Needs No Introduction

Needs No Introduction

By rabble.caNewsPolitics
Download on the App Store

Needs No Introduction episodes

  • Labour Fair 2025: The critical need for labour education

    In episode six, we feature the opening discussion of the 33rd annual Labour Fair at Toronto's George Brown College.

    Under this year's theme, What Are We Working For? JP Hornick, president of OPSEU/SEFPO, (Ontario Public Service Employees Union), speaks on the critical need for labour education, labour organizing amid the changing nature of work and the crisis facing Ontario colleges.

    Reflecting on the need for labour education Hornick says:

    "These are the spaces where we learn how to organize, where we learn how to build community – it provides the critical analysis that people need to understand why there are inequities in society. Why systems of oppression such as racism, ableism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and transphobia are being used right now in this moment to try and divide workers from one another. Programs like the School of Labour or labour education are where we actually start to have conversations with workers about why we're not one another's enemies.

    I think about this quote from Angela Davis: 'If they come for me in the morning, then they will come for you in the night.'"

    About today's guest:

    JP Hornick (they/them) is the president of OPSEU/SEFPO, one of Canada's largest provincial public sector unions, representing more than 180,000 members across Ontario. OPSEU/SEFPO members work for the Ontario government, at community colleges, for the LCBO, in health care, and in workplaces and community agencies across the broader public sector. Hornick has been a part of many mobilizations of working people, both in unions and in social justice spaces. Most recently, they taught labour history and was the coordinator of the School of Labour and the annual Labour Fair at George Brown College. They led OPSEU/SEFPO College faculty through a province-wide strike in 2017 and another successful round of bargaining in 2022, before being elected president of OPSEU/SEFPO for the first time in April of that year. Hornick was re-elected at the last OPSEU/SEFPO Convention in April 2024.

    Labour Fair Opening: Benjamin McCarthy, Labour Fair 2025 Coordinator

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: JP Hornick / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends podcast organizing committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    55 min
  • Rebranded fascism, higher education and the burden of conscience

    In episode five, we are pleased to welcome back Henry Giroux, scholar, cultural critic and author, most recently of The Burden of Conscience: Educating Beyond the Veil of Silence. We discuss the rise of authoritarianism in the US and around the world as an updated fascism, its attack on democracy and higher education and the urgent need for solidarity, critical pedagogy and resistance in the face of the unspeakable.

    Reflecting on the necessity of higher and critical education in these times, Giroux says:

    "Education is the glue. Education is the bridge that stands between fascism and hope, between fascism and justice, between fascism and a socialist democracy, a real democracy, a radical democracy. And if we don't grasp the centrality of education here in terms of both its power and its role, both in and outside of schooling, we're in trouble. It's not going to work."

    About today's guest:

    Henry A. Giroux currently holds the McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest in the English and Cultural Studies Department and is the Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy. His most recent books include Pedagogy of Resistance: Against Manufactured Ignorance (Bloomsbury 2022); Insurrections: Education in the Age of Counter-revolutionary politics (Bloomsbury in 2023), co-authored with Anthony DiMaggio, Fascism on Trial: Education and the Possibility of Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2024), and Burden of Conscience (Bloomsbury, 2025). His website is www.henryagiroux.com

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Henry Giroux / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends podcast organizing committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    1 hr
  • George Brown College's 25th annual Mental Health Conference: Decolonizing learning and creating conditions for student well-being

    In episode 4, we focus on the upcoming 25th annual Mental Health Conference at George Brown College in Toronto and this year's theme, Thriving Together in the Classroom: Creating the Conditions for Student Well-Being.

    Author, storyteller, Indigenous academic and conference keynote speaker Carolyn Roberts; dean of the Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies, Susan Toews; and director of Student Well-Being and Support, Alex Irwin discuss this year's conference and its focus on teaching, the mental health and well-being of post-secondary students, decolonizing learning and Indigenous resurgence through education.

    Reflecting on the need for decolonizing and re-storying education, Roberts says:

    "When Indigenous students step into the classroom, we are being asked to leave a part of who we are at the door, because that's not talked about or shared within those spaces. So we have to leave our indigeneity at the door to come in to learn about something else. And that's not a sustainable thing.And not only for Indigenous students, but for all non white students that are walking into these spaces … We need to make sure that we're having multiple stories from multiple perspectives in our classrooms, so that all of our students can see a piece of them within the work that they're doing."

