Feature
The Tiffin Lady: Shifting Hate
CW: This story details racism and sexual violence. Please take care of yourselves. <3 Cities in the West are swaddled in myth. New York is a postcard of Sex-in-the-City glitz…
Grassroots football: the heart and soul of the community
It doesn’t matter if there are more rocks than green grass on the pitch, if the view is the famous church on top of the pyramid, or if it is…
Why a Bear Meat Vending Machine Could Be a Good Thing
Veganism, a growing awareness of biodiversity loss and an increase in consciousness around animal cruelty has meant that our image of hunting these days tends to be negative. Considering the…
Accepting Diaspora: From The Caucasus to Australia
I learned about it the summer after I turned 16. The fan above was blowing hot air onto my head. Miscellaneous birds made their Australiana noises outside. The room was…
Navigating My Māori Identity: It’s More Than Skin Deep
You know when you’re a kid and someone says to you, “I bet I can beat you to that tree!” so you break into a sprint and run like your…
Yellow Skin, White Masks
It’s a look of adjustment. Coloured people have felt it since the ancient time, since the long, long ago when the sun stopped shining where white people come from and…
How a Young Japanese Beatboxer Showed Me the Power of a Humble Hobby
“No beatbox, no life.” It’s a simple statement and I can’t help but laugh at the hyperbole, yet something about it rings poignant and true. The more I learn about…
Understanding Depression: Be Kind to your Mind
“Malingerer” is my reflexive conviction when I talk about depression or hear it discussed. Mental illness is the privilege of wealthy societies where basic needs – food, water, security –…
Tiger Traps
In the North of India, lost somewhere in the heart of Rajasthan, near a tiny town with a single dirt road, I went looking for tigers. In a national park…
Iranian Women Are Changing the Game
My third evening in the Islamic Republic of Iran lands me in an underground music gig in a hip café-cum-alcohol-free-bar in the capital, Tehran, where a special band is playing.…
I Ate Ice Cream at Bali’s Biggest Rubbish Dump
I notice the wildlife before the people. Between the hoards of holy cows and scavengers of the sky, there’s fierce competition for edible waste. I’m ankle deep in rubbish before…
Yakuza, Spoiled Carpets and Big Cash — The World of a Gaijin Hostess in Tokyo
“I don’t want to do this job for that long. I don’t want to do it now if I’m honest. Who wants to sit around and talk to disgusting men?…