Race Matters

We are very excited and honored to bring forward the first episode of Migrant S3x Workers of Colour, a series of intimate dialogues produced by Jasmine Raat Ki Raani "The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this audio series are by migrant sex workers of color who speak for themselves and not for the entire community. We do not take responsibility for how the audience perceives us or our sto...

On today’s show we seek to continue to uplift the ongoing resistance and interconnectedness of displaced peoples on these lands, in Palestine and occupied territories. Tracing settler colonial roots in so-called Australia, this moment a day after the referendum and links to Palestine.  Content note: some of this episode contains mention of graphic acts of genocide, dispossession and state-sanction...

As the noise continues and racist rhetoric unfolds across the continent, Race Matters will be deferring our platform entirely to First Nations activist and community groups to amplify nuances beyond the yes/no rhetoric of The Voice and to centre complex and healing dialogues.  This week, we hear from Kieran and Dan from Black People's Union : a revolutionary organisation that aims to empower Indig...

Tahlia Palmer's work grapples with tensions of the weight of colonial trauma and finding comfort in recovering ancestral practices. She's an artist of Murri and European lineage, working in a variety of mediums to explore history, identity and perception. Her art practice works on confronting the conditions that create and perpetuate inter-generational trauma, as well as finding pathways for heali...

BEYOND THE BARS X RACE MATTERS SOLIDARITY SYNDICATE From Gadigal to ... those on the inside, with love .  This week we dedicate our airwaves to the trailblazing, radical output of  Beyond the Bars Prison Radio, on 3CR Radio . An honor to be joined by Shiralee Hood - she's a Noongar, Kurnai, Gunditjmara comedian, broadcaster and educator. She uses her work in prison radio as an extension of her dee...

What are our responsibilities when it comes to sharing stories of vulnerable communities, and those that have been displaced?  What are ways that we can understand one story as ways to disrupt, to uncover the truth of so many more that go unnoticed, untold?  Our show today traces the flows of displacement of a Tamil family that was thrust into the national political spotlight as they experienced t...

DECODING RACE, AI, ALGORITHMS & AUTOMATION The  tech we use  impacts  our  lives. They aren’t neutral objects but can have particular worldviews baked-in to the very operation of them. It can be overwhelming to begin to challenge those cultural biases when a lot of mainstream conversation on technology is wrapped up in speculation and paranoia. How do we make sense of all this? On today’s show...

On Race Matters we head to Damascus, Syria as we are joined by researcher and creative Mia Shouha, co-founder and director of Souq. In an intimate chat, she shares how artists create in a complex, post-war context and craft through autonomy and imperialism resistance to find magic and connection. Alongside her collaborator Romy Cole-Groth they’ve begun working on a project that elevates the value...

Content note: this talk will mention Black deaths in custody, policy brutality, grief and mention of torture. These are told from the lived experience of our guest and how this shapes their response to the conversation. In some instances this is described in detail to shed truth, so we ask that you go gently and decide when the time is right for you to listen in. On today’s show we’re asking: What...

RADIO SKID ROW X RACE MATTERS SOLIDARITY SYNDICATE This week we dedicate our airwaves to the trailblazing, radical output of  Radio Skid Row 88.9FM . An honor to be joined by Aaliyah-Jade Bradbury - she’s host of Skid Row’s  Blak Friday / Koori Connection , and comes from a lineage of radio makers and storytellers at Skid Row and beyond. She’ll be joining us to talk through the power of community...

Our friends Marina & Xuan at Amplify Bookstore  are back for another anti-racist Book Club takeover! The episode spans works around invisible labour and recovering knowledge systems. In the first half we hear them delve deep into a contemporary fiction by Balli Kaur Jaswal. Mystery meets sharp social commentary with Now You See Us  shedding light on the lives of 3 domestic workers in Singapore...

Nardi Simpson  is a Yuwaalaraay storyteller from NSW’s North West freshwater plains. Her work has long been dedicated to breathing life into objects and story of the past through song, language revival and she continues to be heavily involved in the teaching and sharing of culture in both her Sydney and Yuwaalaraay communities. Her work spans  music , composing, music direction and her debut novel...

