This site explores the myriad connections between empathy, narrative, consciousness, and selfhood through the lenses of literature, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and more.
This is a video from “Empathy, Social Justice, and the Arts,” an event held at Bishop’s University (BU) in Bandeen Hall on Friday, December 16, 2022!
A very special thanks to Alex Bergeron for creating and editing this video and for the beautiful soundtrack; you are incredibly talented, and we are deeply grateful for your help and talent!
Another special thanks to BU’s Faculty of Arts and Department of English for sponsoring and funding the event! We could not have done this without you!
Thank you also to all of the participants, volunteers, and attendees and to Eric Akbar Manolson!
A big thanks to Sarah Boudreau for taking photos of and filming the event!
In this clip from The Brains & Banter Podcast’s conversation with Anne Macksoud, John Ankele, and Dr. Kylie Harris, co-host Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square (that’s me) talks about interconnectedness, collectivism, and the positive potential of living in uncertainty.
Please watch out for the full episode later in June 2022!
Thank you so much to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip and its very cool accompanying thumbnail!
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
In this clip from The Brains & Banter Podcast’s forthcoming episode with Anne Macksoud, John Ankele, and Dr. Kylie Harris, which will be released later in June 2022, Anne, a documentary filmmaker with “Old Dog Documentaries,” talks about the beauty and transformative power of paying attention and being in the moment.
Bio (Anne Macksoud and John Ankele): “We are two ‘old dogs’ saddened by the suffering we see all around us and moved to take action. Since 1985, we have produced and directed documentary films about the subtleties of individual human experience and the complexities of our collective challenges. Our political leaders cannot solve the problems of our time. They themselves are too beholden to privileged, powerful constituencies motivated to preserve the status quo. Change must start with ordinary people who understand the interrelatedness of our global community. Ordinary people have the will, resourcefulness, and compassion to craft new solutions serving our common good. We offer our films as catalysts for this kind of solution— as tools for education and activism in the name of social justice and climate change. We invite you to watch them at home, show them to your friends, and share them with your classes and your community.”
Thank you to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this amazing clip!
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
The EPRC, which Dr. Ingram helps organize, is a group of 100+ multidisciplinary researchers from across the globe working to bring together clinical, scientific, and spiritual paradigms to improve clinical outcomes.
What many might call “spiritual”, “mystical”, “energetic”, etc. experiences and effects, we refer to as emergent phenomena. As emergent practices continue to scale up in society, our aim is to give health care systems, mental health providers, and those helping to teach and promote various practices the information they need to make better decisions about how to both promote the benefits of these practices and manage the various effects they can produce.
The EPRC’s mission is to use ontologically-agnostic, multidisciplinary, first-person, psychometric, neurophenomenological, biochemical, and clinical scientific methods to conduct studies on emergent practices and phenomena to generate clinically-relevant information that can add value to care.
Thank you for your interest!
Please feel free to contact us at info@theeprc.org.
In this clip from The Brains & Banter Podcast, Dr. Daniel M. Ingram, MD MSPH, talks about the power of placebos. Please watch out for more clips and for the full episode later in June 2022!
Dr. Ingram is Board Chair and acting CEO of Emergence Benefactors, an incorporated nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity organization supporting the science of emergence.
His current research interests include finding ways to bring clinical competence, data-backed diagnostic and management strategies, and options for disconcerting emergent phenomena to therapists and other healthcare providers, particularly those in emergency medicine, as well as to use scientific methods to help emergent practitioners optimize their practice for good outcomes. He was a board certified emergency medicine physician for 12 years, mostly working in major trauma centers, and his MSPH is in epidemiology.
Daniel also helps organize the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC), a group of 100+ multidisciplinary researchers from across the globe working to bring together clinical, scientific, and spiritual paradigms to improve clinical outcomes.
Thank you very much for the very talented Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip!
In this clip from The Brains & Banter Podcast, Dr. Daniel M. Ingram, MD MSPH, talks about the importance of enhancing perception through repetition and practice as an emergency physician.
Please watch out for more clips and for the full episode later in June 2022!
Dr. Ingram is Board Chair and acting CEO of Emergence Benefactors, an incorporated nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity organization supporting the science of emergence. His current research interests include finding ways to bring clinical competence, data-backed diagnostic and management strategies, and options for disconcerting emergent phenomena to therapists and other healthcare providers, particularly those in emergency medicine, as well as to use scientific methods to help emergent practitioners optimize their practice for good outcomes.
He was a board certified emergency medicine physician for 12 years, mostly working in major trauma centers, and his MSPH is in epidemiology.
Daniel also helps organize the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC), a group of 100+ multidisciplinary researchers from across the globe working to bring together clinical, scientific, and spiritual paradigms to improve clinical outcomes.
Thank you so much to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip! Twitter: @AshyProductions; Instagram: @AshyProduction
Thank you to everyone for watching! Much love and gratitude!
In this clip from The Brains & Banter Podcast, Bree Benjamin, LMFT and Founder of the Vermont Center for Integrative Therapy, talks about her experience working with teenage girls, particularly those with eating disorders.
Watch out for more clips and the full episode in the coming weeks!
Opened in 2010, VTCIT is one of the first mental health centers to combine ancient systems of healing interwoven with current cutting edge systems of care. Utilizing her decades of experience as a psychotherapist also trained in healing and spiritual practices, Bree created a unique four phase model of understanding and care delivery through which she birthed protocols for eating disorders, trauma, and mood disorders among other diagnoses. Bree has lectured and presented extensively at institutions, conferences, and universities on topics such as integrative medicine, eating disorders, and addictions. She has trained and supervised over 150 practitioners from disciplines ranging from internal medicine to yoga therapy.
In 2015, VTCIT and Bree were featured in the documentary film ALL OF ME, which explored the deeper issues and meaning surrounding eating disorders for individuals and their families. In 2018, following a desire to reach a wider range of professionals and clients, Bree scaled back VTCIT.
She currently leads a small team in the service of creating and delivering cutting edge clinical programs and professional training that change how we view and deliver care. Out of a deep desire to change the paradigm of mental health treatment, Bree continues to teach, write, and train in the areas of somatics, eating disorders, spirituality, addiction, and trauma.
Bree is also a Team Member with The Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium, a group of 100+ multidisciplinary researchers from across the globe working to bring together clinical, scientific, and spiritual paradigms to improve clinical outcomes.