    For online registration, conference fees and information about the February 27, 2025 conference, please click this link.

    About today's guests:

    Carolyn Roberts uses her voice to support Indigenous resurgence through education. She is a St'at'imc and Sto:lo woman belonging to the Thevarge family from N'quatqua Nation and the Kelly Family from the Tzeachten Nation and under the Indian Act she is a member of the Squamish Nation. Carolyn is a speaker, author, Indigenous academic, and a faculty member in UBC Teacher Education and NITEP programs. She has been an educator and administrator for over 20 years in the K-12 system. Carolyn's work is grounded in educating about Indigenous people and the decolonization of the education system. She works with pre-service teachers to help build their understandings in Indigenous history, education, and ancestral ways of knowing, to create a brighter future for all Indigenous people and the seven generations yet to come.She is also the author of Re-Storying Education: Decolonizing Your Practice Using a Critical Lens (2024).

    Alex Irwin is an accomplished educator with broad experience managing people and projects and developing innovative education programming for a wide range of students, both domestically and overseas. He is director of Student Well-Being and Support at George Brown College, where he oversees counselling, accessible learning services, deaf and hard of hearing services, and the college's peer wellness programming. He is also a clinical social worker, with a history of working at community-based mental health and treatment centres.

    Susan Toews has over 35 years of experience in education, with the last 18 years of her career at George Brown College, where she has served in leadership positions in both academic roles and service areas. She is currently the Dean, Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies. Susan is a strong advocate for a whole campus/whole student approach to student mental health and believes in the wide application of Universal Design for Learning, as it provides guidance for creating accessible, inclusive and engaging student-centered learning opportunities – critical to student well-being. Susan holds an M.Ed. from OISE/University of Toronto and, as a committed lifelong learner, continually engages in professional development in education, including graduating from UBC's Organizational Coaching program in 2024.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Carolyn Roberts, Susan Toews, Alex Irwin / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends podcast organizing committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    40 min
  • Oxfam Inequality Report 2025: Billionaire colonialism in Canada

    In part two of our focus on Oxfam's latest report: Takers Not Makers: The Unjust Poverty and Unearned Wealth of Colonialism, we welcome associate professor and faculty chair of the Indigenous Relations Initiative at McGill University, Dr. Veldon Coburn. Reflecting on his 2022 book (co-edited with David Thomas) Capitalism and Dispossession: Corporate Canada at Home and Abroad, we speak of the growth of billionaire colonialism and corporate power in Canada and the ways in which this is anchored in Canada's continuing history of settler colonialism.

    Reflecting on corporate extraction and dispossession of Indigenous resources, Coburn says:

    "It's easier to steal and to take what's existing there, exactly what the Oxfam Report is titled, Takers Not Makers is the failure of the promise of capital to reproduce itself. .. wealth is only created through ongoing theft and dispossession… taking from someone else.

    And the broligarchs, the billionaire oligarchy, have seized quite a few of the interests of the State. And in a settler colonial society like this, those hallowed halls are easier to access through the capitalist class rather than the colonized peoples."

    About today's guest:

    Veldon Coburn is Anishinaabe, a citizen of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation. Veldon is an associate professor at McGill University and the faculty chair of the Indigenous Relations Initiative in the School of Continuing Studies. He earned degrees in economics and political science, and his PhD is from Queen's University where his research focused on Indigenous politics and governance. Veldon arrived at McGill after previously teaching at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Coburn has over a decade of professional experience in program and strategic Indigenous policy with the Government of Canada as well as extensive experience working with Indigenous governments and organizations.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Veldon Coburn / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    41 min
  • Oxfam Inequality Report 2025: The takers not makers of billionaire colonialism

    In part one of this discussion, executive director of Oxfam Canada Lauren Ravon returns to discuss Oxfam's latest report: Takers Not Makers: The Unjust Poverty and Unearned Wealth of Colonialism. Ravon and Resh Budhu explore the extreme wealth and power of the billionaire class, this era of "billionaire colonialism" and what it will take to decolonize economies in Canada and throughout the world.

    According to Ravon:

    "I would say the highlight of this year's report is really well captured by the title Takers Not Makers, because we're focusing not just on this extreme and I'd say obscene wealth accumulation, not just the amount of wealth that's being held by the very few, but the fact that this is not wealth that is earned in any sense. This is wealth that has been taken, whether through corruption, through cronyism, through monopolistic power, through connections through inheritance, but also through the legacy, the very life legacy of colonialism."

