Needs No Introduction

Did you know .. the new iPhones sold on the first weekend of its launch in fall 2104 had 25 per cent more computing power than all of the computers on earth in 1995? Staggering.

That statistic comes to us via Robert McChesney, one of the two speakers on today's program. And what's even more staggering is what those phones, and the companies that make them are doing to us. Those are just a couple examples of the compelling ideas in this talk.

This program is shocking, depressing and hopeful, all at the same time. Keep listening. It's one of the best talks about our collective present and future that we've heard in a long time.

Who Will Win the Digital Revolution was a fundraiser for Open Media, Media Democracy Days with media sponsorship by rabble.ca. It was held on Sunday March 6, 2016 at the Vancouver Public Library, which is on the unceded and occupied Coast Salish territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people.

This podcast is an edited version of that talk.

Speakers are leading thinkers on media reform, Robert McChesney and John Nichols, talking about their new book People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy.

The speakers are introduced by Josh Tabish, the campaigns director of Open Media.

Thanks to Joshua Robinson for recording and editing this program.

The media has a powerful ability to shape the way we view our world. In the midst of elections, international conflicts and refugee crises, Islamophobia has permeated the news cycle.

Last week, April 5, 2016, rabble put together a panel discussion called Combatting Islamophobia in Media.

On today's program, we're bringing you highlights from the event, held at the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House on unceded Musqueam territory, also known as Vancouver.

The evening provided a critical ear on media representation. Together, the panelists engaged in an important dialogue about the value of diversity, storytelling and truth sharing from the hands of marginalized communities within the media.

Panelists:

Urooba Jamal: In the past year, Urooba has run for political office as the youngest candidate in Vancouver's municipal elections, has given a TEDx talk on student activism and has helped to co-found a leftist, alternative student press, The Talon, at the University of British Columbia. A recent graduate, she is currently interning at Leftward Books, a Marxist publishing press in India.

Itrath Syed: PhD candidate at School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. Research focus: analysis of discursive regimes that given Muslim subjectivities in the post 9/11 world. Strath also teaches Women's Studies at Langara College and Asian Studies at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Sunera Thobani: Associate Professor at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, University of British Columbia. Research focuses on critical race, postcolonial and feminist theory, globalization and violence, citizenship, migration, Muslim women, the War on Terror, and media.

Emcee Ayesha Kahn: fourth year student at Kwantlen University, she has also studied at Harvard University where her studies in Archaeology and History focused on Slave Trades, the African Diaspora and Slave Roots Tourism throughout Ghana, West Africa. She is the Secretary of the Ottawa-based Board of Directors for Human Concern International and director of Anti-Oppression at Kwanten Public Interest Research Group.

Thanks to collaborators on this event: Media Democracy Days, Langara College Women Studies Program and BC Civil Liberties Association.

There's racism in music. It's a tough discussion. And to move forward as a supportive, empathetic community of music creators, producers, listeners and critics .. and those of us in the media too .. we need to have a better understanding of the systemic issues that are unique to Canada's multicultural landscape.

Today we bring you a compelling panel discussion called Music: Racism, Power and Privilege 101. It was held at Music Gallery in Toronto on November 24, 2015.

The panel discussion included Alaska B of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, a Canadian experimental music and performance art collective; Damian Abraham of the punk band Fucked Up, Simone Schmidt of Fiver and The Highest Order, cellist Cris Derkson, journalist Max Mohenu, and media and culture sociologist Kim de Laat. It's moderated by April Aliermo of Hooded Fang and Phèdre.

Thanks to chartattack.com for allowing us to use and edit their video stream, and to rpn associate producer Kvesche Be for helping put this program together.

If you want to see the presentation as well as listen, you can see it on rabbletv here.

The Ottawa River has played a vital role in the history of the Algonquin Nation. The Ottawa River flows through unceded Algonquin territory and there is an outstanding land claim which been under negotiation for a long time. Most recently, the proposed development of lands at Chaudiere Falls in Ottawa just west of downtown has amplified the frustrations of the people of the Algonquin Nation that their land claim is far from settled.

Peter Di Gangi has been working with on research, policy work and advocacy with Aboriginal communities since the late 1970s. In this lecture he delves into the history of the human history of the Ottawa River Watershed and what needs to be done in the future to reconcile the acts of the past.

