This week on ‘South Asian Overground’ we welcome fitness instructor and founder of the wellness platform, Cloud Nine Collective, Juju. We get into the lifehacks brown girls need to know that maybe we were never taught, the importance of having South Asian women to look up to in the fitness world & the lack of brown faces in this industry, how environment and circumstances can massively influence how South Asian you feel, and a little bit on dating…of course ;)  I’ve been family friends with Juju for years, and chatting with her felt super wholesome, and uplifting…i’m sure you lot wil ..read more

If you're interested in listening to me get absolutely RINSED by Preet Singh for an hour, then this episode is for you ;)  ...And if you want to know the best way to rob a turkey from ASDA, then this episode is also for you.  On a serious note, welcome to yet another episode of 'South Asian Overground', guaranteed to make you absolutely laugh your head off & and also have some "did they really just say that?" moments! Preet Singh is a stand-up comedian, radio presenter, writer and podcast host, who has a lot to say when it comes to the stereotypes many brown people are subject to ..read more

Saint Raavan (aka Michael Roshan), is an incredible Tamil singer/songwriter, whose completely self-produced & self-managed, but also happens to have a mentor team consisting of the GOAT that is M.I.A. In this episode of 'South Asian Overground' I chatted with Saint Raavan about how deeply connected to his Sri Lankan-Tamil roots he feels, and how this consistently shows up in his music, the difficulties many Tamil people face with being pigeon holed as Indian rather than being recognised as Tamil, and of course going on tour with M.IA. and working on her latest album, MATA.  This episo ..read more

By popular demand, my cousin Kiri is BACK, for season 2! After Kiri's first appearance in season 1, where we revealed some proper dating truths about what it really means to date as a South Asian, we're keeping the goods coming with more 'agony aunting!'  In this episode we talk about whether or not polyamory would actually be well suited to South Asians, what it means to be in love, getting set up by your parents with people you are never/will never be attracted to, and the pressure to not be normal when growing up as a South Asian female.  There's also a little history lesson on th ..read more

The absolute LEGENDS, that are Panjabi Hit Squad, are here!!  In episode 2 of 'South Asian Overground' season 2, we meet Rav from Panjabi Hit Squad; the dj's, BBC Asian Network broadcasters, and producers of absolute maaad Desi beats! Rav and I get into the importance of South Asian culture in creating the core essence of Panjabi Hit Squad, how this incredible collective was formed (and of course creating the iconic tune Hai Hai), as well as bunking off school & going to day time raves.  Panjabi Hit Squad have never stopped creating, and have never stopped keeping their sound rel ..read more

Season Two of  'South Asian Overground' is officially here, and  we're starting off BIG, with the icon that is Adil Ray; actor, GMB and Lingo presenter, and of course the man behind Mr. Khan himself!  We go into the ins and outs of growing up as a bit of 'chameleon', in a Pakistani-Kenyan household, feeling disconnected from the South Asian community at times, as well as the importance of re-writing the narratives and stereotypes people have about Muslims and South Asians, in general. Of course we had to chat about Citizen Khan, and creating the iconic character of Mr.Khan, as w ..read more

"There’s so much more to us than all of the things that you stereotype us to be." Meet Mathushaa, the Tamil photographer, and absolute force of nature redefining the stereotypes of South Asian women!  In episode 11 Mathushaa chats about the difficulties she has faced in having to 'prove herself' as a Tamil women, often not feeling enough to represent her culture, and how she's worked hard to change peoples attitudes that not all brown people are Indian - with her project "Not Just Brown, Not Just Indian." We also get into that super IRRITATING subject of South Asian women and marriage, be ..read more

"I'm a fat deaf asian and now white people are going out of their way to have more disabilities than i’ve got." Be prepared to have a proper belly laugh, and maybe have some 'jaw on the floor' moments, episode 10 is HILARIOUS, completely and utterly no-filter, and as honest as it gets... I'm very happy to have my first ever comedian on 'South Asian Overground', Eshaan Akbar; half Bengali - half Pakistani comedian, inspiring representative of the deaf community, and deep lover of being South Asian...it's his favourite. In this episode you can expect quite a lot of toilet chat, the trials and t ..read more

"I promise you being vulnerable is a great thing." Meet Hyphen; the North East Indian singer, writer, and mental health speaker. In episode nine of South Asian Overground Hyphen goes into how his connectedness to being South Asian has changed over time, making 'unusual' career choices, and how writing and creating music has been a huge factor in helping to express himself and support his mental health struggles. Of course, we get into music, and the importance of being consistent, releasing music and not overthinking it, and how Hyphen released around 30 songs before getting on BBC 6 music...p ..read more

"We always like to look for cross cultural sounds and spread them across electronic beats…like beans on toast." We've got something very special for you on South Asian Overground this week, a guest mix from DJ duo, B.o.T (aka beans on toast.) Pakistani producer/dj, Khayal Khan (aka Kakes), and Italian dj, Dan Calbrese, join me for episode eight to chat about how to stand out as a dj right now in such a saturated market, combining their cultures to create innovative & surprising sounds, and of course Khayal shares how his Pakistani background has influenced his sound and production of music ..read more