This week on Voices, a group of young activists get together to present an interactive timeline on the history of Palestine. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. A group of young activists produced an interactive walk-through exhibit telling the history of Palestine for an exhibition at Auckland's Corban Estate. FOLLOW Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. A team of volunteers from NZ for Humanity, Preserved Identity and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa ...
Aug 08, 2021•11 min•Ep. 69
One of Auckland's orginal squeegee stars, Sky, talks to Kadambari Raghukumar reflecting on his life growing up in the States to arriving in Auckland in the early 90s. "I can honestly say to this day, joining the US Marines was the best decision I ever made" says Sky, as he empties the bucket of soapy water he's just cleaned an Auckland cafe's windows with. "That's how I survived." Being born and raised in the Hill District neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sky's remembers his childhood ...
Aug 01, 2021•19 min•Ep. 68
In Voices today, several businesses in South Auckand serving mainly Indian diaspora clients are struggling to find workers of the right profile to help at their shops. Navtej Randhawa runs Radio Spice, a Punjabi radio station, along with running his family business - a grocery store that's been here at Hunters Corner for several years - acutely understaffed these days. "This are is unique - this is a cluster of specialized businesses selling ethnic wares of all sorts, not just people in Auckland...
Jul 29, 2021•10 min•Ep. 67
Going between painting, installation and sculpture, Korea-born artist Seung Yul Oh talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about his practice. Going between painting, installation and sculpture, Korea-born artist Seung Yul Oh talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about his practice. FOLLOW Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Seung Yul Oh is known for his public art, larger than life-sculptures and installations that are at once quirky, hyperreal or minimalist. ...
Jul 18, 2021•10 min•Ep. 66
A new report paints a pretty detailed picture on youth well-being amongst East and South Asian students - and some of the stats are not pretty. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar FOLLOW Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. A new report, Youth19, is the latest in the Youth2000 survey series which asks more than 7000 students about everything from family life to sexual activity. It highlights health and wellbeing findings for Asian students in Aote...
Jul 11, 2021•14 min•Ep. 65
This week on Voices, Umar Zakaria, Wellington-based jazz composer and double-bassist talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about his interpretations of Malay music through jazz improv. As a child, when Umar Zakaria saw the double-bassist play in an army band in New Zealand, he almost immediately knew that was the instrument he wanted to take up. FOLLOW Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. While studying jazz at high school, Zakaria was listening to a l...
Jul 04, 2021•14 min•Ep. 64
Arriving in New Zealand seeking refuge to finally officially becoming one - Kadambari Raghukumar talks to Colombian, Jose Tombe about what compelled him to leave his hometown of Cali. Jose Tombe, 36, worked with vulnerable youth in his hometown of Cali, Colombia. Jose thrived in his work despite knowing that activism and social work is a dangerous vocation in Colombia. Social workers, who in Colombia are called social leaders, are being killed or disappearing in alarming numbers by the various g...
Jun 27, 2021•11 min•Ep. 63
Commemorating their golden jubilee this month, Polynesian Panther member Tigilau Ness speaks to Kadambari Raghukumar about the significance of the groups activism over the years. The Polynesian Panther Party was founded on 16 June 1971 in Auckland by Will 'Ilolahia, Fred Schmidt, Nooroa Teavae, Paul Dapp, Eddie Williams and Vaughan Sanft. They were later joined by Tigilau Ness, Lupematasila Misatauveve Melani Anae and Alec Toleafoa. The group was inspired by the civil rights movement in the US a...
Jun 20, 2021•10 min•Ep. 62
Amnesty International's report on repression of Muslims in Xinjiang was released last week. Kadambari Raghukumar spoke to the Auckland-based sister of one detainee whose case features in the report. For the past four years, Rizwangul NurMuhammed (Riz) has been seeking justice and answers. In 2017, Riz's brother, Maiwulana, was arrested on charges of separatism - charges Riz denies - and detained ever since in Xinjiang. FOLLOW Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen...
Jun 13, 2021•13 min•Ep. 61
Artist Claudia Kogachi talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about what it's been like exploring her personal family relationships and dynamics through creative work. Artist Claudia Kogachi talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about what it's been like exploring her personal family relationships and dynamics through creative work. It's mid-morning and Claudia Kogachi is busy wielding her carpet gun in her home studio in Eden Terrace. In her overalls, she's switching between painting and carpeting, while a dead...
