Below the Radar

On this episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series our host Am Johal speaks with public health practitioner, activist and LGBTQ community leader Michael Roberson. They talk about how to read the current political times.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/60-michael-roberson.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/60-michael-roberson.html

Bio:

Michael Roberson created The Federation of Ballroom Houses, co-created the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Group and the nationally diffused CDC behavioral change HIV prevention intervention “Many Men, Many Voices.” Currently, he consults for several national community-based organizations focused on HIV clinical trial/biomedical and evidence-based interventions. He is also invested in national community capacity building and mobilization strategies designed to combat the disproportionate health disparities impacting both the black gay and black/Latino LGBT house ball communities. Michael co-teaches a course on the history of the house/ball community at New School University (New York), is a member of Ultra-red, and is the Scholar in Residence for the Center for Race, Religion and Economic Democracy (CRRED) at Union Theological Seminary. Michael earned Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees from Union Theological Seminary.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Pandemic Conversations: Reading the Political Moment — with Michael Roberson.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, July 10, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/60-michael-roberson.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal speaks with Louise Schwarz, founder and co-owner of Recycling Alternatives. Am and Louise talk about the cultural shift surrounding recycling from 1989, when Recycling Alternatives was founded, and today. They also discuss the future of recycling and waste management, and what policies might help keep more waste out of landfills.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/59-louise-schwarz.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/59-louise-schwarz.html

You can learn more about Recycling Alternatives here:

https://recyclingalternative.com/

Bio:

Louise Schwarz grew up in Vancouver and studied Political Science, Spanish Literature, and Education. Before her trash-busting days, Louise attended school in Mexico, lived in Italy for 3 yrs and spent 5 years teaching middle school in Edinburgh. Off the trash-busting tracks, Louise hits a mean backhand, sings soul gospel, paints ceramics, and possesses an exaggerated predilection for trash-talking. Louise Schwarz sits on a number of community boards including the Cultch, Our Social Fabric, the National Zero Waste Council, and the advisory of the Downtown Community Court. In May 2012 she received the ‘Woman of Distinction Award’ for her work in environment and sustainability. Recognized nationally as one of Canada’s most prestigious awards for women, the Women of Distinction Awards honours women whose outstanding achievements contribute to the well-being and future of our community. In 2013 Louise was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by local MLA Libby Davies.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. The Garbage Queen — with Louise Schwarz.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, July 7, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/59-louise-schwarz.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal and guest host Fiorella Pinillos are joined by carla bergman, an independent scholar, filmmaker and producer. Alongside videomaker Corin Browne, carla is the co-director of EMMA Talks, a mini-art-festival and speaker’s series by women. With Nick Montgomery, she is the co-author of Joyful Militancy: Building Thriving Resistance in Toxic Times. Recently, through TouchWood Editions, carla published Radiant Voices, a collection of essays inspired by EMMA Talks. Am, Fiorella and carla chat about previous projects such as the Purple Thistle Institute and EMMA Talks, as well as some upcoming projects in the works.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/58-carla-bergman.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/58-carla-bergman.html

You can learn more about EMMA Talks here:

http://emmatalks.org/

Bio:

carla bergman is an independent scholar, filmmaker, and budding poet. She is the co-author of Joyful Militancy (AK Press) and edited Radiant Voices: 21 Feminist Essays for Rising Up (TouchWood Editions). carla is currently working on a book called Trust Kids! (AK Press, 2021). Most recently, she has had the privilege to be part of an international collective, colectiva sembrar, who together edited the new book, Pandemic Solidarity: Mutual Aid During Covid-19 (Pluto Press, June 2020). carla spends much of her time capturing beauty with a camera, and walking with her partner, kids, and friends on Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Musqueam Lands (Vancouver, BC).

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am, and Pinillos, Fiorella. “A Joyful Militant — with carla bergman.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 30, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/58-carla-bergman.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, we are joined by Janice Abbott, the CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society. Our office’s Program Assistant Paige Smith sits down with Janice to discuss how the pandemic has affected the work of Atira in combatting violence against women. Janice discusses the many diverse initiatives Atira has, including their popup refuge SisterSquare for women in the Downtown Eastside, their expansive housing support systems, and their new safety protocols. With reports indicating an increase to support lines for women experiencing violence, Janice also provides tips for what we can all do to support each other during these times.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/57-janice-abbott.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/57-janice-abbott.html

You can learn more about Atira at www.atira.bc.ca

Bio:

