Today we catch up with British Filipino duo Melissa Legarda and Isabelle Landicho, hosts of Eastern Hunnies, a podcast that is a love letter to the diaspora, diving deep into the nuances of East and Southeast Asian culture to spotlight marginalised voices and underrepresented communities in Britain and beyond.

What inspired you both to start Eastern Hunnies, and how did you both decide on the podcast's mission to celebrate the ESEA diaspora?

Isabelle: We had a WhatsApp chat that we’ve been part of for years called ‘Eastern Hunnies’ where we and our friends who are British-Asian women share our experiences and support each other basically through the everyday: dating, workplace traumas, creative industry, and so much more. Eastern Hunnies has always been a really joyful space full of laughter and celebration and healing. We felt like it was worth turning Eastern Hunnies into a public space, to spread that joy.

Melissa: We were inspired to start Eastern Hunnies mainly as a reaction to the glaring lack of British-Filipino representation in mainstream media. We’re always like, ‘where are our authentic stories?’ We’re not all nurses and caregivers. We’re alive and active in so many different industries, doing amazing things – and we’re not all the same. Isabelle and I belong to multiple cultures and subcultures, and because we’re Londoners, we’ve always had intersectional and inclusive approaches in work and in life. Our social groups, our partners, our networks are full of wonderful, diverse individuals who represent so much more than one label or box. It was important to include the whole ESEA diaspora to celebrate both our similarities and differences.

As British Filipinos, do you find that your dual cultural identities influence the conversations you have on the podcast? How do you both balance representing the diverse perspectives within the East and Southeast Asian communities, given their unique cultural backgrounds?

Melissa: Our dual cultural identities absolutely influence the conversations we have on the podcast. They help us empathise. On the podcast we often acknowledge our differences, like our privilege in being able to access resources and opportunities in the UK that might not exist in the Philippines or Asia. Having dual culture identities also enables us to be a lot more nuanced in conversations about the experiences of others from the diaspora. Though we’re both British-Filipino ‘90s babies, there is diversity between myself and Isabelle. For example, I am second-generation Filipino, born in London, and am mixed. Whereas Isabelle is first-generation, born in Manila, and identifies as non-binary. Even between us we understand we haven’t had the same experiences. In the same way we can relate to our guests and hold space for them. As Asians, we’re well aware of the intracultural differences and similarities that exist in the ESEA diaspora. When our guests share their experiences, we listen, and draw from our own, and we have great conversations.

How has navigating the production side of podcasting independently influenced your creative process?

Melissa: Producing our podcast independently has been both healing and a baptism of fire! Everything is self-funded, self-produced, self-edited by our tiny team of three. Shout out to Gabby Lauren, our editor. The very nature of podcasting means you have to be so organised with your footage, your recordings, with mixing, editing, and promotion. It really is like a full-time job! What’s most exciting is that the podcast has enabled us to ‘pay it forward’ as senior creatives. I love that we’ve created opportunities for a truly diverse production team. We’re working with younger British-Filipino talent, mentoring the next generation and helping them practise their skills in an environment that's safe and communicative. Our creative process has pushed us into developing new systems that we previously didn’t have in place. We grow so much from episode to episode.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions about the ESEA diaspora that you hope to challenge through your podcast?

Isabelle: The biggest misconception we wanted to challenge with the podcast is that all Asians are the same. Especially Filipinos, who are marginalised in the UK. In episode seven, we explored the female Asian identity, and how in western media Filipina women are so often presented in fixed binaries, either beauty queens or caregivers, objectified or subservient. In reality, we have agency. We want to challenge stereotypes and elevate the Filipino identity with authenticity and integrity. By the same token, we want to give others across the wider ESEA diaspora the mic, for them to challenge their own stereotypes too.

Is there any advice you would give to others who are thinking about starting their own podcast or project centred on marginalised communities?

Isabelle: I would say go for it. Life is too short to have so many things left unsaid. Representation really does matter. Visibility matters in order for us to function and operate in a more inclusive, diverse and compassionate world. Stories from people from different backgrounds should be heard and people from marginalised communities deserve to tell their own story with agency, and these stories deserve to come from them firsthand, and not by an objective third party – like, for example, a film director who can’t relate to those experiences. Your story deserves to be shared.

Looking ahead, what do you envision for the future of Eastern Hunnies, and what kind of impact do you hope it will have on both the ESEA community and beyond?

Isabelle: We want Eastern Hunnies to be as big as possible, so we can help others. We want to serve a vehicle for community change and also for connection – not just with Filipinos but across the diaspora, including those who are mixed race, or having a partner from, or even live in the diaspora. The prevailing sentiment that we get from our audience is that the Eastern Hunnies podcast is something that they wish they had when they were younger, or something they wish they had more recently. And to us, that is the biggest compliment. It feels like we’re doing the right thing, offering a safe space for people to connect and have conversations that haven’t been heard before – especially coming from Filipino individuals. It’s obviously scary to be vulnerable and put yourself out there on the Internet, but this is something that’s really important to us, because we’re not just doing it for ourselves. We’re doing it for our community and culture, and most importantly, our 13 year-old selves. We hope we can travel to meet others in the diaspora and continue having conversations, to hold space and make change.

Thanks again to Melissa and Isabelle for taking part in Pod-Folio. You can discover more about Eastern Hunnies HERE