Thank you very much to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip.
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
In this clip from The Brains & Banter Podcast, Bree Benjamin, LMFT and Founder of the Vermont Center for Integrative Therapy, explains how she got into integrative care.
Watch out for more clips and the full episode in the coming weeks!
Opened in 2010, VTCIT is one of the first mental health centers to combine ancient systems of healing interwoven with current cutting edge systems of care. Utilizing her decades of experience as a psychotherapist also trained in healing and spiritual practices, Bree created a unique four phase model of understanding and care delivery through which she birthed protocols for eating disorders, trauma, and mood disorders among other diagnoses. Bree has lectured and presented extensively at institutions, conferences, and universities on topics such as integrative medicine, eating disorders, and addictions. She has trained and supervised over 150 practitioners from disciplines ranging from internal medicine to yoga therapy.
In 2015, VTCIT and Bree were featured in the documentary film ALL OF ME, which explored the deeper issues and meaning surrounding eating disorders for individuals and their families. In 2018, following a desire to reach a wider range of professionals and clients, Bree scaled back VTCIT.
She currently leads a small team in the service of creating and delivering cutting edge clinical programs and professional training that change how we view and deliver care. Out of a deep desire to change the paradigm of mental health treatment, Bree continues to teach, write, and train in the areas of somatics, eating disorders, spirituality, addiction, and trauma.
Bree is also a Team Member with The Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium, a group of 100+ multidisciplinary researchers from across the globe working to bring together clinical, scientific, and spiritual paradigms to improve clinical outcomes.
Thank you very much to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip.
Finally, a very special thanks to the University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World,” June 3 to 5, 2022.
This is a fun reel, created by Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions, from a talk I gave for the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute’s monthly AI meeting in April 2022.
Thanks again, Emmanuel! You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
The Brains & Banter Podcast is so thrilled to announce that the amazing and inspiring Lauren Ducrey will be a guest on our podcast – watch out for the episode in June 2022!
Lauren Ducrey is a poet, student of mindfulness (Inner MBA), and a UX content strategist at Google.
She holds two Master’s degrees – one in American Literature, and the other in Sustainability & Social Innovation.
She has also worked as a speechwriter for the French Consul in New York City and as an educator for multilingual students.
She published her first book of poetry, Tongues Tied, in November 2021, and she is about to release her first poetry and music album in collaboration with Paris-based guitarist Hadrien Remy.
Lauren is dedicated to breaking poetry out of its ivory tower as she believes it is a universal tool for mental health and wellbeing.
In this clip from the Brains & Banter Podcast, the brilliant Dr. Joel Bakan – Author, Filmmaker, Musician, & Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia (CA) – explains why he wrote and co-created a sequel to his documentary film The Corporation, itself based on Bakan’s critically acclaimed book of the same name, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004). The sequel film, The New Corporation, was directed by Bakan and Jennifer Abbott.
Bio from Joel’s website (linked below): Joel is an internationally renowned legal scholar and commentator. A former Rhodes Scholar and law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada, Bakan has law degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie, and Harvard. Bakan’s scholarly work includes Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (1997) as well as textbooks, edited collections, and numerous articles in leading legal and social science journals. His award-winning book, Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children (2012), has been translated into several languages.
A recipient of awards for both writing and teaching, Bakan has worked on landmark legal cases and government policy and serves regularly as a public speaker and media commentator. Also a professional jazz guitarist, Bakan lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife Rebecca Jenkins.
Thank you so much again, Joel – you are amazing!
And thank you so much to the mega talented Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip!
In this clip from the Brains & Banter Podcast, the brilliant Dr. Joel Bakan – Author, Filmmaker, Musician, & Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia (CA) – explains why he wrote and co-created a sequel to his documentary film The Corporation, itself based on Bakan’s critically acclaimed book of the same name, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004). The sequel film, The New Corporation, was directed by Bakan and Jennifer Abbott.
Bio from Joel’s website (linked below): Joel is an internationally renowned legal scholar and commentator. A former Rhodes Scholar and law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada, Bakan has law degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie, and Harvard. Bakan’s scholarly work includes Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (1997) as well as textbooks, edited collections, and numerous articles in leading legal and social science journals. His award-winning book, Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children (2012), has been translated into several languages.
A recipient of awards for both writing and teaching, Bakan has worked on landmark legal cases and government policy and serves regularly as a public speaker and media commentator. Also a professional jazz guitarist, Bakan lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife Rebecca Jenkins.
Thank you so much again, Joel – you are amazing!
And thank you so much to the mega talented Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for creating this clip! Twitter: @AshyProductions
In this video clip – created by the mega talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – the incredibly charming writer, actor, and comedian Jack Barry talks about stand up comedy and the art of editing. WE LOVE JACK BARRY!
Jack plays “Jack” in Mae Martin’s AMAZING television series Feel Good (2020) (Channel 4 and Netflix).
You’ll also recognize him from:
Starstruck (BBC/HBO Max)
Catastrophe (Channel 4)
The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One)
Cuckoo (BBC)
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (UK Gold)
Elevenish (ITV2)
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix)
The Duchess (Netflix)
Jack has also written for Mock the Week and supported people like James Acaster (WOOO!), Joe Lycett, Marc Maron, and Russell Howard on tour. In sum, HE IS EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED! We love you, Jack!
**Please watch out for our recording with Jack and his brilliant partner Martina Rodriguez (she/her)!
Martina is an Argentinian currently living in London (UK) and received her BA Hons in Global Politics & International Relations from Birkbeck. She is a Spanish teacher, a Project Officer & Researcher at London School of Economics & Political Science, and freelance writer. Martina is also a member and co-founder of Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans, Ni Una Menos UK, and the Argentina Solidarity Campaign.
Martina is also one of our co-hosts, and we love her! So will you!
Thank you so much again to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for editing this video!
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
In this episode of the Brains & Banter Podcast, we speak to the amazingly talented rapper, singer, producer, songwriter, motivational speaker, and mental health advocate Calvin “Kalvonix” Tiu! WE LOVE YOU, CALVIN!
Calvin “lives day to day life in hopes of inspiring others. Born with Cerebral Palsy, Calvin was often bullied by his peers. Walking on crutches or rolling in a wheelchair, Calvin began to feel useless and depressed. This was until he discovered Hip Hop at the age of 12. Utilizing the genre as a mode of self-expression, Kalvonix made it his duty to help others through art and creativity, and he hopes to create music for people to feel and connect with.”
