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With the onset of the pandemic came a pressing need to bring health science information to the public, and fast. SFU researcher Alice Fleerackers joins Below the Radar to discuss the uptake of pre-print, or un-peer reviewed research by news media in the age of COVID-19. She speaks to host Melissa Roach about a recent study she has co-authored that analyzes how media communicate uncertainty in COVID-19 research.Alice is a freelance writer and researcher specializing in online science communication. Currently, she is a researcher at ScholCommLab, the Research Officer at Art the Science, and a Science in Society Editor at Science Borealis. She is also a PhD student at SFU, where she is exploring how uncertain health science is communicated online.In this episode, we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of reporting on unpublished health research; issues of public trust in journalism and science; and how researchers, communicators, and consumers of health science media can each navigate these complexities, even as the ground shifts beneath our feet.Resources:— STUDY: "Communicating Scientific Uncertainty in an Age of COVID-19: An Investigation into the Use of Preprints by Digital Media Outlets" - Health Communication: https://www.scholcommlab.ca/wp-content/plugins/zotpress/lib/request/request.dl.php?api_user_id=1298012&dlkey=Q2PLARSL&content_type=application/pdf— Scholarly Communications Lab: http://scholcommlab.ca/— ASAPbio Preprints FAQ page: https://asapbio.org/preprint-info/preprint-faq— #PreprintsInThePublicEye event [Video]: https://youtu.be/tTXFwYzLPwc— "Problems with Preprints: Covering Rough-Draft Manuscripts Responsibly" - The Open Notebook: https://www.theopennotebook.com/2020/06/01/problems-with-preprints-covering-rough-draft-manuscripts-responsibly/

Author: Fleerackers, Alice L., Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-03-16

Poverty Reduction Through Cash Transfers — with Claire Williams

Claire Williams speaks to the potential of direct cash transfers to help lift people out of poverty. A co-founder and CEO of Foundations for Social Change, Claire joins Am Johal on Below the Radar to share results from the New Leaf Project, a pilot initiative exploring the impact of direct cash transfers on the lives of people experiencing homelessness in Vancouver.Claire and Am talk about issues of stigma around mistrust in financial assistance programs, as well as reducing the barriers and bureaucracy that people meet with when trying to connect with aid and resources. Claire also shared some learnings from the project and participant feedback that will inform their expansion efforts, with the hope that the project's continued success will model how direct giving could be practically implemented in policy.Resources:— Foundations for Social Change: https://forsocialchange.org/— New Leaf Project: https://forsocialchange.org/new-leaf-project-overview— TEDxTalk by Rutger Bregman: Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash: https://www.ted.com/talks/rutger_bregman_poverty_isn_t_a_lack_of_character_it_s_a_lack_of_cash?language=en

Author: Claire Williams, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-03-23

Border and Rule — with Harsha Walia

Below the Radar invites Harsha Walia to discuss migrant justice, movement practices, and the underlying forces that govern oppressive border practices on a global scale. She is in conversation with host Am Johal about her recently released book, Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism (Fernwood Publishing, 2021).In this episode, they discuss Harsha's interrogation of border imperialism and the violence enacted through borders. Am asks Harsha about how her organizing background around race and migration informs her writing. She speaks to a nuanced framework for thinking about borders and migrant justice globally, connecting issues of populist nationalism, racial capitalism, migrant workers, deportations and detentions, eco-fascism, the technology of border enforcement, and more.Resources:— Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism (Fernwood Publishing, 2021) by Harsha Walia: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/border-and-rule— Undoing Border Imperialism (AK Press, 2013) by Harsha Walia: https://www.akpress.org/undoing-border-imperialism.html — No One Is Illegal: https://noii-van.resist.ca/ — BC Civil Liberties Association: https://bccla.org/

