SBS Spice

Punjab is about to pulse through the heart of Melbourne, with Blockbuster — a one-day explosion of Pakistani music, art and identity at Fed Square. Dilpreet Kaur Taggar sits down with three music heavyweights performing in Australia for the very first time: Annural Khalid, Spotify Pakistan’s most-streamed woman artist of 2024; Xulfi, the iconic producer behind Coke Studio’s recent evolution; and Sherry Khattak, the frontman reigniting Pakistan’s rock scene. Art might be rooted in place, but it was always meant to travel. Listen to the conversation now, only on SBS Spice, wherever you find your podcasts.

As Sydney’s nights cool down, VIVID’s Fire Kitchen turns up the heat. SBS Spice’s Suhayla Sharif and Dilpreet Kaur Taggar followed the scent of the subcontinent to Darling Harbour, where South Asian-inspired vendors — Pocket Rocketz, Ogni, and Spice Zen — brought the fire, quite literally. From reimagined Aussie snacks to the roots of the humble masala dabba, hear how these makers are keeping flavour, flame, and tradition alive. In a festival of light, fire and spectacle — what role does culture play on the plate? Full episode now playing.

Zaeden was a DJ. Then he got personal. And now, he’s making his Australian debut at Vivid Sydney. He’s played Tomorrowland, opened for global heavyweights like Justin Bieber, Post Malone, and Maroon 5, and racked up over 500 million streams. But he’s since shifted toward something more grounded: Hindi pop that’s personal, polished, and proudly independent. He joins Dilpreet to talk about putting Indian pop on the global map, performing for South Asian Australian audiences, and why choosing to write in Hindi felt like a homecoming. Listen now on SBS Spice, wherever you get your podcasts.

Onella Muralidharan was seven when she told her parents she no longer wanted to hide her Vitiligo—the skin condition that removes pigment from different areas of the body. Unwavered by off-key comments and advice, Onella is now on runways and representing major brands, such as Mecca, Bonds and Lululemon, to counter outdated and ill-informed beauty standards. The Sri Lankan-Australian model, content creator and advocate unravels with Suhayla Sharif living with Vitiligo, pushing boundaries in the beauty industry, finding her voice online and being featured in Vogue Australia. Listen to the full episode now— wherever you find your podcasts.

Māori-Indian R&B artist PANIA is done waiting for permission. Raised in West Melbourne on a steady diet of Missy Elliott, Tupac and early-2000s R&B, she’s part of a new wave reshaping what Australian music sounds and looks like. As she prepares to perform at VIVID 2025, PANIA joins Suhayla Sharif on SBS Spice to talk about chasing a career no one around her imagined — and why her songs don’t need to “represent” anyone but herself. From singing with Coldplay to filming Pity Party at her family’s marae, she’s making space on her own terms and inviting others to do the same. Full episode now streaming, wherever you get your podcasts.

SAHXL began making music in his Western Sydney bedroom at just 12 — and within a year, he’d caught the ear of Grammy-winning producer Khaled Rohaim. Now 21, the Hip-Hop and R&B artist is signed to legendary label Def Jam Recordings and rising fast, bringing the stories of his community to the world. Ahead of his Sydney Opera House debut for VIVID 2025, he joins Suhayla Sharif to talk lived experience, Indo-Fijian roots, and redefining the sound of Western Sydney. Listen now on SBS Spice — wherever you get your podcasts.

In his show, The Mind Field, Arj Barker turns grief and neuroscience into stand-up that asks the big questions — about existence, consciousness, and what we’ll probably never figure out. He joins SBS Spice host Dilpreet Kaur Taggar to talk about how the sudden loss of a friend pushed those questions to the surface, and why some jokes are best retired to a peaceful farm. Also on the table: why AI can’t touch live comedy, why cancel culture isn’t keeping him up at night, and why bread metaphors always rise to the top. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

We’re having sex, getting married, getting divorced — so why are we still not talking about it? Author Saman Shad joins Suhayla Sharif to talk about what happens when we finally do. Her new novel The Sex Lives of Married Women lays bare the weight of being good daughters, model migrants, and women taught to want less. From 90s rom-com nostalgia to the strength of female friendships, Shad unpacks how colonialism and patriarchy have shaped how we think (or don't) about pleasure. A brave, funny, and moving conversation about intimacy, friendship, and the freedom to want. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Before taking to the stage, Yashith Fernando fell in love with musical theatre the same way most South Asians have— Bollywood. Now having found his rhythm, the Sri Lankan-Australian actor has performed for audiences Shakespeare to Smooth Criminal to the beat of his own tune. His latest role in MJ the Musical has him wielding a camera as Alejandro, but Suhayla Sharif turns the lens on Yashith in this chat at the Sydney Lyric Theatre that lifts the curtains on being South Asian under stage lights. Listen wherever you find your podcasts.

What do we call progress — and what do we lose when we pursue it blindly? In this episode of SBS Spice, Dilpreet Kaur Taggar speaks to the team behind The Wrong Gods — the new play by Counting and Cracking writer S. Shakthidharan, now premiering at Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre. Set in a rural Indian valley, The Wrong Gods is an intimate drama about a mother and daughter divided by belief, and a community forced to reckon with the promises and perils of modernisation. Featuring conversations with actors Nadie Kammallaweera and Radhika Mudaliyar, designer Keerthi Subramanyam, and Shakthidharan himself. Listen now on SBS Spice, wherever you get your podcasts.