Diaspora Blues

On the show this week we have Shania from the Flipino youth collective Anakbayan Sydney and founder and editor of Djed Press, Hella Ibrahim, joins us later in the program.

We look at the Atlanta shootings and discuss things we can do to tackle anti-Asian violence. 

Serious Meerkat speaks to the collective Way Over There, a group made up of South East Melbourne artists, facilitators and passionate community members. The collective discuss the inspiration behind their name, the trials and tribulations of a new collective, and navigating predominantly white spaces. BioWay Over There seeks to promote the voices and stories of local artists and creative thinkers...

Torres Strait Islander woman Laila Thaker chats to Serious meerkat about her love of acting, racism in Australia’s creative industries and the inspiration she draws from the women in her life.

Last week we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with the one and only Heritier Lumumba. Lumumba tells us about his time in Perth, how he got started in football and connecting with the Brazilian community in Melbourne. He also discusses the matrifocal family structure, why names matter and what brings him joy.  PresentersSerious Meerkat & Ayan Shirwa  

Software Systems Engineering student Martin Mashuro joins Serious Meerkat to talk about some of his favourite things: anime & gaming.

This week we're doing things a little differently. We've compiled a playlist we're calling resilience and tenacity and it's dedicated to Melburnians doing it tough.

This week we chat to spoken word artist Thabani Tshuma about his upcoming workshop with Footscray Community Arts Centre, and later in the program, we hear a gorgeous interview Serious Meerkat did with non-binary vocalist and poet Janina Nana Yaa.  

Senator Lidia Thorpe speaks at the Invasion Day Rally Melbourne 2021 organised by Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance and Linda Iriza chats to us about community work, arts collectives and why history matters. GuestLinda Iriza is a Rwandan currently based in Boorloo (Perth). Her work centres African youth and continues to create community projects that bring them together. She does this through...

January 26th is Invasion Day. Regardless of what the Australian government and the elites say it is not a day of celebration, and today we explain why. Resources1. Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance - WAR2. Amy McQuire3. Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson-  Talkin' Up to the White Woman: Indigenous Women and Feminism (20th Anniversary Edition).-  The White Possessive Property, Power, and Indigen...

On January 6th, a mob of white nationalists and far-right members armed to the teeth stormed Capitol Hill. The centre of American democracy was under siege and the world watched its destruction in real-time. It sent shockwaves around the world—but not everyone was surprised. For years now, Trump and white nationalists have been stoking the fire of hate and spreading misinformation online, and in 2...

What is Socialism and why does it get such a bad rap? Is an increase in work hours for student visa holders (employed in the agricultural sector) a win, or something more sinister? And what does meaningful solidarity look like? Helping us answer these questions and more is Jiselle Hanna from Accent of Women. Suggested readingThe Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich EngelsFast Food Nation...

Our guest this week is the cultural giant, DJ MzRizk. MzRizk is a Melbourne staple and her resume is a who's who of local artists - Remi and Sampa The Great, and international acts: Mos Def, Public Enemy and Jill Scott. She's also curated events that highlight the talents of emerging DJs and artists with her series, Gallery, as well as Rizky's Block Party (just to name a few!).We sat down with MzR...

Joining us this week is Somali community practitioner Najib Warsame to talk about his exciting new project Whitetology. Whitetology is a book of terms to describe what it's like being a black person navigating white spaces, white systems and white institutions. 

“To defend the Vietnamese bilingual program is to be speaking in a register that is foreign to the education department and its experts, and to many of the new families moving into Footscray. It is to see language as deeply connected to people and places, and the learning of language as something more than a certificate to be put on a wall – more even than as a passport for the individual student....

Radio producer, presenter and educator Areej Nur talks all things radio, podcasts and ethical journalism. Areej Nur is a co-founder of the African artist collective and research platform, Still Nomads as well as a co-founder and co-director of the podcast network, Broadwave. She currently presents The Rap on Triple R and teaches media and communications at a tertiary level. Most of Areej’s work se...

Last year Radio Skid Row received $150,000 in operations funding from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. This year they received 0. It was a decision that surprised many. Radio Skid Row's president Huna Amweero said, "The decision makes no sense to us. They chose to kneecap the most historically and radically diverse station in New South Wales, maybe even Australia."Radio Skid Row was founded...

Content warningPlease be aware that the episode you are about to listen to contains descriptions of violence, harassment and intimidation, which may be distressing to some listeners. If this type of content is a trigger for you, please skip this episode. Crisis numbers Lifeline 13 11 14 or WIRE Women's Information on 1300 134 130.A bill to criminalise control criminal was recently introduced into...

“Years later, I had presumed consuming the same cultural products would help me piece together her life. There is however a river—linguistic, cultural, historical—I cannot cross.” Shu-Ling ChuaThis week, writer, essayist and critic Shu-Ling Chua chats to us about ‘Echoes’, a collection of personal essays about lineage and connection. And as always, the wonderful Baasto spins some of her favourite...

Kicking us off this week is Reem Yehdego, a community organiser and educator. Reem is one of the founders of ‘Kids from the Block’ - an organisation nurturing the minds of young people from Melbourne’s high-rise flats. Kids from the Block started as a response to the hard lockdown of 9 public housing towers. Writer Bior Kuir looks at the complexities of the refugee experience in his debut collecti...

The Vietnamese Bilingual Program at Footscray Primary School has been around since the early 2000’s. The Vietnamese Bilingual Program makes sense. According to the 2016 census, outside of English, Vietnamese is the most common spoken language (at home) in Footscray. But the program was recently axed and replaced with Italian instead. So, why did Footscray Primary School end a program that’s both r...

On this week's show, Adut Wol unpacks the lessons behind 2020 Vision and shares her tentative visions for 2021.And as usual Baasto spins some of her favourite tunes right now.  

On this week's show, film director/writer/activist Fatima Mawas sits down with Bigoa Chuol to discuss the Kafala System - an exploitative system that’s harming domestic workers across the Middle East. And later in the program Baasto plays some of her favourite tunes right now. Flights for domestic workers fleeing Lebanon campaign. Learn more about the Kafala system here and here. Produced by Ayan...

On this episode, Gerii Pleitez, the founder of the publishing house Kara Sevda Press, chats to us about decolonising literature, and discusses the inspiration behind her novel 'On The Sunday, She Created God'. And later in the program, creative director Nayndng Mayen opens up about her practice and shares what she's working on during the quarantine. Produced by Ayan Shirwa

This week we’re joined by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos, an applied sociologist, and the founder of the blog, The Other Sociologist. Dr Zuleyka chats to us about Moral panic - a concept that might be new to many of our listeners, and on today’s show, she discusses how this phenomenon is playing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll also hear a tune by Sampa the Great, and discuss the new visuals for...