Khanh Ong wears a lot of hats — cook, presenter, author, ex-DJ and fan favourite contestant on MasterChef. But he didn’t grow up thinking he could be any of those things. In fact, he thought his only option was to be a surgeon. In this episode, host Yumi Stynes chats with Khanh about what food can represent, coming out as gay to his Vietnamese mother, and how he once rolled out of a moving car to avoid a difficult conversation.

Today, Antonia Burke is a proud Indigenous woman who embraces her identity, her heritage and her community. But she wasn’t always proud. After years of deep detachment from her culture and a long career in the mining industry, she reconnected with her community just as the mining industry set their sights on drilling in her home. Join Yumi Stynes as Antonia shows us the resilience of community, the cruelty of generational trauma, and what it takes to heal.

Antonia Burke: Overcoming internalised racism

Tea Uglow is an influential voice in the tech world. A pioneering force behind Google's Creative Lab where she led experimental tech projects for 17 years, Tea Uglow's brilliance extends beyond technology. Join Yumi Stynes as the pair walk through Tea's personal journey, and how her experience as a trans autistic woman has become a powerful lens through which she reshapes the tech landscape.

Tea Uglow: Inclusion in tech and beyond

Debbie Kilroy is one of Australia's leading advocates for criminalised women and children. From her horrific experience in prison to becoming a lawyer and a leading voice in the fight for prisoners' rights, Debbie's journey is a testament to resilience. Join Yumi Stynes as the pair walk through Debbie’s life in prison, her pursuit of education as a tool, and the invisibility of the community she’s fighting for.

Debbie Kilroy OAM: From incarceration to leading advocacy for criminalised women

Darcy Vescio is a professional footy player in AFL Women’s with a mighty list of achievements under their belt. Two-time AFL Women Leading Goalkicker, Darcy was the first player to reach 50 career goals in the league! But if you spoke to Darcy at 14, they were ready to give up footy for good - there was no space for people like Darcy to play professionally. Host Yumi Stynes chats to Darcy about rediscovering footy, locker room talk, and coming out as non-binary.

Darcy Vescio: Rediscovering footy and being non-binary in AFL Women’s

Tarang Chawla is most recognised for his work as an activist against gender-based violence — but if you ask him, it’s something he wishes he didn’t have to do. In this episode, you’ll hear about Tarang’s journey from profound loss to impactful activism, and how above all, his voice isn’t the one that needs to be heard. The voices he wants to amplify are the voices of victims of gender based violence like his sister Nikita Chawla, and those misrepresented by mainstream media.

Tarang Chawla: From grief to activism

Khanh Ong: From refugee kid to household name

Dr Amy Thunig knows what it’s like to be ostracised. Growing up, Amy and their family experienced adversity and racism. But that didn’t stop Amy from absolutely thriving in academia. Today they are a prominent academic and writer who advocates for better representation of Indigenous voices and knowledge. Amy and Yumi Stynes reflect on the generational cycles that shape us, and in spite of the challenges, how beautiful they can be.

Dr Amy Thunig: Gomeroi writer and academic breaking generational cycles

Kween Kong captivated audiences on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under and became the first drag artist to be nominated for a Logie. A big change for someone who was on the path towards professional rugby! As an artist of Tongan and Samoan descent, Kween was also often the first person of colour in the spaces she inhabited. Join Yumi Stynes as we walk through Kween’s story of embracing feminine energy and breaking down limiting expectations.

Kween Kong: From rising rugby star to powerhouse drag artist

If you can see it, you can be it. But what happens when you look around and nobody looks like you? Join host Yumi Stynes for a new season of Seen, an SBS Audio podcast about trailblazers who have taken risks, shown huge courage, and risen to excellence without visible role models in mainstream culture showing them the way. Celebrity chef Kanh Ong, drag royalty Kween Kong, writer and academic Dr Amy Thunig, activist Tarang Chawla and more share the transformative moments they felt seen.

Introducing Seen season 2: Ten new stories about the power of being seen

All eyes were on Ellia Green when he won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics with the Australia rugby sevens team, but there was only person he needed to know was watching. In the final episode of this first season of Seen, Yumi Stynes speaks to the first Australian Olympian to come out as a trans man, Ellia Green, about his upbringing in Fiji and Australia, his journey to the Olympics, and the women who helped him feel seen.

Ellia Green: Sporting superstar and the first Australian Olympian to come out as a trans man

After a car accident left him paralysed, medical student Dinesh Palipana didn’t know if a future in medicine was even possible. Yumi Stynes speaks to Dinesh about finding purpose in life, creating meaning from tragedy, and his journey to becoming Queensland's first quadriplegic medical intern.

