This is Season 4 Episode 6 of MK on the Mic, a podcast dedicated to having conversations relevant to POC communities. Dr Anita Mitra (aka The Gynae Geek) and I, Meera Kumar, take you on a tour of the vulva and vagina. I absolutely loved speaking to Anita about a topic we too often shy away from. I hope it entertains you and helps you, if you have any questions please send us a tweet/DM! Find time-stamped topics below: 0:40 About Anita and her job
 03:01 Why do ethnic minority communities avoid seeking medical help? 05:26 Should we be wearing cotton pants? Do thongs put you at higher risk for infections? 08:58 What do normal labia look like? What to do if you don’t like how you look down there 13:02 Hair and grooming 15:56 Discharge - what is it and what’s normal? 18:05 Washing your vulva 19:17 The smell of vulvas/vaginas 21:30 Pantyliners - is organic really better? How often should you change them? Are they more hygienic? 22:49 Discharge and staining of underwear 23:22 Is going commando at night good for your vagina or is that a myth? 23:55 Vaginal flatulence - are queefs/fanny farts normal? Are they avoidable? 25:11 What food/activities can change the taste/smell of vaginas? 27:53 Dry vaginas and lubrication 33:06 Having sex for pleasure and guilt in ethnic minority communities 33:40 Pain during sex 36:39 Cervical screen and the shocking stats of how many women of colour don’t attend 38:13 Why women of colour aren’t going to screenings 39:28 The surprisingly easy way you can get cervical cancer 42:43 Illegal abortion clinics in London 46:18 How to give your vagina a manual reset 48:01 About Anita’s book (link below) Please share this episode on your IG stories, Twitter etc, and tag me so I can say thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review on the Apple Podcasts app, link:
 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mk-on-the-mic/id1247260719 Meera's socials:
 IG: www.instagram.com/meerakumar
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast socials: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Dr Anita Mitra’s socials: IG: https://www.instagram.com/gynaegeek Website: https://www.gynaegeek.com Book: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-gynae-geek/dr-anita-mitra/9780008305178 Twitter: https://twitter.com/GynaeGeek Thank you to Jake for lending me your voice for the sound effects! N2OUTHMocz2CljuqzKas

This is Season 4 Episode 5 of MK on the Mic, a podcast dedicated to having conversations relevant to POC communities. Oenone Forbat joined me (Meera Kumar) for a chat about white fragility and how to have conversations about race. Oenone is a comedian, influencer, and fellow podcaster. Find time-stamped topics below: 0:30 When Oenone started engaging in conversations about race 
2:48 What are the barriers to conversations about race for white people? 7:40 Talking about race with friends and discomfort
 13:41 Describing people using their race 
18:17 Fear of being called racist 
21:20 The effects of white fragility 22:40 Internalising messages of white superiority 26:30 Companies and anti-racism 28:55 White supremacy and talking about whiteness 33:00 Speaking to family and friends about racism 35:40 How racism benefits all white people 39:25 When we first became aware of race 42:18 Putting anti-racism education into action Please share this episode on your IG stories, Twitter etc, and tag me so I can say thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review on the Apple Podcasts app, link: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mk-on-the-mic/id1247260719 Meera's socials:

 IG: www.instagram.com/meerakumar
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast:

Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Oenone’s socials: IG: https://www.instagram.com/oenone Twitter: https://twitter.com/oenoneforbat Podcast: https://oenone.co/podcast

