On Being Biracial

Daralyse Lyons & Malcolm Burnley
  • 5.0 (8)
  • DOCUMENTARY
  • SERIES

On Being Biracial amplifies the voices of multiethnic people of a variety of ages and backgrounds, centering their shared experiences as well as their inherent diversity. By creating nuanced and multidimensional conversations about a wide range of topics, this audio-journalistic initiative seeks to tell stories that demonstrate the diversity of biracial identity and experience. Each episode weaves together a variety of voices and perspectives about a theme. To learn more about the podcast, visit onbeingbiracial.com.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    Ep. 1: This Mixed Identity Thing

    In this season's first episode of the On Being Biracial podcast, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley discuss the major themes, throughlines and frameworks derived from our 30 interviews about the multiracial experience, while introducing listeners to many of the voices you'll hear throughout the season. In this episode, you will learn: Why identifying with one race, rather than multiple, remains the norm for the majority of multiracial people in the United States. How people who come from multiracial ancestral backgrounds choose to identify in a variety of ways, for a variety of reasons, and why those identities typically change over the course of their lives. How stereotypes about mixed people are perpetuated and manipulated by people outside of the experience. How binary categories of race influence feelings of belonging for multiracial people in various contexts. Why issues of belonging, identity, family, and more can be layered in complicated ways for multiracial individuals. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: This Mixed Identity Thing - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - https://resolvephilly.org/PJC Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com And, for more content referenced in this episode from our hosts and guests on these topics, please check out the following links: Daralyse's Demystifying Diversity Podcast: Demystifying Diversity - Biraciality Daralyse's TEDx talk: Black or White? Refusing to Choose & Embracing Biracial Identity W. Kamau Bell's 1000% Me Charlotte Gill's Almost Brown John Blake's More Than I Imagined Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other

    58 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Ep. 2 - "What Are You?"

    In the second episode of this season on the On Being Biracial podcast, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley dissect the psychological, social, and physiological impact of multiracial people's repeated exposure to the “What Are You?” question. It's one of the most common experiences amongst multiracial people, and also one of the more divisive. In this episode, you will learn: How questioning someone's racial identity can lead to negative health outcomes, both mental and physical, for those being questioned. Why the U.S. census was originally set up to reinforce racial binaries and how recent changes have worked to undo that, expanding the possibilities for multiracial identification. Experiences of what it's like to have others question, scrutinize, or undermine your racial identity based on their own assumptions. How the “What Are You?” question can have a lifelong impact on belonging, self-advocacy, and mental health. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: “What Are You?” - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content referenced in this episode from our hosts and guests on these topics, please check out the following links: Daralyse's TEDx talk: Black or White? Refusing to Choose & Embracing Biracial Identity Malcolm's Philly Mag essay W. Kamau Bell's 1000% Me Charlotte Gill's Almost Brown John Blake's More Than I Imagined Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other Barbara Idalissee Abadia-Rexach's research: SFSU

    1h 12m

  3. EPISODE 3

    Ep. 3: Unfixed

    In the third episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley and their guests answer an essential question for multiracial people: Is our racial identity fixed, or is it fluid? In this episode, you will learn: Why the U.S. Census and other demographers are carefully embracing mixed-race or multiracial options in the racial data gathered in surveys. How group-identity categorization within the queer community has provided a helpful framework for many mixed-race people to understand their racial identity. Why identity suppression, denial, and restriction by society can harm multiracial individuals and others. What sociological research confirms about the fluidity of identity labels among multiracial people. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Ep. 3 - Unfixed - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org/pjc Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content referenced in this episode from our hosts and guests on these topics, please check out the following links: Bad at Sports Podcast, featuring Gregg Bordowitz and David Getsy John Blake's More Than I Imagined Mark Hugo Lopez & Pew's Multiracial in America Survey Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other Rachael Go's The Mix'd Movement Podcast W. Kamau Bell's 1000% Me Charlotte Gill's Almost Brown

