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Episode 18 features Baljit Sangra, a Vancouver-based documentarian and filmmaker. Baljit's latest documentary, "Because We Are Girls", is a powerful film that follows three Indo-Canadian sisters from Williams Lake, BC, who experienced sexual abuse by an older relative in their childhood years. Through an empathetic lens, Baljit shows the sisters’ laughs and struggles, as they seek to break the cycle of abuse and redress the wrongs within their family. Am Johal and Maria Cecilia Saba talk to Baljit about her approach to a complex story in a way that highlights her heroines’ humanity and the power of true sisterhood. Read more about "Because We Are Girls" here: vivamantra.ca/

Critical theorist Alberto Toscano joins Am Johal in conversation about his work and writings, as he joins SFU as a visiting faculty member with the Digital Democracies Institute in SFU’s School of Communication. In this episode, they discuss Alberto’s writing on the philosophy of fanaticism, and conflicting discourse and counter-histories around the figure of the fanatic, which historically takes many forms, from abolitionist leaders to peasant revolutionaries. Alberto and Am also dive into global and historical trends of authoritarianism, racial capitalism and the notion of ‘late fascism.’ Alberto speaks to expanding our concept of fascism, to recognize iterations outside of what could be thought of as European fascism. They also talk about neoliberal tendencies in post-secondary administration, and the workings of mechanisms that maintain or fortify power structures within institutions.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal sits down with Dan Adleman, an Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Toronto. He has also previously taught at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design. Dan received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in 2016, in his dissertation he explores new-rhetorical approaches to American fiction grappling with the emergence of a new media environment at the turn of the millennium. Alongside Am Johal, he is the co-founder of Vancouver Institute for Social Research, a non-profit graduate-level critical theory free school run out of the Or Gallery since 2013.

Squamish Nation Councillor and community leader Khelsilem joins Am Johal on this first episode of Below the Radar’s Climate Justice & Inequality series. In this episode, they discuss the climate crisis as a result of the colonial project, how climate change hits hardest for those already at a disadvantage, and the spaces where colonialism has existed within climate movements. Khelsilem speaks to his critique of fossil fuel infrastructure, the false narrative of individual responsibility, and the role governments play in worsening the crisis through policy decisions that favour oil and gas. We also hear about innovative affordable housing projects, such as Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw Development, and how to build climate-friendly design into new housing models.

On this episode of Below the Radar, we are joined by SFU President, Andrew Petter. For 10 years, Andrew has led SFU in becoming Canada’s Engaged University. Prior to that, Andrew had extensive teaching experience as a faculty member at the University of Victoria as well as serving the province as an MLA with a variety of cabinet portfolios during his time in office. Am Johal talks to Andrew about the experiences he had prior to coming to SFU, what it’s been like to serve as SFU’s president, and why SFU will always be a big part of his life.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Scott Bernstein, the Director of Policy at Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, a project based at the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU. He has also done work with Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver and internationally with Open Society Foundations in New York. Together, Am and Scott talk about his work involving harm reduction, decriminalization and drug regulation policies, and discuss potential regulation models with studies such as North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) and Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness (SALOME).

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg musician, writer and academic, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the boundaries between story and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity. Leanne has performed in venues and festivals across Canada with her sister singer songwriter Ansley Simpson and guitarist Nick Ferrio. Leanne’s second album, f(l)light, was released in 2016 and is a haunting collection of story-songs that effortlessly interweave Simpson’s complex poetics and multi-layered stories of the land, spirit, and body with lush acoustic and electronic arrangements. Her EP Noopiming Sessions combines readings from her novel Noopiming with soundscapes composed and performed by Ansley Simpson and James Bunton with a gorgeous video by Sammy Chien and the Chimerik Collective. It was produced during the on-going social isolation of COVID-19 and was released on Gizhiiwe Music in the Fall of 2020. Leanne is the author of seven books, including This Accident of Being Lost, which won the MacEwan University Book of the Year; was a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Trillium Book Award; was long listed for CBC Canada Reads; and was named a best book of the year by the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and Quill & Quire. Her new novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies was released by the House of Anansi Press in the fall of 2020 and in the US by the University of Minnesota Press in 2021 and was named one of the Globe and Mail’s best books of the year and was short listed for the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction. A Short History of the Blockade was released by the University of Alberta Press in early 2021. Her new project with Robyn Maynard,Rehearsals for Living will be released in 2022 by Knopf Canada. Her newest record, Theory Of Ice was released by You’ve Changed Records in the winter of 2021, and features the artistic brilliance of Ansley Simpson, Nick Ferrio, Jim Bryson, John K. Samson, Jonas Bonnetta and Sandra Brewster.

Glen Coulthard is Yellowknives Dene and is an associate professor in the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program and the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. He is also the author of the acclaimed book Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition from University of Minnesota Press. On this special episode live from the Vancouver Podcast Festival, host Am Johal sits down with Glen to talk about who and what influences his work and research, the different projects he’s been involved in over the years, and what continues to inspire him to do the work he does.

In July 2017 members of the DTES community started meeting as a collective at the Hives for Humanity Bee Space to have conversation about how to ensure that community ethics are a respected part of the process of cultural production. We define cultural production as being: any time an entity comes into a community to make a product from its culture. ie. individuals and/or organisations of journalists, film makers, photographers, students, researchers, tourists or volunteers. We define community ethics as being: a set of principles to guide behaviour, based in lived experience, acknowledging the interconnectedness of our humanity, fostering relationships of respect, responsibility, reciprocity and return. We have produced a resource card and a manifesto out of these meetings which we are launching at our event on March 7th 2019, 7pm-9pm at SFU Woodwards. Copies of the card and manifesto will be available for all to take out into the community, and will be open sourced after the event. The evening included a short panel discussion with members of the collective sharing their experiences of cultural production – the good, the bad and the ugly! For more info visit: hivesforhumanity.com/communityethics/

Seth Klein, adjunct professor at SFU Urban Studies, and former Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in BC, sits down with Below the Radar to discuss what the Canadian government can do to combat the climate emergency. Seth discusses the proposed environmental policies of the major political parties running in the upcoming federal elections. Additionally, he chats about his forthcoming book which examines political actions the Canadian government undertook in reaction to World War Two, and how we may learn from these actions in regards to addressing climate change. You can keep up to date with Seth’s writings on his blog here: sethklein.ca/blog/