On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Andrew Witt, an art historian and critic who writes on contemporary art. We discuss Andrew’s new work Lost Days, Endless Nights, a critical study and artist's book on the history of photography and film from Los Angeles.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-andrew-witt

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-andrew-witt

Resources:

Andrew Witt: https://www.ici-berlin.org/people/witt/

Lost Days, Endless Nights: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049078/lost-days-endless-nights/

Bio:

Andrew Witt is an art historian and critic who writes on contemporary art. He is currently the 2025–2026 PERICULUM Foundation for Contemporary Art Discourse Fellow. His book "Lost Days, Endless Nights: Photography and Film from Los Angeles" was recently published by MIT Press (2025). Andrew's writing has appeared in Camera Austria, History of Photography, Momus, Oxford Art Journal and Philosophy of Photography. Witt completed his PhD at University College London in 2017 and his MA at UCL in 2010. From 2018 to 2022 he was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Lost Days, Endless Nights — with Andrew Witt” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 26, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-andrew-witt.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Philip Hoffman, a renowned experimental filmmaker. We discuss his journey as an artist, founding the Film Farm, and what it means to work with a focus on process and memory.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-philip-hoffman

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-philip-hoffman

Resources:

Philip Hoffman: https://philiphoffman.ca/

Philip’s Films: https://philiphoffman.ca/filmography/

Film Farm: ​​https://philiphoffman.ca/film-farm/

Bio:

Philip Hoffman has been making art and film for more than 40 years. His recent work explores plant processing of motion picture film. vulture (2019) received the Kodak Cinematic Award from Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Fugas Award at Documenta Madrid. Deep 1 received a Jury Award at Ann Arbor. He has been honored with more than a dozen retrospectives of his work, and the publication Landscape with Shipwreck: First Person Cinema and the Films of Philip Hoffman, comprising some 25 essays by academics and artists. In 2016 Hoffman was awarded the Governor General Award in Media Arts. He currently teaches Process Cinema in York University's MFA in Cinema and Media Arts. philiphoffman.ca

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Of Memory and Association — with Philip Hoffman” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 26, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-philip-hoffman.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal is joined by Kelsey Gallagher, Senior Researcher with Project Ploughshares. They chat about Kelsey’s work with Ploughshares on Canadian arms export control policies, and Bill C-233, or the No More Loopholes Act.

Bill C-233 is a private member’s bill put forward by MP Jenny Kwan to press Canada to abide by the Arms Trade Treaty that it signed in 2019. It is set to be voted on in Parliament at Second Reading in late-February 2026.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-kelsey-gallagher.html

Resources:

Kelsey Gallagher's work with Ploughshares: https://ploughshares.ca/author/kelsey-gallagher/

Ploughshares Report on Bill C-233: https://ploughshares.ca/situating-bill-c-233-within-canadas-arms-control-framework/

Parliamentary Petition on No More Loopholes Act: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6808&fbclid=IwY2xjawPSRrFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKNndhNE1pV0tKTVhCQlRKc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHox9BGh-D98cXXqyy823e2-_3ehTWtk_u1bHQNbpF4E0PwvdRYLwV5BT2on__aem_1GUchewA_DmcwDwE2Gp0Iw

Public Forum on January 30, 2026: https://events.sfu.ca/event/47169-the-no-more-loopholes-act-cleaning-up-the-canadian

Bio:

Kelsey Gallagher is a Senior Researcher with Project Ploughshares, where he focuses on conventional arms controls and the Canadian arms trade. He monitors exports of conventional weapons and their use in conflict abroad, as well as export control policy and transparency.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “No More Loopholes Act — with Kelsey Gallagher.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 12, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-kelsey-gallagher.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal is joined by Dr. Ira Allen, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media Studies at Northern Arizona University. Ira is the author of The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory and Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing. Together, they chat about living in a system of Carbon-Capitalism-Colonialism (or CaCaCo), AI’s disruption to meaning-making, and panicking. Enjoy the episode!

