The Moreish Podcast: Caribbean History, Culture, and Cuisine

In this episode, Hema and Vinay discuss how language and the words you may have grown up saying in a Caribbean household are actually living records of survival, migration, and cultural memory.Vinay Harrichan, founder of The Cutlass Magazine, breaks down how Indo-Caribbean language, food, and identity were shaped by Indian indentureship, traces the line from indentureship to the Caribbean expressions, family words, & food terms that still show up in everyday language across Trinidad and the Caribbean today.We discuss why words like bandhania, parathai, mohan bhog, and gulab jamun carry layered histories that don't always match the version that they came from. Vinay also shares a bit of his research process, talking to and verifying information by speaking directly with elders, and why preserving oral history matters now more than ever.If you are interested in Caribbean history, Indo-Caribbean identity, and the stories behind the words you use every day, this conversation will help you understand where our language came from and why it still matters.What you'll learnHow language survived in the home, in Trinidad, through family life and became part of everyday vernacular, widely understood across communitiesElders, often women, kept Hindustani and Bhojpuri alive in the homeIndian indentureship and how it differs from chattel slavery in the CaribbeanHow food words preserve cultural history, can be used to trace the origins of foods and language, and how language is developed locallyAbout Vinay HarrichanVinay Harrichan is the founder and curator of The Cutlass Magazine. Founded in August of 2020, it is a social media platform dedicated to the Indo-Caribbean community and descendants of Indian indentureship. TCM covers topics such as history, religion, politics, music, dance, and linguistics in the name of cultural preservation. You may follow The Cutlass Magazine (@cutlassmagazine) on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, Threads, and TikTok.https://linktr.ee/cutlassmagazinePast Episode with VinayDoubles: The Origin Story https://youtu.be/GR9LhaebibI?si=Gw6PEDAyn-JtqxpAResourcesThe Repair Campaign https://repaircampaign.org/reparations-today/cutlass-magazine-founder-vinay-harrichan-explores-the-legacies-of-indentureship/Karen Dass https://www.youtube.com/@karendassDr. Visham Bhimull https://caribbeanhindustani.org/Join us on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/jerk-sauce

The Virgin Islands of the United States does not have one tidy food story. Disputes over the national dish, generational divides over what constitutes a Virgin Islands plate, and influences from Africa, Europe, and other Caribbean nations, as well as American policies that limit food production creates a narrative that isn’t straightforward. It’s why this conversation with Stephanie Chalana Brown, historian and visual documentarian, is so informative and fascinating.Chalana gives us a peek behind the curtain on how politics, migration, colonial history, and identity have all shaped what ends up on the plate in the US Virgin Islands. This is not a simple food conversation. It’s a revealing look at creolization, generational memory, and the pressures of being a territory of the United States of America. From fungi & boil fish to maafe, red pea soup, kallaloo, red grout, and the seven-layer Vienna cake, Chalana shares how each one carries a history of labour, class, taste, and survival.You'll discover:Why older Virgin Islanders may see ground provisions as nourishment while younger generations may see them as stigmaHow 98% food import dependence changed the island's foodways and daily lifeHow Danish, African, Antillean, and American influences all show up in the US Virgin Islands cuisineIf you are interested in Caribbean foodways, the way colonial history lives on in everyday meals, or just want to learn what’s good to eat in the USVI, have a listen to this episode. Part food story, part history lesson, and proof that “food is kinda heavy when you talk about the politics about it.”About Stephanie Chalana BrownStephanie Chalana Brown is a Virgin Islands–based photographer, cultural thinker, and public intellectual whose work explores African diasporic history, place, and memory across the Caribbean.Her practice moves between photography, archival inquiry, and cultural interpretation. She documents everyday life, heritage spaces, and community rituals with an eye toward how history lives in bodies, streets, buildings, and shared traditions. Her work treats culture as a living record, something carried, practiced, and remembered rather than frozen in the past.Chalana’s interests sit at the intersection of African studies, Caribbean history, visual literacy, and public education. She is particularly engaged in how communities preserve memory outside of formal institutions, and how photography can function as both documentation and archive.Her work has appeared in exhibitions, publications, and national media, and she regularly contributes to conversations about heritage, representation, and cultural accountability in the Virgin Islands and the wider Black Atlantic world.She lives and works in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she continues to photograph, research, and write.https://www.instagram.com/chalana_vi/https://www.facebook.com/StephanieChalanaBrownArticle: https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/virgin-islands-masquerading-traditionsPrevious EpisodeExploring the US Virgin Islands: History, Identity, and Cultural Shifts https://youtu.be/WzU6QSg048A?si=uAP2VW39hnNiS5SqMusic from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/andrey-rossi/jerk-sauce

