Blacademia: the podcast

Blacademia is a podcast of conversations with First People who as well as being sovereign people, are also academics in higher education and research institutions in this land now commonly referred to as Australia. I recognise from experience that for many academia seems to be a far distant and other-worldly space, filled with jargon heavy discussions, elitism, and acronyms. A core goal of this podcast is to break down in simple and conversational ways what the work of an academic actually is, as shared through and by conversations with First People. A second core goal is to highlight and share some of the empowered and incredible work being done by First People in academia. I for one am sick of seeing unqualified, uninformed white people being given platform and power over Indigenous people and communities, speaking to the masses as though they’re ‘experts’ in all things Indigenous. This is unnecessary and inappropriate - not only do we have knowledge holders, leaders, and educators within our own communities and ways, but we also have around 500 formally qualified academics. There is genuinely no excuse left to be talking about us, without us.

This podcast will be free to access, and is not associated with any research, projects, or grants. It is a passion project of mine, and as such is self funded. Costs include registering and trade marking the name, commissioning the logo, purchasing audio recording equipment and software, URL registration, and then the ongoing cost of the platform where the podcast will be streamed. As people are asking how they can contribute, I decided to create this GoFundMe as a way to facilitate the community of future listeners helping craft  the body of knowledge by funding its creation.
(I am Amy Thunig, I am a Gamilaroi woman, raised and nurtured on Darug and Awabakal land, my family names are Maccoll, Behrendt, and Doyle of Peel River and Murrurundi)