Sehej, Leya and Yvonne hop into the studio today to chat about the history of looksmaxxing as an inherited tradition for all oppressed people.

Inspired by texts on the 'Politics of Being Ugly', digressions include Jia Tolentino's 'The Age of Instagram Face', the distinctions between gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia, and looksmaxxing as self-surveillance for brown Women of Colour.

This episode was produced by Ethan Lyons with help from Executive Producer Prinita Thevarajah.

cw: eating disorders and body dysphoria

Spoken from the personal experiences from our Race Matters hosts and recognise this is different for all experiences of gender, culture and bodies.

Sehej, Leya and Yvonne hop into the studio today to chat about the history of looksmaxxing as an inherited tradition for all oppressed people.
Inspired by texts on the 'Politics of Being Ugly', digressions include Jia Tolentino's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/decade-in-review/the-age-of-instagram-face">'The Age of Instagram Face'</a>, the distinctions between gender dysphoria and body dysmorphia, and looksmaxxing as self-surveillance for brown Women of Colour.
This episode was produced by Ethan Lyons with help from Executive Producer Prinita Thevarajah.
cw: eating disorders and body dysphoria
Spoken from the personal experiences from our Race Matters hosts and recognise this is different for all experiences of gender, culture and bodies.

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

#200 They're Finally Looksmaxxing With the Rest Of Us

“Intelligence is relatively new to life on Earth, but your hierarchical tendencies are ancient.” - Octavia Butler, Lilith’s Brood.

The dawn of generative AI may seem like a whole new age - but in reality, it is part of an ancient history. Today on the show, Sara El Youghun, Joannie Lee, Janey Li and Samantha Haran come together to map this new genAI tech within the longer history of capitalist-imperialist surveillance and exploitation.

Sara and Joannie discuss how they’re feeling in this moment as AI technologies are seemingly taking over. Sara reminds us of the science fiction of our childhoods that mirror the moment we are now living, and Joannie speaks to her recent experiences in community organising against the planned data centres in Western Sydney. Together, they reflect on strategies of organising, resistance and imagination. They listen through an interview that Janey and Samantha did with digital surveillance researcher and organiser, D.R. Sooriya. D reflects on and illuminates the fact amidst the outrage and uncertainty around what this new age of AI means, what we should most be focused on is the way it forms part of a longer, larger and deeper project on the part of tech billlionaries to force us into a certain kind of future. Most importantly, D reminds us that we are not helpless against this tirade - we can resist these techno-fascist futures, and build our own worlds in their place. 

Produced by Joannie Lee and Samantha Haran

Episode artwork by Janey Li

HOPECORE: ANTI-AI ORGANISING FROM AROUND THE WORLD

The Luddite Club

No Tech for Apartheid

Data Workers Inquiry

Recent win - Boorloo/Perth data centre plan revoked

Get involved with Stop the Slop! Campaign to stop the data centres in Western Sydney (join the Whatsapp channel)

Upscrolled (social media platform built by Palestinian organisers)

 

FURTHER RESOURCES 

Hell is Empty and the Devils Are All Here: AI and Imperialism in the Current Crisis 

Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence - Kate Crawford 

AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference - Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor

War Virtually: The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future - Roberto Gonzales

