CITIZENShift - Social Issues Podcasts

A 15-minute audio documentary examining the perils of the booming biofuel industry, including land displacement, human rights violations, and wilderness destruction. Featuring interviews with academics, activists, and displaced persons from Canada to Argentina and Colombia.

Part one of a two-part podcast that explores the critical theory of Israeli architect and philosopher Eyal Weizman to understand how architecture and urban planning are strategic elements within the Occupied Territories and the Apartheid state; featuring interviews with Palestinians Sayid Ayash and Dr. Ismael Zayid, Dr. Amal Ghazal, and journalist Jon Elmer

A 10 minute video podcast, featuring Cree activist Clayton Thomas-Mueller talking about the impact of the Alberta Tar Sands project on First Nations communities and the work of the Indigenous Environmental Network for environmental justice.

An hour-long audio-documentary on the special needs provisions in social assistance legislation in Ontario and Nova Scotia and anti-poverty organizations working to dismantle barriers to health, knowing that all welfare recipients are entitled to more money. Produced by Praxis Media Productions.

Part one of a timely three-part audio-podcast examining Canada's security certificate legislation, secret trials, and Guantanamo North. It features three prominent voices on the topic: A. Wayne MacKay OC, Barbara Jackman L.L.D., and Matthew Behrens. Produced by AR Khan.

A multimedia investigation of the Cerrejon mine in Colombia, where families have been displaced to make way for mining operations by international corporations to produce coal for use in Canada. Photos and interviews by Canadian journalist Chris Arsenault.

Speakers Kanahus Pellkey and Dustin Johnson, with the Native Youth Movement (NYM) Warriors Society, discuss ongoing resistance to the 2010 Olympics and the land grab underway in British Columbia; from a talk given January 31st, 2008, at the Native Friendship Center of Montreal, Mohawk territory.

In this, the first of a two-part podcast, Darren Ell -a Canadian photographer- interviews Roger Annis of the Canada Haiti Action Network. Roger is one of Canada's most dedicated and lucid voices on the subject of the ongoing impact of Canadian policy in Haiti.

Maude Barlow is currently wending her way across Canada, talking about her new book, Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water.

Yves Engler is co-author of the groundbreaking book Canada in Haiti: The War on the Poor Majority. It is the first and only in-depth analysis of Canada's participation in the 2004 coup d'etat against the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Darren Ell interviews the director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, Brian Concannon, about the political situation and specifically the crimes of UN forces (MINUSTAH) in Haiti.

Sometimes a garden is not just a garden. Sometimes it is the meeting point for a whole community and the things that grow in the garden can tell us a lot about the people that live there.

We've been using a wiki to simplify communication and organization for a while now, and every now and then we're asked why - and how - we do it. To answer these questions we threw together this short video.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of David Suzuki, is taking the lead with a new generation of environmentalists. In this podcast, Mark Leiren-Young interviews her about her new book, Notes From Canada's Young Activists: A Generation Stands Up for Change.

This documentary follows a group of students aged 10 to 13 as they create their own rhymes, record their first tracks, and sharpen their literacy skills.

Part II: This documentary follows a group of students aged 10 to 13 as they create their own rhymes, record their first tracks, and sharpen their literacy skills.

Celebrating 50 podcasts - here's a short animated video for CITIZENShift from Montreal flash-animation guru, Olivier Groulx.

A Promise is a Promise is a moving film about Sheremet and Musa, two boys from war-torn Kosovo who, with the help of one Canadian soldier, made their way to Canada.

Darren Ell interviews Dr John Carroll about the health problems in the impoverished region in Haiti known as Cite Soleil.

This week, we talk to Jim Milles who is a podcaster and law librarian at the University of New York at Buffalo. Jim and the UB Law Faculty use podcasting as a means to discuss legal issues in ways that can have a meaningful social impact on the community around them.

This week, we bring you Surfing the Waste - a music video about a group of musical dumpster-divers directed by Tomoe Yoshihara, Sanora Lombardi, and Paul Aflalo. Watch the full movie at http://citizen.nfb.ca

Following up on part one of our interview, Hugh McGuire talks about the Atwater Digital Literacy Project, which provides communities in Montreal with media access and training.

Hugh McGuire talks about Librivox, the online free audiobook community that he founded. The Librivox community is now among the most prolific producers of audiobooks in the world.

Hamilton radio journalist, Maggie Hughes, gives an overview of the Aboriginal land dispute in Caledonia. Speaking to residents and protestors first-hand Hughes investigates the roots of the conflict.

