Multicultural program 'alchemy' as a radio laboratory: ideas about cross-cultural dialogue

Our times are characterised by intensified interconnectedness and interaction between different socio-political systems, complex flows of migration, and fluid identities. Radio stations have to re-invent themselves to accommodate these dynamics; they face the challenge of fragmentation and new possibilities for creative combination. Considering a youth multicultural program 'Alchemy' as a model of radio laboratory, I demonstrate the ways in which its hybrid content provides a forum for staging cultural pluralism and new forms of cross-cultural engagement with and amongst audiences. Some recommendations are proposed to assist SBS Radio in responding to the changing Australian social fabric in line with its multicultural public mandate.