Everyday is a good day to  support and buy from Black artists .  Formerly known as Black Bandcamp -  Black Artist Database  has a simple premise: to get more Black people paid for their music. It’s a crowdfunded resource of artists, aimed at bringing cultural and material support to the Black community. Alongside artists and DJs; they throw events, skills-building workshops and now have a  podcast...

What is the balance of curation and community-consultation especially when cultural identities are so fraught and disparate? How can a community-rooted event still serve as an invitation for learning and connection across differences? These are some of the themes that we explore with our guest this week, Hajer Al-Awsi. Alongside her new role festival director of the inaugural SWANA Film Festival ,...

On today’s show we’re exploring what it is to continue to tell stories across evolving digital landscapes and the need to teach younger generations to care for, learn and grow alongside Country. That’s done in creative ways with the multimedia, First Nations theatre production  Saltbush . It’s a production that follows two friends, discovering and growing an understanding of the land; and how that...

Race Matters were joined by Catherine Madviza, project lead of  Codebreakers  - an innovative output working alongside young people in Western Sydney to critically engage with social media, carving space to explore their identities, and advocate for social change in creative ways. Alongside its social platforms, Codebreakers in unique in that it has multiple ways of engaging with community and bri...

Content note:  This talk describes instances of transphobia and a mention of black deaths in custody. These are told from the lived experience of our panelists and how this shapes their response to the questions as well as their creative practice. Whilst not described in detail, we ask that you go gently and decide when the time is right for you to listen in.  What role does art have in inciting s...

Fjorn Bastos is someone who speaks and moves with intention. As an artist, Fjorn works primarily in sound and a style of narrativised performance under the name Papaphilia . Her 2021 album - ‘Remembrance of Things to Come’ is a pulsing and abstract exploration of time and grief.  As a researcher and community organiser - she’s also long been an outspoken voice for anti-racism, anti-colonial resist...

A very special guest host this week, Sezzo: kōtare/kingfisher turned proud Ngāpuhi DJ, writer, curator, and medical student. She stepped on to the mic bringing with her a profound and loving dialogue with her kin Grayson  and  Hāmiora visiting from Aotearoa for World Pride. Their conversation spanned questions like "what is World Pride on stolen land?" and delved into First Peoples solidarities, t...

What would it mean to consider the radical potential of love, empathy, and pleasure— as an antidote to oppression and disconnection? Mimi Zhu doesn't want to romanticise love. Their debut title "Be Not Afraid of Love" is devoted to answering this, sharing in a way that is intimate and heart-tugging. Our conversation with them maps the pain and violence that can stop us from knowing how to enact an...

What does it mean to engage with the stories of the forcibly displaced? What happens when those people seek support in each other - and what does solidarity with that movement look like for queer people, leading into a time like World Pride?  Shareeka Helaluddin spoke with Renee Dixson, co-founder of the Forcibly Displaced People's Network (FDPN) ahead of their 2023 Queer Displacements Conference...

An emotional one ... Sara's last show. Join us as we revel, celebrate, cry, remember the four formidable and inimitable years that Sara Khan has offered us. It’s hard to say what Race Matters would be without her, and the depths of knowledge, power, care, laughter she has given to this show and FBi radio more broadly. There aren’t enough words to describe how much Sara has changed the landscape of...

Content note: this story revolves around racial trauma and has mention of trauma, anti-Asian racism, colourism and references to statistics on suicide and self harm. Whilst not discussed in detail, we ask that you go gently, surround yourself with some comforts, or come back to this at a time that feels okay for you.  What are the impacts of racism when it comes to our minds, bodies and spiritual...

Too many incredible writers of colour, not enough time to read and do them justice! We are excited to be airing the first episode of BOOK CLUB with our friends at Amplify Bookstore - a site dedicated to Black, First Nations and writers of colour. Hear co-founders Xuan and Marina on how they started Amplify, what makes an Amplify book (it's not just about race and racism!), and the curation they wa...

A treat to be in conversation with Kombumerri man, sound artist and performer Rowan Savage aka salllvage ; who has long-worked at the intersection of queer club music, performance and connection with Country, helming a truly unique creative output. Hear him chat on the power and politics of deep listening amid the current exhibition NURA: Deep Listening, currently on Cement Fondu alongside Barkind...