    About today's guests:

    Lauren Ravon, executive director of Oxfam Canada, is a committed feminist and social justice advocate with more than 15 years of international development experience. Lauren has been with Oxfam Canada since 2011, holding a number of roles – including director of Policy and Campaigns – and working tirelessly to put women's rights at the heart of the global Oxfam confederation. Before joining Oxfam, Lauren worked at the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy), where she was program manager for the Americas and oversaw the Centre's office and human rights programming in Haiti. She has also worked on programs to tackle gender-based violence and promote sexual and reproductive rights with Planned Parenthood Global and the International Rescue Committee.

    Lauren has conducted extensive policy research and campaigned on issues of food justice, women's economic equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights and the role of women's movements. She holds master's degrees in international affairs and development studies from Columbia University and the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Lauren sits on the Board of Directors of the Humanitarian Coalition.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Lauren Ravon / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    44 min
  • Do we need a new progressive alternative in Canada?

    In our season eight premiere, we welcome independent journalist and public historian Taylor C. Noakes, author, political economist and senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ricardo Tranjan and welcome back writer, social justice activist and former organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, John Clarke.

    The group reflects on the current state of progressive politics in Canada, the Liberal legacy and the possibility of a Conservative win. They discuss the need for a new progressive alternative and wonder aloud what this could look like.

    Reflecting on Canadian political parties, Noakes says:

    "They are far too established. They have become organizations unto themselves that seek self-preservation above all else … It has essentially prevented them by and large from experiencing the kind of renewal that's necessary to keep political parties vibrant and connected to people in their day-to-day concerns."

    Speaking to the rise of political right-wing populism, Clarke says:

    "People's lives are being thrown into turmoil … But a serious left political alternative is not put before people. And there's no question that the Right is presenting alternatives, hateful, hateful alternatives and pseudo solutions … There's a great deal of anger that can take very positive directions, but there's also within a minority of the population a mood of reactionary rage."

    According to Tranjan:

    "[W]hat would bring really [a] breathe of fresh air here is if we have a political formation, that is a vehicle for social movements for community organizations for the share of the workforce that does not benefit from being part of a union from those groups that are not now represented in the day-to-day claptrap of policy debate."

    About today's guests:

    John Clarke is a writer and activist who became involved in anti-poverty organizing in the 1980s, when he helped to form a union of unemployed workers in London, Ontario. In 1990, he became an organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and stayed in this role until 2019 when he became Packer Visitor in Social Justice at York University.

    Taylor C. Noakes is an independent journalist and public historian from Montreal.

    Ricardo Tranjan is a political economist, senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, frequent media commentator in English and French, and author of two books, including the national bestseller The Tenant Class.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute or here.

    Image: Taylor C. Noakes, John Clarke, Ricardo Tranjan / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    59 min
  • BRICS, de-dollarization and Canada in a multipolar world

    In our final episode of the Courage My Friends podcast series, season seven, we are joined by author, professor and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Radhika Desai, and author, professor and Chair of International Relations and Political Science at St. Thomas University, Dr. Shaun Narine.

    We discuss the shifting balance of power in global politics, BRICS, de-dollarization, the rise of Asia and the Global South, the challenges it poses to the rules-based international order of the Global North and Canada's place within an inevitably multipolar world.

    Speaking on the growth of multipolarity, Desai says:

    "Lenin argued that imperialism, by which he meant the stage capitalism had arrived at in the early 20th century, was the highest stage of capitalism … Beyond it, there was not much capitalism had to give to humanity… After 40 years of neoliberalism … it is quite obvious that it is suffering from senility … low growth rates, low investment rates, low innovation rates … It is far from fulfilling the needs of humanity … it is far from keeping the West powerful. Part of the emergence of multipolarity … is the decline in the vigor of Western capitalist economies."

    Reflecting on Canada as a middle power in a multipolar world, Narine says:

    "I think in a world where multipolarity is mattering more and more and more … simply being an American vassal state, which is what I'd argue we largely are right now … doesn't encourage anybody to look at Canada as an independent actor … I think the first step for us to be a Middle Power means to demonstrate that we're actually capable of independent thinking and independent policy and capable of articulating interests that aren't being dictated by the American embassy in Ottawa."

