The Guardian's Token - podcast cover

The Guardian's Token

The Guardianwww.theguardian.com
Starting in Australia and now in the UK, Token is a podcast about marginalised identities. But it's fun - we promise. We talk about race, gender, sexuality, culture, politics and whatever else makes you feel like a token in today's world. The only constants are fun, frank discussion and the freedom to politely ask awkward questions

Episodes

Comfort Eating with Grace Dent: episode one of a new podcast

Have you ever wondered what famous people actually eat? In our new podcast, Guardian restaurant critic Grace Dent does just that, asking well-known guests to lift the lid on the food they turn to when they’re at home alone – and what comfort foods have seen them through their lives. In the first episode, screenwriter Russell T Davies tells Grace about his childhood in Swansea, the delights of Woolworth’s pork and egg pies, and how his husband’s death informed his latest TV series, It’s a Sin. Fu...

Jul 01, 202140 min

Reverberate: episode 1 of our new series

The Guardian has launched a new series called Reverberate that we think you’ll like. Each week, Chris Michael will explore incredible stories from around the world about when music shook history. In the first episode, we hear from Kashy Keegan, an unknown singer-songwriter in a sleepy English town who became the voice of Hong Kong’s nascent pro-democracy movement. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to hear the rest of the series

Feb 08, 202126 min

Innermost: another episode of our new series

We wanted to bring you another episode from our Innermost series. In the last episode of our first season, two callers tell Leah Green how their relationships sent them down unexpected paths, one with criminal consequences Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to hear the rest of the series

Aug 03, 202020 min

Innermost: episode 1 of a new series

The Guardian has launched a new series called Innermost that we think you will like. Each week, callers will tell Leah Green what’s going on behind closed doors. In the first episode, we hear how an uncle’s funeral and meals with an emotionally distant brother help James and Jess think about their families in new and unexpected ways. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to hear the rest of the series

Jun 25, 202017 min

End of season 2 – Token podcast

Leah and Freddy bring you a quick update on Token. Unfortunaly it’s going to have to be put on pause because, among other things, there’s a general election taking place in the UK and their day jobs need all the time they have. They’re just so great! But they should be back sooner rather than later

May 12, 20174 min

The 'I Am Not Your Negro' episode - Token podcast

Leah Green and Freddy McConnell are joined by Raoul Peck, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary I am Not Your Negro. They talk about the legacy of James Baldwin, white fragility and the irrelevance of #OscarsSoWhite I am Not Your Negro will be released in UK cinemas on 7th April

Mar 31, 201726 min

The 'I got the job because I'm Asian' episode – Token podcast

Freddy McConnell and Leah Green are joined by the Guardian’s political editor Anushka Asthana. She talks about her experience of being a child of immigrants but wanting to be as white as possible, her passions for gender equality and how she’s benefited from other people’s racism WARNING: Contains very strong language

Mar 03, 201729 min

The 'Why is black hair a thing?' episode – Token podcast

It’s Freddy McConnell’s turn to be ignorant this week as Leah Green and guest Grace Shutti lament the ups and downs of being born with Afro hair. Topics include supporting your local auntie and the problem of getting your hair touched by Europeans. Also, can we talk about white people and braids?

Feb 03, 201740 min

The gender quiz episode – Token podcast

Tinder now lets you state your gender in your own words, and provides a list of options in addition to ‘female’ and ‘male’. We thought the obvious response to this was to have an quiz. So, listen as Freddy McConnell (trans) and guest CJ (non binary), test Leah Green (cis) on her gender ID smarts. Plus, we chat about awkward pronoun confusion, social constructs and the London underground

Jan 18, 201741 min

The Christmas vulva episode: part 2 – Token podcast

Leah and Freddy talk about more things vulva related with Guardian US data editor Mona Chalabi, who also produced and presented The Vagina Dispatches. This time, we get a bit tipsier and a lot more confessional, as we chat copper coils, loving one’s period, ‘orgasmic inevitability’ and ... pigeons. Listen to part one here