Kalvonix’s original song “One Day I’ll Be Fine” went viral on Tik Tok in 2018.
Accomplishments:
Performed at the 2010 Winter Games
Published author at 23
LocFilesMedia Wildcard Champion
You can follow Kalvonix and check out his music here:
Thank you so much to the extremely talented Sean Beyak for editing this video – we are incredibly grateful!
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World,” June 3 to 5, 2022.
In this video clip – created by the mega talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – the incredibly charming writer, actor, and comedian Jack Barry talks about the effects the capitalist system is having on the arts and reminds us of how deeply connected we are to one another and to our planet. WE LOVE JACK BARRY!
Jack plays “Jack” in Mae Martin’s AMAZING television series Feel Good (2020) (Channel 4 and Netflix).
You’ll also recognize him from:
Starstruck (BBC/HBO Max)
Catastrophe (Channel 4)
The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One)
Cuckoo (BBC)
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (UK Gold)
Elevenish (ITV2)
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix)
The Duchess (Netflix)
Jack has also written for Mock the Week and supported people like James Acaster (WOOO!), Joe Lycett, Marc Maron, and Russell Howard on tour. In sum, HE IS EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED! We love you, Jack!
**Please watch out for our recording with Jack and his brilliant partner Martina Rodriguez (she/her)!
Martina is an Argentinian currently living in London (UK) and received her BA Hons in Global Politics & International Relations from Birkbeck. She is a Spanish teacher, a Project Officer & Researcher at London School of Economics & Political Science, and freelance writer. Martina is also a member and co-founder of Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans, Ni Una Menos UK, and the Argentina Solidarity Campaign.
Martina is also one of our co-hosts, and we love her! So will you!
Thank you so much again to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for editing this video!
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
In this video clip – created by the mega talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – the incredibly charming writer, actor, and comedian Jack Barry talks about the alienating aspects of social media with the Brains & Banter Podcast.
Jack plays “Jack” in Mae Martin’s AMAZING television series Feel Good (2020) (Channel 4 and Netflix).
You’ll also recognize him from:
Starstruck (BBC/HBO Max)
Catastrophe (Channel 4)
The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One)
Cuckoo (BBC)
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (UK Gold)
Elevenish (ITV2)
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix)
The Duchess (Netflix)
Jack has also written for Mock the Week and supported people like James Acaster (WOOO!), Joe Lycett, Marc Maron, and Russell Howard on tour. In sum, HE IS EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED! We love you, Jack!
**Please watch out for our recording with Jack and his brilliant partner Martina Rodriguez (she/her)!
Martina is an Argentinian currently living in London (UK) and received her BA Hons in Global Politics & International Relations from Birkbeck. She is a Spanish teacher, a Project Officer & Researcher at London School of Economics & Political Science, and freelance writer. Martina is also a member and co-founder of Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans, Ni Una Menos UK, and the Argentina Solidarity Campaign.
Martina is also one of our co-hosts, and we love her! So will you!
Thank you so much again to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for editing this video!
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
In this video clip – created by the mega talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – the incredibly charming writer, actor, and comedian Jack Barry talks to the Brains & Banter Podcast about the connections between therapy and creativity.
Jack plays “Jack” in Mae Martin’s AMAZING television series Feel Good (2020) (Channel 4 and Netflix).
You’ll also recognize him from:
Starstruck (BBC/HBO Max)
Catastrophe (Channel 4)
The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One)
Cuckoo (BBC)
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (UK Gold)
Elevenish (ITV2)
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix)
The Duchess (Netflix)
Jack has also written for Mock the Week and supported people like James Acaster (WOOO!), Joe Lycett, Marc Maron, and Russell Howard on tour.
In sum, HE IS EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED! We love you, Jack!
**Watch out for our recording with Jack and his brilliant partner Martina Rodriguez (she/her)! Martina is an Argentinian currently living in London (UK) and received her BA Hons in Global Politics & International Relations from Birkbeck. She is a Spanish teacher, a Project Officer & Researcher at London School of Economics & Political Science, and freelance writer. Martina is also a member and co-founder of Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans, Ni Una Menos UK, and the Argentina Solidarity Campaign.
Martina is also one of our co-hosts, and we love her! So will you!
Thank you so much again to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for editing this video!
Twitter: @Ashy Productions
Thank you also to The University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities; UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts; and to the UM’s Conference Sponsorship Program for providing funding for this project and its associated global forum “Redesigning Our World” (June 2022) – we are so grateful!
In this video clip – created by the mega talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – the incredibly charming writer, actor, and comedian Jack Barry talks to the Brains & Banter Podcast about how he got into comedy!
Jack plays “Jack” in Mae Martin’s AMAZING television series Feel Good (2020) (Channel 4 and Netflix).
You’ll also recognize him from:
Starstruck (BBC/HBO Max)
Catastrophe (Channel 4)
The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One)
Cuckoo (BBC)
Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (UK Gold)
Elevenish (ITV2)
Turn Up Charlie (Netflix)
The Duchess (Netflix)
Jack has also written for Mock the Week and supported people like James Acaster (WOOO!), Joe Lycett, Marc Maron, and Russell Howard on tour.
In sum, HE IS EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED! We love you, Jack!
**Watch out for our recording with Jack and his brilliant partner Martina Rodriguez (she/her)!
Martina is an Argentinian currently living in London (UK) and received her BA Hons in Global Politics & International Relations from Birkbeck. She is a Spanish teacher, a Project Officer & Researcher at London School of Economics & Political Science, and freelance writer. Martina is also a member and co-founder of Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans, Ni Una Menos UK, and the Argentina Solidarity Campaign. Martina is also one of our co-hosts, and we love her! So will you!
Thank you so much again to Emmanuel Juma with Ashy Productions for editing this video!
Twitter: @Ashy Productions
Thank you also to the University of Manitoba (UM) Institute for the Humanities and to UM’s Dean’s Office, Faculty of Arts, for providing funding for this project – we are so grateful!
I am excited to announce that I will be giving a (virtual) public lecture for the Institute for the Humanities – University of Manitoba (UMIH) on March 24! If you’re interested in attending, please email umih@umanitoba.ca for the Zoom link. It would be a joy to see you there!
