VAN Talks Podcast

Send us Fan Mail VAN's Charles Pakana meets up with DJAARA (representing Dja Dja Wurrung peoples) CEO, Cassandra Lewis and explores clear examples of how the broader Bendigo community and environment are benefiting from traditional cultural knowledges.

Send us Fan Mail The yearning to learn how to play the yidaki came to Ganga Giri in a dream when you was a young fella. Now, 35 years later, he's learnt how to play from the traditional custodians of the instrument and taken the beauty of its "grounding" music around the world. He joins up to discuss this with VAN's Charles Pakana.

Send us Fan Mail The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is greatly misunderstood - if even heard of - within society. We kick off a series of discussions about this critical document with the CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owners Corporation, Kaley Nicholson

Send us Fan Mail Joining Charles Pakana on the podcast is Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Rose, the inaugural First Nations Commissioner of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission. For decades, he has challenged Australian academia to recognise Indigenous knowledge systems as a foundational intellectual architecture that must sit at the very centre of our national education research. 

Send us Fan Mail VAN Talks welcomes reconciliation activist Ruth Yeatman, who talks about championing reconciliation in one of Victoria's highs recorded "No" vote regions.

Send us Fan Mail VAN's Charles Pakana catches up with Wurundjeri Elder and lore man Uncle Bill Nicholson to discuss the use - and often ofter use - of the Acknowledgement of Country. (A full transcript is available on the VAN website - www.vicaboriginalnews.com.au)

Send us Fan Mail Filmmaker Rachel Perkins unpacks Australia’s brutal frontier wars, revealing how a foundational conflict over land and resources shaped the nation. She discusses historical archives, government complicity, and the path toward national truth-telling.

Send us Fan Mail Cultural educator Thane Garvey explores the complexities of shared Australian culture, addressing non-Indigenous fears, the importance of respectful engagement, and the vital role of education in preserving First Nations heritage.

Send us Fan Mail Traditional Owners in Victoria are reawakening ancient cultural burning practices to restore landscape health, protect biodiversity, and mitigate wildfire risks through community-led land management and self-determination.

Send us Fan Mail Holmesglen Institute and Trust for Nature offer a First Nations-led Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management, empowering mob to care for Country, restore native biodiversity, and lead environmental self-determination.

Send us Fan Mail New research shows over two million people lived across Australia pre-invasion, shattering colonial myths and underscoring the urgent need for genuine truth-telling and historical accountability.

Send us Fan Mail Astrophysicist Professor Duane Hamacher explores First Nations development and use of astronomy, revealing tens of thousands of years of sophisticated science well outdating Western astrophysics.

Send us Fan Mail Existing Australian intellectual property laws fail to safeguard Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property. Dr Terri Janke outlines why true consultation, consent, and True Tracks principles are vital for protecting Blak knowledge.

Send us Fan Mail National Indigenous Times COO Alexander Wolf discusses expanding into Victoria, combatting online misinformation, protecting First Nations journalists, and why mainstream engagement with Blak media is vital for community self-determination.

Send us Fan Mail Skye Cusack discusses how Blak and Bright supports First Nations storytellers year-round through publishing partnerships, digital commissions, education initiatives, and industry advocacy to ensure cultural safety and fair remuneration.

Send us Fan Mail New data shows that while mainstream interest in First Nations issues has dropped, majority support for Treaty and truth-telling remains firm, led strongly by younger generations across Australia.

Send us Fan Mail Self Determination Fund co-chair Leanne Miller explains how building capital and supporting Traditional Owner unity is driving long-term economic independence and equity across Victoria’s ongoing Treaty process.

Send us Fan Mail Laureate Professor Marcia Langton AO discusses navigating everyday racism, moving beyond deficit models, and embedding 65,000 years of Indigenous scientific innovation—from astronomy to fire—into the national curriculum.

Send us Fan Mail Cathy Austin from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission talks about a new podcast series created in partnership with VALS, providing education on the legal tools available to First Nations people who face discrimination in any form. 

Send us Fan Mail 3KND General Manager Grant Hansen has a yarn with us about spending 25 years building independent Aboriginal radio in Melbourne, amplifying community voices, championing local music, and driving genuine self-determination across the airwaves.

Send us Fan Mail Groundbreaking research reveals a tenfold rise in online hate targeting First Nations people. Discover how digital algorithms fuel racism against Mob and what must be done to protect our community.

Send us Fan Mail Are Reconciliation Action Plans still delivering for Mob? Eastern Maar leader Jason Mifsud explores why organisations must shift from symbolic gestures to structural accountability, embedded governance, and genuine self-determination.

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Send us Fan Mail Sixteen-year-old Lola Wood-Sharples speaks out on VAN Talks, calling for real accountability on Closing the Gap targets and demanding meaningful action over empty government promises.

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with First Nations radio pioneer Uncle Joel Wright, discussing the past, present and future of Blak voices on Australian radio.