Race Matters

Self-described as having ‘been in the ABC for a hundred years’, Jason Om has been around the block. A Walkley-winning reporter, author of All Mixed Up and household name for many, Om joined the Race Matters team to chat unearthing vulnerable work about grief, ABC’s apology on racism in the workplace, and the gay community’s ‘dirty little secret’ (hint: racism).

All Mixed Up is available at all good book stores.

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Content note for mention of violence and genocide.

We turn towards Sri Lanka, and the ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis unfolding right now. In a piece produced by Shareeka Helaluddin, she speaks to people on the ground in Sri Lanka and its diaspora to unravel the very complex and oft-unknown histories that led to the critical point, the shadow of colonialism that still impacts, what the diaspora should be mindful of and what a meaningful, people-centred accountable future of Sri Lanka could look like. 

You'll hear from journalist and researcher Shiran Illanperuma, Tamil refugee activist Renuga Inpakumar, and Queer Tamil mutual aid organiser and law student Niroshnee Rajan

You'll also hear a poem ready by Tamil artist  Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran meditating on grief, displacement of Tamil peoples, data, and surveillance in colonial borders.

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Story-telling and deeply-rooted creativity flows well into today’s episode, with the third instalment of the Beyond Borders series produced by artist Binta Yade. In this episode, Binta explores story-telling through the art practices of film, theatre, photography and dance - both, the long lineages these forms have within black diasporic experiences – whilst continuing to radically evolve, and be a a reclamation and process of self-determination.

You’re going to hear from screen writer and radio producer Huna Amweero, poet and playwright Chino Odimba, photographer Richmond Kobla Dido, dancer and movement director Malik Nashad Sharpe. 

This episode was produced and edited by Binta Yade. The series artwork is by Gianna Hayes. 

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Palestine has long been described as a ‘litmus test’ where solidarity with Palestine is not just about our individual choices, but also about our collective ability. There’s the reality of a global narrative - that has legitimated oppression for many decades.

This week we were honoured to speak to third-generation Palestinian refugee and organiser Amal Naser, and independent journalist and audio editor for the The Sunday Paper, Mell Chun. 

Together they delved into a rich and detailed conversation about what we need to be paying attention to on the ground in Palestine, the power of global boycotts to bring Israel occupation into account, as well as deepening the relationships of interracial solidarity to move towards freedom for all displaced, First Nations communities across the globe. 

There are many great resources that introduce the Palestinian Liberation Movement, Decolonize Palestine has some 101 resources as well as the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network. 

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Content Note: some of these excerpts contain mention of trauma, impacts of racist and colonial violence, and conversations on mental health challenges. 

Today on the show we’re tracing the long lines of conversations we’ve had with First Nations guests over the last little while, to amplify the plurality of their stories. You'll hear from a compilation of First Nations voices speaking to their experiences to go beyond any homogeneous and typical storytelling including Tasman Keith, Nayuka Gorrie, Nessa Turnball-Roberts, Dr Sandy O'Sullivan, Jazz Money and our very own Sara Khan. You're hearing from (in order):

• Episode 79: No Country (with Tasman Keith)
• Episode 17: Anger is Love (with Nayuka Gorrie)
• Episode 45: Just Us (with Nessa Turnbull-Roberts)
• Episode 94: Nothing About Us Without Us (with Jazz Money and May Jeong)
• Episode 101: Beyond the Binary (with Sandy O'Sullivan)

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Yassmin Abdel-Magied: she’s someone who seemingly needs no introduction. A Sudanese-Australian writer and advocate, chastised by mainstream Australian media for speaking truth to inequity and violent systems of oppression. Whether through literary essays, educational tik toks or live TV, Yassmin is an assured and intelligent voice, analysing society’s systemic challenges, reframing established narratives and making complex ideas accessible to all. Her new collection of essays, Talking About a Revolution is exactly that. Sara Khan spoke to her earlier this week about the power of collective and industrial action, generating hope and imagining radical futures of justice and care. 

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Kojey Radical, Blessed and Chanel Loren - they’re all creatives who have established their music careers not only in spite of the racial injustices that proliferate in the industry, but unapologetically find ways to express and redefine their cultural outputs. In the second episode of the Beyond Borders series by Binta Yade, they all shared their experiences to unpack what it is to perceive and create amid the differences between the music industry here and in the UK. We’ll hear them speak about the way that their Blackness has been received, the way its incorporated and maybe the challenges that it poses to the industry - most importantly, how they find a sense of self a creativity beyond shallow definitions posed by the music industry. 

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Sim Cheuanghane is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and DJ who recently wrote an anthropology thesis entitled "Food as Practice: Navigations of Chinese Diasporic Identity Through Food Making and Sharing". This work explores the Chinese diaspora and the role of food in the process of re-connecting and re-constructing individual and collective identities and forging solidarity.

Through their work, we learn how food takes on meaning beyond nourishment — to signify movement, pleasure, connection, emotion and even a form of protest for racialised people. Sim’s work is rich with emotion, story and taste- so we are excited to have them them speak to it. 

In this interview, Sim mentions a zine on Chinese Protest Recipes, which can be found here. 

This episode was hosted by Darren Lesaguis and Sara Khan with special guest Sim Cheuanghane. It was produced and edited by Shareeka Helaluddin. Cover image: a portrait of Sim courtesy of the artist. 

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Ahead of their performance as part of Sydney's Vivid Festival, we spoke to multi-instrumentalist Takiaya Reed - she’s one half of doom metal band Divide and Dissolve. The band have long held a politic of destroying and dismantling the colonial state, creating sounds that reverberate with this power and spirit. Sara chatted to Takiaya about all this, the depths of their friendship and love for one another, and how this shaped their sound. 

Divide and Dissolve will be performing at Carriageworks for Vivid Sydney on Friday June 3rd 6:30pm. You can get tickets and details here. 

This episode was hosted by Darren Lesaguis and Sara Khan with special guest Takiaya Reed. It was produced and edited by Shareeka Helaluddin. Cover image: a photo of Divide and Dissolve by Su Cassiano. 

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Ate Lovia is a new Filipino-Australian theatre piece written by Jordan Shea presented by Red Line Productions. Set in the 90s, the story follows the resilience of family, and is an incisive examination of our country’s deep-rooted racism, amid a conservative government and its anti-immigrant sentiment. In a piece guest-produced by Eric Jiang, we hear from improviser and playwright Happy Feraren about her work as the translator and community consultant for the play, and how it serves as an act of remembrance to preserve such stories. She also spoke to Eric about her improv practice grounding her in the present and how she has used comedy as a tool for political critique. 

Ate Lovia is playing at The Old Fitz until June 4th, you can get more details and tickets here. 

This episode was produced by Eric Jiang with special guest Happy Feraran. Cover image: the cast of Ate Lovia by Clare Hawley. 

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