Don’t Call Me Resilient

Is a cell phone ban, along with increased surveillance, the right way to deal with the impact of addictive and harmful technology in classrooms?

Indigenous media in North America have rapidly expanded over the last 30 years with Indigenous media makers gaining greater control of their own narratives, including the ability to subvert colonial representations.

Experts say mainstream media coverage of the war in Gaza is severely skewed -- with Palestinian voices getting stifled. They argue it privileges the perspectives of some journalists and not those of others.

Refugee programs in Canada have always been politicized, but more so in recent years, evidenced by discrepancies between programs for refugees from Gaza and Sudan and those from Ukraine.

Today's episode is about Beyoncé's new album, Cowboy Carter. Beyoncé’s country-inspired album has caused a stir because the country music scene has long been white dominated, with a history of segregation that has erased its Black roots and gatekept it from Black artists.

Vinita speaks to two famine scholars about the use of starvation as a tool in the colonizer's playbook through two historic examples - the decimation of Indigenous populations in the Plains, North America and the 1943 famine in Bengal, India.

Vinita speaks with Hilal Elver, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and current research professor of Global Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, about the looming famine in Gaza after months of Israeli attacks.

It’s been nine years since #OscarsSoWhite called out a lack of diversity at the Oscars. Has anything changed? Prof. Naila Keleta-Mae and actress Mariah Inger unpack the progress in the entertainment industry.

Today, we launch our trailer for a new season of Don't Call Me Resilient, our podcast that takes on the ways racism impacts our biggest news stories and also permeates our everyday lives. The DCMR team has been busy prepping new episodes and next week, we start releasing episodes for season 7, taking our anti-racist lens to the news unfolding around us and the issues occupying a lot of our minds these days. From big cultural moments, like the Oscars to the scary spread of AI and the ongoing impacts of climate change, to the devastating war in Gaza: we’ll be on it, in our signature way.

In this episode, Prof. Vershawn Ashanti Young of the University of Waterloo and Prof. Anthony Stewart of Bucknell University join forces to break down the many layers - and Black stereotypes - in the new satirical movie "American Fiction," based on the novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett.

We’re bringing you an extra episode this week to share an interview from The Conversation Weekly, our sister podcast from The Conversation. As Kenya marks 60 years of independence, The Conversation Weekly explores how much one song can tell you about the politics of a new nation. Hosted by Gemma Ware at The Conversation UK, The Conversation Weekly is a show for curious minds.

With food insecurity at an all-time high and food banks buckling under high demand as we head into this holiday season, Prof. Elaine Power of Queen's University says we need to instead focus on long-term solutions that tackle the issue at its root.

Vinita explores why racist, homophobic and sexist attitudes are increasingly showing up in school-age boys - and what we can do about it.

Clinical psychologist and professor Monnica Williams is on a mission to bring psychedelics to therapists' offices to help people heal from their racial traumas. To do this, she's jumping over some big hurdles.

Modern settlers to Palestine viewed the desert as something they needed to “make bloom.” But the land was already blooming, thanks to Palestinian agricultural systems that have long been overlooked by colonial powers.

Legal experts express their worry that the "doubling down" on Stop Cop City demonstrators who are opposed to a giant police training facility could undermine the right to protest. Kamau Franklin, one of the leaders of the Stop Cop City movement and a lawyer himself, and Zohra Ahmed, a professor of law at the University of Georgia, talk about the situation, and why so many people are watching it.

Lori Campbell, a '60s Scoop survivor and a VP at the University of Regina, challenges the CBC’s motives in their exposé on the questionable Indigenous roots of Buffy Sainte-Marie, legendary singer-songwriter. She asks: was the story in service of truth and reconciliation or a sensationalist headline? Campbell also highlights the turmoil the story is causing, especially in Saskatchewan-based Indigenous communities.

With the intensification of war in the Middle East, comes an intense polarization within our institutions. A historian whose family was taken hostage by Hamas, and a geographer with family in the West Bank, get together to discuss a way forward.

One factor driving the housing crisis, across the country, is a shift away from publicly built housing toward large corporate-owned buildings where, as today’s guest Prof. Nemoy Lewis puts it, "housing is treated as a commodity, not a human right.”

In this reflective and personal episode, Professor Cheryl Thompson of Toronto Metropolitan University and author of “Beauty in a Box” untangles the complicated history of hair relaxers for Black women - and the health risks now linked to them.

Prof. Daniel Martinez HoSang of Yale University explains the rising popularity of the far right with people of colour -- what he calls multicultural white supremacy.

In honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day, we spoke with Terri Cardinal, who headed up one of the community searches for the graves of children who went missing while attending an Indian Residential School.