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ira-allen.html

Resources:

Ira J. Allen: https://troubledfreedom.com/

Ira’s CV: https://directory.nau.edu/?person=ia298

The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822965367/

Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing: https://utpress.org/title/panic-now/

Bio:

Dr. Ira Allen (he/him) is Associate Professor of Rhetoric in the Departments of English and of Politics & International Affairs at Northern Arizona University. His scholarship on human meaning-making includes The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory (U Pittsburgh P, 2018), alongside many articles and chapters, and undergirds his inquiry into the AI revolution and other features of polycrisis in Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing (U Tennessee P, 2024). With Scott Sundvall and Caddie Alford, he has a volume exploring our hypermediated and increasingly automated crisis of meaning forthcoming in 2026: Rhetoric Before and Beyond Post-Truth (U Pittsburgh P). Among other topics, Ira teaches undergraduate courses on digital argumentation and graduate courses on #datapolitics and humanizing rhetoric.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Panic Now? — with Ira Allen.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 5, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ira-allen.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Djaka Blais, the Executive Director of Hogan’s Alley Society. Am and Djaka discuss the history and future of the organisation, and its ongoing work in daylighting Black history in Vancouver and beyond.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-djaka-blais

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-djaka-blais

Resources:

Hogan’s Alley Society: https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/

Hogan’s Alley 2024 report: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/654e87e4e6889372eafb1636/t/6776c85dd93b442d0750f334/1735837829981/HAS+-+2024+Final+Year+In+Review-compressed.pdf

Bio:

Djaka Blais (she/her) is a social sector leader with 21 years of experience in philanthropy, government, and community mobilizing. She is a change agent to shift power dynamics and remove oppressive structures within philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. Djaka is the inaugural Executive Director of Hogan’s Alley Society, a Vancouver-based non-profit focused on advancing the social, political, economic, and cultural well-being of people of African descent (Black People) through the delivery of inclusive housing, built spaces, and culturally informed programming. Djaka is a founding Director of the Foundation for Black Communities, the first philanthropic foundation for Black communities in Canada. She is a board member with Philanthropic Foundations Canada and a How Women Lead fellow in their first Black cohort.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “The Future of Hogan's Alley — with Djaka Blais” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, November 12, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-djaka-blais.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Ness Nöst, an independent singer-songwriter. Ness is known for her powerful live performances, and her breakout EP, Working Hours (2024), received international airplay and acclaim.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ness-nost

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-ness-nost

Resources:

Ness Nöst: https://www.nessnostmusic.com/

Ness’ Bandcamp: https://nessnostmusic.bandcamp.com/

Bio:

Ness Nöst is known for her soulful blend of indie folk, jazz, and dark poetic storytelling. Think Joni Mitchell and k.d. lang meets Feist. She is currently working on her debut full-length album following the release of Glimmers (March 2025), her second self-released, self-produced EP. A fully independent artist, Nöst continues to push creative boundaries while integrating themes of women’s rights and advocacy into her music. ​

Her breakout EP, Working Hours (2024), received international airplay, including on London Soho Radio in the UK, and was featured in Exclaim! and RANGE Magazine. Following a Canada-wide tour in 2024, she returned with Glimmers, which has already been featured on CBC Music. She has also collaborated with grassroots organizations such as Good Night Out and #NOTME, using her platform to support workplace safety and harm reduction.

Known for her powerful live performances, Nöst has played over 250 shows across Canada, captivating audiences with her rare ability to connect through music.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “The Regular — with Ness Nöst” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 25, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ness-nost.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Rosemary Georgeson and Jessica Hallenbeck, two artists whose ongoing community engaged collaborative work have produced multiple acclaimed film and research projects.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-rosemary-georgeson-jessica-hallenbeck

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-rosemary-georgeson-jessica-hallenbeck/

Resources:

Lantern Films: https://www.lanternfilms.ca/

Rosemary Georgeson: https://rosemarygeorgeson.wordpress.com/

Jessica and Rosemary’s Research: https://geog.ubc.ca/news/written-out-of-history-restorying-the-archive/

We Have Stories: Women in Fish: https://www.facebook.com/WeHaveStories

The Saltlicks: https://thesaltlicks.bandcamp.com/album/diaries

Bio:

Rosemary Georgeson is a Coast Salish and Sahtu Dene filmmaker and multi-media artist. She was born and raised in the commercial fishing industry, spending the first half of her life fishing around Galiano Island and the Salish Sea, sometimes as far as Prince Rupert. Since leaving the industry, she’s worked in the arts community as a writer, storyteller and researcher. Recognized in 2009 by the Vancouver Mayor’s award for emerging artist and in 2014 as the Vancouver Public Library’s Storyteller in Residence, her work is deeply rooted in her family history on Galiano Island.