Thank you also to the extremely talented Shosh Shalev-Minuk for allowing us to use your BEAUTIFUL painting for the poster, and thank you to Ekene with the UMIH for creating the poster!
In this excerpt from The Brains & Banter podcast, created by the very talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions, Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City School of Social Sciences (UK), discusses the climate crisis (and its impact on the underdeveloped world), climate refugees, poverty, and COVID-19 (and the impact of lockdowns globally).
Professor Andrews is also an activist and author whose books include:
The New Age of Empire: How Racism & Colonialism Still Rule the World (2021)
Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century (2018)
Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement (2013)
Kehinde led the development of the Black Studies degree and is director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity, and co-chair of the Black Studies Association.
Thanks so much again, Kehinde – it was such a pleasure to get to speak with you!
Adeline Berry (they/them) is a transgender and Intersex MSCA research fellow at the University of Huddersfield researching the experiences and needs of older intersex people. A former sex worker themselves, they have conducted and contributed to research on sex work in the Republic of Ireland and spoken at conferences in Stockholm, London, Limerick, Cork and Dublin on the intersection of gender, sex work and the law.
Thank you so much for speaking with us Addy – we love you! You can follow Addy and check out their AMAZING art on:
Instagram: @adelineberry
Twitter: @adeline_whitney
Thank you so much to the incredibly talented Johanna Hauterville for editing this video!
In this video excerpt from The Brains & Banter podcast’s conversation with musician, artist, and activist Kym Gouchie – created by the extremely talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – Kym speaks about music as medicine.
Bio from Kym’s website (linked below): With ancestral roots in the Lheidli T’enneh, Cree and Secwépemc Nations, Kym Gouchie is fostering change through her music and art. Her music brings awareness to First Nations and women’s issues, promoting reconciliation and community building while reminding us that we are all in this together. Her stories are a testament to the human spirit, weaving together threads of her own journey from personal tragedy to triumph.
Kym’s traditional hand drum, clean, crisp acoustic guitar, and full-bodied voice make her a powerful artist. Traditional First Nations, folk, and country tones alongside poignant and inspirational lyrics capture the hearts of young and old — her genuine and heartfelt performances have a profound and sometimes emotional impact on her audience.
A respected elder-in-training of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation, also known as Prince George, BC, Kym is sought after to perform and speak at traditional welcoming ceremonies, cultural gatherings, schools, and conferences. Kym splits her time living in Prince George and the Okanagan.
In this video excerpt from The Brains & Banter podcast’s conversation with musician, artist, and activist Kym Gouchie – created by the extremely talented Emmanuel Juma of Ashy Productions – Kym speaks about the universal drumbeat and about how intimately connected we are to one another, our ancestors, and our planet.
As Kym states so beautifully, “The drum is medicine. It reaches into people’s bodies because of the vibration, and we all vibrate at different levels; we are made up of vibrations.”
Bio from Kym’s website (linked below): With ancestral roots in the Lheidli T’enneh, Cree and Secwépemc Nations, Kym Gouchie is fostering change through her music and art. Her music brings awareness to First Nations and women’s issues, promoting reconciliation and community building while reminding us that we are all in this together. Her stories are a testament to the human spirit, weaving together threads of her own journey from personal tragedy to triumph.
Kym’s traditional hand drum, clean, crisp acoustic guitar, and full-bodied voice make her a powerful artist. Traditional First Nations, folk, and country tones alongside poignant and inspirational lyrics capture the hearts of young and old — her genuine and heartfelt performances have a profound and sometimes emotional impact on her audience.
A respected elder-in-training of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation, also known as Prince George, BC, Kym is sought after to perform and speak at traditional welcoming ceremonies, cultural gatherings, schools, and conferences. Kym splits her time living in Prince George and the Okanagan.
Hi, everyone! The Brains & Banter Podcast is excited to announce that we will be in conversation with the amazing filmmakers Anne Macksoud and John Ankele of Old Dog Documentaries!
Anne and John have been producing and directing “documentary films about the subtleties of individual human experience and the complexities of our collective challenges” since 1985. They believe that “[c]hange must start with ordinary people who understand the interrelatedness of our global community” and offer their films “as tools for education and activism in the name of social justice and climate change.”
Anne and John “make films to create awareness about climate change, education, religion, spirituality, and politics for a global community that wants to protect this world we share.”
We will be discussing the recently released 20-minute video of Eco-Philosopher Joanna Macy, “Climate Crisis as Spiritual Path,” which was derived from their previously unused outtakes for the film The Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism & Community, released in 2014.
As Anne and John explain, “Upon review of the original interview, we found certain statements even more relevant now, in answer to the most important and painful questions of our time: How can we live our lives fully, with inner peace and courage (and even joy) as we confront a world that is rapidly destroying itself?”
Video with Joanna Macy, “Climate Crisis as Spiritual Path”:
In this episode of the Brains & Banter Podcast, co-hosts Naaz Sidhu, Jenna Keeble, Lyric Hajer, and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square speak to the wonderful Ethan Herschenfeld, an accomplished stand-up comedian, actor, and award-winning opera singer.
It was such a fun conversation, Ethan – thank you so much!! We had a blast and learned a bunch!
From Ethan’s website (linked below). “He’s been a guest star on POSE; The Blacklist; Blue Bloods; Boardwalk Empire; Damages; Deception; Forever; Girls; Gotham; Happy!; High Maintenance; Power; and Unforgettable.
He has also sung at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and Opera stages around the world.
Ethan’s debut comedy album “Thug Thug Jew” with 800 Pound Gorilla Records hit NUMBER ONE on iTunes and Amazon and is available on all major streaming platforms. You can watch it for free on YouTube (please see the link below).
You can see him as Abanoub Magdy in the film Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot, which premiered on November 12, 2021 on Netflix.
In addition to being heard as King Triton with Jodie Foster, Glenn Close, Brit Marling, and Dax Shepard on the Little Mermaid: Honestly Ever After, an episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History, you can hear him on a few episodes of the new season of Emergency Call with Luke Wilson on ABC.
As a comedian, he can be seen regularly at major comedy clubs around the US and overseas and the stages of comedy festivals, Asheville and San Diego.
He started singing and acting as a student at Harvard, which led to full-time work on stage in New York City.