Imagination: A Manifesto - Ruha Benjamin

Glitch feminism: A Manifesto - Legacy Russell

&ldquo;Intelligence is relatively new to life on Earth, but your hierarchical tendencies are ancient.&rdquo;&nbsp;- Octavia Butler, Lilith&rsquo;s Brood.
The dawn of generative AI may seem like a whole new age - but in reality, it is part of an ancient history. Today on the show, Sara El Youghun, Joannie Lee, Janey Li and Samantha Haran come together to map this new genAI tech within the longer history of capitalist-imperialist surveillance and exploitation.
Sara and Joannie discuss how they&rsquo;re feeling in this moment as AI technologies are seemingly taking over. Sara reminds us of the science fiction of our childhoods that mirror the moment we are now living, and Joannie speaks to her recent experiences in community organising against the planned data centres in Western Sydney. Together, they reflect on strategies of organising, resistance and imagination. They listen through an interview that Janey and Samantha did with digital surveillance researcher and organiser, D.R. Sooriya. D reflects on and illuminates the fact amidst the outrage and uncertainty around what this new age of AI means, what we should most be focused on is the way it forms part of a longer, larger and deeper project on the part of tech billlionaries to force us into a certain kind of future. Most importantly, D reminds us that we are not helpless against this tirade - we can resist these techno-fascist futures, and build our own worlds in their place.&nbsp;
Produced by Joannie Lee and Samantha Haran
Episode artwork by Janey Li
HOPECORE: ANTI-AI ORGANISING FROM AROUND THE WORLD
<a href="https://www.theludditeclub.org/">The Luddite Club</a>
<a href="https://www.notechforapartheid.com/">No Tech for Apartheid</a>
<a href="https://data-workers.org/">Data Workers Inquiry</a>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/15/developer-withdraws-plans-for-perth-datacentre-after-fierce-community-opposition">Recent win - Boorloo/Perth data centre plan revoked</a>
Get involved with Stop the Slop! Campaign to stop the data centres in Western Sydney (<a href="https://tr.ee/QbhgSdZm6H">join the Whatsapp channel</a>)
<a href="https://upscrolled.com/en/">Upscrolled&nbsp;</a>(social media platform built by Palestinian organisers)
&nbsp;
FURTHER RESOURCES&nbsp;
<a href="https://blackagendareport.com/hell-empty-and-devils-are-all-here-ai-and-imperialism-current-crisis">Hell is Empty and the Devils Are All Here: AI and Imperialism in the Current Crisis</a>&nbsp;
<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300264630/atlas-of-ai/">Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence</a>&nbsp;- Kate Crawford&nbsp;
<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691249131/ai-snake-oil">AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can&rsquo;t, and How to Tell the Difference</a>&nbsp;- Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
<a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/books/war-virtually/paper">War Virtually: The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future</a>&nbsp;- Roberto Gonzales
<a href="https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto">Imagination: A Manifesto&nbsp;</a>- Ruha Benjamin
<a href="https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/460-glitch-feminism">Glitch feminism: A Manifesto</a>&nbsp;- Legacy Russell

#202 Building new worlds on the grave of AI

'There are two issues of our time really, that I think amount to a litmus test for morality as far as I'm concerned. One is what you're prepared to do on behalf of the Palestinian people and the other is what are you prepared to do on behalf of gay and lesbian people?"

- Black, queer poet and activist June Jordan in an interview for 'A Place of Rage' (1991) by Prabhita Parmar

What are people willing to do for the Palestinian cause? This is a question that Sara sifts through with Lebanese activist Ahmad Khochaiche and comrade to Maxime Camo, the spokesperson for the Australian arm of 'A Thousand Madleens' the freedom flotilla dedicated to organising civilians to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Amidst the conflicting emotions of rage and survival, in holding the privilege of existing removed from the bombings, Sara invites us to expand our perspective on our personal agency, like embarking for a journey right to Gaza, that will alchemise our grief for the Palestinian cause.

This episode was hosted by Sara El Youghun, produced by Yvonne Hong with help from Executive Producer Prinita Thevarajah. Huge thanks to Ahmad Khochaiche and Maxime Camo for being guests on today's show.

Resources:

★ Donate to A Thousand Madleens here.

★ Donate to Australian Palestine Advocacy Network here.

★ Buy After the Last Sky, a compilation album by Al Gharib dedicated “For the Children of Gaza” (a record label based in Tripoli, Lebanon). Proceeds go to the Dalia Association.

★ Read June Jordan's 'Poetry For Palestine' here.

★ Read how humanitarian aid has been transformed into a political instrument of coercion and control in Gaza here.

