Stories From The Pacific

Home can mean many things: the eucalyptus trees and beaches of Sydney, the chaos of New York City or the warmth of family barbecues with music and food. For singer-song writer, Mi-Kaisha home is both a physical place and a community that raised her. She carries the voices of her family and community wherever she goes to call home.

Stories From The Pacific

For Guam filmmaker, Brian Muna, storytelling began in a dark room — watching his mother develop photographs and later holding his first camera at juts five years old. But his most personal story came decades later, with his film Chamoru: A lost language — a work exploring identity, loss and survival. Just one day before the film's national premiere, Brian's mother passed away — forever binding the project to her memory. His story is one of contracts: of growing up under a heavy military presence while searching for his Chamoru roots, of struggling with language while being steeped in family values, and of using film as a tool to reclaim what was once fading away. Brian's journey is about turning personal grief into a cultural mission.

Stories From The Pacific

Stories From The Pacific

Stories From The Pacific

Stories From The Pacific

Stories From The Pacific

Born in Papua New Guinea and raised in Australia, award-winning writer and filmmaker Alana Hicks has built a career weaving resilience, humour, and identity into unforgettable stories. From her prize-winning essay Medium Beige to her acclaimed short film Chicken, Alana reflects on growing up between two cultures, surviving moments of violence and racism, and turning those experiences into art. In this episode of Stories from the Pacific, Alana speaks with Bobby McCumber about family, legacy, comedy as resistance, and what it means to call “home” a foreign country.

When Lesley Wengembo was just 10 years old, he picked up a pencil and drew a portrait of his grandfather. His grandfather looked at it and made a prediction that would shape the young Lesley's life forever. Years later, Lesley received an invitation that could have launched his career onto the world stage. He packed his bags, left Papua New Guinea and flew to Sydney. But that's when everything changed.

Monica Paulus is a human rights activist and co-founder of both the "Highlands Women Human Rights Defenders Network" and "Stop Sorcery Violence". Monica is a protector of women accused of and affected by sorcery and witchcraft accusations. Hailing from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea from the village of Aregol, Monica takes us on a journey through her life – sharing the struggles, hopes and her fight against sorcery accusations and the extreme violence that follows such accusations.

Katerina Teaiwa’s family was forced from their home of Banaba in Kiribati when almost the whole population was displaced and relocated to Rabi Island in Fiji in 1945, to make way for more mining. From 1900, the UK, Australia and New Zealand mined phosphate for 80 years to use for fertiliser. Today, Katerina’s scholarly and artistic work highlights the history and current situation of Banabans, which she describes as fragmented and resilient culture. And despite the trauma caused to an entire population, there are talks to mine Banaba again. This week's episode of Stories From The Pacific is a repeat of the show broadcast on 13th September 2023

Lydia's story of her marriage with her first husband details 12 years of significant abuse, but she's using it to educate others who may be experiencing something similar.

Hina Cross was seven years old when the last of the 193 nuclear bombs was tested in French Polynesia in 1996. But she never learned about it in school. After being diagnosed leukaemia at the age of 24, Hina began to realise the full extent of the fallout. Now an Anti-Nuclear Activist and newly appointed Member of Parliament in Tahiti, Hina aims to unveil the country’s true history and give Polynesians the chance to tell their own stories. This week's episode of Stories From The Pacific is a repeat of the show broadcast on 12th July 2023

Wendy Mocke, a Papua New Guinean actor, playwright and screenwriter, has spent six months hosting Stories From the Pacific. She wraps up her time in this special send-off, reflecting on the journey by revisiting powerful moments from each guest. Wendy shares their words of cultural wisdom and offers an intimate glimpse into lives and communities across the Pacific she asks each of them this question: “What’s one thing about your culture or community that isn’t widely known or celebrated, but you wish the world understood?”

Stories From TheWhat does it mean to grow up between two worlds? For Elvina Poki Ogil, one world is a village in Papua New Guinea, where the mountains know your name. The other is a city in Australia, where people try to define you without ever learning where you come from. It’s this in-between space that Elvina knows well. She’s a corporate lawyer, a podcast host, and someone who doesn’t shy away from hard truths, whether it’s colonial legacy, structural inequality, or the quiet ways culture erodes when no one is looking. But ask her how she identifies, and she’ll tell you: “I’m a member of my father’s tribe, first and foremost.” Pacific

Stories From The Pacific

Ronny Kareni was raised in Papua New Guinea, part of a generation of West Papuan families who fled across the border seeking safety. And ever since, he's used every space — on stage, in community, in policy rooms — to make sure West Papua is seen and heard. He talks about the work, the weight, and the will it takes to carry a fight that's ultimately about sovereignty, survival and the power of music to move hearts where politics cannot.

Stories From The Pacific

Stories From The Pacific