Race Matters

For this special episode of Race Matters, we are joined by Boe Spearim from Frontier War Stories, Gamilaraay and Kooma activisit and Dad who has been archiving so called Australiaʼs first wars since 2020. Frontier War Stories is a podcast that details across the continent, the wars waged by the colonising British, the massacres and horific dehumanisation that was used as a strategy of genocide by the settling empire and the profoundly dedicated resistance held by Aboriginal warriors. Joined by King, a Ghanian/Wiradjuri creative and newest member of the RM team, these episode dives deeper into the lore of Pemuwluy and Dundali. Pemulwuy, being the first resistance fighter against the colony, organising and leading mob to retaliate against the genocidal regime. Dundali, being the last publicly hung warrior, a symbol of the colonisers to others considering resistance. Over a weekend that memorialises one version of history that seemingly erases the Truth about what happened on this land, this episode reminds us of the ways colonising nation states utilise propaganda and dehumanise resistance. With a special thanks to Clothing the Gap for sponsoring this episode. We are so grateful to be joined by Boe as we attempt to subvert the revisionist history of so called Australia.   Audio including sound bites of Malabar Beach, Parramatta and Magandjin CBD Marcia Langton on Pemulwuy for the ABCUncle Coco at the 2020 Dundali Remembrance Day in MagandjinPray by DRMNGNOWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the rivers of Chile, the mountains of Gyeonggi-do, to the Cumberland Highway, exploring what it means to be and live and remember in relation to place.Our first episode in collaboration with abolitionist youth organisation Yung Prodigy, after a mentorship exploring radical radio from the roots up. Two debut works by Lucy Norton and a newfound colalbroation between Leya and Sehej Kaur Sehmbhi. The many sounds, textures and frays that tether us to place, family or memory.SOIL was a radio mentorship designed for young people through the model of liberatory radio and community-centred wellbeing. It spanned 6 workshops, shared meals, new friendships and audio ventures.𖡼 Thank you to our teachers Aunty Angeline Penrith, Tanya Ali, Darren Lesaguis, Sara Khan, DOBBY, Tan Safi, Dr Nakad.𖡼 Program co-dreaming and coordination by Lil Barto, Maia Onyenachi ⁠and Shareeka Helaluddin with support from Natalie Chiappazzo𖡼 Digital Coordinator and video editor Yvonne Hong𖡼 Artwork by Leo Tsao𖡼 Documentation by Samantha Haran ⁠𖡼 Additional broadcast support by Samantha Haran, Yvonne Hong, Prinita Theverajah𖡼 SOIL has been made possible by City of SydneySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bittersweet send off to Executive Producer Shareeka Helaluddin who has metamorphed Race Matters into the ever abundant, ever expansive program that it is. Previous producers Darren Lesaguis and Tanya Ali bear witness to Shareeka's shepherding of the show, bringing to mic the unheard and the unseen. Also hearing from six of the Race Matter's current producers, Sara El Younghun, Toobs, Joannie Lee, Sehej Kaur, Yvonne Hong and Samantha Haran who reflect on the legacy of Shareeka, and her embodiment of anti racist community organising though radio as craft.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sehej Kaur and Wen Pei Low share a tender and vulnerable episode about their friendship and celebrate queer and crip kinship together. They share stories of navigating sterile, western medical systems and how they found and held each other through it all. They dream of crip futures that move beyond simply surviving and toward thriving. Sehej reads a poem by Dom Kelly that is titled “an elegy for a crip friend (thank you alice). You can find it here https://www.instagram.com/p/DRHzspHEYGq/?img_index=4 You can find Wen Pei on instagram @_waterclover. This podcast was edited by Prinita Thevarajah.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"I want it to feel like you're in my living room including the chaos" On today's show, Alicia Zhao and Bruce Koussaba (of Liberation Cinema) are in conversation with the brilliant and staunch organiser of Miya Miya Film Club, Karim Nasser. Miya Miya is a grassroots, community film screening space, carved out as a gathering place for discovery, dialogue and connection - centred around cinema from the SWANA region. Together, Alicia, Bruce and Karim talk about why these independent microcinema spaces matter, how they reshape possibility, and act as a conduit for building a more expansive creative scene in so-called Sydney. Learn more about Miya Miya here: Website: https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/miyamiyafilmclub Next event: https://www.miyamiyafilmclub.com/upcoming-events/i-cant-think-straight This episode was produced by Alicia Zhao and Bruce Koussaba, with support from Samantha Haran. Podcast production by Shareeka Helaluddin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we sustain ourselves for the revolution?  Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah is a multi award-winning novelist, human rights advocate, lawyer and sociologist researching Arab & Muslim social justice movements, Islamophobia and the war on terror. Yvonne Hong and Sara El Youghun are joined by Randa in conversation about the release of her new book Discipline, unpacking the daily reality of what it is to reconcile living in a world that dehumanises and censors you as a Palestinian.  Randa speaks about the power of creative fiction and the imagination to change the world; finding joy, discipline and building spaces we can nourish each other to be able to appreciate what are we fighting for, not just what we’re fighting against. You can order Discipline here from UQP. Special thanks to Sarah Valle for helping coordinate the interview, Shareeka Helaluddin, Samantha Haran and Alicia Zhao for producing this episodeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A love letter to the hearts and labour of community radio, beaming from a shipping container in Brixton, London aka Reprezent Radio. Binta Yade is a London-based poet, community builder, storyteller and legacy community radio broadcaster. This is her ode to the radio station that she calls home, and the many people that keep it going through tireless amount of time, love, music selecting, teaching. Despite it all, community radio is somewhere we all return to, where we belong.