Janice Abbott has been the CEO of Atira Women's Resource Society since 1992 during which time she has led the Society through its incredible growth from a single transition house located south of Vancouver with a staff of seven, to a large multi-service agency with two, for-profit subsidiaries, development and arts arms, and more than 900 staff. Throughout Atira’s herstory, Janice has championed barrier-free and low-barrier access to programs and services for women, ensuring Atira’s programs are accessible to all women affected by violence including women who have traditionally been marginalized by mainstream society. She developed and works to honour in her daily practice and in her life Atira’s anti-oppression framework.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Smith, Paige. “Pandemic Conversations: Advocating for Women During COVID-19 — with Janice Abbott.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 25, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/57-janice-abbott.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal and guest host Rachel Wong are joined by Jackie Wong. Jackie currently is the Director of Communications and Race Equity Project Director at Hua Foundation and is a long-time collaborator and friend of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Together, they talk about Jackie’s past work as a journalist, the current work that she does in Chinatown with regards to decolonization and working with youth, and how her different experiences have shaped her approach to the work and research she does.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/56-jackie-wong.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/56-jackie-wong.html

You can learn more about Hua Foundation by checking out their website, https://huafoundation.org.

Bio:

Jackie Wong lives with her small family on unceded Coast Salish homelands. She is part of the staff leadership team of hua foundation, a youth empowerment non-profit working on racial equity and civic engagement issues. She is a longtime friend and collaborator of SFU's Vancity Office of Community Engagement, particularly through her former work as a founding co-facilitator of its Community Journalism 101 program, which is stewarded by Megaphone, where she used to work. She has a background in journalism and has written about housing justice, drug policy, and equity issues for The Tyee, Maisonneuve, and publications across North America. In addition to her current work with hua foundation, Jackie maintains an independent practice as a facilitator, editor, and writer. She looks forward to teaching again in SFU’s Semester in Dialogue program in summer 2021.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am and Wong, Rachel. “Working in Community — with Jackie Wong.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 23, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/56-jackie-wong.html.

On this special edition of Below the Radar, guest host Tiffany Muller Myrdahl (SFU Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies and SFU Urban Studies) interviews Brett Stoudt. Brett came to Vancouver in early 2020 to give a workshop on participatory action research based on the work and research that he does at the City University of New York. In this episode, Tiffany and Brett talk about what participatory action research is, the Public Science Project and Morris Justice Project, and what it means to do research with and for the community rather than on it.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/55-tiffany-muller-myrdahl-brett-stoudt.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/55-tiffany-muller-myrdahl-brett-stoudt.html

Learn more about the projects that Tiffany and Brett discuss here:

Public Science Project: https://publicscienceproject.org/

Morris Justice Project: http://morrisjustice.org/

Learn more about SFU's Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERi) here: https://sfu.ca/ceri.html

Take a listen back to our interview with Tiffany Muller Myrdahl on her work and research here: https://soundcloud.com/sfu_voce/btr-episode-35-tiffany-muller-myrdahl

Bio:

Brett G. Stoudt, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Doctoral Program at the City University of New York, Graduate Center where he heads the Ph.D. program in Critical Social/Personality and Environmental Psychology. Dr. Stoudt has worked on numerous participatory action research projects with community groups, lawyers, and policy-makers nationally and internationally. His interests include the social psychology of privilege and oppression as well as the human impact of the criminal justice system. He is also interested in critical methodologies, particularly critical approaches to quantitative research. Dr. Stoudt’s work has been published in volumes such as Geographies of Privilege as well as journals such as The Journal of Social Issues. He is the recipient of The Michele Alexander Early Career Award for Scholarship and Service from The Society for the Psychology Study of Social Issues. He has also received the Haupert Humanitarian Award from Moravian College and, with his participatory collective, received the Truth to Power Award for Excellence in Collaborative Research from the Education Node of the Urban Research-Based Action Network. Dr. Stoudt is currently the Associate Director of the Public Science Project. He is also actively involved with Communities United for Police Reform as a steering committee member.

Tiffany Muller Myrdahl is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and the Urban Studies Program at Simon Fraser University on unceded Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw, Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilwətaɁɬ), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territory, Vancouver, Canada. She completed a master’s in public policy, followed by a doctorate in geography with a certificate in feminist studies from the University of Minnesota. Her research examines urban inequalities and inclusion strategies, especially those targeting LGBTQ2S people and women. She serves on the board of Women in Cities International, a Montreal-based NGO focused on enabling all self-identified women and girls to lead in the creation of safe, inclusive, and equitable cities and communities.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Myrdahl, Tiffany. “Research in the Service of Community — with Tiffany Muller Myrdahl and Brett Stoudt.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 16, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/55-tiffany-muller-myrdahl-brett-stoudt.html.

On this episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series, our host Am Johal chats with Kimberley Wong. Kimberley currently sits as the Chair of the City of Vancouver's Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, the co-chair of Vancouver Just Recovery Coalition, and the Community Development Coordinator for the Hua Foundation. Kimberley talks with Am about her current work in Chinatown and how its been affected due to COVID-19.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/54-kimberley-wong.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/54-kimberley-wong.html

You can learn more about Hua Foundation by checking out their website: https://huafoundation.org.

