Pretty For An Aboriginal

If you thought we’d disappeared, think again! Nakkiah and Miranda have a treat for you. Recently, at the Melbourne Writers Festival, they sat down with journalist, memoirist and comic book writer Ta-Nehisi Coates to talk about race in general, and specifically whether democracy is failing people of colour in the US and in Australia, and why hope is irrelevant in the face of polit

In this special live episode, presented and recorded at the Sydney Opera House as part of the All About Women festival, Nakkiah and Miranda are joined by actor and budding director Shari Sebbens to unpack the fall out from the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther. They discuss how and why colonialism has become a subtext for mainstream blockbusters from Thor Ragnarok to Black Panther,

We decided to record a bonus episode because recently Australia’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull landed a pretty big blow on Indigenous Australians. Last week, he rejected the Indigenous Voice to Parliament proposed in the Uluru Statement From The Heart – a way forward for recognition devised by hundreds of Indigenous leaders earlier this year. We’re recording this conversat

In a perfect world Miranda Tapsell would be the star of a wildly successful rom-com, or a franchised superhero film. The Frances Ha or Jessica James of Australia, or an Aboriginal Storm in the next edition of X-Men. But in order to be Australia’s favourite romantic lead, Miranda has to write her own feature film because…let’s be honest — lead roles for Aboriginal actors in

Nakkiah and Miranda talk about race even when they’re not talking about race. It permeates their daily experience. Across the first season of Pretty For An Aboriginal, Nakkiah and Miranda have talked a lot about how important African American culture is to young Aboriginal people. Across TV, music, film and social media, it validates and makes visible much of their experience —

In this episode Nakkiah and Miranda talk to acclaimed stage and screen actor Shari Sebbens about code switching, why Taika Waititi is the mentor aspiring filmmakers of colour need, and why accents are such strong signifiers of race. They each have funny and confronting personal stories regarding assumptions made about race and cultural identity on the basis of accent. They’ll dis

In this episode Miranda Tapsell and Nakkiah Lui, share stories with former Dolly editor Marina Go about perceptions of beauty in Australia, and discuss how beauty is being defined on Aussie TV and in magazines. They also explore how and why Instagram has opened up a space of freedom for women of colour. Marina Go became editor of the iconic teenage Australian magazine Dolly at

In this frank episode, Nakkiah Lui and Miranda Tapsell talk to LA-based, Melbourne model Emily Sears about the begetting of power through provocative imagery, why sexy women are feared, and why sexy black women are feared even more. In 2016, Emily made headlines when, upon receiving unsolicited graphic DMs from (mostly male) followers, she started to respond by sending back ph

In this wide-ranging interview with American writer and essayist Roxane Gay, Nakkiah and Miranda trade stories about their mutual love of ice skating; compare experiences with weight loss and surgery; and consider why fat women aren’t allowed to be sexual in popular culture, yet are festishised and sexualised without question. And they tackle sexism in Australia.

When Nakkiah and Miranda drew up their interview wish list for the podcast it was dominated by African American actors, writers and musicians. Like so many other young Australians, Miranda and Nakkiah have looked to the US for inspiration. In politics, protest and art, the African American community has shown talented young Indigenous Australians a way forward — towards success,