Black Magic Woman with Mundanara Bayles cover art

Black Magic Woman with Mundanara Bayles

Black Magic Woman with Mundanara Bayles

By: Mundanara Bayles
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Hosted by Mundanara Bayles who was born and raised in Redfern (Sydney) Australia and currently lives in Queensland. The Black Magic Woman Podcast is an uplifting conversational style program featuring mainly First Nations people from Australia and around the world sharing their stories about their journey to highlight the diversity amongst First Nations peoples and the resilience of her people. She hopes these stories inspire her listeners and also create a better understanding of what First Nations Peoples culture and history.

Mundanara is guided by Aboriginal Terms of Reference and focusses more on who people are rather than on what they do. Mundanara makes people feel relaxed and comfortable as if they were sitting around the kitchen table just having a yarn. It’s the way First Nations people have been building relationships and getting to know each other for tens of thousands of years. She draws from a long family history in the media industry and has grown up in culturally strong, politically active family who have been at the forefront of the Aboriginal Rights movement since the 1960’s.

Mundanara sees this platform as an opportunity to share her cultural knowledge and insights to her audience in a non confrontational way that brings people along with her to create change for a better Australia. To connect more with Mundanara check out the work she does with her elders at www.theblackcard.com.au

If you'd like to support the show by making a financial contribution, visit www.theblackcard.com.au Any help is appreciated and goes a long way. I encourage to get behind any First Nations media, contribute, share and be apart of positive change that Australia needs.

2026 Mundanara Bayles Economics Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • I Discovered Less Than 2% of Native Food Businesses Are Indigenous-Owned. So I Built One.

    I Discovered Less Than 2% of Native Food Businesses Are Indigenous-Owned. So I Built One.
    Jun 23 2026

    She left a high-flying career at Google to start a drinks company. Three years later, she's on shelves at Dan Murphy's, on Amazon, and secured a $125,000 investment from a Shark Tank judge.

    Tara Croker is a proud Wiradjuri woman and founder of Yaala Sparkling, an Indigenous-owned beverage company using native Australian botanicals to create premium alcohol-free drinks. In this yarn, Tara opens up about the moment she realised the native food industry was worth billions and Indigenous people made up almost none of the ownership, and how that became the fire behind her business.

    She talks candidly about the highs and lows of building something from scratch, the mentors who believed in her before she believed in herself, and her Shark Tank journey from application to deal. It's a conversation about purpose, resilience, and backing yourself.

    Resources and Links
    Yaala Sparkling: yaalasparkling.com

    Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

    Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

    If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

    Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • Bush Foods, Healing, and the Fight to Keep Culture on the Table.

    Bush Foods, Healing, and the Fight to Keep Culture on the Table.
    Jun 9 2026

    In this yarn, I sit down with Sharon Winsor, a proud Ngemba Weilwan woman from Western NSW and the founder of Indigiearth, one of Australia's most awarded Aboriginal-owned businesses. For 30 years Sharon has been sharing First Nations food, knowledge, and culture with the world, not from ambition, but from a deep connection to Country and a knowing that this knowledge belongs to all of us.

    We talk about building a business from scratch, the fight to keep culture at the centre of an industry that has largely shut First Nations people out, and why less than 2% of Australia's native food industry is owned by First Nations people. We also get into the moment Sharon nearly skipped an awards night and ended up winning the Bill Granger Trailblazer Award without knowing she was even nominated.

    Resources and Links

    Indigiearth: www.indigiearth.com.au Australian Native Food Festival at Carriageworks: https://carriageworks.com.au/events/australian-native-food-festival/ Support First Nations businesses: www.supplynation.org.au

    Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

    Follow us on Instagram - @blackmagicwomanpodcast

    If you enjoyed this episode, please ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts or ‘Follow’ on your Spotify app and tell your friends and family about us! If you’d like to contact us, please email, info@blackmagicwoman.com.au

    Black Magic Woman is produced by BlakCast.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • How Walkabout Barber Brian Dowd is Creating Safe Spaces for Men to Speak Up

    How Walkabout Barber Brian Dowd is Creating Safe Spaces for Men to Speak Up
    May 26 2026

    In this episode of Mental Fitness Conversations, host Mundanara Bales sits down with proud Gamilaraay man, founder of Walkabout Barber and community wellbeing advocate Brian Dowd for a deeply honest yarn about mental fitness, identity, vulnerability and the power of truly listening to people.

    Known to many as “The Walkabout Barber”, Brian shares how a simple haircut can become something much bigger, a moment where people feel safe enough to open up, be heard and feel seen beyond the surface. Through Walkabout Barber and the Walkabout Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation, Brian is creating spaces where conversations happen naturally, stigma is broken down and people are supported to help themselves.

    Together, Brian and Mundanara explore what it means to look after people, especially young people, by giving them a voice, listening without judgement and helping build the confidence to feel comfortable in their own skin. Brian speaks powerfully about “wearing two uniforms in life”, reminding listeners that the most important one is the skin you wake up in every day.

    Brian also opens up about fatherhood, supporting his autistic son and caring for his mother after her stroke. His reflections on grief, purpose, vulnerability and community are raw, compassionate and deeply human.

    This episode is a reminder that everyone’s story is worthwhile, everyone matters and sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is stop, listen and ask someone if they’re okay.

    Resources and links
    Find out more about Gotcha4Life at www.gotcha4life.org and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @gotcha4life and on Instagram @blackmagicwomanpodcast.

    Follow the Walkabout Barber on Instagram @walkaboutbarber

    About the podcast
    Hosted by award-winning Indigenous businesswoman and Gotcha4Life Board Member Mundanara Bayles, and produced in partnership with Black Magic Woman, Mental Fitness Conversations centres First Nations voices in powerful conversations about culture, connection and what truly sustains mental fitness.

    Content note
    This episode includes discussion of mental health challenges which may be confronting. Please practise self-care and reach out if you need support. Services available 24/7 include 13YARN on 13 92 76 and Lifeline on 13 11 14.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
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