    1h 10m

  4. EPISODE 4

    Ep 4 - Privileges & Pressures

    In the fourth episode of this season's On Being Biracial podcast, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley dive into the intersections of both school and the workplace and mixed-race identity. How do those spaces change the ways we understand and express ourselves, for better and for worse? In this episode, you will learn: How the education system reinforces racial segregation and white supremacy, and how that legacy has a particular impact on multiracial students. Why the harm of erasing access to an ancestral language can be a violent experience for multiracial people. How multiracial kids learn differently than monoracial youth, according to research from social scientists. How school, from kindergarten to college, can be a space for claiming racial identities but also for experiencing alienation from racial peers. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Ep. 4 - Privileges and Pressures - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content referenced in this episode from our hosts and guests on these topics, please check out the following links: Daralyse and Azaria's Podcast Episode Demystifying Diversity - Moving Beyond Biases QA John Blake's More Than I Imagined

    1h 10m

  5. EPISODE 5

    Ep. 5 - Outsider Things

    In the fifth episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley discuss the familiar feeling of being too much of one thing, not enough of another in the eyes of others, and the ways biracial people can find belonging and authenticity despite these experiences. In this episode, you will learn: How many biracial people with white ancestors seek to acknowledge their privileges while simultaneously maintaining a group identity with their minority race(s). Why belonging can sometimes feel attainable for biracial people and, other times, seem fleeting or elusive. Why access to spaces is not always synonymous with inclusion. The essential role that college can play in fostering holistic expression and belonging among mixed people. How outsider experiences within family can be a particularly hard, if not common, experience for multiracial people. Why code-switching and other forms of identity-signaling can be acts of vitality for multiracial people. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Outsider Things - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content about topics referenced in this episode, please check out the following links: Mat Johnson's Loving Day: A Novel WURD Segment with Daralyse & Malcolm NPR Story: Understanding Multiracial Whiteness And Trump Supporters Daralyse and Azaria's Podcast Demystifying Diversity, Season 3 John Blake's More Than I Imagined Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other

    1h 3m

  6. EPISODE 6

    Ep. 6 - The Way I Make Sense of the World

    In the sixth episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley interrogate the artistic and cultural representations of the biracial experience, both those created by mixed people and those created to make a point about them, ranging from 19th century novels to actors wrestling with race in their roles today. In this episode, you will learn: How our mainstream culture is rapidly embracing more nuanced representations of multiracial issues and narratives, including through children's books and television. How historical stereotypes of biracial people have been driven and defined by monoracial people, and how some of those stereotypes still persist. About actors' attempts to navigate assumptions about their own race and their ability to portray characters based on the biases and assumptions of directors and producers. The negative impact of language education and speech pathology on some multiracial youth, stripping them of connections to their ancestral cultures. Why podcasts (like this one!) are proving to be a place for the formation of group identity among biracial people, which has been previously denied to us. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Ep. 6 "The Way I Make Sense of the World" - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content about topics referenced in this episode, please check out the following links: Barbara Idalissee Abadia-Rexach's Negras Podcast Rachael Go's The Mix'd Movement Podcast Mixed, a documentary Youth Voices Episode of On Being Biracial Daralyse and Azaria's Podcast Demystifying Diversity, Season 3 John Blake's More Than I Imagined Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other

    1h 21m

  7. EPISODE 7

    Ep. 7 - Your Hair Is Not A Threat

    In the seventh episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley examine how skin color and visible appearances impact the lives of multiracial individuals. This installment delves into colorism, passing, privileges, hair, identity, and assimilation as they pertain to being mixed. In this episode, you will learn: What researchers have studied about multiracial hair, including the stress and anxiety that can come with negative hair experiences in a developmental age. Why aspects of our appearances — including hair, jewelry, and clothing — can be a way to signal group identity, and minimize ambiguity, for mixed people. How a mixed person's pigmentation and proximity to whiteness can provide certain advantages and privileges for biracial people, while also bringing about pains and anxieties. How siblings can have vastly different experiences solely on the basis of things like hair tone or skin color while sharing the same biracial heritage. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Ep. 7 “Your hair is not a threat”- Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content about topics referenced in this episode, please check out the following links: Daralyse's Demystifying Diversity Podcast - Biraciality Malcolm's Philly Mag essay Rachael Go's The Mix'd Movement Podcast Youth Voices: IDENTITY Episode of On Being Biracial Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other

