The Conversation Lab

This is an interview with Ann Mortifee shortly after the introduction her 6th musical,The Mysteries. After many years its a wonderful catch-up about her work and life and what inspires her.

Bowen Island is one of the many (21) municipalities that make up Metro Vancouver. A short bus and ferry ride away former mayor Bob Turner talks about the municipal election,the politics of a small island, the Howe Sound Biosphere and more importantly how local communities provide hope.

How often do we stop to ask what lies underneath the things we believe?

In this episode I talk with with internationally recognized social work scholar Jan Fook about critical reflection — the practice of examining the assumptions, values and experiences that shape how we see the world.

Jan argues that real reflection requires more than thinking carefully. It means becoming curious about our own assumptions, suspending judgment, and learning to ask questions that open a conversation rather than close it down. Together, they explore why we so quickly put people into categories, how those categories can prevent us from truly hearing one another, and why curiosity and non-judgmental listening matter in a deeply divided world.

Our conversation moves well beyond social work into questions that affect all of us: Can we learn to recognize our own biases? Can reflection help us have better conversations about race, politics and social change? And can understanding our own sphere of influence give us more agency than we think?

As Jan puts it near the end of our conversation, meaningful reflection involves “hearts and minds and souls” — our emotions, our assumptions and, underneath them all, our values

Chief Robert Joseph & David Patterson talk about Reconciliation and why it matters.

This is a short story/trailer for the conversation lab podcast.

Dr. Tero Mustonen, is a passionate defender of a traditional worldview and cosmology of his people, as a Finn and head of the village of Selkie in North Karelia, Finland. This is an earlier conversation about the Snow-change cooperative in an interesting backdrop of our current landscape.

Gregory Ould and his son Ben are the co-founders of the Blanket BC Society - an award winning non-profit organization that collects and distributes blankets and warm clothing to shelter programs, families in need, emergency services, and indigenous communities. In this eposode we talk about the heart warming history of Blanket BC and how it got started, some of the issues that keep the team up at night, and how we can help support thier latest fund raising drive.

Jeff Fitzpatrick talks about the importance of regional parks and how they support healthy communities. He also discusses the many complex issues of developing one with a focus on Metro's latest at Cape Roger Curtis on Bowen Island.

A fun conversation with the author about broadcasting, the Olympics, business and bees.

Sara Harris is a Canadian scientist, and professor in the department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, and the associate dean academic in the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia. We talk about our climate and how we educate as well as discuss it.