Of all things qualifying us to make art, where we ‘really’ come from shouldn’t define us
The Guardian, 16 August 2017
I’m different at different times, in different places and contexts, with different people. A man – but also a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, a teacher, a writer. And more, including my Indian ethnicity and my Australian heritage.
And despite all these different identities, they’re all the same person: me. I’m just not only one identity, nor should I be defined by only one.
So why am I always labelled by only one aspect of my identity when it comes to my work?
Northern beaches schools not the only ones that need protection from emissions
The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 August 2017
There’s no doubt that as Australia’s biggest city, and with a fast-growing population, Sydney desperately needs infrastructure to makeup for the decades-long neglect of successive state governments. There’s no doubt that WestConnex is providing thousands of jobs across the city, and keeping the economy afloat. And there’s nodoubt that such a major, billion-dollar project must protect the interests of the many different commercial interests involved.
But of all the stakeholders in this process, from government donors to lobbyists, workers and construction firms, commuters and toll operators, surely the most important are our children, no matter whose electorate they’re in.
The perils and pleasures of ethical shopping
SBS Online, 5 December 2016
If a bargain seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Sunil Badami discovers the exploitation behind a lot of the cheaper items sold nationwide and wonders if struggling families in Australia should pay more for ethically produced goods?
Why do we really need to repeal 18c?
SBS Online, 17 November 2016
With renewed calls for the repeal or amendment of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, are we paving the way for a more oppressive Australia?
Why do parents have to forego adult TV and watch children’s shows?
SBS Online, 1 November 2016
Should your children control the main television remote control in your house? Sunil Badami questions the sensibility of parents being forced to watch what their kids watch: migraine-inducing children’s entertainment.
Diwali keeps the home lamps burning
SBS Online, 21 October 2016
For Sunil Badami, celebrating Diwali in Australia is a thread connecting his two identities. For as long as the lamps are lit, “Rama can find His way home”.
Life lessons from winning a quiz show
SBS Online, 2 September 2016
Sunil Badami reveals how winning a popular game show helped him in the untrivial pursuit of leading a happy life.
Why I’ve decided I’d rather be happy than right
SBS Online, 17 August 2016
How are you going to really convince anyone else that they’re wrong by shouting at them?
Will two-term limits improve the state of politics?
SBS Online, 4 August 2016
Is a two-term limit for all politicians the key to actually having a working government?
Being ‘Aussie’ is about more than where – or who – you came from
The Drum Online, 18 May 2016
In an immigrant nation like Australia, our Australianness isn’t and shouldn’t be determined by any one aspect of our identity, least of all where we or our parents “really” came from, writes Sunil Badami.
I’m thrilled Waleed Aly won the Gold Logie, but the reasons are complicated
The Guardian Australia, 9 May 2016
If I’m excited by the prospect of greater diversity in the media, it’s because I hope that young Australians can feel less defined by their ethnicity
Could hipster bushes be the new beards? It’s time for pubic hair to be cool again
The Guardian Australia, 31 December 2015
Women have Brazilians, men have bushy beards. Where’s the ‘hairquality’ in that? It’s time to ditch the depilation and embrace ‘objectionable hair’
Bali 9: our selective compassion has come undone
The Drum Online, 29 May 2015
You can’t abuse human rights in defiance of international law and then criticise others for doing the same. How did this weaken our ability to plead for mercy for our own citizens? Sunil Badami writes.
The unexpected virtue of renewing our vows
The Drum Online, 24 April 2015
Renewing our wedding vows 10 years later we were able to properly reflect on them and what they meant: what we had promised to do, and how we may have forgotten some of those promises, writes Sunil Badami.
A single voice can’t convey a million views
The Drum Online, 12 March 2015
Tony Abbott says Muslim leaders should speak out on what Islam means, and someone says the Indian community is united in shock after a murder. But in our multicultural society how can one person speak for all, asks Sunil Badami.
Why is commercial radio the last bastion of middle aged white men?
Mumbrella, 29 January 2015
Why doesn’t commercial radio reflect the diverse realities of modern Australia?
Barry Spurr and me: did he look at me and see human garbage, too?
The Guardian Australia, 20 October 2017
After trying to reconcile the gentle bloke I’d interviewed a few weeks before for my radio show with such rabid, virulent vilification of fellow Australians, there was no question that we’d pull our episode