    1h 26m

  8. EPISODE 8

    Ep. 8 - Identity Amputated

    In the eighth episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley look at the families we're born into and brought into as biracial people, and why those relationships can sometimes be trickier to navigate. In this episode, you will learn: How some multiracial households are at greater risk for instability than their monoracial counterparts, while others can be havens for inclusion. Why hope can be found in the progress of race relations within multiracial families, even while it can feel elusive on a societal scale. How multiracial relationships and families test relationships with one's extended family members. How racist stereotypes about interracial families were used in recent history to justify policies and social conditions that kept Black people suppressed and segregated. Why intergenerational households can be prone to silence, distance, bigotry and hypocrisy. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Identity Amputated - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content about topics referenced in this episode, please check out the following links: WURD Segment with Daralyse & Malcolm Rachael Go's The Mix'd Movement Podcast John Blake's More Than I Imagined Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other W. Kamau Bell's 1000% Me Malcolm's Philly Mag essay on fatherhood Charlotte Gill's Almost Brown

    1h 39m

  9. EPISODE 9

    Ep. 9 - They're Gonna Be Loved

    In the ninth episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley explore “families of choice” for biracial people — the relationships, romantic and platonic, which they pursue and nurture over the course of their lives. They discuss topics including dating, parenting and friendship. In this episode, you will learn: About personal experiences that align with statistics suggesting multiracial people are more likely to have racially diverse friend groups. How mixed individuals frequently experience unwanted exotification or outright racism while dating. The importance of acknowledging race and racism in interracial relationships in order for mixed people to feel connected and whole. Why some biracial people view race as central to the choices of who to date, while for others it's less important; meanwhile, research suggests mixed people are more likely to find romantic partners who are mixed. How relationships built between multiracial people can allow for special growth, leading to feelings of connectivity and affirmation, while providing space for unlearning internalized biases. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: Ep. 9 - They Will Be Loved - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content about topics referenced in this episode, please check out the following links: Youth Voices: IDENTITY Episode of On Being Biracial Youth Voices: CULTURE Episode of On Being Biracial Youth Voices: BELONGING Episode of On Being Biracial Rachael Go's The Mix'd Movement Podcast Sarah Gaither's eye-tracking study Beverly Daniel Tatum's “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

    1h 22m

  10. EPISODE 10

    Ep. 10 - A Patchwork Quilt of Belonging

    In the tenth and final episode of On Being Biracial, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley interview each other about their reflections on the season and what they've learned as well as what's in store for multiracial people in America in the future. In this episode, you will learn: How this project affirmed, altered, and challenged the hosts' understanding of their own racial identities and assumptions about the mixed experience. What some of the hosts' favorite parts of the season were, along with moments (and outtakes) that didn't make it into the first nine episodes. How this season's interviews with adults compared to the youth voices pilot episodes. What we think will change -- or not -- during the next 30 years of discourse about being biracial. This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez. Click here for a transcript of the episode: A Patchwork Quilt of Belonging - Transcript Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com Buy us a coffee: Buy Us A Coffee Our partners include: WURD Radio - wurdradio.com Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com For more content about topics referenced in this episode, please check out the following links: Youth Voices: IDENTITY Episode of On Being Biracial Daralyse's Demystifying Diversity Podcast - Biraciality Malcolm's Philly Mag essay: My Biracial Life: A Memoir John Blake's More Than I Imagined Mat Johnson's Loving Day: A Novel

    49 min
See All Season 2 (10)

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

On Being Biracial amplifies the voices of multiethnic people of a variety of ages and backgrounds, centering their shared experiences as well as their inherent diversity. By creating nuanced and multidimensional conversations about a wide range of topics, this audio-journalistic initiative seeks to tell stories that demonstrate the diversity of biracial identity and experience. Each episode weaves together a variety of voices and perspectives about a theme. To learn more about the podcast, visit onbeingbiracial.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Daralyse Lyons & Malcolm Burnley
  • Episodes
    13
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 by Daralyse Lyons & Malcolm Burnley
  • Show Website
    On Being Biracial