Podcast of the Week: What Would The Aunties Say? with Anchal Seda

by Daniel Falconer | 25 January 2021

Anchal Seda hosts the What Would The Aunties Say? podcast / Picture Credit: Michaela Tornaritis

After a short break, we’ve brought back our Podcast of the Week series and this Monday, we’re spotlighting one of our new favourites!

What Would The Aunties Say? was launched back in November 2020 on all major platforms, and the series has already trended on Spotify's chart, which we're sure is down to incredible host Anchal Seda.

The British-Indian beauty sensation enjoys a following on Instagram of over 110,000, so if she looks familiar, you’ve likely seen her sharing posts, testing products and recommending regimes over on the social media platform!

Aimed at 'brown girls' in the UK who find their lives held back because of their culture, the podcast explores and explores the toxic gossip and reputation culture that is often an instrumental part of the 'brown community'.

Chatting about the podcast, Anchal said: "I'm so happy to share with you the issues that brown girls in the UK face, both from my own experiences and my many special guests.

“From the different ways in which the brown female community experiences mental health, the toxic beauty standards, sexism and racism within our own culture - I want to speak through my own experiences of how to tackle those and overcome that fear of what the aunties will say whilst we do it!”

Those aforementioned guests include Dr Vanita Rattan who discusses the dangers of growing up around projected forms of Colourism; Instagram HBIC Sebina who chats about balancing being a Westernised social media sensation versus the 'traditional brown girl'; and the founder of the Pink Ladoo Project, Raj, to shine a light on gender inequality within the South Asian community.

Of course, anybody can invite a bunch of people on a show and have a chat with them. But it’s the instant putting-at-ease of her guests that makes this podcast such a worthwhile listen. We wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Anchal on the small screen hosting her own chat show or something similar in the near-future.

In saying that, What Would The Aunties Say? is definitely something we can see being brought to the live stage. Once our incompetent British government finally gets a handle on the coronavirus pandemic, we’re sure Anchal and the team behind the podcast will be thinking about all avenues; and we’ve got our fingers crossed that live shows are top of the list!

Picture Credit: Michaela Tornaritis

Anchal felt herself evolving and leaving her traditional culture behind from a young age. She was constantly torn between being her true self and pleasing those around her, quickly questioning the status quo and the pre-constructed path laid out in front of her and other 'brown girls’.

Why were the births of girls in her culture not being celebrated, but the boys were? Why does she still fear judgement from the aunties at age 29? And why were aunties encouraging her and her fellow 'brown girls' to bleach their skin? These were just three of the questions she wanted answers to and now, with this podcast series, she’s able to freely explore the answers and destroy the taboo.

Listen and follow Anchal on her socials below: