A Seat at Our Table

Shashank 'Shanky' Achuta is Good Food Guide's Young Chef of the Year and one of NSW's 25 Most Influential Indian Australians. Having worked in some of Australia's best restaurants, including Attica, Hubert and Brasserie 1930, Shanky gives us an honest look at the hospitality industry, the biggest pressure points he faces as a chef, dealing with overworking and burnout, and his...

Nathan Kwok is an award-winning marketer, strategist and researcher with over 11 years of experience. He is a 3x Gold Young Lions Australia Winner, 1x Bronze Young Lions Global Winner and shortlisted in B&T's 30 Under 30. He is currently a Lifecycle Marketing Lead at Canva. With so many career shifts and achievements under his belt, Nathan shares his wisdom on building a compelling persona...

Sue Kang is a Korean Australian lawyer turned lifestyle and wellness model. With over 10 years of experience, Sue shares her behind the scenes stories, her take on being authentic and confident, and the state of cultural representation in modelling, as an Asian Australian in an interracial relationship. Follow Sue: - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suekang_ - Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@s...

In an Asian household, food is more than just 'food'. We unpack the food culture in our families, the eating rituals we had, and throwback to school lunches and our favourite childhood snacks. P.S. We also do a fun mukbang at the end, so join us at the dinner table. Join our conversation on Instagram  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aseatatourtable.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  and on our website  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aseatatourtable.com.au...

From changing roles to preparing for a promotion or staying on par with your industry standard, how do you prepare for the best outcome? We talk through our tips and tricks for negotiating salary, having difficult career conversations, and knowing when it's time to leave a job. Join our conversation on Instagram  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aseatatourtable.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  and on our website  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aseatatourtable.c...

It's been 10 years since high school! We look back at our yearbook, who we were, our dreams and aspirations, what was trending at the time, and all the drama in our lives. Join our conversation on Instagram  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@aseatatourtable.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  and on our website  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠aseatatourtable.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Get 10% off at ⁠⁠⁠⁠ClassBento⁠⁠⁠⁠ with our discount code 'CBENTOSOT23'. Music credits: -...

Dr James Jiang is the Editor of Sydney Review of Books. We talk to James about what it means to be a literary critic, the role of criticism in our society, balancing commercialism and creativity as a writer, and the challenges for diversity and inclusion within the industry. Follow James: @idiolect_87 Follow Sydney Review of Books: @sydreviewbooks Photo Credit: Rohan Dias Join our conversation on...

It's time to reflect on our biggest life lessons from 2023. We talk through our greatest hits, our greatest misses, what we'll bring into the new year, and what we'll leave behind. We also share our 'favourites' for the year, so tune in! Reflection questions: 1. How would you describe your 2023 in one phrase? 2. Was 2023 what you expected? Any surprises? 3. Did you achieve your...

We are going behind the scenes into the juicy details of our relationship experiences! We chat about the differences between starting a relationship in your teens versus your late 20s, building healthy relationships, and the pressures that come with introducing our partners to our Asian families. Join our conversation on Instagram  ⁠⁠⁠@aseatatourtable.podcast⁠⁠⁠  and on our website  ⁠⁠⁠aseatatourt...

Individually, twin brothers Andrew and Chris Yee are multidisciplinary creatives focused on the power of storytelling. Together, they are the powerhouse duo behind global media platform Eastern Standard Times (EST) in Australia. We deep dive into Andrew and Chris' relationship as brothers and professional partners, how they established their strong identities, and their experience being a part...

As children, we spend all our time playing, but as we get older, we struggle to find time. There are societal pressures to find 'your thing' but is it okay to not have hobbies? We talk about how we nourish our creative selves, find interests as adults, and share tips for getting out of a slump and into a flow state. Resources: - Get 10% off at ClassBento with our discount code 'CBENTOS...

Linh Diep is a two-time winner in B&T's 30 Under 30 Agency Account Management category. She is an Account Director at Ogilvy by day and the founder and CEO of Assisterhood by night. Assisterhood is Australia's leading not-for-profit mentorship program in the creative and communications space. We talk to Linh about starting and scaling Assisterhood, her successes, and the importance of...