Author: Harsha Walia, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-03-30

Gas Imaginary Conversations No. 2 — with Tania Willard & Kanahus Manuel

Below the Radar has partnered with the Or Galley to bring you recordings of the Gas Imaginary Conversations series. This is the second of two talks from The Gas Imaginary, presented by the Or Gallery. This event was recorded virtually on Dec. 5, 2020. In this panel, Rachel O'Reilly, Tania Willard and Kanahus Manuel—with moderation by Denise Ryner of Or Gallery—discuss the ongoing challenges of asserting land rights and the protection of water from each of their respective contexts. The speakers address the role of artistic practices and visual culture in making such struggles resonate with communities, both at home and across distance. About The Gas Imaginary:A multi-disciplinary project using poetry, collaborative drawings, installation, moving images, and lectures to unpack the broader significance of 'settler conceptualism', the racial logic of the property form and fossil fuel-based labour politics as capital reaches the limits of land use. In ongoing dialogue with elders of Gooreng Gooreng country and settler women activists, where fracking was approved for mass installation in 'Australia', new elements of this work address the threatened destruction to 50% of the Northern Territory.The Tiny House Warriors: Our Land Is Home Is A Part Of A Mission To Stop The Trans Mountain Pipeline From Crossing Unceded Secwepemc Territory In British Columbia. Ten Tiny Houses Will Be Built And Placed Strategically Along The 518 Km Trans Mountain Pipeline Route To Assert Secwepemc Law And Jurisdiction And Block Access To This Pipeline.— Donate to Tiny House Warriors: https://www.classy.org/give/267006/#!/donation/checkoutSeed is Australia's first Indigenous youth climate network. The organisation is building a movement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people for climate justice with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Their vision is for a just and sustainable future with strong cultures and communities, powered by renewable energy. — Donate to Seed Mob: https://www.seedmob.org.au/donate— The Gas Imaginary Project page: https://thegasimaginary.orgalleryprojects.org/ — Or Gallery Exhibition page:  http://www.orgallery.org/past/814/the-gas-imaginary— Rachel O'Reilly: www.rachel-oreilly.net Watch the video recording of this conversation here (closed captioning included in video): https://thegasimaginary.orgalleryprojects.org/talks/

Author: Tania Willard, Author: Kanahus Manuel, Author: Rachel O'Reilly, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-03-25

Gas Imaginary Conversations No. 1 — with Denise Ferreira da Silva

Below the Radar has partnered with the Or Galley to bring you recordings of the Gas Imaginary Conversations series. In this first of two talks, Rachel O'Reilly is in conversation with Denise Ferreira da Silva. This event was presented by the Or Gallery and recorded virtually on Nov. 26, 2020.Rachel O'Reilly and Denise Ferreira da Silva have had long-standing exchanges on the many concepts and references that run through the Gas Imaginary project. In this conversation, they address the development of The Gas Imaginary and the language of capitalization in regards to land, settler conceptualism, and the violent movement of land to forms of property and sites of speculation-based capital.About The Gas Imaginary:A multi-disciplinary project using poetry, collaborative drawings, installation, moving images, and lectures to unpack the broader significance of 'settler conceptualism', the racial logic of the property form and fossil fuel-based labour politics as capital reaches the limits of land use. In ongoing dialogue with elders of Gooreng Gooreng country and settler women activists, where fracking was approved for mass installation in 'Australia', new elements of this work address the threatened destruction to 50% of the Northern Territory. — The Gas Imaginary Project page: https://thegasimaginary.orgalleryprojects.org/ — Or Gallery Exhibition page:  http://www.orgallery.org/past/814/the-gas-imaginary— Rachel O'Reilly: www.rachel-oreilly.net — Dr. Denise Ferreira da Silva: https://grsj.arts.ubc.ca/person/denise-ferreira-da-silva/ Watch the video recording of this conversation here (closed captioning included in video): https://thegasimaginary.orgalleryprojects.org/talks/

Author: Denise Ferreira da Silva, Author: Rachel O'Reilly, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-03-11

Building Tenant Power — with Barbara Steenbergen

Barbara Steenbergen from the International Union of Tenants, European Union office, joins Am Johal on this episode of Below the Radar. Together they discuss the role of the tenant unions in Europe as well as their advances in housing policies and protecting tenant rights. Barbara talks about the European housing context, and how tenant social movements in Europe led to the establishment of tenant unions. She discusses successful progressive housing policies in Berlin, Vienna, and the Scandinavian model for public housing, as well as some of the progress being made in countries that have an extremely high home ownership rate, like Spain and Portugal. Resources:— International Union of Tenants — Berlin's Tenants Association (Berliner Mieterverein)— UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing— International Social Housing Festival - Helsinki June 2022