It was recorded December 8, 2015 at Octopus Books in Ottawa, unceded Algonquin territory by Greg MacDougall of www.equitableeducation.ca. Thanks to Greg for sending this to us to repodcast for our rabble.ca listeners.

An address by Dr. Sara Roy of Harvard University, talking about her extensive experience in Gaza. This lecture looks at the unprecedented dynamics that have emerged in Gaza in the aftermath of last summer's devastating war and its future implications. Dr. Roy will also explore how we can move beyond fear and militarism to envision something different: a world where dissent is mandatory and our capacity to witness is restored.

She was invited to be guest speaker at this year's James Graff Memorial Lecture. This annual lecture series was established in memory of University of Toronto philosophy professor, husband, father, and tireless peace advocate Dr. James Graff, founder of NECEF Sabeel, Canada's oldest Middle East peace education NGO. Dr. Roy's talk is an event hosted by Necef Sabeel.

Dr. Sara Roy (Ed.D. Harvard University) is a senior research scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies specializing in the Palestinian economy, Palestinian Islamism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She is the daughter of two holocaust survivors.

Dr. Roy began her research in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in 1985 with a focus on the economic, social and political development of the Gaza Strip and on U.S. foreign assistance to the region. Since then she has written extensively on the Palestinian economy, particularly in Gaza, and on Gaza's de- development, a concept she defined.

Dr. Roy also has authored over 100 publications dealing with Palestinian issues and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has lectured widely in the United States, Europe, The Middle East, and Australia among other international venues.

If you missed the Big Event, you can join us by listening to this podcast.

"Back when the rabble podcast network first began there was no iTunes, no iPhones, and few people knew what a podcast was -- now, people talk on their daily commute and at work about the latest podcasts they're listening to," said Victoria Fenner, rabble podcast network executive producer and the event's moderator. rabble.ca is the only podcasting network in the country and, when it was founded in 2006, was one of the first organizations to venture into the medium with a clear vision of how podcasting can serve as important tool for citizen journalists to add their voice to the public dialogue. "Thankfully now we're living in the golden age of podcasting," Fenner concluded.

"We believe podcasts are the most democratic medium to come along since, well, the Internet itself," said Kim Elliott, rabble.ca publisher. At present, the rpn's extensive collection of Canadian podcasts offer an alternative take on politics, entertainment, society, stories, community and life in general. Each podcast is hosted on a platform created by rabble.ca, Canada's leading online news service for the progressive left. Most podcasts are produced by individuals with little more than a laptop, a microphone, and opinions or ideas they want to share. "We want to mark the anniversary of the rabble podcast network with a free public event worthy of its 10-year history," added Elliott.

Our Toronto celebration happened on Thursday September 10 at the Centre for Social Innovation's Annex. Thanks to Unifor Local 79M and the Canadian Media Guild for their sponsorship.

Listen to our panellists:

Victoria Fenner – (moderator/host) - is the Executive Producer of the rabble podcast network (rpn). She has worked for over 30 years in community radio, technical, and production roles at the CBC, audio artistry, and podcast production. She has worked all over Canada and is the former President of the Community Radio Fund of Canada, a national organization set up to fund community radio stations. She has produced documentaries for Earth Chronicles' signature production "The Green Planet Monitor," one of the first rabble.ca environmental podcasts. She also teaches people how to podcast.

Nora Young - is the host of the CBC Radio show Spark examining tech, trends, and fresh ideas. She was also the founding host of the CBC Radio show Definitely not the Opera. Nora is a journalist, author, and speaker exploring how new technology shapes the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. Her book, The Virtual Self, explores the very real impact of the virtual information we generate about ourselves -- on our individual lives, our communities, and the broader world.

Meagan Perry - Editor-in-chief of rabble.ca and former RPN Executive Producer.

Wayne MacPhail is the Director of Emerging Media at rabble.ca. He has been a print journalist and online content creator since the early '80s. He was the Managing Editor of Hamilton Magazine and was a reporter and editor at The Hamilton Spectator up until he founded and led Southam InfoLab for newspaper chain Southam Inc. Wayne has created content for most of the major online networks in Canada and is a published playwright, author, and media expert having taught online journalism at numerous Ontario colleges and universities. He is also the owner of w8nc an emerging media consulting company that encourages its clients to tell great stories in new ways.