Dec 27, 201633 min

The Christmas vagina episode: part 1 – Token podcast

Leah and Freddy are joined by Guardian US data editor Mona Chalabi to talk about all things vulva related, for a festive, slightly-tipsy, end-of-year double bill. Mona produced and presented the online video series The Vagina Dispatches, and she joins our hosts to delve deeper into everything she learned. Plus there’s free-wheeling chat about the perils of sex-ed, the joys of orgasm and the challenge of labelling body parts

Dec 22, 201634 min

The ups and downs of strength – Token Podcast

Comedian Tom Ballard joins Leah Green and Freddy McConnell to talk about strength in all its forms: women’s strength and Hillary Clinton; male strength and the pressures of the gym; and the potentially patronising ‘super-humans’ coming out of the Paralympics

Sep 21, 201633 min

Offensive questions – Token podcast

WARNING: This podcast will probably offend you! When curiosity oversteps the mark – hosts Leah and Freddy create an ‘offence-free’ zone to discuss what they feel are the most offensive questions they’ve been asked as a black Jew and a trans man

Aug 26, 201628 min

Misogyny and homophobia at Rio 2016 - Token podcast

Hosts Leah Green and Freddy McConnell discuss the misogyny and homophobia that have hit the headlines, or rather have been the headlines, at Rio 2016. Should we be more forgiving and are these instances being dealt with properly?

Aug 19, 201619 min

Why Beyoncé can never leave her blackness at the door - Token podcast

Token co-host Monica Tan talks to Seattle-based writer Ijeoma Oluo about Beyoncé’s magnum opus, Lemonade. Ijeoma says the pop superstar is living proof ‘you cannot be rich enough to escape your blackness’ and that her recent displays of radical black consciousness are a product of the times: ‘These last couple of years, the pain, which was often silenced, has been brought to the forefront.’ Plus Monica chats to Token co-host Michael Safi about her unfortunate fetish for the most privileged group...

May 03, 201632 min

Token podcast: is Alan Jones holding Australia back?

Podcast regulars Monica Tan and Michael Safi are joined this week by the Egyptian-born Australian musician Joseph Tawadros, one of the world’s top oud players. They talk racism, multiculturalism and morning television – and if you hang on to the end, you can hear Tawadros play

Apr 13, 201632 min

Token podcast: Hollywood is racist, but will Chris Rock's speech be a turning point?

‘You’re damn right Hollywood’s racist,’ said Chris Rock as he opened the Oscars. He went on to describe an exclusive club of very nice people who just don’t hire many African Americans ... So will things change now? Today’s hosts – Monica Tan and Miles Martignoni – are joined by Lanre Bakare from the Guardian’s New York office. Plus: special mentions for all the people of colour you may have missed in those Oscar-winning movies ...

Feb 29, 201628 min

Token podcast: am I taking advantage of my ethnicity?

Did our producer use his ethnicity to secure a rental property? A recent survey found minorities can be at a disadvantage when house-hunting, but he may have found the exception. Monica also goes through her experiences after having an anti-Australia Day tweet spread through conservative circles. What did she do when confronted with hatred?

Feb 07, 201630 min

Token podcast: Here Come the Habibs – and here comes the controversy

Tahir Bilgic, one of the creators of Channel Nine’s new show Here Come the Habibs, explains how a program written by a ‘vanilla milkshake writing team’ can be culturally sensitive and funny at the same time. And Monica Tan questions her own racial identity after realising she doesn’t fit the stereotype of an Australian-born Chinese person

Jan 14, 201631 min

Token Podcast: is yellowface always racist? And does it matter that Jesus wasn't white?

Monica Tan and Michael Safi jump into the divide between racism and political correctness to assess the most interesting news of the week. Can actors and comedians play characters of different races or is it always offensive? Should we remove racist words from old artworks? And why might Michael look more like Jesus than many renaissance paintings?

Dec 22, 201527 min
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