Author: Barbara Steenbergen, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-04-13

Field Notes from the Disability Justice Movement — with Al Etmanski

Longtime community organizer and social entrepreneur Al Etmanski talks to Am Johal about where the movement for disability justice is headed — with lived experience leading the way. Al speaks to the urgent need for a basic income for people with disabilities, and how to build up a grassroots political movement to advance social change.Al Etmanski is also the host of an upcoming series of Below the Radar, called The Power of Disability. The series will highlight six incredible changemakers with disabilities who are also powerful advocates in the disability community. Al and Am discuss the origins of the series and the importance of shining a light on the often overlooked contributions of people with disabilities.Resources:— Al Etmanski's website: https://aletmanski.com/— The Power of Disability: 10 Lessons for Surviving, Thriving, and Changing the World by Al Etmanski: https://aletmanski.com/books/#powerofdisability— The Power of Disability Digest: https://aletmanski.com/disability-digest/

Author: Al Etmanski, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-04-15

Charting the Pandemic with Data Modelling — with Caroline Colijn

SFU Mathematics professor Caroline Colijn joins host Am Johal to talk about the role of data modelling in the response to COVID-19. Caroline holds the Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Infection, Evolution and Public Health, and works at the intersection of mathematics and public health, with a particular focus on the spread and evolution of infectious diseases.She has been working alongside colleagues since the beginning of the pandemic, using data to mathematically model the trajectory of COVID-19 and to inform public policy. In this interview, she gives a brief overview of how we've arrived at this point in the pandemic here in BC. They discuss the potential benefits of prioritizing high-contact workers in the rollout of vaccines, variants of concern in BC, and what data tells us about COVID-19 spread in the weeks and months to come.

Author: Caroline Colijn, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-04-20

Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy — with Elle–Máijá Tailfeathers

Blackfoot and Sámi writer, actor,producer and director, Elle–Máijá Tailfeathers joins host Am Johal on this episode of Below the Radar to talk about her latest film Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. Together they discussed how Tailfeathers created the feature documentary film, which takes place in her community of Kainai First Nation in Southern Alberta, and look at the impacts of the drug-poisoning epidemic over a period of four years in that community.Elle–Máijá shares her own process of narrative sovereignty as an Indigenous filmmaker, a process rooted in conversation, deep listening, accountability and that is also respectful of community protocols. She also talks about how she implemented the Blackfoot concept of Kímmapiiyipitssini, working from a place of empathy, love and understanding, to her practice and how her previous works influenced this film. Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of EmpathyElle–Máijá Tailfeathers' film witnesses radical and profound change in her community. Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy is an intimate portrait of survival, love and the collective work of healing in the Kainai First Nation in Southern Alberta, a Blackfoot community facing the impacts of substance use and a drug-poisoning epidemic.Community members active in addiction and recovery, first responders and medical professionals implement harm reduction to save lives. This work is contextualized within the historical and contemporary impacts of settler colonialism; Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy draws a connecting line between the effects of colonial violence on Blackfoot land and people and the ongoing substance-use crisis.Held in love and hope for the future, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy asks the audience to be a part of this remarkable change with the community.Resources:— Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy— Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers — Hotdocs Film Festival- Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy— c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city— Mavericks, Season 2, Episode: Dr. Esther Tailfeathers: Blood Reserve

Author: Elle–Máijá Tailfeathers, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-04-27

Politics and Exhaustion — with Asad Haider

Theorist and author Asad Haider joins Below the Radar to discuss questions he explores in his book, Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump. Asad discusses how class dynamics cannot be separated from identity-driven movements.  As well, he explores ideas of political exhaustion in the tradition of political theorists such as Sylvain Lazarus and Alain Badiou. In this interview, Asad interrogates the role of identity in politics and how it has been taken up in discourse — complicating the relationship between race and class in a context that has been defined by capital interests. Asad and Am discuss theoretical questions around frameworks for political organizing and solidarity across movements. He also speaks to our current moment as one of political exhaustion, where it's difficult to mobilize transformative political change.

Author: Asad Haider, Author: Johal, Am, Author: Fiorella Pinillos, Author: Melissa Roach, Author: Paige Smith, Author: Kathy Feng, Author: Alex Abahmed

Date created: 2021-05-04