Pullback

We are living in a biodiversity crisis: 42,000 animal species are currently threatened with extinction, which is more than a quarter of all species that have been assessed for the International Union of Concerned Scientists’ Red List. But are zoos a solution? On today’s episode we talked to Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, a Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Laurentian University. Albrecht is an evolutionary ecologist who has worked with the Toronto Zoo, so we asked him all about his work with zoos and how accredited zoos work to promote conservation.

Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/s2-zoos

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Sure, the rent is too damned high – but are we currently in a housing crisis? Or is the housing market working exactly as it was intended? On the first episode of our brand new season, we were joined by Ricardo Tranjan of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to talk housing. Ricardo just wrote a fantastic new book called the Tenant Class, which makes the argument that tenants are an exploited class and calls for more tenant organizing as a solution.

Pickup a copy of Tenant Class from your local bookstore!

Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/s2-tenantorganizing

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Kristen sits down with author Seth Klein to discuss his book, “A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency”. This book explores what it would actually look like for Canada to mobilize on a wartime level to tackle climate change, using Canada’s efforts in the Second World War as proof that this isn’t the first time we’ve come together in the face of a world altering threat.

Get the book: https://www.sethklein.ca/book

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Kristen and Kyla take a break from summer vacation to dive into the groundbreaking book "This Changes Everything" by Naomi Klein. Published in 2014, this critically acclaimed book discusses the interconnected nature of the economic, political, and environmental systems, and the ripples of it's influence can be felt everywhere in the climate movement today. Klein examines the impact of extractive industries on indigenous communities, uncovers the false promises of green capitalism, and highlights the importance of grassroots movements in the push for systemic change. While this book is nearly a decade old, it stands out as a timeless look at the many ways society could be acting to mitigate the worst of the climate and social crises facing us today.

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Kristen and Kyla sit down during their season break to discuss the book How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World by Chris Turner, a climate reporter sharing his personal research on technological climate solutions, from green islands to solar panel factories. This book outlines how much progress has been made in the last 25 years, and explores what technology exists today that could help electrify the grid if adopted at scale. Though the book was certainly well researched, Kyla and Kristen are disappointed in it's limited scope. They discuss the urgent need for stories of climate optimism that are grounded less in technocratic solutions and more in collective action driven by a hopeful vision of a more inclusive and less destructive future.

Kristen and Kyla sit down during their season break to discuss the book The Great Displacement by Jack Bittle. This book tells the story of climate migration in the United States through interviews with those who have experienced climate disasters including floods, fires, drought, and storms. This book paints a picture not only of how climate change is already affecting thousands of people in a country that still seems to believe it’s a problem of the far future, but also of what climate migration is likely to look like in decades to come. Drawing on stories of how the insurance and mortgage markets are already shifting to reflect climate pressure, Bittle explores what a future in the USA might look like as geography and weather patterns change and old communities vanish. Other topics of discussion include; the current wildfires blotting out the sun in the eastern parts of Canada and the United States; how important housing policies are for disaster mitigation; how disaster relief works in Canada and the USA.

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A lot of settlers in so-called Canada want to walk the path of reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples who have always been here. On our last episode of season 1, we’re joined by Riley Yesno to discuss the land back movement that seeks to reclaim Indigenous rights and rebalance our relationships with one another and the land. Riley is an Anishinaabe scholar, writer, and commentator from Eabametoong First Nation. She has been a contributor and commentator for some of the largest media outlets in Canada and the world, including the New York Times, BBC World News, The Globe and Mail, and CBC National News. Her main project right now is teaching Indigenous governance and justice at Toronto Metropolitan University, and completing her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, where she studies Indigenous/Canadian politics and is a Vanier Scholar.

Riley Yesno: https://rileyyesno.com

Redsurgence: https://rileyyesno.com/home#work

CBC Land Back Podcast: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1341-landback

CBC Kuper Island Podcast: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1062-kuper-island

CBC Secret Life of Canada episode about the Indian Act: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/203-the-secret-life-of-canada/episode/15721469-s2-the-indian-act

Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/111

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Effective altruism is a moral theory that says we need to give as much money as possible to the most effective charities. Is that a harmless idea, or a hyper-capitalist ideology that helps billionaires like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet launder their reputations? On today’s episode we dig into a utilitarian-flavored philanthropic movement that has become very popular in Silicon Valley.

Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/110

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Kristen and Kyla are coming for your burgers in their ongoing fight against their arch-nemesis; Big Agriculture. Plant based foods are having a moment; sales for “meat” substitutes alone are projected to grow to $85 billion by 2030, and demand for plant based ingredients is expected to grow to $13 trillion by 2025. As we continue to reckon with the climate crisis and the cruelty of the modern world, this trend is likely to continue.

Watch the 11 minute video on The True Cost of Cheap Chicken (CW animal violence, death, exploitation): https://mercyforanimals.org/blog/bacon-fear-mongering-prop-12-california/

Learn more about animal cruelty with one of our very first episodes: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/episode04

Transfarmation: https://thetransfarmationproject.org

Proposition 12: https://mercyforanimals.org/blog/bacon-fear-mongering-prop-12-california/

Mercy for Animals: https://mercyforanimals.org/about/

Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/109

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Critical Race Theory is at the heart of some of today’s most fiery culture wars, but does it deserve the heat? We are joined by scholar, teacher, and advocate Joshua Sealy-Harrington to discuss the many nuances of CRT. Josh is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law, and Counsel at Power Law. Josh’s expertise in critical race theory, critical disability theory, feminist legal theory, queer legal theory, criminal punishment, constitutional law, as well as law and social movements makes him one of the most insightful speakers in Canada today on this topic. Listen for a breakdown of what CRT is, what it’s limitations are, and what issues it aims to address in mainstream society.

Josh: https://twitter.com/joshuasealy

Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/108

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