SBS Spice

Tales of songbirds, or Bulbuls, have inspired South Asian storytellers for centuries. British dancer and choreographer Aakash Odedra's latest work 'Songs of the Bulbul' intertwines Kathak dance, Indian classical music and Sufi storytelling to harmoniously trace a songbird's journey through love, enlightenment and freedom. As the performance tours Australia, Aakash opens up to Suhayla Sharif about boundless stages, the duty of dancers and the next steps for Indian classical dance. Listen now, only on SBS Spice.

Passion, ghosting and heartbreak— all part of Danish Sheikh's intimate yet toxic relationship with the law. The lawyer-activist and theatre-maker is now deep in his creative era after witnessing how judicial systems have both turned their back on and embraced LGBTQIA+ communities. From navigating Section 377 in India to celebrating his sexuality in the streets of Melbourne, Danish shares with Suhayla Sharif how his experiences have formed his understanding of acceptance. They also unpack how authentic stories and Taylor Swift helped shape his show 'Much to do with Law, but More to do with Love' at Midsumma Festival 2026. Listen now, only on SBS Spice.

"Australia Day", January 26, is often framed as a day of belonging— but belonging for whom? A good yarn can unsettle that idea. Suhayla Sharif is joined by John-Paul Janke, Karen Mundine and Giridharan Sivaraman to question how migrants engage with this date, and what listening to First Nations voices really demands of us.

Conflict is found in every corner of our world and within, yet lingers silently as many refuse to acknowledge it. 'Conflictorium' aims to instead shed light on dissent, inviting viewers from all works of life to consider how they wrestle with the ideas and experiences that challenge them. Founded in 2013, the participatory museum has already been housed twice in India but has now made its way to Australia for Sydney Festival 2026. Artistic Director YSK Prerana and Project Associate Gargi Verma unpack the sensory installation, spice dabbas and the power of reflection with Suhayla Sharif. Listen now, only on SBS Spice.

As social media spirals into remembering the year that was 2016, SBS Spice asks why then and why now? From the flower crown filter to fluorescent sneakers, we reminisce on the good, the bad and the spicy that defined a formative year for many Gen Z and Millennials. Get your eyebrows "on fleek" and listen to this "lit" conversation, only on SBS Spice.

Writing brown characters isn’t just creative. It’s political. From brown villains to badly researched accents to the pressure to be “positive,” this episode asks who gets to be complex, messy and wrong on screen in 2026. Dilpreet Taggar is joined by Urvi Majumdar, Nicole Reddy and Sunanda Sachatrakul to talk about work that refuses neat ideas of representation.

When will South Asian stories stop being “emerging”? In this spicy roundtable, Dilpreet Taggar sits down with Arka Das, Arundati Thandur and Renny Wijeyamohan to talk craft, compromise and the quiet politics of working as South Asian actors, writers and directors in Australian film and TV. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your fix.

It’s our first chat of 2026, and we’re keeping it real. Messy. Honest. Very girly-pop, and not built around perfect resolutions. Just two women reflecting on the year that was, slowing things down, paying attention and figuring it out in real time. Listen on SBS Spice.

This final episode of Rethinking South Asian Philosophy asks what philosophy looks like when we take caste, gender and lived experience seriously. Host Bhanuraj Kashyap speaks with Dr Supriya Subramani, Dr Swati Arora and Dr Samiksha Goyal about everyday indignities, Dalit feminist thought, Gandhian ideas of truth, and the limits of Anglophone philosophy, in Australia and beyond. Listen now, on your favourite podcast app.

Across South Asia, philosophers have asked two enduring questions: What is consciousness? And what shapes the world we live in? In this episode, Bhanuraj Kashyap speaks with Dr Miri Albahari about enlightenment and the claim that pure consciousness is the ground of reality, and with Dr Yarran Hominh and Dr Supriya Subramani on caste, graded inequality and how our social identities are formed. If you’ve ever wondered how metaphysics meets the everyday, this episode is just for you. Tap to listen.