You can also learn about Vancouver Just Recovery Coalition:

https://www.vancouverjustrecovery.ca/

Bio:

Kimberley Wong (黄壯慈) is a queer Chinese Canadian femme whose work mirrors the intersections of her identity. She has been recognized by the city and the province for her accomplishments in climate justice and multiculturalism, and her work continues to evolve beyond this. Kimberley currently sits as the Chair of the City of Vancouver's Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, where she is putting her passion for crafting culturally appropriate and progressive policy to use. In addition to this, she finds thrill and inspiration in the challenges that campaign organizing brings, having built and executed campaigns since the age of 16. She is finding ways to bridge her education in urban geography and feminist theory with historic and contemporary experiences of racism, sexism, and homophobia. She sees through the lenses and experiential knowledge of living as a renter, being an independent contractor in a precarious work landscape, and of a descendant whose ancestors have long histories organizing and change making for marginalized populations on this land.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Pandemic Conversations: COVID-19 and Community Organizing — with Kimberley Wong.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 10, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/54-kimberley-wong.html.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Ethan Taylor, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina. With our host Am Johal, he discusses the current research on selenium as an anti-pathogenic factor in emerging zoonotic viral infections, such as COVID-19.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/53-ethan-taylor.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/53-ethan-taylor.html

Bio:

Dr. Ethan Taylor is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. His current research focus is on selenium as an anti-pathogenic factor in emerging zoonotic viral infections: SARS & COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Zika, influenza, and other viruses with RNA genomes. Global pandemics like COVID-19 and more lethal variants of avian/swine flu will continue to occur unless humans can desist from eating animals, e.g., bats have been key factors in the origin of SARS, COVID-19, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak; HIV/AIDS came from apes as bushmeat.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “COVID-19 and Selenium — with Dr. Ethan Taylor.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 5, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/53-ethan-taylor.html.

In the sixth episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series, we talk with Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director of Battered Women's Support Services here in Vancouver, Canada. With our host Am Johal, she discusses how COVID-19 is affecting gender inequality and violence within intimate relationships.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/52-angela-marie-macdougall.html

Angela Marie MacDougall is the Executive Director of Battered Women's Support Services Society. You can learn more here: https://www.bwss.org/

Bio:

Angela Marie MacDougall takes action to end violence against women as an advocate, activist, and front-line worker. She has brought tangible transformation to service and program delivery as well as community development and partnerships in her, almost 30 years of activism. Since 2003, Angela has been the executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) where she has been strategic and proactive applying new media and related communications for social change which has raised the profile of BWSS as an organization. Angela’s impact includes development of empowerment and advocacy-based service delivery models grounded in strong theoretical frameworks and intersectionality that connect feminism, substance use, mental health, violence and women’s leadership. In recognition of this important work, Angela was named a Remarkable Woman by the City of Vancouver in 2014 and in 2016, Vancouver Magazine named her one of Vancouver’s most powerful people.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “The Pandemic and Increases in Gender-Based Violence — with Angela Marie MacDougall.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, June 2, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/52-angela-marie-macdougall.html.

Welcome to the fourth episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series. Today we talk with Meaghan Thumath, a clinical scientist at the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity and clinical associate professor at UBC’s School of Nursing. With our host Am Johal, she discusses her previous international work studying and combatting pandemics and how this has informed her current understandings of COVID-19, both globally and locally here in Vancouver, Canada.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/51-meaghan-thumath.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/51-meaghan-thumath.html

Learn more about Meaghan Thumath's work with pandemics:

https://www.straight.com/covid-19-pandemic/a-salute-to-our-frontline-champions-meaghan-thumath

Bio:

Meaghan Thumath, RN, BSN, MPH, D.LSHTM is a Clinician Scientist and Clinical Assistant Professor, Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, University of British Columbia Trudeau Scholar, Centre for Evidence Based Intervention, University of Oxford

Meaghan Thumath is a clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Nursing and holds a clinician scientist affiliation with the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity and a Trudeau Scholar at the University of Oxford.

For over a decade Meaghan has provided technical assistance to international organizations such as WHO, UNDP, UNAIDS, the World Bank and the Global Fund to End AIDS, TB and Malaria supporting human rights and health equity for marginalized populations in Central Asia, Latin America, West and Central Africa and MENA. In Canada, she has served as the Chief of Staff (Senior MA) to the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, as clinical coordinator of North America’s first supervised injection facility, Insite, and as a Street Nurse and Senior Practice Leader at the BC Centre for Disease Control. In 2019 she worked for the World Health Organization’s Ebola Response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She is also a public health delegate on the Canadian Red Cross Emergency Response Unit and an active member of the WHO Emergencies Programme (WHE) External Emergency Roster where she has worked on COVID-19 preparedness for both PHAC and WHO-AFRO.

Cite this episode:

Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Pandemic Conversations: COVID-19 and Inequities in Health — with Meaghan Thumath.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, May 27, 2020. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/51-meaghan-thumath.html.