Who We Are

SBS speaks to linguistic and revivalist expert Ghil'ad Zuckermann on Indigenous language revival.

SBS speaks to writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law, known for co-creating the TV show Wellmania, and authoring books like The Family Law and Gaysia. Law was featured in Episode Two of Who We Are on the topic of media representation. Here is the extended version of that conversation from 2023.

Code switching is something many people do and experience, often without realising it. While code switching is extremely nuanced and contextual, it’s often experienced to a heightened degree for people from racially marginalised backgrounds, especially in situations where they feel culturally unsafe. In this episode Hannah Kwon speaks to mental health and intersectionality expert Budi Sudarto and youth advocate Catherine Madziva on both their positive and negative experiences with code switching.

When Geoff Anderson suffered a horrific work accident, he fell into a deep depression. Then one day he received a knock on the door that would change his life, leading him to discover his Indigenous heritage language and gain a new perspective on life. In this episode Hannah Kwon chats to Geoff Anderson about his journey from suffering a mental health breakdown to eventually turning his life around through the discovery of the Wiradjuri language. We also hear about the unique discovery made by linguistic and language revival expert Ghil’ad Zuckermann and how it led him to meet and collaborate with Barngarla woman Emmalene Richards

Identity can mean different things to different people. Films and shows are often the first idea we get about people outside of our own communities. But how accurate is the representation of modern Australia that we see on our screens? This is 'Who We Are', a special podcast series where we take a closer look at what identity means in Australia today. This episode explores how identity is represented through the arts.

About a third of all registered marriages in Australia are intercultural. Experts say the increase in such relationships in Australia, marriage or otherwise, reflects a sense of social cohesion and acceptance more broadly. But interracial marriage was once frowned upon and restricted by the state. This, coupled with an added social pressure, sought to discourage people from engaging in intercultural relationships. This episode of Who we are explores the history of interracial relationships in Australia, and their associated triumphs and challenges. Hannah Kwon chats with Chinese-born writer Angie Cui – who had three separate weddings with her Bangladeshi husband – along with Kenyan-born Stella Adlike, who met her husband while studying at university in Perth. Hear from Carolyn Cage, who speaks about navigating her identity as a mixed raced Australian and law graduate Helen Nguyen’s negative experiences with relationship power imbalances and the Scanlon Foundation’s Trish Prentice.

Home to one of the world's oldest continuous cultures and over seven million people born overseas, identity in multicultural Australia is complex. Join Hannah Kwon as she chats with guests including writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law on Asian-Australian media representation, the Scanlon Foundation's Trish Prentice on interracial relationships and Geoff Anderson on how learning his Indigenous heritage language helped saved his life, and others in Who We Are.