Getting Board

In this episode we talk to TV presenter, author, campaigner, and director of creative diversity at the BBC, June Sarpong. The recording takes place against a backdrop of BAME communities around the world being disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, and Black Lives Matter rallies being held in response to the police killing of George Floyd.

With so much global inequality, unrest and uncertainty, we ask: Where does diversity and inclusion go from here?

Mohamed Mohamed, a British-Somali poet and football coach from south London, moved to London when he was a child to flee civil war in Somalia. In December 2019, he was commissioned by the Museum of London to make a film capturing the capital at the only time it ever fell silent - on Christmas morning. That was, of course, until the Covid-19 crisis struck just weeks later.

This episode explores what life has been like for a practicing Muslim man living through a Ramadan like no other, in lockdown away from family and friends. Mohamed shares his reflections of the religious holiday, explains what it’s all about, and puts his words into the poetry that he writes and performs so well.

Asma - who owns Darjeeling Express restaurant in London's Soho and was profiled on the sixth season of the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table - talks to us everything from all-female kitchens to allyship, Brexit to biryani, Covid-19 to curry.

We learn about using business as a social enterprise, how equal pay across all employees can drive inclusion, and how shouty chefs who berate women on primetime television need therapy. Asma shares her views on avoiding allowing culture to become narrow and nationalistic, the harmful jingoism of the Brexit campaign, and how the coronavirus crisis should help us all recognise that important role immigrants play in British society.

Business Insider named Asma “The Coolest Person in Food and Drink” in June 2019. If they hadn’t got there first, we would definitely have suggested that very same moniker.