Ray Roberts on Filipino-British heritage, food histories and the power of anime

Author and DEI leader Daisy Hung on tiger mums, British-Chinese invisibility and being a "tourist" in her home country.

It was an offhand comment at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum that sparked the title inspiration for Daisy Hung's first book, 'I am Not a Tourist.' Curious about why her Asian appearance immediately relegated her to the status of temporary visitor in her home city, she started digging into the British Chinese experience, and the history, stigmas and resilience that surround it. Daisy is not a tourist. She's a writer, mother and passionate diversity advocate, who shares her triple Asian diaspora experience across three different countries, why she'll never be a "tiger mum" and why now, more than ever, we can't be complacent in the fight for DEI.

Michaele Nagac on modern mental health, navigating gender identity, and what the West gets wrong about yoga

What makes us who we are? And how much of that is influenced by not just our parents, but the generations that have come before us? These are all questions that have always fascinated Michaele Nagac. From his childhood in a working-class Philippines neighbourhood to his career as a psychotherapist and mental health advocate for vulnerable diaspora communities and LGBTQ+ rights in London. Michaele chats to us about his work with Filipino migrant workers and victims of human trafficking, the meaning of masculinity, his own journey embracing his sexual identity, and how the language around mental health needs to change.

Comedian Salman Malik on multi-lingual comedy, the influence of Bollywood and why white audiences are the "hardest" rooms to play to

How to get a British passport. Asian weddings vs. English timeliness. Bollywood music. Salman Malik has lived it all, and weaved most of it into his sharp and observant stand-up comedy. Salman talks to us about his move to London and settling into the South Asian diaspora community, how to be funny across four different languages and why Hindi standup might just be the next big thing.

Singaporean-British actor Daniel York Loh on addiction, race blind casting and supervillains as heroes

Setting the ConversAsians stage with some acting royalty this episode! Daniel York Loh's career has spanned some of the most prestigious hubs of Singapore and UK classical theatre and appearances on the silver screen, including in early noughties blockbuster, The Beach. In October, he's set to star in ITV's tense real-life inspired drama 'I Fought the Law' alongside Sheridan Smith. Daniel talks to us about his father's childhood uprooting from a large Chinese-Singaporean family to the UK, his own early struggles with racism and substance abuse, the Asian stigma around addiction, East Asian classic punk music and of course, his favourite Singaporean foods.

Ray Roberts on Filipino-British heritage, food histories and the power of anime

British-Filipino filmmaker Ray Roberts starts the first ConversAsian of the year with a bang. Ray pulls no punches as he talks about tackling racism, the Philippines' relationship with its colonial history, the joys of street food and nineties nostalgia, and what he really doesn't like about being asked for holiday recommendations.