Introducing the first in our four-part series for Summer 2026! Collected, connected conversations drawn from our decade-deep archive, it's a mini-series that falls smack dab in the middle of our mega-series, Beyond Fires & Floods: Indigenous Narratives in an Era of Extremes, our co-convened gathering of climate journalists, scholars and experts. Which is why we thought it only makes sense to make these compilations climate-compatible with the overarching theme of 'Petrostate Pushback': Indigenous resistance to the political, cultural and economic forces driving resource extraction and exploitation—the costs of which fall disproportionately on Indigenous lands, waters and those who depend on them. And with BFF rooted in the realm of media, what better place for us to start, as we banter on 'both sides' binaries, bitumen bias, and bravery as viewed via the myopic lens of mainstream news.

Featured voices this podcast include (in order of appearance):

• Terese Mailhot, author and Visiting Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Sweet Briar College in Virginia

• Kim TallBear, Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities

• Clifford Atleo Jr., Professor, Senior Advisor and Associate Vice-President of Indigenous Affairs at the University of British Columbia

• Regan Boychuk, co-founder of Reclaim Alberta and the Alberta Liability Disclosure Project

• Candis Callison, BFF co-convenor, Professor with the Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and the School for Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia

• Kwame Mckenzie, practicing psychiatrist, CEO of Wellesley Institute

• David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster

• Michael Redhead Champagne, Ininew advocate, speaker and author

// CREDITS: Creative Commons music this episode includes: 'When Time Called Me Darling,' 'Mercury' and 'Jupiter' by HoliznaCC0; 'JMHBM' by Thumper; and, 'She Walked in and Changed Nothing' by smallertide. Our series' opening theme is "Ice Temple" by HoliznaCC0; its closing theme is "Upstream Color" by Mark Wilson X. This episode was hosted/produced/edited by Rick Harp.