May 30, 2021•14 min•Ep. 60
An internationally-recruited doctor formerly based in provincial New Zealand, talks about professional isolation and racism that she and others like her face. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. FOLLOW Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. "We're going to have to address this in a far more systemic way," says Dr Carolyn Providence about professional isolation and racism that international doctors face after being recruited to fill positions in pro...
May 23, 2021•13 min•Ep. 59
More than a year since he became a free man and has been living in New Zealand, Kurdish novelist, journalist and activist Behrouz Boochani talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about decolonial thinking and his life in New Zealand. Follow Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. In November 2019, Behrouz Boochani arrived at Auckland, New Zealand as a free man. He came to speak at the WORD - Christchurch's literature festival. The...
May 16, 2021•14 min•Ep. 58
This last week of Ramadan Kadambari Raghukumar talks to two women athletes observing the fast during the Holy Month. Mariam Bahar has been fasting during Ramadan each year since she was 9 years old while growing up in Sri Lanka. I meet Mariam at 5am just as she's finishing her sahur or sehri - a pre-dawn meal before starting the day's fast. She's in her workout gear and will start her morning workout shortly after prayers at 5.34am today. She trains Crossfit competitively and is also a personal ...
May 09, 2021•13 min•Ep. 57
Travel restrictions between India and New Zealand have been loosened but thousands of Indian families are still separated. Katy Gosset hears how the situation has rocked one Christchurch household. There should be three children in this picture but two of them are stuck in India. New Zealand's border closed just one day before toddlers, Nimrat and Tarman Kaur, were due to join their parents in Christchurch. Parvinder Kaur is pictured here with her baby daughter, Parvaan, in Christchurch where sh...
May 02, 2021•13 min•Ep. 56
In this episode, a 23-year-old New Zealander shares her story - a poetic journey asking questions of identity, harm, and home, while revealing the realities of living as a child in the world's refugee camps. They used to call Bhutan the "Happiest Country in the World," says Shreejana, a 23-year-old living in Christchurch. There was plenty of land, cattle, and crops growing everywhere. Her family were farmers before she was born. "But there is a dark history there," she says. In the early 1990's,...
Apr 18, 2021•12 min•Ep. 55
What does 20 years of graffiti in Aotearoa look like? One graffiti crew decided to pull together as a collective to create an exhibition that looks at old and new works and the people involved in the scene over the years. Dr Bobby Hung, who is also known as Berst, first started painting graffiti as a teenager and was given a garden wall by his mother, to keep him from tagging on the streets. That was in the late 90s in Auckland. Starting this month until 2 August, The Most Dedicated - An Aotearo...
Apr 11, 2021•18 min•Ep. 54
Since November 2020 thousands from Ethiopia's Tigray region have been caught in conflict and fighting. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Since 4 November last year, conflict and fighting between between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray regional government ruling party, Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has forced nearly 27,000 refugees out of the region of Tigray in the north-west. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been intent on unifying the country by minimizing reg...
Mar 28, 2021•12 min•Ep. 53
What does celebrating Pride month mean to a former refugee whose journey coming out ended up even shaping their career? Kadambari Raghukumar talks to Ives Rose. Follow Voices on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. This Pride month, after a bit of a hiatus from performing, Drag Queen Black Mamba took to the stage once more. While Black Mamba is undoubtedly flamboyant - Ives Rose, her official name and avatar, is surprisingly qu...
Mar 22, 2021•16 min•Ep. 52
When Ajaz Patel immigrated to New Zealand at the age of 10, he greeted his Kiwi cousins at Auckland airport dressed in a dinner suit and top hat. 20 years later he made his successful debut for the New Zealand national team. When Ajaz Patel immigrated to New Zealand at the age of 10, he greeted his Kiwi cousins at Auckland airport dressed in a suit and top hat. Over a 20 year period of hard graft and perseverance, Ajaz went from top hat to Black Cap, making a successful debut for the New Zealand...
Mar 14, 2021•13 min•Ep. 51
Bringing her vast farming knowledge from Africa to West Auckand, Olive Minani's organic garden is a cause to go green with envy. Wesley market on Tuesday buzzes with a cross-section of Sandringham's communities and the produce being sold reflects that equally. Olive Minani arrives at the market at 6.30am each week to set up her stall to sell her organic produce. Subscribe to Voices for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcast...
