manny does not talk about awards. He talks about a simple rule that guided every decision: it’s better to sleep well than to eat well.  This episode is about community, ethics, and the quiet moments that define a life - treating everyone with dignity, pulling the trigger when your values demand it, and understanding that success without integrity costs too much.  When faced with a choice that advances your career but compromises your values—what would you do?  🎧 Listen to Episode 20 at https://3spod.comAlso available on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode20 #DrMannyPohl #Leadership #Values #Integrity #MigrationStories #Community #SleepingWell #OrderOfAustralia #Podcast

    1h 9m

  4. 27/12/2025

    Season One with Anton and Ben - The Stories That Proved We are Not Alone

    What if the thing you thought made you different… is the very thing that connects you to everyone else?   Anton and Ben did not set out to make a podcast. They started with a conversation. Two migrants comparing notes over a glass of wine, asking a simple question: “Why did no one tell us this before we came?” What followed became A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story.   Episode 19 is our Season One reflection where we look back on the stories, patterns, and moments that stayed with us, and on why this podcast exists in the first place. It’s about what we heard, what we learned, and why these conversations matter for anyone who’s ever packed a suitcase and started again.   Across the episodes of Season One, we listened to people who left for different reasons - safety, opportunity, adventure, conscience, family, but arrived carrying the same quiet questions. We heard stories of courage and hesitation, grief and rebuilding, ambition and belonging. Some guests left because things were broken. Others left because things were good, but they sensed another chapter waiting.   What emerged wasn’t a checklist for migration, but something more human. That the stranger feeling is normal. That the suitcase is heavier than it looks. That the story you bring with you does not disappear, it asks to be understood. And that belonging often arrives quietly: a neighbour, a colleague, a braai, a conversation where you finally exhale.   Season One is not about having the answers. It’s about recognising yourself in someone else’s journey and realising you’re not doing this alone.   If these stories helped even one person say: “It’s not just me”, then we have succeeded.   🎧 Listen to episode 19 of a Stranger, a Suitcase and A Story at https://3spod.com Also on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #SeasonOne #MigrationStories #Belonging #Identity #NewBeginnings #NotAlone #SouthernCrossings #Podcast

    1h 3m

  5. 15/12/2025

    Margaret Dreyer - Generosity with a Backbone

    She didn’t wait for permission, she built a table, pulled up chairs, and told women, “Your voice belongs here.”   Anton and Ben sit down with MD (Margaret Dreyer), whose default setting is “How can I help?” and whose north star is growing women’s talent wherever she stands. From becoming South Africa’s first female audit partner to serving on Deloitte Australia’s board, her through-line is the same: spot potential, open a door, make sure it stays open for the next woman. That’s how you get to numbers that matter. From five to around 400 female partners at Deloitte Australia today, and why so many careers trace back to a quiet conversation she started, a nudge she gave, a standard she refused to lower.   But impact is not only measured in titles. For years, MD helped thousands of South Africans find their footing in Australia. Recruiting, mentoring, and connecting people until “new country” started to feel like “home.” Ask her for a number and she’ll say it straight: more than 8,000 careers touched across firms and roles. Ask how, and she’ll point you to the people, not the spreadsheets.   If you want to see who she is, meet her at a Deloitte SAFFA braai. Lane Cove National Park, families everywhere, kids chasing each other between picnic tables, the smell of boerie on the grill, koeksisters on a paper plate, and MD moving through the crowd making sure everyone’s included. That’s the mindset: generous, practical, no fuss. It’s the same mindset behind her inclusion work, fighting for human rights in the everyday, not just in policy documents.   Listen to Episode 18 at https://3spod.com Also on your fav channels: Spotify, YouTube, Apple. #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode18 #MD #MigrationStories #Generosity #HumanRights #Inclusion #WomenInLeadership #Legacy #Deloitte #SAFFA #Braai #Belonging #SouthAfricansInAustralia #Podcast

    1h 8m

  6. 21/11/2025

    Yourself or Someone Like You with Grant Parkin

    When everything familiar fell away, did he double down on bitterness or choose a frame that let him move forward?   He thought getting knocked down was the headline. It wasn’t. The story is how he keeps standing. Anton and Ben sit down with Grant Parkin, who grew up in East London, migrated to Brisbane, and learned, sometimes the hardest way, how to turn pain into perspective without pretending it didn’t hurt.   At 3, a dog attack. At 19, a car crash in which his father died while Grant was driving. Years later, a marriage that ended in betrayal. And still… a degree finished, a CA earned, a rowing club founded, multiple Ironman triathlons completed, and a memoir—Yourself or Someone Like You—written and voiced by the man who lived it.   This is not trauma for spectacle; it’s choices, responsibility, and the mindset to rebuild, one honest step at a time.   There’s a line you’ll hear between the lines: don’t bring yesterday’s baggage to tomorrow’s country, and don’t outsource your agency. Grant talks about arriving with PwC, finding his “crew,” the long tail of grief, why asking for help was a turning point, and even “Fuchsia Friday” as a small weekly nudge to get comfortable being a little uncomfortable. It’s balanced, practical, and quietly brave.   Catch Episode 17 of a Stranger, a Suitcase and a Story now at https://3spod.comAlso on your fav channels: Spotify, YouTube, Apple.   #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode17 #GrantParkin #MigrationStories #Resilience #Mindset #Responsibility #Brisbane #PwC #Rowing #Ironman #YourselfOrSomeoneLikeYou #SouthernCrossings #SouthAfricansInAustralia #Podcast