    About today's guests:

    Radhika Desai is professor of Political Studies and director of Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba, convenor of the International Manifesto Group and past president of the Society for Socialist Studies. Her wide-ranging work covers party politics, political and geopolitical economy, political and economic theory, nationalism, fascism, British, US and Indian politics. Geopolitical economy, the approach to the international relations of the capitalist world she proposed in her 2013 work, Geopolitical Economy, combines Marx's analysis of capitalism with those of 'late development' and the developmental state as the key to explaining the dynamic of international relations of the modern capitalist world. Currently, she is working on several books including 'Hindutva and the Political Economy of Indian Capitalism' and 'Marx as a Monetary Theorist'. Her numerous articles have appeared in Capital and Class, Economic and Political Weekly, International Critical Thought, New Left Review, Third World Quarterly, World Review of Political Economy and other journals and in edited collections on parties, political economy, culture and nationalism. She is regularly invited as a speaker and to conferences around the world.

    Shaun Narine is a professor of International Relations and Political Science at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. His research focuses on institutionalism in the Asia Pacific. He has written two books on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and published on issues related to ASEAN as well as Canadian foreign policy, Canada's relations with China, and US foreign policy. He was a Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2000-2002) at the University of British Columbia and has been a Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center (2000) and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute (2017 and 2021) in Singapore.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Radhika Desai, Shaun Narine / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends podcast organizing committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    1 hr 10 min
  • Who's Hungry? More than ever before

    In episode six of the latest season of the Courage My Friends podcast series, co-executive director of Food Secure Canada, Marissa Alexander and executive director of North York Harvest Food Bank, Ryan Noble discuss the alarming outcomes of Toronto's Who's Hungry report, the growing food and poverty crisis in Toronto and across Canada and urgent actions that need to be taken by policy-makers and civil society in averting this ever-worsening crisis.

    Reflecting on reasons for the record number of food banks visits this year, Noble says:

    "It's not as if there's been a sudden shock over the last year. What we're seeing is the continued culmination of insufficient supports for people, public and private, to deal with skyrocketing costs of living. .. whether those are employment supports, social assistance supports, settlement supports, to deal with an out of control cost of living, primarily driven by housing, but also by the cost of food and other essentials."

    According to Alexander:

    "I don't think the systems are breaking down. I think the systems are working exactly as they were designed, which is not to support those who are the most marginalized and oppressed… like capitalism, but also the patriarchy, systemic racism and oppression ... So if we're going to make changes to ensuring that those people aren't "falling through the cracks," we have to make sure that those cracks aren't designed for them to fall through."

    About today's guest:

    Marissa (she/they) is a registered dietitian and co-executive director of Food Secure Canada, who is passionate about anti-racism, food security, and equity. Living and working on the traditional and unceded territory of the Lheidli T'enneh, she has had the honour of working alongside 55 First Nations communities in northern BC. She is also privileged to be able to connect with many different peoples and communities through her anti-racism consulting work. In her very little spare time, she is working on her Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on equity and cultural studies. Access her socials here: Website / Instagram- @fscrad / Facebook / LinkedIn / X- @FoodSecureCAN

    Since 2015, Ryan Noble has served as the executive director of the North York Harvest Food Bank. Previously, he was the vice chair of NYHFB's board of directors. Under Ryan's leadership, the organization has embraced a model of 'community wealth building,' integrating traditional charitable activities with social enterprise and workforce development initiatives. He is a past member of the Ontario Nonprofit Network's Policy Committee and the past chair and current member of the Board of Directors of Feed Ontario.

    Check out this year's annual Who's Hungry Report

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Marissa Alexander, Ryan Noble / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    57 min
  • The Honourable Murray Sinclair: 2018 keynote address on Indigenous Ways of Knowing

    In 2018, the Tommy Douglas Institute at George Brown College in Toronto welcomed then Senator and former head of the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada, the Honourable Murray Sinclair as its keynote speaker.

    Through his poignant address about the impacts of Canada's colonial history and the residential school system on the lives of Indigenous Peoples and the meaning of reconciliation, we experienced first-hand the brilliance, integrity, kindness and humour of this truly remarkable individual.

    The Honourable Murray Sinclair passed away on the morning of November 4, 2024.