Feb 28, 2021•11 min•Ep. 50
As Myanmar continues to be under the grip of the latest coup, we look at the impact of military rule on the life of a former refugee who now lives in Wellington. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Yan lets out a nervous laugh as he begins to recount a childhood memory - not one of playing games or going hunting but rather of real guns and his forced recruitment into the Tatmadaw, the Burmese army, as a child soldier in the late 1990s. From the age of seven until he was 11, Yan's troop and fellow ...
Feb 21, 2021•14 min•Ep. 49
After nearly 50 years of military rule, the recent coup of 1 February has brought an end to Myanmar's 10 year experiment with democracy. What has the NZ diaspora been doing in response to the coup and the civil disobedience movement taking place? Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Since 1 February Myanmar has been in the grip of a coup staged by the army commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing. After November's general election in which Aung San Su Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) ...
Feb 14, 2021•11 min•Ep. 48
The specialist Italian workforce building Auckland's 1.2 billion dollar Central Interceptor have met with unexpected hardships in the past year. Liz Garton heads out to Mangere to meet some of the crew. When Ghella Abergeldie won the contract to build a new waste water pipe for Auckland, they expected it would be just another day in the office. But then the global pandemic struck. Ghella Abergeldie JV won the contract to build Auckland's Central Interceptor. A $1.2 billion wastewater pipe, the b...
Jan 31, 2021•14 min•Ep. 47
For an American scientist in Hawkes Bay, his experience on working with pest management on cottonfields lent itself to research in NZ's orchards. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar As a Peace Corp volunteer in Malawi, Tim Vandervoet developed a passion for using agriculture and science as a tool for social change - reducing insecticide use through more biological control of pests being one way. Vandervoet was raised in Arizona where the family business involved the import of agricultural produce f...
Jan 24, 2021•13 min•Ep. 46
In Voices this week, we meet the Auckland couple who smashed the Guinness World Record for baking the world's biggest lamington. New Zealand's latest Guinness World Record holders know the sweet taste of success thanks to a massive lamington, weighing more than 2700 kilograms, topped with 200 kilograms of jam, 200 kilograms of coconut and literally buckets of chocolate sauce. Listen to this episode about the World's biggest lamington 2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year for Farhan and Zeenat ...
Dec 20, 2020•14 min•Ep. 45
After nearly 14 years of planting native bush, a massive former dairy farm is now thriving forest overlooking the Kaipara. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. In 2006 when Thomas and Mahrukh Stazyk bought the 24 hectare property overlooking the Kaipara Harbour, it was disused and bare pasture land. 14 years later, today, the property is covered in thriving young native bush and bird song is everywhere. How did this couple manage to regenerate this mini-forest and why? Subscribe to Voices for free ...
Dec 13, 2020•12 min•Ep. 44
Despite 2000 more seasonal workers due to arrive in New Zealand from January 2021, things aren't looking too rosy according some growers in the Hawkes Bay region. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Jaswinder Singh, Jass for short, has been growing apples and pears for the past 15 years as well as running a labour supply company in Hawkes Bay. He's been struggling to make sure all his clients have their fruit trees thinned and vegetable and stone fruit picked on time, with his limited team of work...
Dec 04, 2020•12 min•Ep. 43
The first transgender contestant to compete in the Miss New Zealand pageant talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about her journey with identity, gender reassignment and winning the Miss Intercontinental NZ title. At 26, Arielle Keil is the first trans contestant and first Filipina to win the Ms Intercontinental New Zealand title and next year hopes to be competing on the global stage. Subscribe to Voices for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and iHeart Radio or wherever you liste...
Nov 29, 2020•13 min•Ep. 42
International Au Pairs are becoming a rare commodity in New Zealand as the closed borders mean the outgoing nannies can't be replaced. Liz Garton finds out more in this episode of Voices. Luise Kreisel and Jule Riggers made New Zealand home in 2020, but they could be some of the last international au pairs to do so for some time. Subscribe to Voices for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Twenty-five year old Jule Rigg...
Nov 22, 2020•12 min•Ep. 41
Two Syrian brothers of former refugee background find a new life in Newtown after discovering some hidden talent. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Subscribe to Voices for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Radio Public and iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. On a Saturday afternoon in Newtown, the barberhops are busy. Here at Cultural Cuts, run by Mohummed and Raed Aldani, two former Syrian refugees, a steady stream of groomed and weekend-ready clients exit onto the pa...
Nov 19, 2020•12 min•Ep. 40