Ethan is the host of a chat show on weekdays at noon EST on Instagram live @eherschenfeld and is a regular guest on The David Feldman Show every Thursday at 7 pm EST.”
In this video (recorded in Spring 2021), Brains & Banter co-hosts Kennedy Holick and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square speak to the brilliant Tom Oliver, Professor of Applied Ecology at the University of Reading (UK), about his recent book The Self Delusion: The Surprising Science of Our Connection to Each Other and the Natural World (2020). Thank you, Tom – it was such a joy to speak with you!
“[Tom’s] research focuses on understanding and acting on the risks of biodiversity loss. He works to provide effective solutions by understanding connections between our social systems and the environment, and remarks on the urgency of changing underlying mind-sets about how we relate to the world.” As Tom so eloquently writes, “If we really want to halt biodiversity loss and ensure a safe course for current and future generations on Spaceship Earth, we need to think beyond government, and forget the selfish ‘I’ – the solutions start with ‘us.'”
As Tom writes in The Self Delusion: “Bodies are much more physically connected than isolated; our minds are porous and deeply connected to other minds with information flowing freely back and forth. From a biological point of the view, the idea of an independent self is clearly an illusion.”
In this four-part conversation, co-hosts Ana Benham, Kennedy Holick, Naaz Sidhu, & Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square talk to Dr. Joel Bakan, Author, Filmmaker, Musician, & Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia (CA), about capitalism, individualism, corporations, psychopathy, the climate crisis, the pandemic, inequality, collective action, activism, social change, music, the power of art, and more.
Bio from Joel’s website (linked below):
Joel is an internationally renowned legal scholar and commentator. A former Rhodes Scholar and law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada, Bakan has law degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie, and Harvard. His critically acclaimed book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004), electrified readers around the world (it was published in over 20 languages) and became a bestseller in several countries.
Bakan wrote and co-created (with Mark Achbar) a feature documentary film, The Corporation, based on the book’s ideas and directed by Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The film won numerous awards, including best foreign documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, and was a critical and box office success.
The New Corporation, a sequel to that film, is based on Bakan’s book of the same name and directed by Bakan and Jennifer Abbott.
Bakan’s scholarly work includes Just Words: Constitutional Rights and Social Wrongs (1997) as well as textbooks, edited collections, and numerous articles in leading legal and social science journals. His award-winning book, Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children (2012), has been translated into several languages. A recipient of awards for both writing and teaching, Bakan has worked on landmark legal cases and government policy and serves regularly as a public speaker and media commentator. Also a professional jazz guitarist, Bakan lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife Rebecca Jenkins.
Naaz Sidhu, Sociology Student, Punjabi Creator, Spoken Word Poet, and Social Justice Advocate
Ana Benham, Actor (BA, Hons Acting degree, Rose Bruford College, London, UK), Artist, and Activist
Kennedy Holick, Social Work Student, Artist, and Activist
Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square, PhD (Oxford), Author, Activist, Research Affiliate, University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities, and Indepedent Contractor, Emergence Benefactors
Thank you so much to the amazing Johanna Hauterville for editing this video! We love you!
Thank you to everyone for watching/listening! We love you, too!
In this episode of The Brains & Banter Podcast, Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square speaks with author, speaker, and integrator Jeremy Lent about his new book The Web of Meaning and about interconnection, fractals, compassion, social change, Taoism, Buddhism, Indigenous knowledge, systems theory, and more!
Jeremy Lent, described by Guardian journalist George Monbiot as ‘one of the greatest thinkers of our age,’ is an author and speaker whose work investigates the underlying causes of our civilization’s existential crisis and explores pathways toward a life-affirming future.
Born in London, England, Lent received a BA in English Literature from Cambridge University, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and was a former internet company CEO.
His award-winning book The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning explores the way humans have made meaning from the cosmos from hunter-gatherer times to the present day.
His new book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, offers a coherent and intellectually solid foundation for a worldview based on connectedness that could lead humanity to a sustainable, flourishing future.
He is founder of the nonprofit Liology Institute, dedicated to fostering an integrated worldview that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on the Earth: http://www.liology.org/
He lives with his partner in Berkeley, California.
Lent writes topical articles exploring the deeper patterns of political and cultural developments at Patterns of Meaning: https://patternsofmeaning.com/
Jeremy will be holding two very exciting courses in the coming weeks as well, which you can sign up for on his website:
1. ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION | 4-WEEK COURSE Hosted and sponsored by the Siena Retreat Center
Tue October 5 Ecological Civilization in Historical Context
Tue October 12 Ecological Civilization: Worldview and Values
Tue October 19 An Ecological Civilization in Practice
Tue October 26 Pathways to an Ecological Civilization 10:00am Pacific 11:00am Mountain noon Central 1:00pm Eastern
2. THE WEB OF MEANING: A GUIDED EXPLORATION | 6-WEEK COURSE Hosted and sponsored by Programs in Earth Literacies
A 6-week online interactive course hosted by Programs in Earth Literacies and taught by Jeremy Lent, covering the themes from his recently published book The Web of Meaning:
Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe.
Tue November 2 Class 1: Who Am I?
Tue November 9 Class 2: Where Am I?
Tue November 16 Class 3: What Am I?
Tue November 23 Class 4: How Should I Live?
Tue November 30 Class 5: Why Am I?
Tue December 7 Class 6: Where Are We Going?
Every Tuesday at 10:00–11:30 am PST/1:00–2:30 pm EST
Each class is 90 minutes
Cost: $75 for the series (scholarships available upon request)
It is expected participants willl attend all classes
Thank you so much to Johanna Hauterville for your amazing work editing this video – you are awesome!
Thank you also to all of you for listening/watching – it means a lot! Much love and gratitude!
In this episode, Naaz Sidhu and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square speak to the very engaging and inspiring Felix N. Kongyuy (he/him), MA, Green Party Candidate for Surrey Centre (Surrey, BC, CA).
Felix has been active in the corporate and social services sectors for decades. He is a consultant to non-profits and a skilled arbitrator with extensive experience in small business. He is the director of MoveOn Consulting and Arbitration.
