Oceania Currents Podcast

1. Home Currents, Part 1: The Center for Pacific Islands Studies

Episode one of Oceania Currents takes you on a journey of stories about our home: the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS). We speak with three people who have worked and studied at CPIS and discuss what Pacific Studies means to each of them: Emeritus Professor Terence Wesley-Smith, Professor Katerina Teaiwa (Australian National University), and CPIS Director Alexander Mawyer.

2. Home Currents, Part 2: Pacific Islands Studies on the Move

Episode two of Oceania Currents continues our conversations with Emeritus Professor Terence Wesley-Smith, Professor Katerina Teaiwa (Australian National University), and CPIS Director Alexander Mawyer. We discuss the "Mānoa school" of Pacific studies, the founding of the Pacific studies teaching program at the Australian National University, Pacific studies pedagogies, and the future of the field.

Project Banaba with Katerina Teaiwa

A short bonus episode with Katerina Teaiwa discussing Project Banaba, a traveling exhibition that brings together rare historical archives and multimedia works to shed light on the history of phosphate mining on Banaba and the ongoing impacts on Banabans. Project Banaba most recently traveled to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

3. Rotuman Identity Through Storyliving, Part 1: Life in Rotuma

Part 1 of a mini-series with guest host John Taukave (CPIS). "Rotuman Identity Through Storyliving" takes you along for a journey of reconnection through storytelling and music with Jon Kafoa, a Rotuman musician based in California. "Part 1: Life in Rotuma" begins with Uncle Jon's early life in Rotuma.

4. Rotuman Identity Through Storyliving, Part 2: Music in Rotuma

Part 2 of a mini-series with guest host John Taukave (CPIS). "Rotuman Identity Through Storyliving" takes you along for a journey of reconnection through storytelling and music with Jon Kafoa, a Rotuman musician based in California. "Part 2: Life in Rotuma" continues with Uncle Jon's musical influences on the island.

5. Rotuman Identity Through Storyliving, Part 3: Reconnecting in Diaspora

Part 3 of a mini-series with guest host John Taukave (CPIS). "Rotuman Identity Through Storyliving" takes you along for a journey of reconnection through storytelling and music with Jon Kafoa, a Rotuman musician based in California. "Part 3: Reconnecting in Diaspora" shares Uncle Jon's experiences after his move to the U.S.

6. Pacific Stories in Film: The International Oceanian Documentary Film Festival (FIFO)

Since 2004, the International Oceanian Documentary Film Festival (FIFO) in Tahiti has showcased stories of the Pacific and promoted Pacific filmmakers. In 2023, a selection of past FIFO films were brought to Hawaiʻi for the first time, including Heretu Tetahiotupa's film "Patutiki: The Guardians of Marquesan Tattoo" (2019 Audience Prize Winner). In this episode, we are joined by filmmaker Heretu Tetahiotupa, FIFO President Miriama Bono, and CPIS MA student Hetereki Huke (2024 FIFO Juror) to discuss the film, the festival, and their importance to the region.

7. Pacific Stories on Stage: "Nothing Micro About Micronesia"

Nothing Micro About Micronesia is a new play created by TeAda Productions and members of the Micronesian community in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, through a series of community workshops. It is a coming-of-age story about two Micronesian boys who encounter an unlikely place after a series of conflicts between them. In this episode, we speak with three cast members: Ova Saopeng (co-writer, co-director, cast), Kathy Martin, and Kealaula Faifili. They discuss the devising process behind the play and the impact it has had for their audiences here in Hawaiʻi.

8. Oral History in the Pacific, Part 1: Storytelling in Aotearoa and Hawaiʻi

Part 1 of a talk story about oral history with three leading scholars: Nepia Mahuika (Massey University), Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor (UH Mānoa), and Ty Kāwika Tengan (UH Mānoa). "Oral History in the Pacific" features our three guests in conversation about storytelling practices in their home communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Hawaiʻi. In Part 1, they talk about kōrero tuku iho and moʻo ʻōlelo; share different stories about Māui as a trickster, advocate, and ancestor; and discuss the relationship between storytelling and the written word.

9. Oral History in the Pacific, Part 2: Reclaiming Stories for Collective Futures

Part 2 of a talk story about oral history with three leading scholars: Nepia Mahuika (Massey University), Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor (UH Mānoa), and Ty Kāwika Tengan (UH Mānoa). "Oral History in the Pacific" features our three guests in conversation about storytelling practices in their home communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Hawaiʻi. In Part 2, they share about how they came to oral history and reflect on building relationships in, across, and in spite of institutions.

10. Poetry and Climate Activism with Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner

Climate change is the most important existential threat to the Pacific Islands, and Pacific Islanders have actively campaigned to address climate change issues, taking leadership at international forums such as the United Nations Conference of the Parties. In this episode, we talk with Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner, one of the most well-known Pacific Islander climate activists. She uses poetry, film, and other media to create awareness about the impacts of climate change in her home, the Marshall Islands, and the Pacific Islands region. She currently serves as Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands Ministry of Environment and is an alumna of the CPIS MA program. You will hear two of her poems in this episode. We close the episode with a group poem written by current CPIS students Carol Ann Carl and Taylor Bungelkelau Vitarelli.

11. Papua Merdeka: Voices of the Free West Papua Campaign

West Papua's ongoing struggle for independence is the longest and most violent independence struggle in Oceania. In this episode, we speak with Raki Ap and Koteka Wenda, two West Papuan activists who are spokespeople for the Free West Papua Campaign. They share their personal and family stories of struggle, their dreams of a free West Papua, and why this struggle is important to the region.