Steph: behind Auckland's #StopAsianHate march

09/26/21 • 49 min

In March 2021, Steph Tan organised the #StopAsianHate peaceful march in Auckland - a first for her and a first for me, too. It was my first time attending a protest like that and it was a really incredible experience - one that helped me feel more part of a community than I ever had and one that raised a lot of questions in me around the value of protest, what true activism looks like and what my position is when it comes to advocating for causes I believe in.
Steph and I explore some of those questions around protest hesitancy and what action in activism means. She also shares her own experiences growing up in New Zealand, why it was so traumatic for her and how life is going now that she lives in the US, where she's currently studying at Yale University.
As a public health scientist, Steph has also been instrumental in bringing COVID-19 saliva testing to New Zealand. She shares her experiences with that process and why saliva testing could be a game changer for our country in the battle against COVID-19.
As always, don't forget to rate and subscribe if you haven't done so already + follow along on Facebook and Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Jemaima: why a cultural approach matters in suicide prevention

TW: this episode contains discussion about mental health and suicide.
Academic Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath joins me on this episode to talk all things suicide prevention and the importance of taking a culture-first approach. Jemaima is of Samoan descent and is a member of the inaugural Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. She was also one of six panellists on the New Zealand Government’s 2018 Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry.
As well as her work in suicide prevention, we dive into her personal experiences of being brown and female in academia. She spoke openly about this topic a few months ago for a talk she gave for Raising the Bar, a worldwide series that invites top academics to step out of their lecture rooms and into local bars/cafes to share their knowledge with the public.
You can listen to a version of her talk here.
Mental health resources
For mental health and suicide resources, please visit and contact Lifeline or The Mental Health Foundation.
You can also call 0800 LIFELINE (0800 543 354) or text 4357 for support.
0508 TAUTOKO (0508 828 865) is a free, 24/7 helpline for any person who is thinking about or attempted suicide, concerned about or supporting someone else or who is recently bereaved by suicide.
There are more mental health helplines and support services here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

So you want to talk about racism?

Have you ever heard someone say: "Why is everything about race these days?" or "I can't joke about anything, everything is so PC"? If these comments make you uncomfortable, then this episode could be for you.
In this episode, Steph Tan - who was my wonderful guest in the previous episode - joins me again to break down comments that we most commonly hear and see when addressing race and racism. We look at why those comments can be damaging in the context of racism against people of Asian background and how someone might address them.
I don't intend this episode to be a complete, incontestable conversation - just what Steph and I currently understand of and have learnt about racism so far. There is still so much to learn and I'm always open to constructive and healthy discussions.
As always, rate and subscribe if you haven't done so already + follow along on Facebook and Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.