Felix is the founder and chief executive officer of Baobab Inclusive Empowerment Society, a community organization that serves vulnerable children, at-risk youth, women, families, persons with disabilities, French and English-speaking Canadians, and newcomers to Canada. In the Lower Mainland, he has served on several advisory boards addressing social justice, racism, community safety, children and at-risk youth programming gaps, skill shortages for newcomers, small business needs, immigrant challenges, the housing shortage, capacity and community building, and issues impacting seniors’ health.
Felix has also served as a board member, advisory member and member at large on several national organizations and co-founded organizations like Global Peace Alliance and businesses like First Call Health and Home Care Services. He led and designed programs for Indigenous, Christian, and spiritual groups in B.C.
Felix and his family live in Surrey, where he is deeply engaged in community building and looks forward to being an agent of change for Surrey Centre.
Vote for Felix Kongyuy for Surrey Centre and join the “Imagine the Change” campaign!
On the ballot:
– The climate crisis and the environment
– Affordable daycare for families
– Support for small businesses and families
– Support for community programs
– Support for seniors, youth, and persons with disabilities – Ending government waste
Here is Part One of The Brains & Banter Podcast‘s three-part interview with Felix N. Kongyuy, Green Party Candidate for Surrey Centre (Surrey, BC, CA)!
On the ballot:
The climate crisis and the environment
Affordable daycare for families
Support for small businesses and families
Support for community programs
Support for seniors, youth, and persons with disabilities
Ending government waste
Felix has been active in the corporate and social services sectors for decades. He is a consultant to non-profits and a skilled arbitrator with extensive experience in small business. He is the director of MoveOn Consulting and Arbitration.
Felix is the founder and chief executive officer of Baobab Inclusive Empowerment Society, a community organization that serves vulnerable children, at-risk youth, women, families, persons with disabilities, French and English-speaking Canadians, and newcomers to Canada.
In the Lower Mainland, he has served on several advisory boards addressing social justice, racism, community safety, children and at-risk youth programming gaps, skill shortages for newcomers, small business needs, immigrant challenges, the housing shortage, capacity and community building, and issues impacting seniors’ health.
Felix has also served as a board member, advisory member and member at large on several national organizations and co-founded organizations like Global Peace Alliance and businesses like First Call Health and Home Care Services. He led and designed programs for Indigenous, Christian, and spiritual groups in B.C.
Felix and his family live in Surrey, where he is deeply engaged in community building and looks forward to being an agent of change for Surrey Centre.
Kehinde is a Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City School of Social Sciences, UK. He is also an activist and author whose books include:
The New Age of Empire: How Racism & Colonialism Still Rule the World (2021), which we discuss in this episode
Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century (2018)
Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement (2013)
Kehinde led the development of the Black Studies degree and is director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity, and co-chair of the Black Studies Association. He does it all! It was such a pleasure to speak with him!
We’ve included links to Kehinde’s awesome conversations with the very awesome Russell Brand below the video on YouTube! If you’re interested, please do like and subscribe! Lots of love and gratitude!!
Co-Hosts:
Naaz Sidhu is a Punjabi creator, social justice advocate, podcast host, and content creator and is in the third year of her Sociology degree at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU). She is a spoken word poet and has been featured in South Asian poetry events held at KPU. Naaz has been writing poetry for seven years and connects her work and art with her personal experiences.
Ana Benham recently completed her BA (Hons) Acting degree at Rose Bruford College, London (UK) and is passionate about what she calls ‘the Artist’s Responsibility’ and how all forms of art and storytelling have the power to pave the way for positive action. Ana is excited to contribute to a greater discussion about the future of the creative industries and the role they can play in our global community.
Kennedy Holick is going into her third year of university at Douglas College and is pursuing her Social Work degree. She enjoys reading, writing, music, travel, creating art, taking photographs, and spending time with her dog Pearl. She is extremely passionate about mental health and hopes to help end the stigma around it.
Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square received her PhD in English literature from Oxford (UK) in 2017 and has taught interdisciplinary and English courses since. She loves teaching, collaborating, and connecting and is currently co-authoring a chapter on the climate crisis, eco-grief, and the media for the Routledge Handbook of Health and Media (2021) with Dr. Carol-Ann Farkas and co-editing and contributing to a collection, Sex and Medicine: Intersex and the Health and Medical Humanities, with Dr. Katelyn Dykstra, which will be published by Bloomsbury in 2022. She is also a writer, researcher, and content creator for the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium, which brings together clinical, scientific, and spiritual paradigms to improve clinical outcomes, and a Research Affiliate with the University of Manitoba Institute for the Humanities (UMIH).
Thank you to the amazing and amazingly talented Johanna Hauterville for editing this video – we love you!
Here is a teaser for Season One of The Brains & Banter podcast! We will start releasing our 16 episodes later in August! Thanks to everyone for all of your support and to all of our amazing guests for being amazing! In this interview, Naaz Sidhu – artist, activist, and Sociology student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University – and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square – author, activist, and academic – speak with the amazing Annamie Paul, lawyer, activist, and Leader of the Green Party of Canada.
We discuss the devastating discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children buried on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School (BC, CA) – which has been followed by discoveries in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and just off Vancouver Island, where 160 unmarked graves were found on July 12, 2021 – and how the Green Party will accelerate the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and achieve reconciliation. We also discuss the Green Party’s plan for the education system, its plans to address the climate emergency and the related mental health crisis, and the vital role of young people and creatives play in the movement towards real change.
Annamie is the daughter of immigrants who arrived in Canada from the Caribbean in the 1960s and completed a Masters of Public Affairs at Princeton University, a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Ottawa, and is called to the Bar in Ontario. Over the years, she has been selected as an inaugural Action Canada Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow – as a member of the Recruitment of Policy Leaders Program – member of the University of Ottawa Common Law Honour Society, and as a recipient of the Harry Jerome Award. A large part of her professional life has been focused on international affairs.
Annamie has worked abroad as a Director for a leading conflict prevention NGO in Brussels, as an Advisor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and as a Political Officer in Canada’s Mission to the European Union. She co-founded and co-directed BIPP HUB in Barcelona: an innovation hub for international NGOs working on global challenges. She also served on the Board and advised a number of international NGOs, including the Climate Infrastructure Partnership (CLIP), Higher Education Alliance for Refugees (HEAR), and Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). Promoting diversity in Canadian politics is a long-standing commitment of Annamie’s, and she has always found ways to advocate. After graduate school, she founded and directed the Canadian Centre for Political Leadership (CCPL) from 2001-2005: a non-partisan charity that trained women and under-represented minorities to run for elected office. She is proud that CCPL trainees are now serving their communities in elected roles. She has also volunteered with Operation Black Vote Canada (OBVC) and served on the Steering Committee for Equal Voice Canada, two non-partisan organisations working to diversify political representation. Annamie has also published articles and policy papers on social inclusion and representation in Canadian politics.