Jessica Hallenbeck is a documentary filmmaker, independent scholar and community planner. With an undergraduate degree in media and film from Queen’s University, she has worked in documentary for 20 years. Jessica holds a PhD in Geography from the University of British Columbia and her multimodal research cuts across filmmaking, writing, and exhibitions. Jessica is a Sundance Institute and Chicken and Egg Alumni. Her dissertation (2020) won The Starkey-Robinson Award for graduate research on Canada and is currently under contract with UBC Press. She has been the recipient of multiple Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grants (SSHRC), including the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “We Have Stories — with Rosemary Georgeson and Jessica Hallenbeck — with Rosemary Georgeson and Jessica Hallenbeck” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 14, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-rosemary-georgeson-jessica-hallenbeck.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we are joined by Sadhu Binning, bilingual author, educator, and advocate for Punjabi literature, culture, and language. Sadhu shares stories from his life, and discusses the path to founding arts and cultural collectives in Vancouver in the 80s and 90s.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-sadhu-binning.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-sadhu-binning.html

Resources:

No More Watno Dur: https://www.mawenzihouse.com/product/no-more-watno-dur/

Watan: https://www.watanpunjabi.ca/oct2018/

Bio:

Sadhu Binning, a bilingual teacher, advocate/founder, author, and editor, has lived in Vancouver since 1967, when he migrated there. During his resilient career, he has published and edited over nineteen poetry, fiction, plays, translations, and research books.

His works have been included in more than fifty anthologies both in Punjabi and English. He edited and co-edited the Punjabi magazines Watno Dur and Watan. He co-founded Vancouver Sath, a theatre collective (1983), Ankur, an English literary magazine (1993), and founded the Punjabi Language Education Association and various other literary and cultural organizations, including the Punjabi Literary Association (1973). He has sat on the BC Arts Board, is a central figure in the Punjabi arts community, and was named one of the top 100 South Asians who made a difference in BC.

He has received numerous awards in Canada and Punjab, India, including the supreme nonresident Punjabi author in 2015. Sadhu Binning received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from UBC in 2019.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “No More Watno Dur — with Sadhu Binning.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 21, 2025.. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-sadhu-binning.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Dave Biddle, artist, musician, theorist, and PhD Candidate at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts. Together, they chat about Dave’s research, artistic practice, and rugby. Enjoy the episode!

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-dave-biddle.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-dave-biddle.html

Resources:

Copyright Linda Fox: https://kopyrightlindafox.bandcamp.com/

Dave’s Oasis: https://davesoasis.cargo.site/

Liquidation World: https://www.instagram.com/liquidationw0rld/?hl=en

Bio:

Dave Biddle (being me) is a musician (being Copyright Linda Fox), a theorist (being susceptible to gnosis), and a filmmaker (being quick to tell you about his new "script").

He (still being me) is interested in how the many different forms of life on earth (being metaphorically different) are all oriented toward the production of new expressions of meaning (being negentropic), and in this process some of those expressions emerge as something called an "artist bio" (being the ultimate expression).

Dave Biddle (being the artist whose bio is in question) was born in Vancouver (being the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations) and he continues to live in that (being this) strange place where he studies the silverfish in his books (being being).

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “M.I.T.C.O.E. — with Dave Biddle.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 21, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-dave-biddle.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Johan Grimonprez, a Belgian multimedia artist, filmmaker, and curator whose film Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 97th Academy Awards. Am and Johan discuss Johan’s past video work, and what Johan discovered along the way in creating and sharing Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-johan-grimonprez

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-johan-grimonprez

Resources:

Johan Grimonprez: https://www.johangrimonprez.be/

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat: https://kinolorber.com/film/soundtrack-to-a-coup-d-etat

Vancouver International Film Festival: https://viff.org/

Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y: https://vimeo.com/231411671

Bio:

Who owns our imagination in a world of existential vertigo where truth has become a shipwrecked refugee? Is it the storyteller who can contain contradictions, who can slip between the languages we have been given to become a time-traveler of the imagination? Johan Grimonprez’s critically acclaimed work dances on the borders of theory and practice, between art and cinema, beyond the dualisms of documentary and fiction, other and self, mind and brain to weave new pathways and stories, emphasizing a multiplicity of realities. Informed by an archeology of present-day media, his work depicts intimate stories that brush up against the bigger picture of globalization. It questions our collective imagination and the contemporary sublime, one framed by a fear industry that has infected political and social dialogue.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat — with Johan Grimonprez” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 14, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-johan-grimonprez.html.