The Brown Box

In this episode, we sit with Kamini Ramachandran, a storyteller, educator, and creative force behind MoonShadow Stories and Storyfest Singapore.🎧 Listen to hear about:* Her grandfather, the storyteller: a planter from Kerala who lived in Malaya, from whom Kamini learnt to love stories* The wildness of nature 🐍: a cobra encounter at four, the love of a dog named Bobby 🐕, and how he protected her* Cherishing books 📚 that allowed her to travel into her imagination, and magazines that allowed her to travel everywhere else* The living, breathing art of oral storytelling, and why it matters beyond childhood* Why she disdains the idea of “moral endings” in stories, asking her audience to find meaning that is personal and discovered* Nights spent with the Elders of the Tiamar, and her time visiting the Orang Asli* The importance of sharing stories — sharing with permission, consent, and acknowledgement* Working with AI 🤖 and realising that she no longer fears it* Immersive storytelling through projects like Harry Potter and Jurassic Park: The Exhibition 🎭* The power of stories to remind you that you are not alone — to ground, connect, and heal 💛

Does your family history live in its favourite foods? Do you see food not just as sustenance, but as legacy, identity, and history — passed from hand to hand, from kitchen to kitchen? If so, this podcast is for you.In this episode, we speak to Chef Devagi, the Spice Queen of Singapore. She shares recipes, yes — but more importantly, stories of resilience and reinvention.
Listen to hear about:* migration stories that stretch from India and East Timor to Burma and, finally, Singapore* glimpses of 1950s Singapore — kampung life, Waterloo Street hawkers, and walking to Paya Lebar airport to wave at strangers* the letter to The Straits Times, signed “poor student”, that would fund her education* United Nations food rations turned into pancakes, payasam, gulab jamun* HDB stories of food crossing corridors: Chinese, Malay, and Indian families exchanging dishes and ideas* the three women who shaped her — her grandmother, mother, and periamma — and their thosai stalls* how she went from school clerk to cooking teacher, to becoming the Spice Queen of Singapore* original recipes and stories of Singaporean Indian dishes: Thanni saaru, tahu sambal, pink condensed-milk kesari, appam jala/roti jala, and an Indian-style mutton rendang* resilience and reinvention — how Chef Devagi kept moving forward and stayed hungry

In this episode of The Brown Box, we chat with Shibani Mahtani, investigative journalist with The Washington Post.We talk about:• Political discourse at the dinner table — her father’s relentless questioning of the PAP vs her mother’s gratitude and how this made her curious about the world• The journey from straightening her curls to embracing them — a two-year process of making peace with who she is, and what that says about belonging in Singapore• “Indians are smelly” — the phrase her Chinese friends taught her, and the jarring gap between lived experience and Singapore’s ‘Racial Harmony Day’ narrative• Being Sindhi — growing up in a tiny diaspora community with no homeland and extended family across the world, and how that showed her there’s a whole world out there waiting to explore• PropertyGuru, curry, and Singapore’s rental racism — uncovering housing discrimination that contradicted the fair and equal HDB quota system Singapore is known for• Reporting in Myanmar, the US, and Hong Kong — how each place taught her something different about racism, resistance, community, and what’s possible• Finding community in Hong Kong’s streets — witnessing shopkeepers opening their doors during tear gas, people buying burgers for strangers, and discovering a kind of solidarity Singapore doesn’t seem to have• What living away, taught her about hope and the fight for a better Singapore

Making Space in Singapore: Pooja Nansi's StoryIn this episode of The Brown Box Podcast, we sit with Pooja Nansi, poet, educator, and former director of the Singapore Writers Festival.In this episode, we talk about:* Pooja's childhood in a creative household and her mother's sacrificed dreams as a classical dancer* How poetry found her—from writing about her math teacher to discovering Sylvia Plath's intensity* The electric energy of hip-hop clubs and slam poetry venues * Mustafa Centre, Mysore Sandalwood soap, and the everyday spaces that mean everything to immigrant communities* Literary gatekeeping and making space for all storytellers at the Singapore Writers Festival* The exhaustion of constantly explaining yourself, of not fitting into neat CMIO boxes* Navigating controversy with nuance—from the Books Actually incident to tensions within her own Indian communityListen to this episode if you believe in the power of poetry, the importance of communal spaces, and the possibility of loving a place deeply while demanding it be better.

In this episode of The Brown Box Podcast, we sit with Sapna Kewalramani Maholtra, Founder of Rise and Thrive. A charity that helps mothers running home businesses through mentorship and skills training.In this episode, we talk about:• Sapna’s childhood in Nigeria and early memories of Deepavali• How her parents’ values of giving shaped her idea of “paying it forward”• The inspiration behind Rise and Thrive• The realities mothers face while balancing caregiving, work, and survival• Simple ways to volunteer or partner with Rise and ThriveListen to this episode if you believe in the power and potential of mothers — to nurture, to create, to rise and to thrive.

In this episode of The Brown Box Podcast, we sit with Sharon Ismail - actress, writer, teacher, and storyteller. In this episode, Sharon shares:• Kampong nights of hide-and-seek, ghost stories and clouds of talcum powder mischief• What it was like being “the only Malay in the school” while studying in a Chinese kindergarten• Her mother’s adoption story, revealed through a birth certificate • The grandparents who believed education was “the biggest inheritance” and how that drew her to a path of teaching • Stumbling into theatre by accident and discovering a lifelong love for stage and screen• Why she believes “ambition is not a dirty word” and why women, especially those from minority communities, should never apologize for taking up spaceYou may have seen Sharon on screen or in the classroom. Now hear the story behind it all. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.👉🏽 Follow The Brown Box Podcast for more stories from brown women in Singapore.

In this episode of The Brown Box Podcast, we sit down with Sasja Sidek, a Malay Singaporean trans advocate and activist based in Australia.Sasja opens up about her journey of:• Growing up in Singapore and running away from home at sixteen• Facing discrimination, wrongful arrests, and rejection from family• Exploring identity through nightlife, drag, and sex work• Gaining empowerment through adult modelling and self-expression• Becoming a community organiser and creating safe spaces for queer people in AustraliaThis is an empowering story of identity, resilience, and activism - one that shows the fight to belong in the face of rejection and discrimination. From survival to advocacy, Sasja’s journey is a powerful reminder that trans voices matter.Hit play and be part of this conversation. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and more.

In this episode of The Brown Box Podcast, we sit down with Nisha Rai, an intersectional feminist and passionate advocate for safer, more equal spaces for everyone.From joining a martial arts class to questioning patriarchal traditions, Nisha shares how she became a feminist and made it her mission to support victim survivors. We explore:• How early experiences and family shaped her views on allyship and equity• The horrors of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) • Why a little disruption is needed for change to happen• The importance of bystander interventionIf you’ve ever been a victim of online abuse or wondered why, when our streets are safe, our online world is not, if you hope for more equality in this world - then this conversation is for you. Tune in on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.