The rise of Asian-Australian podcasts, sharing life experiences and pop culture so others ‘feel like they’re not alone’
- Lemon, Shoes Off and Unapologetically Asian are among the growing wave of podcasts created by Asian-Australians who embrace their backgrounds
- Facebook group ‘Subtle Asian Traits’ has played a big role in increasing the demand for Asian-Australian content, Lemon podcaster Philip Kuoch says
In a tiny wardrobe in a southeastern Melbourne home, two millennial podcasters sit cross-legged with a microphone between them.
Knees touching and heads often bumping, outgrown blazers and jackets hanging above them, Phillip Kuoch and Thomas Tan are recording an episode of Lemon, a podcast launched in October last year that now streams to more than 30,000 listeners.
Both men were born and raised in Melbourne; Kuoch, 27, comes from a Cambodian refugee family and Tan, 26, has Chinese-Malaysian parents.
“When we first started, we used to record in my office, but you can actually just record a podcast anywhere,” says Kuoch, whose bedroom wardrobe is one of several places, including under his bedsheets, they now use as recording studios.
The Melburnian men, whose podcast is regularly featured on lists of best LGBT podcasts on Apple, Spotify and Acast, are among a growing number of Asian-Australians making waves in an industry that had previously heard little from the Asian diaspora.
Sharing stories of the minority experience, Lemon has built a growing community of listeners who relate to its episodes. With topics ranging from “the politics of gift-giving” to “the ni hao ma debate”, and discussions on subjects such as the ethnic food aisles in supermarkets, Kuoch and Tan often receive heartfelt tales of similar experiences from listeners in their Facebook and Instagram inboxes.
