Writer, Host and Executive Producer
Rowdie Walden is an award-winning First Nations Australian TV Host, writer, producer and podcaster. He is the creator and host of the podcast Search Engine Sex (2020), which looks to answer the most searched sex and relationship questions and can currently be heard exclusively on Spotify. Search Engine Sex went on to win the Best Sex & Relationships podcast at the 2020 Australian Podcast Awards. In 2022 he produced and hosted the podcast Look at Moi.
Rowdie first appeared on TV in 2015 with a 6-episode popsci miniseries for ABC iView called Nano. The success of the show led to the commission of his second series on ABC and iView, Rowdie’s Chemical Romance (2017), a 5-part series which saw him (attempt to) use science to find love. He has also made appearances on various TV shows, including Channel Ten, ABC, and SBS. Rowdie has been a guest on Channel 10's Cram hosted by Peter Helliar, appeared in the Top 40 Eurovision Controversies special on SBS, and worked as a social writer and producer for The Weekly on the ABC.
Recently, Rowdie has been working as a producer and writer on ABC’s Art Works and contributing to the network's coverage of Mardi Gras (2022, 2023) and ABC 90 Celebrate! (2022) events. He was also a producer and writer for the inaugural First & Forever music festival (2022), NITV’s 10th anniversary special From The Heart of Our Nation: A Celebration (2022) and Executive Producer on ABC’s National NAIDOC Week Awards Ceremony (2023).
Culture is shaped by the stories we watch and share, on screen, on socials and beyond. But who gets the spotlight, and who’s still missing, reveals how far we still have to go. From reality TV to mainstream entertainment, representation across diverse communities remains uneven, often simplified, overlooked or misunderstood. This session explores the realities of representation, the progress made, the barriers that remain, and why visibility matters. Bringing together lived experience and industry perspective, we’ll unpack how the industry can move beyond performative inclusion to build a more authentic, expansive and representative media landscape.