This is Season 4 Episode 4 of MK on the Mic, a podcast dedicated to having conversations relevant to POC communities. I, Meera Kumar, called up Renee McGregor for a chat about underfuelling, overtraining, and eating disorders. Renee is a leading Sports and Eating disorder specialist, who specialises in RED-S, overtraining, eating disorders, and female health. Find timestamped topics below: 1:44 How common are eating disorders? 3:52 Where does an eating disorder stem from? 6:55 Recurring eating disorder triggers in men, and how emotions can trigger eating disorders 11:33 How to stop negative experiences/feelings affecting our relationship with food 13:50 Adopting sport as an identity 15:50 Feeling guilt after eating 18:10 Turning ‘negative’ emotions into something positive, and vulnerability 21:50 Defining yourself and finding an identity 24:50 ‘Losing weight makes you faster’ and losing weight to win 34:40 Symptoms of underfuelling 37:05 Why you may not look like you have a problem 38:08 Why the eating disorder stereotype leads to other sufferers being overlooked 40:48 Resources to help you 42:22 A lovely story about a baker and some jammy dodgers to help you put things in perspective Please share this episode on your IG stories, Twitter etc, and tag me so I can say thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review on the Apple Podcasts app, link:
 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mk-on-the-mic/id1247260719 Meera's socials: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Website: kumar.wixsite.com/meerakumar">https://meera-kumar.wixsite.com/meerakumar Podcast socials: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic 
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Renee’s info: IG: https://www.instagram.com/r_mcgregor Website: https://reneemcgregor.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcgregor_renee Train Brave Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/trainbrave-podcast/id1528899226 Renee’s books are amazing, check them out below: Training Food, Fast Fuel books. and Orthorexia, When Healthy Eating Goes Bad

This is Season 4 Episode 3 of MK on the Mic, a podcast dedicated to having conversations relevant to POC communities. I am joined by Prof. Christian Davenport, Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan as well as a Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies and Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. In this episode we dissect police abolition. Find timestamped topics below: 1:16 Why were the police set up in the USA? 3:16 The type of people who join the police force 4:50 Why are states finding violent people and bringing them into the fold? 7:30 Can we just sack all of the police officers? 8:42 If we take weapons away from the police, what’s stopping people from being violent for the sake of being violent? 11:06 What keeps society from being violent? Most communities have no interaction with the police. 15:34 The history of over-policing of the black community. 18:50 Funding and reallocation of resources. 20:00 The inequality gap and violent crime. 25:00 When white cops kill white citizens, why is there no footage or protests? 29:00 Accountability and justifying shootings. 37:00 What can we learn from Norway? Please share this episode on your IG stories, Twitter etc, and tag me so I can say thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review on the Apple Podcasts app, link:
 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mk-o…ic/id1247260719 Meera's socials: 
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Christian’s info: Twitter: https://twitter.com/engagedscholar Website: christiandavenport.com

This is Season 4 Episode 2 of MK on the Mic, a podcast dedicated to having conversations relevant to POC communities. I am joined by Dr Anjali Mahto, Consultant Dermatologist and author of The Skincare Bible. In this episode we dive into skin of colour! Find time-stamped topics below: 1:16 About Dr Anjali Mahto 2:10 The difference between white skin and brown skin, and characteristics of skin of colour 6:05 Racial bias during dermatology training 12:34 The categorisation of skin colour in dermatology 17:20 Late diagnosis of cancer in POC, and symptoms of more common cancers in skin of colour 20:40 Common conditions in skin of colour - from scarring to dark patches 23:14 Normative discontent and placing value in our physical beauty 28:44 Fear of tanning in South Asian communities. Is there a safe way to tan? 32:45 Does skin of colour burn? 34:40 Face mapping - myth or magic? 37:12 When does changing your diet help your skin? 42:00 Supplements 43:40 Popping spots, nose strips, common faux pas, and key parts of a skincare routine 45:35 Korean skincare routines and Korean skin characteristics Please share this episode on your IG stories, Twitter etc, and tag me so I can say thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review on the Apple Podcasts app, link: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mk-on-the-mic/id1247260719 Meera's socials:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Anjali’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/anjalimahto Skincare bible: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-skincare-bible/dr-anjali-mahto/9780241309100 Decolonising dermatology article: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/13/decolonising-dermatology-why-black-and-brown-skin-need-better-treatment