Rick Harp is an 18-plus-year veteran of journalism in print, radio, television and online media in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton. He is currently editor-in-chief at MEDIA INDIGENA, an interactive, multimedia magazine dedicated to Indigenous news, views and creative expression.

Please support our coverage of democratic movements and become a supporter of rabble.ca.

Earlier today, September 15, 2015, a group of prominent Canadians launched a manifesto outlining a bold climate and economic vision. We at rabble.ca are happy to have livestreamed the press conference to announce the Leap Manifesto: A Call for a Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another. It has been translated into eight languages, including Cree and Inuktitut. The aim is to gather tens of thousands of signatures and build pressure on the next federal government to transition Canada off fossil fuels while also making it a more livable, fair and just society.

The Leap Manifesto has been signed by musicians, directors, actors, authors, national and community leaders and dozens of organizations.

On today's press conference we'll hear from an impressive list of notable Canadians. It was hosted by Naomi Klein, who was joined by: Seth Klein, David Suzuki, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Tantoo Cardinal, Yolen Bollo Kamar, Sarah Harmer, Paul Moist, Maude Barlow, Bishop Mark MacDonald, Ashley Callingbull, Clayton Ruby, Stephen Lewis, Joseph Boydon, George Elliot Clarke, Keith Stewart

Mexico is the first tourist destination of choice for many Canadians. But that reputation as a sunny place to go forget about your troubles is not well deserved. Mexico is also a place where human rights abuses continue. New communications technology has resulted in traditional methods of political repression co-existing with newer high-tech forms of surveillance and policing.

But this juxtaposition of the new and old also permeates counter-movements. For example, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Indigenous communities are using community media, new technologies and grassroots infrastructure to organize resistance and build community.

In this episode, we hear from two organizers from Oaxaco, Loreto Bravo and Peter Bloom. They were in Toronto on May 1 for the Union for Democratic Communications Conference.

Loreto Bravo is a feminist hacker and anthropologist. She currently coordinates Palabra Radio, a collective based in Oaxaca, Mexico that uses community FM radio and technological appropriation as tools of struggle, with a focus on women's and Indigenous peoples' rights and liberation.

Peter Bloom is a community digital defence and autonomy advocate and scholar who lives in Oaxaca, Mexico. Peter is the general coordinator and founder of Rhizomatica, a collective that works to increase access to telecommunications through the use of new technologies and spectrum access advocacy. Rhizomatica is best known for starting the first community-based cellular networks in the world.

Please support our coverage of democratic movements and become a supporter of rabble.ca.

Our federal government still says that the tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women isn't high on their radar and they don't seem to be budging on the issue.

But it is high on the radar of many many other people and organizations, including the United Nations. Today's episode excerpts an event focusing on the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW for short. On June 13, 2015 a panel discussion was held in Toronto to spotlight how Indigenous women activists are changing the discourse around women's rights in Canada and abroad. The topic of missing and murdered Indigenous women featured prominently in the discussion.

Cherry Smiley is an artist and Indigenous feminist activist, working for years as a front-line anti-violence worker in a transition house for battered women and their children and rape crisis centre. She is also Campaign Coordinator for Campaign of Solidarity with Aboriginal Women, a project of The Feminist Alliance for International Action.

Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard is Interim President of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC). She has also worked to advance the rights of Aboriginal women as the President of the Ontario Native Women's Association for 11 years.

Their lectures were part of an event called CEDAW and Indigenous Women's Activism, which took place in Toronto on June 13, 2015.

Women have been historically underrepresented and misrepresented in mainstream media. The arrival of the Internet, and blogging in particular, gave women and girls an unprecedented way of telling their own stories using their own voices directly to their audience.

However, online spaces have had a tendency to reproduce the same systems of oppression that exist in the real world. Women who speak out, especially on feminism, are vulnerable to bullying, trolling and silencing.

In order to address this specific issue, rabble.ca partnered with Women Transforming Cities to develop the #Fierce Voices events in Vancouver. The goal of these events was to help young self-identifying women and their allies build skills to engage with media and develop their own voices.

The final #Fierce Voices event took place on May 23 at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. This excerpt features keynote speakers from that event: Romila Barryman, creator of media publication Textbook, and Anne Theriault, of The Belle Jar Blog. It's followed by a question-and-answer session with further discussion on how to be an outspoken woman on the Internet.

This event was cosponsored by rabble.ca

Please note there is coarse language in this podcast. Listener discretion is advised.