QueeribbeanIn the final episode of Season 3, Hema and Shaharah Gaznabbi, a Toronto-based Indo-Caribbean theatre creator and drag performer, talk about the history, language, and cultural nuances of being queer in the Caribbean diaspora, how colonization has shaped attitudes towards queeribbean folks, and the evolving acceptance within communities and families.Shaharah shares their personal coming out experience, their role as the Chair of the Indo-Caribbean Canadian Association’s group EPIC (Equality and Pride for Indo-Caribbeans), and provides some insight into acceptable language in the LGBTQ+ community and relclaiming the term ‘queer’.About Shaharah: Shaharah "Gaz" Gaznabbi (They/Them) is an ACTRA & Equity Actor, Playwright, Puppeteer, Comedian, Deviser, Dramaturg, Drag Artist, (you name it!) based in Toronto.They were an Artist-In-Residence at Tarragon Theatre as a recipient of the Ellen Ross Stuart Award, and was part of Tarragon Theatre’s Young Playwrights Unit. Shaharah received The Neurodiverse Review's Birds of Paradise Emerging Talent Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, where they presented their solo-show "What Can Indian Look Like? Can It Look Caribbean?". They have also received TO Live’s “Best of Fringe”, as well as the Canadian Green Alliance’s “Greenest In The Fringe” at the Toronto Fringe Festival 2025 for their solo puppet filled musical comedy “My Pet Lizard, Liz: The Shakespearean Existential Crisis that Led to his Ultimate Demise”. They additionally received the inaugural Gerda Hynatyshyn Launch Grant for English Theatre.Recent Credits: Noor in Season 3 of CBC's run The Burbs, Ontario and US tour of "Jungle book" Directed by Rick Miller & Craig Francis, 4 city tour of “Quest for The Moon, and 5 city tour of “Old Man and the River” both with WeeFestival.InstagramShaharah's current work:BrOWN//Out Stage at Toronto Pride 2026Go-Between Girl (Audiobook Narration) by Andrea GunrajBelly Button at Toronto Fringe 2026Cheers! The ORDA PodcastIndo-Caribbean Canadian AssociationResourcesWotless info and ticketsAn Ordinary Landscape of Violence by Preity R. KumarGuy Anabella377: The British colonial law that left an anti-LGBTQ legacy in AsiaEpisodes referencedIndo-Caribbean Canadian Culture & Community with Ryan Singh

The role of the British Royals in the Transatlantic Slave TradeDr. Brooke N. Newman discusses her book The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas in which she explores the British monarchy's involvement in slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Spanning hundreds of years and drawing on thousands of pages of archival records, the book starts with Queen Elizabeth I, the first British monarch to knowingly invest in and profit from the transatlantic slave trade and brings us all the way to present day. In this episode, Brooke shares her thoughts on the actions that the Crown, King Charles, and the British government can take to acknowledge this history and respond to the call for reparations.About Brooke N. NewmanDr. Brooke Newman is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She specializes in the history of early modern Britain and the British Atlantic, with a focus on slavery and its legacies. She is the author of the award-winning book, A Dark Inheritance: Blood, Race, and Sex in Colonial Jamaica (Yale, 2018) and The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas (Mariner, 2026). Her writing and research have been featured in the Guardian, the Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and Smithsonian Magazine, and she has served as a historical expert for HBO's Last Week Tonight, Vox, the BBC, and NPR, among others.WebsiteInstagramBluesky ResourcesThe Royal ArchivesGeorgian Papers ProgrammeThe Spirit of LawsSlave Voyages databaseThe Interest: How the British Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery,, Michael Taylor Padraic X. Scanlan The Whiteness of Wealth, Dorothy BrownEpisodes ReferencedSlave Voyages: Documenting the Transatlantic Slave TradeThe Repair Campaign: Caribbean Reparations Explained

Exploring Caribbean migration experiences and barrel children through short storiesIn this episode, Hema talks to Chanel Sutherland about her first book, Layaway Child, a collection of short stories exploring the Caribbean immigrant experience. Chanel shares her personal journey of being a ‘layaway child’ (often called barrel children), growing up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with her grandparents while her mother migrated to Montreal, Quebec (Canada) to set up a new life for her family, and travelling with her younger sister to reunite with their mother.The discussion delves into the themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the impact of colonial legacies, and the emotional complexities of family relationships once children migrate to reunite with their parents in a new country. Chanel weaves her own experiences into this collection of short stories, as well as those of people she has met. From colourism to the cultural silence in Caribbean families and seeming lack of emotion, to the importance of community and empathy in understanding the immigrant experience, she encourages open dialogue about the emotional toll of migration.Chanel SutherlandBorn in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Chanel Sutherland moved to Montreal, Quebec (Canada) when she was ten years old. She holds a BA in English Literature from Concordia University. Her first book, Layaway Child, is a collection of short stories exploring the Caribbean immigrant experience, especially those dealing with girlhood.She is the winner of the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the 2022 CBC Short Story Prize, and the 2021 CBC Nonfiction Prize.In addition, she was awarded the 2022 Mariruth Sarsfield Mentorship, longlisted for the 2022 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and shortlisted for the Max Margles Fiction Prize. Chanel was also included on the CBC Books 30 Writers to Watch list for 2022. Website Instagram Facebook Layaway Child is a luminous debut short story collection by award-winning writer Chanel Sutherland that explores the emotional landscapes of Caribbean families fractured by migration, especially the harrowing yet resilient journeys of Black girls and women. In lyrical, linked stories, Sutherland traces the lives of mothers working abroad as housekeepers and nannies, and the children they left behind. From lush island childhoods marked by absence and community to the cold, alienating spaces of Canadian cities, Layaway Child captures the complexity of growing up between worlds. A mother, newly arrived in Montreal, is kept from speaking to her daughters by her own mother’s misguided attempt to help her let go of home. A schoolgirl becomes a spectacle under the gaze of white classmates. A young girl’s curiosity about the cosmos collides with the confusion of puberty. Sutherland brings deep compassion and sharp insight to each moment, revealing both the beauty of island life and the harshness of immigration’s toll.