In the 2019 federal election, Annamie represented the Green Party of Canada as its candidate in Toronto Centre. She ran against the sitting Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, and challenged the Liberal record of building pipelines while neglecting our local communities. The Green Party had the second-best Green result in the Greater Toronto Area, nearly tripling the Green vote in the riding. Annamie was really proud of the ways in which her campaign team was also able to support other Green candidates and ridings throughout the city.
Until recently, Annamie served as International Affairs Critic in the Green Party of Canada’s Shadow Cabinet, providing advice to our Interim Leader on international issues and helping to guide the development of our foreign policy positions. Annamie speaks English, French, Catalan, and Spanish. In sum, Annamie Paul is a superhero, and WE LOVE HER! Thank you again and again for having this important conversation with us!
Thank you also to Johanna Hauterville for editing this video – you are brilliant, and we appreciate you so very much!
Hi, everyone! Here is a brief glimpse at our forthcoming conversation with Professor Kehinde Andrews!
Kehinde is a Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City School of Social Sciences, UK. He is also an activist and author whose books include The New Age of Empire: How Racism & Colonialism Still Rule the World (2021) – which we discuss in this episode – Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century (2018); and Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement (2013).
Kehinde led the development of the Black Studies degree and is director of the Centre for Critical Social Research; founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity; and co-chair of the Black Studies Association. He does it all! It was such a pleasure to speak with him!
Co-hosts: Ana Benham; Naaz Sidhu; Kennedy Holick; Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square
Thank you to the wildly talented Johanna Hauterville for editing this video! We love you!
In this seven-part interview, previously posted as a whole in August 2020, I talk to one of my favourite people, Yves Réal Côté, about his experiences in prison and about his remarkable path to change. We discuss solitary confinement, overincarceration, the need for prison reform and better access to education, mental health, early adverse childhood experiences, trauma, violence, inequality, family, empathy, hope, and transformation, and we also talk about Yves’ recently published book, co-authored with Professor Alana Abramson (Criminology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University), Metamorphosis: My Path to Transformation (the title changed since we did the interview last summer), which you can now purchase via the link below! Wooo!
Thank you for listening – Yves has so much knowledge to share, and he is such a beautiful human being.
Thank you as always to the incredibly talented Johanna Hauterville for editing these videos and for being the best video editor EVER! I am so grateful!
Thank you also to the uber talented Kristen Frier for creating this AWESOME POSTER!! WE LOVE YOU!
This is a KPU-only event, but if people would like to join us for something similar, we will be hosting a TED Circles event that everyone can join on April 30, 2021! More information to follow in the coming weeks!
Alisha Chauhan is a Public Speaker and Chronic Illness/Mental Health Advocate, an Educator, and an overall amazing human being! In this 9-part interview, we discuss her experience coping with Multiple Sclerosis and talk about mental health, chronic pain, art (particularly poetry) as therapy, the power of community and friendship, baking, and more!
Alisha: “I have 8 years of a demonstrated background in higher education, psychology, counselling and mental health, and I have been able to combine this with my life experiences in order to inspire others through my journey. I have been giving lectures specifically about my illness since I got diagnosed in 2016.”
Thank you to the wildly talented Johanna Hauterville, one of the best video editors out there! I would be lost without you!
Please free to contact Alisha for more information at lemmiehelpyou@gmail.com. Love you, Alisha!!
In this video, part 4 of 4 (it turns out there was one more that I had forgotten about!), Dr. Todd Dufresne, Dr. Carol-Ann Farkas, and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square discuss the role of scholarship in addressing the climate emergency and COVID-19 and about the importance of youth activism.
Todd is a Professor of Philosophy at Lakehead University (CA) and, most recently, author of The Democracy of Suffering: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, Philosophy in the Anthropocene (2019).
Carol-Ann is a Professor of English and the Director of Writing Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). She is the the editor of Reading the Psychosomatic in Medical and Popular Culture: Something, Nothing, Everything (Routledge 2017), and her current research focuses on the ways in which we turn to popular media to learn about, and cope with, eco-anxiety. She is currently co-authoring a chapter for The Routledge Handbook of Health and Media (2021)—“Climate Health is Human Health: Working Through Eco-Anxiety With the Written Word in Print and Digital Media”—with Bryn.
I am an interdisciplinary instructor and activist and am currently co-authoring a chapter for the Routledge Handbook of Health and Media, as you know from above, and co-editing a collected volume, Intersex and the Health and Medical Humanities (2021), with Dr. Katelyn Dykstra.
Thank you so much to the very talented Johanna Hauterville for editing this video (which would have taken me my entire life)!!
In this six-part interview, I speak with my former Kwantlen Polytechnic University students Jasmeen Deol (Psychology, KPU) and Ravneet Sahota (Criminology, KPU) about their experiences attending university during a pandemic. They have so much knowledge to share, and they are absolutely amazing!!
In Part Two, we discuss synchronous and asynchronous learning, Zoom fatigue, and the possibility of instituting a Pass/Fail system at university and of making higher education free! Yes, please!
Jasmeen and Ravneet are the Co-Directors of an initiative tracking media coverage of COVID-19 in BC prisons and jails and are also co-organizers for an international forum, “Redesigning Our World,” which will be held virtually in 2022 (this video was recorded before we decided to change the date from September 2021 to Spring 2022). Annamie Paul, lawyer, activist, and Leader of the Green Party of Canada, will be our opening keynote!
Thank you so much to the ridiculously talented Johanna Hauterville for your always amazing work editing these videos—I would be lost without you!
In this six-part interview, I speak with my former students Kwantlen Polytechnic University students Jasmeen Deol (Psychology, KPU) and Ravneet Sahota (Criminology, KPU) about their experiences attending university during COVID-19. They have so much knowledge to share, and they are absolutely amazing!!