The third piece brings our attention to Indigenous languages, and education both as a tool of oppression and resistance. We wrap up the series with a brief exploration of resistance to colonialism in Canada.

The second installment looks at the issue of racism as a product of colonization, and within the context of the current era of neocolonialism in Canada, discuses assimilation and residential schooling as part of the ongoing genocide against Indigenous people.

This first of three episodes examines the origins of European colonialism, its growth in Canada, and the importance of treaties winding up with a look at why the absence of the truth about this history can best be described by a newly-coined word, historicide.

A conversation with Maude Barlow about the threats posed by an international trade in water.

Tara Narwani's award-winning audio doc follows the water cycle from the Columbia Icefields through the river into her tap, into the waste treatment plant and back to the river again. CITIZENShift explores WATER all month at http://citizen.nfb.ca/water

A podcast public service announcement about CITIZENShift's cross-Canada World Water Day events. We're coming to a theatre near you...

In this on-demand world, is AM/FM's reign on the dial about to roll off the end of the tuner? An audio piece by Russ Cooper.

Graham French explores Communauto, a community auto sharing initiative in Montreal in this great 15 minute audio documentary.

Boston-based musician and activist, David Rovics, talks about using music as a tool for social change.

Gadget is an outreach worker for Homeless Nation, which is an online social network initiative where people from across Canada congregate to discuss homelessness and other issues. For more on Homeless Nation, check out our Homeless Nation dossier or visit the site, itself.

Teprine Baldo interviews audio producer Stephanie Guyer-Stevens about the challenges faced by media makers in covering issues of sex trafficking.

Part 2/2 of Kawthoolei: the captivating audio documentary about Karen refugees living on the Thai-Burmese border. Produced by Outer Voices. Learn more at http://www.outervoices.org/

Outer Voices presents this captivating audio documentary about Karen refugees living on the Thai-Burmese border. To learn more about the Karen experience and what you can do to help at http://www.outervoices.org/

Olabimpe Olatubosun discusses the state of violence against women in Nigeria. Olatubosun is a gender activist and researcher in the Department of Political Science at the University of Ibadan, in Oyo State, Nigeria.

When parents die of AIDS, grandmothers often inherit the responsibility of taking care of the children. Jann McConnell and Nina Minday discuss the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign which unites South African and Canadian grandmothers.

OWL (Older Women Live) is a community radio collective that empowers older women by giving them a voice in media and demystifying technology. This piece by Karen Loeb is an overview of their show. Hear more of OWL at ckut.ca.

Rob Maguire explores the resurgence of print media in an increasingly digital media landscape. He visits the press rooms of two independent print publications to find out why they are committed to the printed word.

Rose Marie Whalley explores non-violent resistance in the Middle East today. Paul Pierce is helping to encourage young Israelis to opt for conscientious objection rather than serve in the military, while Kathy Kamphoefer works with villagers in Palestine whose lives have been disrupted by the so-called security wall. This podcast was produced by Karen Loeb.

Marcus Bornfreund, co-director of Creative Commons Canada, talks about copyright issues in the digital age. This a photo-enhanced podcast, best-viewed in iTunes or similar.

Doug Kaye (ITConversations.com) reads the first chapter of Free Culture: How Big Media uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, by Lawrence Lessig. Find the rest of the book in audio and text format at free-culture.cc and find out more about Autonomous Media this month at CITIZENShift, citizenshift.nfb.ca

Zambian music. This week, CITIZENShift launches the Umoyo (Zambian for "life") dossier which follows a group of Canadian and Zambian girls as they share different worlds and find common ground. This music was recorded one night during the trip.

This week Ben Kenney discusses the Global Warming tipping point, Al Gore vs. Ralph Klein, Wal-Mart going "green", and the future of solar power as we focus on the best of The Watt Podcast.

Stuttering! This week's podcast includes clips from the film, Unspeakable, and an interview with John Paskievich about the ways in which our perception of stuttering needs to shift.

Music and Politics: Rishi Hargovan interviews musicians and fans at the Hillside Community Festival just north of Guelph, Ontario, about the role music has to play in contemporary politics.

Josue Maya is currently a violence prevention worker at FYI. As an active community youth leader, Josue uses spoken word poetry to engage and inspire his peers.

Lebanese civilians, Palestinian refugees, and volunteer workers' react to recent events in the Middle East in this report from Stefan Christoff and the Montreal indy media collective, Radio Tadamon.