Half Ties by Liv Cheung and Kwamena Brace
Podcast
Recorded in 2022, released 2024
Half-ties is a conversation series on the funny, beautiful and sometimes challenging moments that interracial couples experience being with somebody who's culturally different from them.
Hosted by creative couple Olivia and Kwamena, we listen to stories about growing up with racism and prejudice; falling in love and meeting the in-laws; navigating difficult conversations within the family and in society, and how these couples make their relationship work and what they actively choose to pass down to the next generation.
Available to stream below, or via Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, or Boomplay.
Episode 1: Mars and Casey
Meet married couple Mars and Casey - Mars was born and raised in New York City and is of multi-ethnic heritage, whilst Casey was raised in Dingley Village in Melbourne, Australia. Everything is on the table with these two - including their heart-pumping 'love-at-first-sight' meeting at the club, how they co-parent and raise Casey's biological son as a same-sex couple, and navigating all the hard conversations around privilege and racism.
Mars and Casey also host a podcast together called 'The Practice Project' - an interview series with people from all walks of life about failing, making mistakes and how that is often needed. They are also about to release another podcast 'Door Forty One' - follow both their instagram channels @door_fortyone and @thepracticeproject_official for updates.
Episode 2: Nima and Louisa
You could not get more multicultural and international examples than Nima & Louisa - Nima is of Canadian-Iranian heritage but grew up in Japan, and Louisa is born to a German father and Nigerian mother and grew up in Dusseldorf, Germany. The definition of what it means to be a 'third-culture' kid, these two globe-trotters met through their shared love of basketball, on the courts, and where else but on the other side of the world in Naarm, Australia.
Listen to their amusing and diverse stories including the different ways they were raised, their perspectives on dealing with prejudice and racism, and how they respond to their favourite question "But where are you really from?'.
Episode 3: Caroline and Michael
Caroline is a First Nations Aboriginal woman who is married to Michael, who is half-Australian and half-Greek. They share openly on both the heavier and lighter sides of their family history including their connection and love for food and family heirloom recipes; the darker stories of their parents and grandparents circumstance; and the benefits of attending couples counselling.
Caroline also hosts a podcast called ‘Yarning up First Nations Stories’ - a show that helps redefine the way listeners engage with First Nations people, stories, experiences and perspectives. Follow Caroline and her heartfelt conversations on this podcast here.
Episode 4: Johnny and Samuel
Johnny and Johnny are your modern day, queer, blended family couple. Co-parenting their mixed children with another lesbian couple, these two New-Zealanders born from two different ethnic backgrounds talk about their racial experience growing up ‘white’ and ‘brown’ in New Zealand, and how they navigated ‘difficult conversations’ with their families.
Checkout Samuel & Johnny’s latest stage show that has been touring the globe ‘ ‘Reckōning: “Te Waiata Paihere Wairua – The Sounds of Woven Souls”, a one hour multi art form exploration into the intertwining indigenous cultures of New Zealand and Australia through storytelling, song and dance here.
Episode 5: Karen and Martin
Karen & Martin first-generation Australians who parents have traveled far and wide; Karen’s family is from the Philippines but lived in both Zambia (where Karen was born) and Singapore, and Martin grew up in Germany. They talk about their families migrating to Western Australia and growing up not looking or sounding ‘Australian’ in the suburbs of Perth, the differences in their respective Polish and Filipino cultures and customs, and raising their mixed kids in modern-day Australia.
Episode 7: Lauren and Hamish
Lauren & Hamish share interesting perspectives on ‘Aussie’ culture, both having been raised in the UK; Lauren’s heritage is British-Australian and Jamaican, and Hamish is ‘as Anglo-Saxon as they can get’. We discuss feelings around their ancestry test and lineage; meeting each other’s parents and dinner table manners, and how we can continue to improve the conversations around diversity, racism and inclusion in Australia.
Please note: this episode featuring Lauren Mullings was commissioned and recorded a year before her appointment as MAV’s current acting-CEO. 
Meet the creators
Olivia is second generation Australian born Chinese and works as a producer across film, community arts and social sector. Kwamena was born in Finland to a Finnish mother and Ghanian father and works as a musician, composer and film & tv sound recordist. They met in London in 2018, eloped in Melbourne in 2021 and in late 2023 had a little boy whom they named Taika. 'Half Ties' is their first podcast release working together as a creative couple, inspired by their own questions and discussions as a multi-racial couple.
Related Projects:
Season 1 of Half Ties was supported by MAV’s commissioning program Diasporas in 2021, and through City of Moonee Valley’s Clocktower Podcast Residency Program. MAV’s Diasporas program is supported by City of Melbourne, Creative Victoria and Creative Australia (formerly known as Australia Council of the Arts).
