Uncle Charles Pakana
Presents The Mission
Exploring the issues that impact the lives of Aboriginal people and those at the wrong end of social justice in this country.
How and when did you first connect with Triple R?
November 2024, when I started sitting in for The Mission for an extended period.
What does Triple R mean to you?
In a single word - progressive. I really appreciate being able to share the First Nations current affairs content that means so much to so many Victorians; and the general Triple R audience responds so incredibly positively!
What's your favourite Triple R story?
That’s gotta be sitting in with Casey Benetto on Superfluity one evening when he was about to go solo for the show. An amazing opportunity to share a studio with an incredible fella.
Describe your happy place
I actually have two happy places. The first is sitting back in my van - my full-time home - and playing pretty well any Zelda game on my Nintendo Switch. The other is being in a radio broadcasting studio.
The studio door has accidentally jammed shut with you stuck inside. If there was only one album in there with you, what would you want it to be, and why?
Ah, this will show my age and my preference in music. It would have to be The Beach Boys’ 11th album, Pet Sounds (damn, I hope there’s a copy somewhere in the station). Why? Simple. Released in 1966 and produced primarily by genius Brian Wilson, it delivered an entirely new standard in musical production, even inspiring - according to Paul McCartney - that incredible album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It took Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound to another level and lyrically, it pushed pop music into new areas.

