Shows
The Brown BoxHope After Homelessness: Liyana Dhamirah’s StoryTrigger warning: This episode contains discussions of sexual assault that some listeners may find distressing. You can skip from 20:51 to 26:56 if you wish to avoid this part.In this powerful episode of The Brown Box, we sit down with activist, author, and entrepreneur Liyana Dhamirah. Through her extraordinary journey, she shares how life’s challenges can be a catalyst for healing and advocacy.We explore:• Childhood memories shaped by poverty, an absent father, and a home that didn’t look like the ones on TV• How dance felt like freedom...2025-07-1559 minThe Brown BoxUpcycling Waste, Uplifting Lives: Nuryanee Anisah on Building CommenhersIn this heartfelt episode of The Brown Box, we sit down with Nuryanee Anisah, founder of Commenhers, a Singapore-based social enterprise that transforms discarded textiles into meaningful products.Inspired by her father’s entrepreneurial drive and her mother’s compassion, Yanee shares how Commenhers supports marginalised women while championing sustainability.We talk about:• Her love for secondhand objects and the stories they carry• Why slowing down is part of sustainability• The emotional cost of being misunderstood as a dyslexic child• How her father’s music carried Malay...2025-06-2443 minThe Brown BoxBeyond the Glamour: Anita Kapoor on Beauty, Grief, & FreedomAnita Kapoor - TV host, writer, and activist - joins The Brown Box Podcast for an honest, moving conversation about growing up, growing older, and growing into yourself. From her childhood arrival in 1970s Singapore to her groundbreaking career on English-language television, Anita reflects on what it means to be seen and to be free.We talk about:• What it means to age with vulnerability and wisdom• Colourism, privilege & media representation in Singapore• Growing up Indian and female in a multi-ethnic society• Caregiving, loss, and healing generational wounds• E...2025-06-031h 13The Brown BoxSindhura Kalidas and the Search for Brown JoyActor, dramaturg, and writer Sindhu Kalidas has worn many hats, but in this episode, she wears her heart on her sleeve. From her earliest days as a child actor on Hip-o & Friends to calling out brownface in a beloved local film, Sindhu opens up about what it means to grow up brown, outspoken, and tender in Singapore. In this episode we discuss: impact of parental love on how we love othersthe power of verbatim theater as a tool for cultural truth-telling the tug-of-war between following your passion and fulfilling your dutyhow personal values can...2025-05-061h 03The Brown BoxAmrita Chandradas: A Photographer Framing TruthAmrita Chandradas doesn’t just take pictures — she captures life in all its raw, beautiful complexity. In this podcast, she shares how her father’s love for photography guided her journey, and opens up about how over- protective parents and the stress of exams shaped her early years. She talks about leaving Singapore to learn, and then coming back to tell the stories of her home. Through it all, it’s her deep love for community, her roots, and her identity as a Singaporean-Tamilian that lights up her work and her lens. Listen as she shares the stories...2025-04-211h 06
The Brown BoxAarthi Sankar: The Power of an Unapologetic VoiceFrom a child arguing on the void decks of Singapore, to a woman leading one of its most recognised advocacy organisations, the SPCA —Aarthi Sankar has never been afraid to speak her mind. In this episode of The Brown Box, she opens up about finding her voice through books, dance, and relentless advocacy. Aarthi challenges stereotypes, confronts exclusion, and reclaims the label of “angry brown woman” with pride.In this conversation, we talk about:Growing up as the youngest with two older sistersLife with a cleft lip and th...2025-04-0354 minThe Brown BoxShaped by Stories: A Conversation with YagnyaIn this episode, I sit down with Yagnya—a theater maker and a woman shaped by a lifetime of stories.We talk about the power of stories—the ones that shape us, and the ones that are thrust upon us. We speak about schoolyard bullies, about being Indian, about caste, and about the search for spaces where we can truly be ourselves.This is a conversation for anyone who’s ever wondered about the stories we carry—and the ones we choose to tell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat2025-03-201h 09The Brown BoxNilanjana Sengupta: Writing Herself Into the Heart of Singapore✨ In this episode of The Brown Box, we sit down with Nilanjana Sengupta.📖 Author. 🏛️ Historian. 💛 Fully Bong. 🌧️ A monsoon lover. 🕰️ A collector of nostalgia.Our conversation takes us on a journey from the chaotic streets of Kolkata 🇮🇳 to writing herself into Singapore’s history 🇸🇬. We talk about motherly love 🤱, the wonder that is Durga Puja 🏵️, and the beating heart of Singapore. But most of all, we delve into the stories of women—their struggles, their resilience—their voices, captured in her latest book Chickpeas to Cook and Other Stories 📚. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-02-2054 minThe Brown BoxAnbu's Journey: Voice for the VoicelessIn this episode, we speak with Anbarasi Boopal (Anbu), Co-CEO of ACRES, Singapore’s beloved wildlife rescue center. Anbu shares an inspiring journey that led a quiet village girl from Tamilnadu to become one of the loudest voices for animal rights in Singapore.Her’s is a story of personal transformation, sisterly solidarity, and the enduring connection to her Tamil roots through the beauty of language, food, temples and saris.This conversation reminds us that sometimes the softest voices carry the strongest messages. #singaporepodcast #singapore #podcast #indianwomen #singaporeanindian #indianinsingapore #tamil #tami...2025-02-1051 minThe Brown BoxRuby Jayaseelan's Dance Through Life In this intimate reflection, we follow Ruby Jayaseelan's path from classical Bharatanatyam dancer to boundary-breaking movement artist. Through dance, she navigates profound loss—the death of her mother, her relationship with her father—and discovers how movement can unlock grief held deep in the body. Her story speaks to anyone who has felt constrained by tradition, touched by loss, or drawn to forge their own path. With raw honesty, Ruby reveals how embracing imperfection and allowing herself to fall became the very things that helped her soar. Hosted on Acast. See...2025-01-2951 min