E4 Institutional Funding & Editorial Freedom

Institutional funding can open doors — but who controls the story once you walk through them? Host Mere Nailatikau (Vosa S2) brings together Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson (An Impossible Choice), Neisau Tuidraki, and the Mama Ts — Katrina Ma'u Fatiaki and Talita Tu'ipulotu-Kefu (Vosa S3) — for a talanoa about the realities of collaborating with institutions like The Guardian and the World Bank while keeping Pacific voices, values, and editorial freedom at the centre. They share the negotiations, the pushback, and the moments where holding the line mattered. Essential listening for anyone navigating the space between funding and authenticity.

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Between the Waves is co-created by Mere Nailatikau, Elvina Ogil, Kalani Reyes, Arieta Tora Rika, Neisau Tuidraki and Heather Jarvis, as part of doctoral research supported by the University of Tasmania.

It is recorded and published from the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, in Naarm (Melbourne) Australia, and we pay our respects to Elders, Past and Present.

Our theme music is by Tropic Thunda. and graphic design by Kitiana of Dua Studio.