Eli Steele is a filmmaker known for directing and writing What’s Bugging Seth?, How Jack Became Black?, and most recently, What Killed Michael Brown?

We caught up with Eli and discussed everything from his background and career to his latest project, What Killed Michael Brown? Beyond that, we discussed the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, Black conservatism, and the dangers of modern racial ideologies.

Hope you enjoy!

What Killed Michael Brown: https://www.amazon.com/Killed-Michael-Brown-Shelby-Steele/dp/B08L9NZHV3

How Jack Became Black: https://howjackbecameblack.com/

What's Bugging Seth?: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414675/

This week on the podcast we're chatting with Speakeasy contributor Aaron Nichols about his life in the writing and travelling game.

Aaron broke out on Medium with a viral piece and leveraged the opportunity to wade into self-reflective and philosophical writing.

He now has a solid following on his Substack newsletter, The Well Lived Life. We talk about everything from our favourite books to finding our way in a society and culture we are at odds with. Hopefully, Aaron will be a regular feature moving forward.

Show Notes

Substack: https://thewelllivedlife.substack.com/​

Medium: https://theaaronnichols.medium.com/​

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Theaaronnichols​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronjohnnichols/

This week on the podcast we are speaking with Akilah Allen-Silverstein, co-founder of the organization No Silence on Race. While she’s not working her day job, Akilah – alongside Sara Yacobi-Harris and Yoni Belete – are leading the charge to expand the discourse for Jews of Colour within Canadian Jewish communities.

No Silence on Race was founded in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. Since then, the organization has garnered hundreds of signatures and worked with leading communal organizations to address lingering problems. If you wish to learn more about the great work No Silence on Race is doing, check out the show notes below for links!

If you haven’t already, please like, subscribe, and follow us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find yourselves listening. If you enjoy the content and message we’re putting out, please consider donating to us either through PayPal - for single-time donations - or Patreon - for monthly contributions. They can be found on our homepage under the “Donate” tab.

Links:

No Silence on Race: https://www.nosilenceonrace.ca/​

Instagram: @nosilenceonrace

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Nosilenceonrace

Donate: https://spkesy.ca/cornerstone/11/2020...

This week on the Speakeasy podcast we have a special treat for listeners. Monique Lahaie, a book enthusiast and blogger sits down with Michael Christie, author of Greenwood.

The book is a multigenerational family story, in which the unexpected legacies of a remote island off the coast of British Columbia will link the fates of five people over a hundred years. Cloud Atlas meets Barkskins in this ingenious nested-ring epic set against the devastation of the natural world.

Among other accolades, it was: Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel, Finalist for The BC Book Awards, Finalist for The Evergreen Award, An Indie Next Pick, Named one of CBC's best books of 2019.

You can follow Monique @monique_reads on Instagram. We want to thank her again for this great conversation and keep an eye out for more collaborations between us in the near future! 

Again, if you haven’t already, please like, subscribe, and follow us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find yourselves listening. If you enjoy the content and message we’re putting out, please consider donating to us either through PayPal - for single-time donations - or Patreon - for monthly contributions. They can be found on our homepage under the “Donate” tab.

Links:

Michael Christie: http://www.michaelchristie.net/

Monique Lahaie: https://www.instagram.com/monique_reads/

Donate: https://spkesy.ca/cornerstone/11/2020/donate/

Speakeasy. Speakfree.

On today’s show, we sit down and chat with the ever-funny Ali Koca -- or as many of you may know him, huskymuscles. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Ali married his love of humour and storytelling with the social media platform TikTok, garnering wide-spread popularity and a massive following.

Speakeasy co-founder and this episode’s host, Reuben Blaff, actually went to the same high school as Ali in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and the same post-secondary school in Toronto -- York University. At York, Ali was part of the wrestling team and competed in the heavyweight class for all 4 years of his undergrad.

His TikTok account, huskymuscles, has over 1.4M followers and over 66M likes. You can also find him on Instagram and YouTube under the same memorable username. Be sure to check out his podcast, The Husky Muscles Show, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.