This is Season 4 Episode 1 of MK on the Mic, a podcast dedicated to having conversations relevant to POC communities. I am joined by Monisha Jackson, author of the award winning dissertation ‘“I’m Not your SISTA”: Queer Black Women’s Experiences in LGBTQ+ Night-time Spaces’. This episode was streamed over 250 times on IGTV Find time-stamped topics below: 1:14 Monisha’s research areas 2:02 Some background to her award winning research. Exclusion LGBT clubs and coming out 3:46 Exclusion of queer WOC in LGBTQ+ spaces. Door policies, music etc 8:05 How LGBTQ+ spaces are structured like larger society. Hetero- and homonormativity. The replication of heterosexual ideals by the LGBTQ+ community 12.52 Are LGBTQ+ spaces marketed toward heterosexual people? 18:42 The adoption of Black women’s language and mannerisms by gay white men 30:30 The relationship between colonial rule and homophobia 35:10 Looking practices - being stared at, colonialism, power dynamics, human zoos and entitlement to look at Black bodies 39:15 Decolonising the curriculum at The University of Leeds If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review on the Apple Podcasts app, link: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mk-on-the-mic/id1247260719 Meera's socials:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Monisha’s socials: Insta: www.instagram.com/monishaissano A big thank you to Jai and Victoria for lending me their voices for the episode insert.

This is the final episode of season 3 of MK on the Mic with Meera Kumar. I was joined by Shona Vertue - a world renowned personal trainer and yoga instructor. She has been a huge inspiration to me, both in general life and as a woman of colour in the fitness industry, so it was a massive honour to interview her. We talked about: Being an elite-gymnast from the age of 4 Moving from gymnastics to dance to yoga Quitting her university degree and getting an office job Starting a business without social media Managing her time Social media giving women of colour a platform that may not have been given in traditional media Representation in the fitness industry and whitewashing Self rejecting because you feel that you can’t meet beauty ideals Creating the Vertue Method and writing a book Allostatic load and the ‘no days off’ culture Posture - ‘the only bad posture is the one you’re in too much’ Hydration and caffeination Meera's socials:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Shona’s socials: Website: https://shonavertue.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3_asTSehMF-MbF1cluGCw/videos

In this penultimate episode of season 3 of MK on the Mic with Meera Kumar, I spoke to Vik Kainth. @vikkainth is a digital artist who has brought classical Indian art back with a twist, and it doesn’t get much fresher than his Japanese-Indian fusion of Ganesh (aka Japanesh). Topics include: The value of Art GCSE and A-Level Studying Visual Communication at university Anxiety at university and pressure to get a First The benefits of going to university Is digital art lesser than fine art? Combining Indian culture and Japanese culture in art Culture fusion in art and cultural appropriation Getting art tattooed The legal side of art and having your art copied by other people Receiving backlash over his art Platonic love, breakups, and personal growth Vik’s schedule (or lack of!) The impact of follower counts Having his work made into huge murals in India with Delhi Street Art Diwali and Wallace Gallery Having Lilly Singh and Ice Cube repost his artwork Meera's socials:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar Twitter: www.twitter.com/meeerakumar Podcast: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Vik's socials: Website: https://www.vikkainthart.com/ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/vik.kainth/?hl=en

S3 EP5 On this episode of MK on the Mic with Meera Kumar, South London artist @thefirstsatchit joined me to talk about music. We talked about: Recording his album (a fusion between Indian music and R&B) in India Graduating from Exeter and choosing to pursue music Producing music on a budget Getting a degree and then going into music, or skipping uni Discovering English music in secondary school South Asian artists to support Performing at Native Sounds Reincarnation and the increasing human population Religion and war Meera's socials:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar Podcast: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Satchit's socials: Instagram: http://instagram.com/thefirstsatchit Website: https://www.satchitofficial.com/

S3 EP4: In this episode of MK on the Mic with Meera Kumar, Sejal Sehmi joins me to talk about her career and experiences. We cover a range of topics: Content warning: Sexual abuse/rape/physical abuse/murder Being made redundant, packing up, moving abroad to make a documentary in India about marriage Becoming the UK Editor of Brown Girl Magazine Experiencing hate and receiving death threats on the internet Writing an opinion piece about MJ and R. Kelly for The Independent Domestic and sexual abuse Sexual consent within marriage, virginity and rape Expectations of being married by 25 and interracial relationships Cultural appropriation or appreciation: accessories and deities Meera's socials:
 Insta: www.instagram.com/meerakumar Podcast: 
Insta: www.instagram.com/mkonthemic
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/emkayonthemic Domestic abuse charity insta: www.instagram.com/abuseneverbecomesus Brown Girl Magazine twitter and insta: @ browngirlmag Sejal’s insta: www.instagram.com/sejalsehmi Sejal’s website: www.sejalsehmi.com and www.thedesireads.com