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"I believe in the sweat of love and in the fire of truth..." These poetic words by Black revolutionary Assata Shakur reverberate through the work of Munanjahli and South Sea Islander scholar, writer and truth-teller Dr. Chelsea Watego, in conversation with Samantha Haran and Ethan Lyons. Chelsea is known for her fierce commitment to justice and unapologetic advocacy for First Nations sovereignty and people. She is the author of the groundbreaking book Another Day in the Colony, a leading thinker, and the founding director of the Institute for Collaborative Race Research.  In discussing her upcoming book Black Thoughts Matter, Chelsea speaks about welcoming rage and spite as a fertiliser for projects of love and honouring the legacy of Black feminist radicals. Their conversation further explores her experiences of the power of Blackfulla solidarity and joy with global struggles for Indigenous resistance and sovereignty from Palestine to West Papau. You can buy Chelsea's new book Black Thoughts Matter from Common Room Editions here. With thanks to Shanel Cubillo and Anna Carlson for helping coordinate the interview, Alicia Zhao for producing this episode and our beloved Executive Producer Shareeka Helaluddin for all her support.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean that desire, even queer desire, is built on dead bodies? What happens when we realise that our desires, even our most intimate, erotic ones, may be rooted in specific, traceable violence and death? Wiradjuri baddie and alleged tender queer Ethan Lyons on all things TWINK. The desire, the violence, the whiteness of it all. Joined by his dear friend David Soriano, on discerning the colonial parasite, the reproduction of racist harm in gay communities, non western queerness and how we can live truly as queer people, embracing decolonial practices. This episode references the work if Driftpile Cree Nation writer Billy Ray Belcourt and the work of queer thinker Martin F. Manalansan, Global Divas. Produced and edited by Ethan Lyons, with creative advice from Shareeka Helaluddin. Podcast edited and produced by Samantha Haran. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"We are in a decolonial moment, we need the energy to keep going" A conversation between Shareeka Helaluddin and astrologer, spirit worker for the liberation, Ra Life. Hear them on what it is to use their gifts in the toolkit for revolution, guiding people to tap into their capacity and ancestral wisdom as tactic for political organising. Less woo woo, more depth and fury. Produced, hosted and sound designed by Shareeka HelaluddinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we understand hope as something within ourselves, and not as a far off horizon? A conversation with anti-oppressive therapist and educator Leah Manaema Avene on their expansive practice rooted in abolition, love, repair and the strategies to transform harmful power dynamics in bodies, relationships and systems. A sprawling dialogue spanning themes of rupture, hope, and the will to keep moving towards revolution. Image: Leah Avene by Amos Gebhardt part of an interview series MÅNGATA and photography exhibition. This episode was hosted, produced and edited by Shareeka Helaluddin. Podcast edit by Yvonne Hong. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Without truth, what ground is there to stand on? We started this piece into Creative Australia's appalling decision to rescind Lebanese artist Khaled Sabsabi's position from the Venice Bienele, however over many weeks this piece evolved beyond one act of silencing. We are watching the normalisation of this genocide, enabled by imperial mechanisms of censorship, and as creatives how do we grapple with our responsibilities to this while honoring the fight of Palestinian liberation? This episode brings together four artists, organisers and truth-tellers, who have been sounding out the call of institutional collapse so we can see these structures for what they are, and resist. Each conversation offers us clarity on the humanity that is at stake and strategies to ground in resistance, alterity and refusal. Episode creditsSehej Kaur and Sara El-Youghan speaking with Palestinian artist Feras Shaheen, and poet Omar SakrAlicia Zhao with illustrator and organiser Matt ChunToobs Anwar in conversation with poet, educator, and arts worker Hasib HouraniScripting and narration by Janey LiSupervising Producer Allison ChanCreative direction, final mixing and additional Sound design by Executive Producer Shareeka Helaluddin Above all we honor the martyrs, the fighters and the families of Palestine. We remain committed to the sacredness of all Palestinian life and liberation. We hear the Palestinian call - “We will not be silenced" Image: Samar Abu Elouf via The Sunday PaperSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“We only have wood and stone to fight with to preserve our life” The words of young activists from Kanaky (so-called New Caledonia) who are engaged in fights to reclaim their land from French occupation, fighting for life and independence. Ethan and Shareeka speak to Roscoe, a special rapporteur for Radio RATA, a decolonial media, culture and mutual aid network, operating across the Pacific. Roscoe has been pivotal in establishing networks and connections with the Indigenous people of Kanaky. Through his work we learn that colonial systems are not the only thing that can duplicate and expand borders -- so can Indigenous knowledge and solidarity. This episode was co-produced and co-hosted by Ethan Lyons and Shareeka Helaluddin. Audio editing by Ethan Lyons, sound design by Shareeka Helaluddin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.