    In his memory, we bring you his 2018 keynote address on Community, Education, Change: Indigenous Ways of Knowing.

    Reflecting on reconciliation, Sinclair said:

    "Reconciliation is a process which is building. It's not a spectator sport. It involves everybody. And everybody is implicated in it .. No neutrality exists here. .. And understanding it is part of the educational process. And understanding the implications it has for you is part of the challenge that we also need to face. And all of that has to do with knowledge. All of that has to do with dialogue as well, and developing consensus and agreement about where we're going to go as a country… We have to talk about what kind of relationship we're going to have going forward. . And that means we have to think differently. We have to think better. "

    rabble had previously shared this keynote address here.

    About today's speaker:

    The Honourable Murray Sinclair served the justice system in Manitoba for over 25 years. He was the first Indigenous Judge appointed in Manitoba and Canada's second.

    Sinclair was Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in Manitoba and Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As head of the TRC, he participated in hundreds of hearings across Canada, culminating in the issuance of the TRC's final report in 2015 and its 94 Calls to Action. He also oversaw an active multi-million dollar fundraising program to support various TRC events and activities.

    Over the years, Sinclair has been invited to speak throughout Canada, the United States and internationally, including the Cambridge Lectures for members of the Judiciary of various Commonwealth Courts in England.

    He served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Manitoba. In 2021, Sinclair was appointed 15th Chancellor of Queen's University, later becoming Chancellor Emeritus and Special Advisor to the Principal on Reconciliation of Queen's University in 2024.

    Sinclair has received numerous awards and honours, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, The Mahatma Gandhi Prize for Peace, the Mandela Award, the Manitoba Bar Association's Equality Award and its Distinguished Service Award, Canada's World Peace Prize, and the Meritorius Service Cross. He has also received honorary doctorates and degrees from universities across Canada.

    Sinclair was appointed to the Canadian Senate on April 2, 2016 where he served as a Senator for five years.In 2022 Murray Sinclair was appointed a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba in 2024.

    Most recently Sinclair published his memoir, Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation

    The Honourable Murray Sinclair passed away peacefully and surrounded by his loved ones on November 4th, 2024.

    In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to the Murray Sinclair Memorial Fund at the Winnipeg Foundation.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: The Honourable Murray Sinclair / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Original Editing and Recording by: Victoria Fenner and Emily Parr

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    53 min
  • Palestinian storytelling as resilience, recuperation and resistance

    In episode four, Palestinian storyteller Sarah Abu-Sharar joins us for our third annual Mouth Open Story Jump Out episode. Through Palestinian folktales and stories of her father, she reflects on the meaning and power of stories within Palestinian resilience, recuperation and resistance.

    Reflection on her journey into storytelling, Abu-Sharar says:

    "When I started storytelling, it had to be for Palestine because it was reclaiming my identity. It was a way of saying, the Occupation might have deprived me of my land, of my culture, but I will resist by telling our stories."

    About today's guest:

    Sarah Abu-Sharar comes from a long line of storytellers on her paternal side. She tells stories to both adults and children. Abu-Sharar has told stories both nationally and internationally at festivals in Canada, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Tunisia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. Because Abu-Sharar grew up in several countries she tells stories from all over the world with the focus on Palestinian and Croatian stories where her roots lie. Her favourite stories are ones that promote social change. She has also used stories in a therapeutic way with children in refugee camps and refugee children in Toronto, as part of their therapy. She works at the Parent Child Mother Goose Program using traditional storytelling to encourage parent child bonding. Abu-Sharar belongs to a collective called "Musical Story Studio" where stories and music are combined. She tells stories so that she may go deep inside of the tales and find herself in far away magical places that she remembers, from long, long ago.

    Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute.

    Image: Sarah Abu-Sharar / Used with permission.

    Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.

    Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)

    Courage My Friends Podcast Organizing Committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.

    Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.

    Host: Resh Budhu.

    1 hr 15 min

About Needs No Introduction

From the publisher's feed

A series of speeches and lectures from the finest minds of our time. Fresh ideas from speakers of note.

More shows like Needs No Introduction

RadioLabourCanada by m.belanger@radiolabour.org

RadioLabourCanada

0 Listeners

rabble radio by rabble.ca

rabble radio

1 Listeners

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Meeting After The Meeting by TMATMLive

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Meeting After The Meeting

40 Listeners