    1h 8m

  7. 07/11/2025

    Courage Without Drama, The Andrew Reitzer Story

    Anton and Ben sit down with Andrew Reitzer, and this onestays with you. Born in Johannesburg to Holocaust survivor parents. Raisedin Cape Town. A life that arcs from a small family glove factory to the CEO seat of Metcash, turning a $240 million loss into a thriving ASX Top 100 company… and yet, that’s not the real story. The real story starts when he’s a teenager and his motherquietly hands him a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank and says, “That’s what happened to me.”No big speech. No drama. Just a sentence that changes everything.  From there, Andrew’s journey is shaped by courage withoutfanfare: conscription and discipline, equestrian boots and factory floors, starting again (and again), saying yes to Australia with 20 minutes to decide and three days to get on a plane, and leading with a “burn the ships” commitment that left no easy way back, only forward. In this episode, we go beyond the numbers.We talk about what it means to grow up in the shadow of silence. About finding out late what your parents survived — and how that quietly forges your views on family, work, loyalty, and leadership.We talk about landing in Australia at the very top of thefood chain… and still feeling like a trainee Australian. About misreading the room, learning the culture, adjusting without erasing yourself.We talk about why South Africans can thrive here, and whysome don’t. About burning ships, backing yourself, and the fine line between bravery and naivety. And there’s a moment  - you’ll hear it - where Andrew connects all of it: his parents’ story, his own choices, and what it really costs to start over and still hold onto who you are. We left that part in almost untouched. What did he learn from parents who survived the unthinkable…and only told him when he was old enough to understand?How do you lead, decide, and belong with that kind ofhistory under your skin?And what does his story ask of the rest of us who’ve come here with our own suitcases, accents, and second chances? Find out in Episode 16. 🎧Listen to episode 16 – find it at https://3spod.com and also on your fav channels: Spotify, YouTube, Apple.   #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory #3SPod #Episode16#AndrewReitzer #MigrationStories #HolocaustSurvivorFamily #Leadership #StartingOver #SouthernCrossings #Belonging #CourageWithoutDrama

    1h 19m

  8. 24/10/2025

    The Long Road Home with Kaveer Soni

    “We landed with two suitcases, a toddler, and no idea wherewe were going after the airport.”  In this powerful new episode of A Stranger, A Suitcase,and A Story, Anton and Ben sit down with Kaveer Soni, a Durban-born lawyer whose life has been a tapestry of faith, grit, heartbreak, and reinvention.  Kaveer's story begins in Durban, born into a Hindu household,yet his early years unfold inside a Jewish school, learning Hebrew before he could fully understand what it meant. Then came a Catholic school, Sunday mass, and a new religion called rugby. His childhood, filled with laughter and mischief, was also where his voice as a lawyer first emerged, not in court, butin the principal’s office, defending his friends.   Years later, a family holiday to the US would change everything. What started as a magical trip to Disney World became a decision to leave South Africa behind. But dreams abroad don’t always unfold as planned. Bureaucracy, uncertainty, and endless waiting forced his family back home, a move that taught him resilience before he even knew he’d need it again.   And then came Australia. A country that promised clarity but delivered challenge after challenge. A new life in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Sydney, a young family starting over from nothing, and the devastating loss of a pregnancy in their first year. It was a season of heartbreak and perseverance, the kind that tests the limits of love and faith.  But through it all, Kaveer's quiet determination never wavered. From sitting for new legal exams while his wife rebuilt her career, to opening Soni Legal from scratch with no network and no guarantees, he turned every setback into a stepping stone.  Today, nearly a decade later, Kaveer has built a thriving practice, a beautiful family, and a sense of belonging that was once only a dream. His story reminds us that “home” isn’t a place you find. It is something you build, one choice, one struggle, and one act of courage at a time.  🎧 Listen to Episode 15: The Long Road Homewith Kaveer Soni now on https://3spod.com orwherever you get your podcasts — Spotify, Apple, and more.   #AStrangerASuitcaseAndAStory#3SPod #Podcast#MigrationStories #Courage #Resilience #Belonging #HumanSpirit

    54 min
See All (22)

About

We all carry a suitcase packed with stories from where we’ve come from and dreams of where we’re headed. A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story is a podcast about people who’ve left home to build a new life in a new land. Hosted by two immigrants, Anton van der Walt and Ben Liebenberg, this series explores the emotional, professional, and entrepreneurial journeys of immigrants who’ve rebuilt, reinvented, and reimagined their lives. Inspired by Bruno Catalano’s sculpture I Viaggiatori, this podcast dives into the themes of identity, belonging, resilience, and the spaces we fill along the way.

Information