Between the Waves: Pacific Women Behind the Mic

Culture is more than something we inherit – it’s something we create, question, and carry forward. Host Neisau Tuidraki ( Kokonati Talk , Vosa ) sits down with Isabella Naiduki ( Digressions of a Fijian ) and Talica Tamanitoakula and Christine Aukusitino ( Two Brownish Girls ) for a talanoa on arts and culture as identity, resistance, and record‑keeping. Moving across diasporic experience, taboo t...

Institutional funding can open doors — but who controls the story once you walk through them? Host Mere Nailatikau ( Vosa S2) brings together Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson ( An Impossible Choice ), Neisau Tuidraki, and the Mama Ts — Katrina Ma'u Fatiaki and Talita Tu'ipulotu-Kefu ( Vosa S3) — for a talanoa about the realities of collaborating with institutions like The Guardian and the World Bank whi...

Distance doesn't dilute your story — sometimes it sharpens it. Host Arieta Tora Rika ( Vosa , Sydney) connects with Dr. Mere Tari Sovick ( Coming to the Mat , Seattle USA) and Amy Maslen Miller ( Samoan Scientist , Aotearoa NZ) to talk about what drives Pacific women in diaspora to pick up the mic, and what happens when their podcasts become resources for schools, universities, and communities hun...

Episode Notes Feminism can be a loaded word in the Pacific. So let's talk about it. Host Elvina Ogil ( Who Asked Her? ) brings together Elsie Molou ( The Round Table ) and Mere Nailatikau ( Two Fishes / Vosa ) for a candid talanoa about what feminism means in their communities — the influence of culture and Christianity, taboo topics, women in politics, and being shamed into silence. And at the he...

What does it mean to tell your own story on your own terms? Host Kalani Reyes ( Deep Pacific ) sits down with Neisau Tuidraki ( Kokonati Talk ) and Sharyne Fong ( Insight Your Success ) to talk about what independence really looks like in Pacific podcasting — from self-funding and finding your creative freedom, to balancing authenticity when institutional support comes with strings attached. They...

Pacific women have always had stories worth telling. So what does it take for us to pick up the mic? In this first episode, host Neisau Tuidraki ( Kokonati Talk , Vosa S3) sits down with co-creators Mere Nailatikau ( Two Fishes , Vosa S2 ), Elvina Ogil ( Who Asked Her ), and Arieta Tora Rika ( Vosa S1 ) for a talanoa about why Pacific women's voices belong in podcasting — and how to get started. F...

Episode Notes Between the Waves is a co-created podcast series bringing together Pacific women podcasters to talanoa about the art, craft, and purpose behind their work. Each episode is hosted and led on mic by Pacific women podcasting practitioners, creating space for shared reflection, practical insight, and culturally grounded storytelling. Across the series, hosts and guests explore independen...