'There are two issues of our time really, that I think amount to a litmus test for morality as far as I'm concerned. One is what you're prepared to do on behalf of the Palestinian people and the other is what are you prepared to do on behalf of gay and lesbian people?"
- Black, queer poet and activist June Jordan in an interview for 'A Place of Rage' (1991) by Prabhita Parmar
What are people willing to do for the Palestinian cause? This is a question that Sara sifts through with Lebanese activist Ahmad Khochaiche and comrade to Maxime Camo, the spokesperson for the Australian arm of '<a href="https://thousandmadleens.org/">A Thousand Madleens</a>' the freedom flotilla dedicated to organising civilians to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Amidst the conflicting emotions of rage and survival, in holding the privilege of existing removed from the bombings, Sara invites us to expand our perspective on our personal agency, like embarking for a journey right to Gaza, that will alchemise our grief for the Palestinian cause.
This episode was hosted by Sara El Youghun, produced by Yvonne Hong with help from Executive Producer Prinita Thevarajah. Huge thanks to Ahmad Khochaiche and Maxime Camo for being guests on today's show.
Resources:
★ Donate to A Thousand Madleens&nbsp;<a href="https://chuffed.org/project/138012-a-thousand-madleens-to-gaza">here</a>.
★ Donate to Australian Palestine Advocacy Network&nbsp;<a href="https://apan.org.au/donate/">here</a>.
★ Buy&nbsp;<a href="https://alllgharibbb.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-last-sky">After the Last Sky</a>, a compilation album by Al Gharib dedicated &ldquo;For the Children of Gaza&rdquo; (a record label based in Tripoli, Lebanon). Proceeds go to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dalia.ps/">Dalia Association</a>.
★ Read June Jordan's 'Poetry For Palestine'&nbsp;<a href="https://autonomies.org/2023/12/june-jordan-poetry-for-palestine/">here</a>.
★ Read how humanitarian aid has been transformed into a political instrument of coercion and control in Gaza&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dalia.ps/news/conditional-funding-and-famine-gaza">here</a>.

#201 Palestine Is The Litmus Test

This episode is a love letter to everyone mothering on stolen land, in displaced bodies, in the precarity of modernity. It is a reminder that queer and Indigenous ways of childrearing and matrilineal care are often similar practices. One and a half years into raising a child and a lifetime into raising themselves in community, executive producer Prinita Thevarajah collages conversations with Vanessa Marian Varghese, Midori Mukai and Ella Noah Bancroft to reveal the ultimate truth: that the violence of modernity world was built off womb envy, and that carework is crucial to survive fascism.

Vanessa Marian Varghese is a writer, movement director and community builder exploring movement, identity and contemporary culture through film, live performance and immersive experiences

Midori Mukai is a Tkaronto/Toronto based artist and arts facilitator — her creative practice explores ceramics and fine craft. Informed by ancestry, her work highlights traditional approaches off-centre from the Western lens

Ella Noah Bancroft is a descendent of the peoples of the Bundjalung nation and has bloodlines to England, Poland and Scotland. Australian born artist, storyteller, mentor and founder of “The Returning”. Ella Noah Bancroft is a pioneer for The Decolonisation movement. Through her writing and work Ella has been promoting re-wilding, the rise of the female energy, as way back to deep relationship nature and decolonizing of personal, social and ecological well-being for 10 years.She is widely respected amongst her community and believes in local communities with local economies as a way to find hope for the health of our planet and people.

For more on The Returning visit: https://www.thereturning.com.au/

This episode is a love letter to everyone mothering on stolen land, in displaced bodies, in the precarity of modernity. It is a reminder that queer and Indigenous ways of childrearing and matrilineal care are often similar practices. One and a half years into raising a child and a lifetime into raising themselves in community, executive producer Prinita Thevarajah collages conversations with Vanessa Marian Varghese, Midori Mukai and Ella Noah Bancroft to reveal the ultimate truth: that the violence of modernity world was built off womb envy, and that carework is crucial to survive fascism.
Vanessa Marian Varghese is a writer, movement director and community builder exploring movement, identity and contemporary culture through film, live performance and immersive experiences
Midori Mukai is a Tkaronto/Toronto based artist and arts facilitator &mdash; her creative practice explores ceramics and fine craft. Informed by ancestry, her work highlights traditional approaches off-centre from the Western lens Ella Noah Bancroft is a descendent of the peoples of the Bundjalung nation and has bloodlines to England, Poland and Scotland. Australian born artist, storyteller, mentor and founder of &ldquo;The Returning&rdquo;. Ella Noah Bancroft is a pioneer for The Decolonisation movement. Through her writing and work Ella has been promoting re-wilding, the rise of the female energy, as way back to deep relationship nature and decolonizing of personal, social and ecological well-being for 10 years.She is widely respected amongst her community and believes in local communities with local economies as a way to find hope for the health of our planet and people.
For more on The Returning visit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thereturning.com.au/">https://www.thereturning.com.au/</a>

#200 They're Finally Looksmaxxing With the Rest Of Us

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