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Chinese-ish is a podcast about what it’s like being a young Chinese-Australian in today’s Australia, and the many different things that can mean. Hosted by Wing Kuang, Dennis Fang, and Bertin Huynh, Chinese-ish brings you conversations you're keen to have on topics important to you. Joining the team each episode are guests who share their experiences - from running for office, buying a house, the generational divide, and of course the tricky question of sex. Chinese-ish asks the difficult, practical and spicy questions for you - with heart, humour, and a dash of chilli oil.
20 Episodes
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Too Aussie for your parents. Too Chinese for your Aussie friends. From awkward dinner table conversations with parents and the annual family holiday to China, to being frequently asked ‘where are you really from?’, Chinese-ish unpicks the experiences of young Chinese-Australians in today’s Australia.
In the first episode of the new SBS podcast Chinese-ish, we look at how young Chinese-Australians celebrate the biggest holiday in our cultural calendar: Lunar New Year.
Being asked ‘where are you from?’ can be a common experience for young Chinese-Australians, and it isn’t necessarily easy to answer. This episode of the Chinese-ish podcast tackles that question, and how it feels to be asked it, with research students Christopher Cheng and Alexandra Lee.
In an age of increasing globalisation and increasingly tense geopolitics, how does the Chinese-Australian experience compare to the Chinese-American one? Find out on this episode of Chinese-ish, with special guests Ella Shi and Dr Rennie Lee.
For young Chinese-Australians today, food means something a little different from the traditional dishes of their parents. On this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing and Mark along with two uni students, YoYo Yang and Chelsea Chum, unpack our changing relationship with food.
In this episode of the podcast Chinese-ish, Wing and Mark are joined by Thomas Feng and Yanni Jiang to discuss how we’re talking to our families about politics.
Heartwarming? Frustrating? Both? Chinese-Australian families seem to run the full spectrum. On this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing and Mark unpack the extremes with chiropractor and Australian Survivor contestant Melissa Chiang, and journalist and young mum Sonia Feng.
On this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing and Mark are joined by Qi Zhang and Maggie Zhou to unpack how young Chinese-Australians today are making friends, keeping in touch and navigating big life transitions.
For young Chinese-Australians, the Chinese language can be a gateway into a culture they no longer live in. On this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing and Mark discuss the challenges of literal and cultural literacy with researcher Osmond Chiu and businesswoman Lucy Du.
From PE classes to professional sport in Australia, sport isn’t something Chinese-Australians are typically well-represented in. On this episode of Chinese-ish, Mark and Wing contrast their experiences with Gronya Somerville, Olympian badminton player and eight-time Oceania champion.
For young Chinese-Australians, travelling back to China can involve a mixed bag of emotions. On the final episode of Chinese-ish, Mark and Wing unpack the concept of ‘going home’ with law student Catherine Wen.
Chinese-ish is back! In season two of the series we will ask more difficult, spicy and sexy questions about what it's like to young and Chinese in Australia today. From dealing with the housing crisis to becoming a politician, improving our mental health and an expert guide to sex, we ask the questions for you, so that you can be heard.
War. Inflation. Loneliness. In the past three years, Millennial and Gen Z Chinese Australians have been caught in geopolitical and economic turmoil. Decades ago our Chinese migrant parents could still make their way following the script of hard work, higher education, and a safe career. But does this still work for young people today? In this episode, Wing Kuang and Dennis Fang speak to Thomas, who was born in 1989, and Angelina, who was born in 2001, on how they feel about embracing their Zodiac Year of Snake in 2025. Are Gen Z Chinese Australians having a tougher life than Millennial Chinese Australians? Can high academic achievements and landing in our parents’ dream jobs still be our path to a fair-go?
According to Australian electoral laws, any Australian citizen above 18 and eligible to vote can run for parliament. So as a young Chinese Australian what’s your chance of becoming Australia’s next Prime Minister? In this episode, Wing Kuang and Bertin Huynh investigate climbing the ladder to Australia’s top job, starting with the country’s lowest level of government - the council. Joining them to unpack the highs and lows of running for office is Michelle Chuang, a manager of a medical centre and recently-elected councillor at Willoughby City Council, and Solomon Lin, a civil engineer who ran for Monash City Council in 2024.
Long before the term 'Bank of Mum and Dad' went viral, the cultural value of passing on generational wealth, including supporting children to buy a property, was deeply engrained in the Chinese Australian community. But as Australia’s housing crisis worsens, can our migrant parents - who built their wealth from scratch since arriving - still support us to achieve our own Australian Dream? In this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing and Dennis talk to fashion influencer Joanne Phua and journalist Christopher Tan to talk about buying property amid Australia’s housing crisis.
For a lot of young Chinese Australians, growing up in stereotypical conservative Chinese household means that sex is a forbidden topic. So it begs the question, what do you young Chinese Australians know, or want to know about sex? In this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing and Bertin talk to Hong Kong Australian sex therapist Hailey Lin and Vietnamese Chinese Australian relationship therapist Ronald Hoang. They chat about their diverse experiences learning about sex and relationships, debunk the myths, and give you tips on how to have great sex in the most Chinese-Australian way.
With Australians spending about one third of time at the workplace, it's clear that maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships with colleagues and managers is essential to our wellbeing. How is it then that Aussies are reporting the second-highest rating of stress in the workplace in global reports? As Gen Z workers across the world are revolutionising workplace culture by saying no to workplace bullying and overtime working, how do young Chinese Australians navigate workplace relationships - or ‘guanxi’ in the Chinese context - while protecting themselves? In this episode, Wing Kuang and Dennis Fang spoke to two Gen Z corporate hacks to dive into the art of guanxi in Australia. You'll hear hot takes and tips from Cathy, a former Chinese international student now working for several multinational corporations, and Joe, a Chinese-Australian engineer-turned-data analyst.
Since the Marriage Equality Plebiscite in 2017, attitudes toward LGBTQI+ rights within some parts of the Chinese-Australian community have become more progressive. Yet for many young people, coming out to their Chinese parents remains deeply challenging. Cultural expectations, generational gaps, and evolving views about identity can make the experience far from easy. In this episode, Wing Kuang and Bertin Huynh sit down with Lucy Xu, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in Melbourne, and Victor Wu, a 39-year-old filmmaker in Sydney, to talk about coming out in 2025. What does it mean to be queer and Chinese-Australian today? How do you honour family while living authentically? Join us as we explore how queer Chinese-Australians are navigating identity, tradition, and family expectations—while carving out space to live openly.
For many, migration is closely linked with periods of conflict, displacement, and political upheaval. Wars, socio-political movements and tensions have caused many Chinese people to migrate to other countries. As younger generations grow up with more distant ties to their Chinese heritage, and limited knowledge of the historical traumas that shaped their families, how can they begin to understand the pain that their parents and communities have often left unspoken? In this episode, Wing Kuang and Dennis Fang talk to Hong Kong-Australian mental health advocate Jocelyn Chan and Indigenous Chinese journalist Phoebe Mcilwraith on how to look after our parents and our mental health through the lens of history.
For many young Australians, moving to the UK is a right of passage. With the ease of the two-year youth mobility visa and the promise of more opportunities and adventures, it's a temptation that's hard to resist. But is all that glitters actually gold? In this episode of Chinese-ish, Wing Kuang, Bertin Huynh and Dennis Fang speak to Mark Yin, co-host of season one and now PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. They chat about the reality of being a young Chinese-Australian living in the UK, the hardships and wins, and whether or not moving to the UK will actually fix your problems.
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