Jasmeen and Ravneet are the Co-Directors of an initiative tracking media coverage of COVID-19 in BC prisons and jails and are also co-organizers for an international forum, “Redesigning Our World,” which will be held virtually in 2022 (this video was recorded before we decided to change the date from September 2021 to Spring 2022). Annamie Paul, lawyer, activist, and Leader of the Green Party of Canada, will be our opening keynote!
Please do check out the following links if you’re interested:
Tracking Media Coverage of COVID-19 in BC Prisons and Jails, Website and Instagram Links:
Alisha Chauhan is a Public Speaker and Chronic Illness/Mental Health Advocate, an Educator, and an overall amazing human being! In this 9-part interview, we discuss her experience coping with Multiple Sclerosis as well as mental health, chronic pain, the power of community, baking, and more!
Alisha: “I have 8 years of a demonstrated background in higher education, psychology, counselling and mental health, and I have been able to combine this with my life experiences in order to inspire others through my journey. I have been giving lectures specifically about my illness since I got diagnosed in 2016.”
*If you’re interested in Michelle Lobchuk’s research – she is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba – you can find out more here:
Alisha Chauhan is a Public Speaker and Chronic Illness/Mental Health Advocate, an Educator, and an overall amazing human being! In this 9-part interview, we discuss her experience coping with Multiple Sclerosis as well as mental health, chronic pain, the power of community, baking, and more!
Alisha: “I have 8 years of a demonstrated background in higher education, psychology, counselling and mental health, and I have been able to combine this with my life experiences in order to inspire others through my journey. I have been giving lectures specifically about my illness since I got diagnosed in 2016.” Thank you to the wildly talented Johanna Hauterville, one of the best video editors out there! I would be lost without you!
Feel free to contact Alisha for more information at lemmiehelpyou@gmail.com.
An anonymous response to Alisha’s presentation during one of my classes: “The first thing [I learned] is that life is so fragile: no one knows what will happen the next moment. Live . . . life to the fullest and be thankful every day for being alive. Life has ups and downs, but Alisha insists that you should not give up easily. Alisha is a warrior.” SO TRUE!
The photo is of Alisha and our amazing friend Calvin “Kalvonix” Tiu! Please check out the links to his music in the description under the YouTube video!
Hi, everyone! This is Part One of a five-part series of videos from my presentation at the Science of Consciousness conference in September 2020. I had released this originally, but I realized that it was the wrong version! Oops! Thanks as always! Sending love!
Alisha Chauhan is a Public Speaker and Chronic Illness/Mental Health Advocate, an Educator, and an overall amazing human being! In this 9-part interview, we discuss her experience coping with Multiple Sclerosis as well as mental health, chronic pain, the power of community, baking, and more! Alisha: “I have 8 years of a demonstrated background in higher education, psychology, counselling and mental health, and I have been able to combine this with my life experiences in order to inspire others through my journey. I have been giving lectures specifically about my illness since I got diagnosed in 2016.”
Thank you to the wildly talented Johanna Hauterville, one of the best video editors out there! I would be lost without you!
Hi, everyone!! I am beyond excited to be a guest on William Westerberg‘s and Aaron Moy‘s weekly gaming podcast, The S Rank! We will be discussing the Persona Series, which makes reference to Mary Shelley, Poe, and Lovecraft (cool, right??!!)!
As Aaron explains, “it is a classical Japanese Role-Playing Game (JRPG) in which you use monsters (Personas) to fight a variety of antagonists in pursuit of truth/justice/etc. Gameplay usually alternates between participating in normal, everyday life and investigating a distorted fantasy world. There is one exception, however, and this is the topic we will dive into: The Velvet Room.
As described by the franchise, it is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a staple of the series, manifesting differently in each game. Its purpose is to help the player towards their path of enlightenment.” If you want to hear more, please check out the podcast!!
In this video, the final of a three-part series, Dr. Todd Dufresne, Dr. Carol-Ann Farkas, and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square discuss tricksters, comedians, Indigenous knowledge, and the role of scholarship in addressing the climate emergency and COVID-19.
*****The book shown in the video is actually Trickster Drift. I am referring to Son of a Trickster.****
Todd is a Professor of Philosophy at Lakehead University (CA) and, most recently, author of The Democracy of Suffering: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, Philosophy in the Anthropocene (2019). Carol-Ann is a Professor of English and the Director of Writing Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). She is the the editor of Reading the Psychosomatic in Medical and Popular Culture: Something, Nothing, Everything (Routledge 2017), and her current research focuses on the ways in which we turn to popular media to learn about, and cope with, eco-anxiety. She is currently co-authoring a chapter for The Routledge Handbook of Health and Media (2021)—“Climate Health is Human Health: Working Through Eco-Anxiety With the Written Word in Print and Digital Media”—with Bryn. Bryn is an Interdisciplinary Instructor in the Faculty of Arts at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and an editor for Epilogue magazine. She is currently co-authoring a chapter for the Routledge Handbook of Health and Media, as you know from above, and she is also co-editing a collected volume, Intersex and the Health and Medical Humanities (2021), with Dr. Katelyn Dykstra. Thank you so much to the very talented Johanna Hauterville for editing this video (which would have taken me my entire life)!!
In this video, part two of four, Dr. Todd Dufresne, Dr. Carol-Ann Farkas, and Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square discuss the role of scholarship in addressing the climate emergency and COVID-19.
Todd is a Professor of Philosophy at Lakehead University (CA) and, most recently, author of The Democracy of Suffering: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe, Philosophy in the Anthropocene (2019).
Carol-Ann is a Professor of English and the Director of Writing Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). She is the the editor of Reading the Psychosomatic in Medical and Popular Culture: Something, Nothing, Everything (Routledge 2017), and her current research focuses on the ways in which we turn to popular media to learn about, and cope with, eco-anxiety. She is currently co-authoring a chapter for The Routledge Handbook of Health and Media (2021)—“Climate Health is Human Health: Working Through Eco-Anxiety With the Written Word in Print and Digital Media”—with Bryn.
Bryn is an Interdisciplinary Instructor in the Faculty of Arts at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and an editor for Epilogue magazine. She is currently co-authoring a chapter for the Routledge Handbook of Health and Media, as you know from above, and she is also co-editing a collected volume, Intersex and the Health and Medical Humanities (2021), with Dr. Katelyn Dykstra.
Thank you so much to the very talented Johanna Hauterville for editing this video (which would have taken me my entire life)!
Books, Brains, and Benevolence 