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. 

How do we understand hope as something within ourselves, and not as a far off horizon?
A conversation with anti-oppressive therapist and educator&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coculturecommunication.com/about-leah-history">Leah Manaema Avene</a>&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://maph.org.au/exhibitions/301/">M&Aring;NGATA</a>&nbsp;and photography exhibition.
This episode was hosted, produced and edited by Shareeka Helaluddin. Podcast edit by Yvonne Hong.&nbsp;

Race Matters is an anti-racist show that explores the values and complexities of race, culture and identity. In-depth interviews and unique story telling and spanning arts, music, politics, global and local events, plus experimental audio and community takeovers.

Listen back to all our episodes on fbi.radio including radio exclusives, and stay up to date on our instagram 

Listen to our Solidarity Syndicate series - sharing across airwaves and borders and our Liquid Homelands series - an experimental, queer audio offering

We honor all hosts, producers, storytellers that have made this work possible as well as the long tradition of storytelling, resistance and resilience that has taken place on Gadigal Country, where fbi.radio broadcasts out of.  

Our logo design by Jessica Mulet, our theme songs was composed by Mateo Baskaran 

Race Matters is made possible thanks to the Community Broadcasting Foundation

Race Matters is an anti-racist&nbsp;show that explores the values and complexities of race, culture and identity. In-depth interviews and unique story telling and spanning arts, music, politics, global and local events, plus experimental audio and community takeovers.
Listen back to <a href="https://www.fbi.radio/programs/race-matters">all our episodes on fbi.radio</a> including radio exclusives, and stay up to date on our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/race_matters/">instagram</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fbiradiosydney/sets/race-matters-sol-dar-ty-synd">Listen to our Solidarity Syndicate series</a> - sharing across airwaves and borders and our&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/fbiradiosydney/sets/racematters_liquid-homelands">Liquid Homelands</a> series - an experimental, queer audio offering
We honor all hosts, producers, storytellers that have made this work possible as well as the long tradition of storytelling, resistance and resilience that has taken place on Gadigal Country, where fbi.radio broadcasts out of.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Our logo design by Jessica Mulet, our theme songs was composed by Mateo Baskaran&nbsp;
Race Matters is made possible thanks to the&nbsp;<a href="https://cbf.org.au/">Community Broadcasting Foundation</a>

Conversations about the values and complexities of race, culture, identity

Race Matters

Beyond representation. Anti-racist radio with in-depth interviews and unique story telling spanning arts, music, global politics, local events + more

Beyond representation. Anti-racist radio with in-depth interviews and unique story telling spanning arts, music, global politics, local events + more

#178 A Cacophony of ancestors

“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. 

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.

&ldquo;Breath. Something we all have in common, yet most take for granted&rdquo;&nbsp;
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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.poppydesouza.com/holding-breath">Holding Breath</a>&nbsp;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.&nbsp;
Continue to learn more about Poppy&rsquo;s work, and to listen in solidarity and connect with Long Covid in our racial justice struggle:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.poppydesouza.com/holding-breath">Holding Breath project</a>
Jenna Bitar&rsquo;s essay in Sick Times &ldquo;<a href="https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/17/instead-of-supporting-people-with-long-covid-our-government-funds-a-genocide/">Instead of supporting people with Long Covid, our government funds a genocide</a>&rdquo;&nbsp;
<a href="https://thesicktimes.org/category/podcast/%C2%A0">Still Here podcast from The Sick Times</a>
<a href="https://longcovidjustice.org/breathing-for-justice/%C2%A0">Breathing 4 Justice</a>&nbsp;- exploring the intersections of long Covid and disability justice (U.S.)
<a href="https://thesicktimes.org/tag/the-color-of-long-covid/%C2%A0">The Colour of Long COVID series</a>, 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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jodyhainesphoto/">Jody Haines</a>, from Tommeginne Country, their ancestral lands where they can breathe most deeply.&nbsp;
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.

#181 Holding Breath

"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 Helaluddin

"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,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ra_life__/">Ra Life</a>. 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 Helaluddin

#180 The energy of the moment

"... 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. 

"... and in truth it is a story that is not mine nor hers; I am searching for the shape of what is ours."
Hear&nbsp; Sara and Joannie are in conversation with Palestinian writer and academic Micaela Sahhar. Together, they discuss Micaela&rsquo;s gorgeous new memoir,&nbsp; 'Find Me At The Jaffa Gate,&rsquo; 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.&nbsp;

#178 A Cacophony of ancestors

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