Dr Dinesh Palipana: Doctor, lawyer & disability advocate

Professor Veena Sahajwalla spent her childhood running through the the bazaars of Mumbai and watching her mother’s holistic approach to medicine. These experiences shaped Veena’s unique perspectives on science, which have seen her recognised as the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year and awarded the Eureka Prize. In this episode of Seen, Yumi Stynes speaks with Professor Veena Sahajwalla about her passion for recycling, her determination to change the world with science and how she’s paving the way for other women in her field.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla: Award winning inventor & recycling queen

Most Australians would regard our health system as world class, but there’s an ecosystem of discrimination that many of us often don’t see. Stuart Yiwarr McGrath is a Galiwin’ku man from north-east Arnhem Land. He’s passionate about shifting the dial on health discrimination and providing culturally appropriate healthcare to his community. Yumi Stynes speaks to Stuart about becoming the first Yolngu registered nurse, and what it means to reconcile both black and white parts of his identity.

Stuart Yiwarr McGrath: Aboriginal health practitioner & first Yolngu nurse, breaking barriers in healthcare

When Shyamla Eswaran sat down for a portrait with Archibald prize-winning painter Blak Douglas, he saw Shyamla in a light they weren't ready to see themselves. Yumi Stynes chats with the dancer and artist about growing up South-Asian in Sydney’s Shire, reckoning with their gender fluidity, and connecting with their culture through dance.

Shyamla Eswaran: Performance artist connecting with their identity through dance

Imagine performing shirtless as an Asian male in a room full of neo-Nazi’s? In the height of the punk scene in the 80’s, the Hard-Ons were a force to be reckoned with, defiant in the face of all odds. Yumi Stynes talks to punk legend Ray Ahn about his experience coming to Australia as a Korean migrant, discovering his love for punk rock, and the Aussie rock legend who shaped what Ray himself thought was possible.

Ray Ahn: Punk legend from the Hard-Ons with bare-chested bravery

Atong Atem’s way of expressing herself has taken the art world by storm. Within a culture that celebrates whiteness, Atong’s futuristic self-portraits celebrate and centre blackness. Yumi Stynes speaks to artist Atong Atem about her experience migrating to Australia, finding community and the weight of hypervisibility as a black woman in today’s world.

Atong Atem: Internationally renowned artist and writer reframing blackness through art

Writer, activist and broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied is, for better or worse, one of the most visible women in the Australian media. The negative backlash that followed a couple of social media posts in 2017 left her questioning what she’d done wrong and where she belonged. In this episode of Seen, Yumi Stynes and Yassmin chat about the limitations of the model minority myth, what it’s like to be ‘cancelled' and what moving on looks like.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied: Writer, social advocate, and cancel culture survivor

As a young actor looking to make his mark, Michael Mohammed Ahmad faced one problem, people only wanted to cast him as a drug dealer. Yumi Stynes sits down with Michael Mohammed - novelist, playwright and founder of Sweatshop Western Sydney Literary Movement. We hear about his experiences growing up as a young Muslim Lebanese man in a post-9/11 world, the defining moments that have shaped his career, and how mirroring is key to nuanced representation.

Michael Mohammed Ahmad: Award-winning novelist and playwright reclaiming nuance in representation

Growing up, Hannah Diviney was constantly asked what her paralympic sport was going to be. “I would always turn around and be like, see my two sisters over there. How come you're not asking them what their Olympic sport is going to be?” Join Yumi Stynes as the pair discuss why representation is so important, taking on Lizzo, and how Hannah is working to shatter misconceptions about disability.

Hannah Diviney: Disability activist & writer shifting the dial on pop culture

Narelda Jacobs is a Whadjuk Noongar woman and the first Aboriginal, openly lesbian newsreader on TV in Western Australia. Join Yumi Stynes as the pair reflect on Narelda’s relationships with her parents, coming to terms with her sexuality, forging her career in media and the responsibility she bears as a very visible First Nations media personality.

Narelda Jacobs: Proud Whadjuk Noongar journalist speaking her truth

If you can see it, you can be it. But what happens when you look around and nobody looks like you? Join host Yumi Stynes for Seen, a new SBS podcast about cultural creatives who rise to excellence in spite of arriving in a role-model vacuum. Trailblazers like writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied, musician Ray Ahn, and Olympian Ellia Green share the transformative moments they felt seen.

Home

Discover

Sign up for free to listen for longer

Home

Discover

Sign up for free to listen for longer

Khanh Ong: From refugee kid to household name

Mark as played

Share

About the episode

View all episodes