Ep 77: Belonging, Identity and Seeing Australia Differently: Tyree Barnette with Stolen Man on Stolen Land

What does it mean to build a home in a country that isn't your own? In this episode of Between The Lines, we're joined by author Tyree Barnette to discuss his powerful memoir, Stolen Man on Stolen Land. After moving from North Carolina to Sydney, Tyree expected Australia to be familiar enough to feel like home. Instead, he found himself seeing both countries through a completely new lens. As a Black American living in Australia, he reflects on migration, race, belonging and identity with remarkable honesty, curiosity and compassion. Rather than offering easy answers, Tyree invites readers to sit with complexity. He shares what surprised him most about Australian culture, the similarities and differences between race relations in Australia and the United States, and how learning about Indigenous Australian history transformed his understanding of the country he now calls home. At its heart, Stolen Man on Stolen Land is a deeply personal story about leaving one home, finding another, and recognising that identity is shaped not only by where we come from, but by how willing we are to listen, learn and grow. In this episode we discuss: Tyree's journey from North Carolina to Sydney The joys and challenges of migration Race, identity and belonging across two countries Learning about Australia's Indigenous history The complexity of comparing Australia and the United States Why curiosity and empathy are more powerful than certainty Writing memoir with honesty, vulnerability and humour Finding home while holding space for difficult conversations This is a thoughtful conversation about identity, perspective and what happens when we begin to see both ourselves and our country through someone else's eyes.