Among astronomers, Dr. Bernie Fanaroff is best known for his work in creating the Fanaroff-Riley classification of radio galaxies. Beyond astronomy, he was involved in the resistance against apartheid for many years, ultimately helping to rebuild South Africa as part of Nelson Mandela's government. We talk to Dr. Fanaroff about how science can (and should) influence the policies of governments, how the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) came to Africa and what he terms "the fourth industrial revolution" - the use of Big Data not just in astronomy, but in all walks of life.