Race Matters

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.

Omar El Akkad, a journalist and novelist focused on war and the impact of empire, shares insights about his latest work, "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This." He discusses the challenge of using language to affirm humanity amidst violence and the complexities of cultural narratives that shape resistance. Omar reflects on his disillusionment with colonial conditioning and the hidden costs of modern convenience. He also emphasizes the need for loud cultural expressions of grief and the psychological challenges of confronting empire.

Dr. Chelsea Watego, a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander scholar and author, joins Samantha Haran and Ethan Lyons for a compelling conversation. Chelsea emphasizes the importance of welcoming rage as a catalyst for love and honors the legacy of Black feminist radicals. She discusses the power of cultural solidarity, connecting Indigenous struggles from Palestine to West Papua. The conversation dives into the ethics of writing, collective critique, and the necessity of expressing Black emotions freely. Chelsea passionately encourages listeners to craft their stories on their own terms.

Non-linear sounds, improvising as spiritual catharsis, computer coding as companion. Sehej Kaur & Alicia Zhao immerse into the sound worlds of naarm-based artist Nū. Utilising live coding, Ethiopian samples, gospel trills and reclaiming non-linear time. We unearth the world-building of TECHNOFRO and relinquish into the divine unknown of hope and possibility. This episode includes clips from Nū's songs Bati and Night Time. Listen to more of Nū here: https://nu-nu.bandcamp.com/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.

“Breath. Something we all have in common, yet most take for granted”  An invitation to listen in, attune to, hold breath and be in solidarity with those in our community living with Long Covid. In collaboration with Dr Poppy de Souza, we bring you stories gathered from her Holding Breath exchange and from the Race Matters community, reflecting on their experiences and responding to: what do we carry with us? what do we leave behind? Together, these voices bring collective wisdom, and offer ways of living with/in embodied discomfort and crip ways of moving through the world.  Continue to learn more about Poppy’s work, and to listen in solidarity and connect with Long Covid in our racial justice struggle:  Holding Breath project Jenna Bitar’s essay in Sick Times “Instead of supporting people with Long Covid, our government funds a genocide”  Still Here podcast from The Sick Times Breathing 4 Justice - exploring the intersections of long Covid and disability justice (U.S.) The Colour of Long COVID series, supported by the Disability Visibility Project This episode was facilitated by, co-produced and edited by Samantha Haran. Scripting, piano composition, invitations and co-production by Poppy de Souza. Supervising production and creative contributions by Shareeka Helaluddin. Graphics for our community call-out by Judy Ko, arranged by Sehej Kaur Sehmbhi. Image is from contributor Jody Haines, from Tommeginne Country, their ancestral lands where they can breathe most deeply.  Holding Breath Episode Transcript With gratitude to all those who contributed to this episode and gave us the trust to uplift your narratives of Long Covid, and our love to those impacted by its grief and loss.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.

"... and in truth it is a story that is not mine nor hers; I am searching for the shape of what is ours." Hear  Sara and Joannie are in conversation with Palestinian writer and academic Micaela Sahhar. Together, they discuss Micaela’s gorgeous new memoir,  'Find Me At The Jaffa Gate,’ which aims to assemble and reclaim the story of her family through fractured memories, objects and places. This conversation explores how both objects and music can hold and preserve memory, the complexity of being heard amidst censorship and the importance of the anti-colonial archive. Produced by Shareeka Helaluddin and Samantha Haran. Podcast edited and sound design by Shareeka Helaluddin. See 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.

"You have to speak the truth, even if your voice shakes" What does it mean to commemorate Nakba, not as a singular historical act, but as a way to honour the resistance that has continued long before October 7th?  A conversation with Dana Kafina from 3ain Radio and Toobs Anwar. This episode was hosted and produced by Toobs Anwar, with final audio editing by Shareeka Helaluddin. Live broadcast producing by Alicia Zhao. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.