Achieving perfection is impossible but many of us still feel the pressure to be perfect. We explore the traits of perfectionism, the difference between being a perfectionist and a high achiever, and what it means to be 'perfect' in an Asian household. Join our conversation on Instagram  ⁠@aseatatourtable.podcast⁠  and on our website  ⁠aseatatourtable.com.au⁠ . Music credits: - Track: Waves...

Yeo's newly released album TIRED is his most vulnerable storytelling yet. Yeo is a genre-bending musician, songwriter and producer with an expansive body of work spanning over a decade. TIRED features raw and exposed tracks, grungy alt-R&B, 90s-inspired bass and bilingual tracks. We have an honest conversation about the realities of being Asian Australian in the music industry, Yeo's e...

With The Voice to Parliament referendum coming up, we want to chat about politics and the importance of informed voting. Politics can be intimidating, especially for those who weren’t always engaged with it from a young age or avoided it altogether. We talk about how we've gone from being "not into politics" to how we're now increasing our political education and awareness. Resou...

Jono is a contestant from this year's season of FBoy Island. We get all the behind-the-scenes gossip of being on reality TV, the dramas that unfolded, the relationships and friendships that formed, and how accurate people's portrayals were. We also discuss the lack of Asian Australian representation on these reality TV shows. FBoy Island is Binge's latest dating show hosted by Abbie Ch...

Sheila is the curator of the MÌNH exhibition at the Fairfield City Museum & Gallery (FCMG). MÌNH explores the Vietnamese and Chinese diasporic life in Australia today. Featuring works by 17 writers and artists, it is the first exhibition of its kind at the FCMG. We talk to Sheila about her non-linear creative path, the stories that connect us across generations, how we can heal as a community,...

Language, culture and identity are inextricably linked. We explore what it means to be multilingual, how language influences our personality and behaviour, the existence of the Asian Australian accent, and the concept of code-switching. Special shout out to our loyal listener, Bing, for suggesting this topic! Join our conversation on Instagram  ⁠@aseatatourtable.podcast⁠  and on our website  ⁠asea...

For our season finale, we have a vulnerable conversation about how we almost stopped being friends and our biggest lessons learnt in friendship. We chat about toxic friends, friendship maps, the different types of friends we have and are, and being a better friend. Join our conversation on Instagram  @aseatatourtable.podcast  and on our website  aseatatourtable.com.au . References & Resources:...

EQ vs IQ - why is emotional intelligence more important? Emotional intelligence is highly valued in the workplace and is fundamental in our personal lives and relationships. We discuss the four domains of EQ, how it is measured, what happens when it is lacking, and how it can be improved. Join our conversation on Instagram  @aseatatourtable.podcast  and on our website  aseatatourtable.com.au . Ref...

Kim Luo is a Chinese Australian designer, currently working at Ragged Edge in London. Previously, she was at For The People in Sydney where she worked on impactful projects for the NSW Government, Tech Central, Women’s and Girls Central and many more. We chat to Kim about her experience working abroad as a designer, moving overseas from Sydney to London, and the lessons she's learnt from the c...

Why do we sweep conflict under the rug in Asian households? Is conflict good or bad? What has saving 'face' got to do with it? We dive deep into Western vs Eastern styles of dealing with conflict, why they are often opposing, and how to manage conflict and bridge the cultural differences. Join our conversation on Instagram  @aseatatourtable.podcast  and on our website  aseatatourtable.com....

Daniel Angus is a sought-after psychologist and clinical supervisor practising in Western Sydney since 2006. Daniel is also currently the Deputy Commissioner for the NSW Mental Health Commission. We discuss issues affecting young people and the Western Sydney community, the importance of access and interpreter services, and how Daniel's mixed Vietnamese-Australian heritage informs his practice...

When pursuing a creative career, is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? We talk about which is more valued in the workplace, the pressures to find our niche, pivoting in our careers, and how we've crafted our careers so far. Join our conversation on Instagram  @aseatatourtable.podcast  and on our website  aseatatourtable.com.au . References & Resources: - Generalist vs Specialist...

Martin Lo is a Vietnamese-Australian professional soccer player who currently plays as a midfielder for V.League 1 club Haiphong. He grew up in Western Sydney and started playing soccer from the age of seven. At the age of 16, he represented the Western Sydney Wanderers as a midfielder. Outside of soccer, he also runs a clothing brand KIOH and a bar Tipsy Cocktails & Chill in Vietnam.  Ep...