If you enjoy the content and message we’re putting out, please consider donating to us either through PayPal -- for single-time donations -- or Patreon -- for monthly contributions. They can be found on our homepage under the “Donate” tab. They really do make a difference helping support our writers and keep this whole show running!

On today’s show, we sit down and chat with Jacy Reese. Originally from rural Huntsville, Texas, Jacy is a social scientist and co-founder of the Sentience Institute -- a think-tank centred around how to most effectively expand humanity's moral circle. The Sentience Institute was founded upon an idea that’s been Jacy’s long-time guiding philosophy in life -- effective altruism.

People who ascribe to be effective altruists use evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others. And by others, we mean all sentient beings -- not just humans. It was through looking at the world through this lens that Jacy became convinced that his Cause X -- his way of making the greatest positive impact -- was reforming our food system.

If you find our chat with Jacy interesting, you might want to check out our article series on his incredible book, The End of Animal Farming. You can find the first installment up on the website now.

Also, if you enjoy the content and message we’re putting out, please consider donating to us either through PayPal -- for single-time donations -- or Patreon -- for monthly contributions. They can be found on our homepage under the “Donate” tab. They really do make a difference in helping support our writers and keep this whole show running!

Links: 

Book: https://www.amazon.ca/End-Animal-Farming-Entrepreneurs-Animal-Free/dp/0807019453/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+end+of+animal+farming&qid=1613659138&sr=8-1

Donate: https://spkesy.ca/cornerstone/11/2020/donate/

This week we’ll be speaking to Jing, a freelance journalist published in The New York Times and Financial Times. Born and raised in China, he worked as a journalist for several years before moving to Canada to pursue graduate studies. He is now working on a book about Canadian niceness and its social implications.

Due to privacy considerations and potential retribution, we had to obscure Jing’s identity.

Our chat is a great ‘side dish’ for commemorating Chinese New Year with a discussion about all things China. Throughout you’ll hear us discuss Asian identity in the wake of COVID, discrimination faced, China’s foreign policy with the Biden Administration, and how optimistic Jing is about the two countries managing their differences.

Please be advised that this chat does encounter some audio difficulties.

If you enjoy the content and message we’re putting out, please consider donating to us either through PayPal - for single-time donations - or Patreon - for monthly contributions. They can be found on our homepage under the “Donate” tab. They really do make a difference in helping support our writers and keep this whole show running!

Holocaust survivor and author of Tapestry of Survival, Leslie Mezei, joins us this week on the Speakeasy podcast to discuss the continued importance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, spirituality and interfaith dialogue during our times. Most importantly, Leslie speaks about life lessons he’s learned throughout his journey that we can apply to our lives today.

As well, if you enjoy the content and message we’re putting out, please consider donating to us either through PayPal - for single-time donations - or Patreon - for monthly contributions. They both can be found on our homepage under the “Donate” tab @ https://spkesy.ca/

If you haven’t already, please like, subscribe, and follow us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find yourselves listening. 

Show Notes:

Bio: https://memoirs.azrielifoundation.org/education/programs/leslie-mezei-activity/

Book: https://secondstorypress.ca/azrieli/atapestryofsurvival

Michael Cooper of Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC), a think-tank, joins us this week on the podcast to discuss how the pandemic has impacts Canadians mental health. MHRC is doing important work monitoring and tracking the state of Canadians mental health, particularly during our uniquely difficult times. How have government lockdown mandates and social distancing protocols weighed on Canadians? What does the future of mental health research look like?

Listen here to find out.

Like, follow, and subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Google, or whichever platform you find yourselves listening on!

Speakeasy. Speakfree.

Links:

https://www.mhrc.ca/

https://www.mhrc.ca/staff-team/michael-cooper

https://www.mhrc.ca/national-data-on-covid

https://spkesy.ca/

Check out our weekly podcast featuring the latest stories, interviews, hangouts, catch-ups, seshs from the Speakeasy universe. You can also follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube as we continue to grow the platform out. Stay tuned as we expand our podcast in the coming months with new channels and personalities.