People First Radio

A new documentary is sharing people’s experiences of self injury, as well as the stories of their recovery. Self Injury: Stories of Recovery and Hope emerged as part of a research project of Stephen Lewis, a professor in the psychology department at the University of Guelph. “We used a research approach called participatory video. And […]

Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) is a treatment for opioid use disorder. It involves the use of medications such as methadone, buprenorphine, and slow release oral morphine. People First Radio spoke with Nanaimo addictions medicine specialist Dr. Jess Wilder, and BC Centre for Substance Use Co-Medical Director Dr. Paxton Bach about the treatment, which Bach called […]

Stephen Monteiro, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Concordia University, says that conversations around smartphone use tend to focus on content, rather than on the place the devices themselves have come to hold in our lives. “Social media is a big one. Gaming is another big one. More and more the use of AI is […]

No Fixed Address: The White Cart Memorial is a documentary filmed in Kelowna exploring grief and homelessness. Co-producers and directors Joshua Black and Stephanie Laing spoke with People First Radio. Its title refers to a memorial designed by unhoused community members in Kelowna. A shopping cart was painted white and people added tags and other […]

Renata Roma says people are becoming increasingly aware of the mental health of their pets. “ The emotional place of animals in people’s lives is very different to if we compare to how animals were perceived years ago,” she said. The researcher at the PAWsitive Connections lab with the University of Saskatchewan pointed to recent survey […]

From the works of deaf architect Adolf Loos to the psychiatric record of U.S. civil war veteran, Stefanie Hunt-Kennedy and Jenifer Barclay have been coordinating a team of authors exploring a wide range of topics in disability history. The pair are editors of Cripping The Archive, Disability, History, and Power. The spoke with People First […]

Downtown Eastside service provider First United released a law reform platform earlier this fall, calling for changes to the Residential Tenancy Act in B.C. Staff lawyer Vinson Shih spoke with People First Radio about the platform, which called for an end to pet bans in rentals, and the right for tenants to install cooling devices […]

When Shannon Donohoe-Simpson was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer in her thirties, she says it was a surprise. “ I was that person that was very healthy,” she said. “I was really into personal training and I thought I ate really healthy. So when I was diagnosed with cancer, I know not just […]

In her debut novel, Meg Todd explores difficult subject matter, covering themes like fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, inter-generational abuse, and sexual assault. Most Grievous Fault explores the story of Crystal, who is in her late 20s and mother of Becky, 14. The two live together in a small apartment in the city. Todd says she’s […]

Dr Shannon Charlebois is fed up with the prevalence of gambling advertising in professional sports broadcasts. “The situation is ticking me off. It’s ticking off lots of Canadians,” she said. Charlebois is medical editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. She co-authored an editorial about gambling advertising and risks to youth. She referred to a […]