Get ready for a new season of Don't Call Me Resilient Sept. 28! Every week, host Vinita Srivastava dives into conversations with experts and real people to bring you the news, from an anti-racist perspective.

The final Indiana Jones movie is coming out tomorrow. The fifth in a series over 42 years, many of its ideas are taken from 19th-century orientalist and racist archaeology.

In this episode of Don't Call Me Resilient, we are joined by fat and disability studies professor Fady Shanouda, who examines anti-fat bias in medicine. As the use of Ozempic, a drug for diabetes, slams into the mainstream as a weight-loss method, will the drug’s use impact our concept of fatness? And how does fatness intersect with race and class?

The revitalization of Indigenous languages is essential because language reflects philosophies that guide social, political, cultural and ecological relationships. As we look ahead to National Indigenous Peoples Day, Guest Host, Prof. Veldon Coburn speaks with Prof. Frank Deer, Canada Research Chair and associate dean of Indigenous Education at the University of Manitoba to tackle the issue of disappearing Indigenous languages and delve into how much more needs to be done to revitalize them and why doing so is critical.

As Indian Prime Minister Modi makes his first official state visit to the U.S., we chat with UCSC professor Anjali Arondekar to help us sift through Modi's wild popularity and also his divisive tactics. With one of the highest remittance rates in the world, we ask, how important the global South Asian diaspora is to politics in India?

This year, there are more than 400 active anti-trans bills across the U.S. What do things look like in Canada? Are we a safe haven or are we following those same trends? To get a better understanding of trans lives and histories in Canada, we are joined by Syrus Marcus Ware, an artist, activist and assistant professor at the School of the Arts at McMaster University. Syrus is a co-curator of Blockorama/Blackness Yes! and a co-editor of Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada.

Author Ava Chin, a 5th generation New Yorker, traces the roots of today's high rates of anti-Asian violence back to 19th-century U.S. labour and immigration laws.

In this episode of Don't Call Me Resilient, we explore the complicated roots of the garden, including who gets to garden. We also discuss practical tips about what to plant with an eye to Indigenous knowledge. We speak with researcher Jacqueline L. Scott and also chat with community activist, Carolynne Crawley, who leads workshops that integrate Indigenous teachings into practice.

The fastest growing prison population in Canada is racialized women. The trend may be connected to rising poverty rates and the criminalization of attempts to cope with poverty.

The UN's recent resolution to recognize Nakba Day on May 15, to mark the anniversary of the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in 1948, helps to acknowledge past traumas. Although it offers little in terms of solutions, it may help to grow the current narrative about Palestine.

Although King Charles will have a low-key ceremony, the Crown Jewels will still figure prominently. An exploration of the story of the jewels tells a tale of exploitation, rape and pillage.

This week on Don't Call Me Resilient, we explore the advances that the hit Netflix comedy, _Beef_ has made in television. But the brilliance of the new series, which looks at loneliness and alienation -- with a spotlight on race and class and gender -- has been threatened by the controversial history of one of its supporting actors.

We look back to the 2013 Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,124 people and discuss how much - or how little - has changed for garment-worker conditions today.

Last week, the Vatican repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, a 500-year-old decree used to justify settler colonialism. Political scholar Veldon Coburn explains this symbolic victory and also what still needs to happen.

Migration expert Christina Clark-Kazak explains the devastating consequences of the recent U.S.-Canada border amendment made last weekend by President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau. The agreement not only turns away asylum seekers in need but will also surely push asylum seekers further underground.

Host Vinita Srivastava goes deep with academic experts and those with lived experience to bring you your weekly dose of news, from an anti-racist perspective.

A lot of comedians we know and love put race, ethnicity and cultural stereotypes at the centre of their comedy. This gives us - the audience - reason to laugh…and a way to release some of the tensions around race. Where is the line between a lighthearted joke and deep-rooted racism? And how far is too far? Vinita gets into it with Faiza Hirji, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Media Arts at McMaster University and stand-up comedian Andrea Jin. They look at how comedy can be an easier way to talk about difficult issues, and at how we can find a way to laugh with each other, rather than at each other.

In 2007, 15-year-old Jordan Manners became the first student to be shot and killed inside a Toronto school. Since then, youth violence hasn’t let up in Canada’s largest city. In fact, it’s getting worse. Devon Jones and Ardavan Eizadirad say it’s a major problem that needs a more holistic approach. Ardavan is an assistant professor in the Department of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University who studies the root causes of gun violence. He and Devon run YAAACE – a community organization started by Devon that tackles the root causes of youth gun violence in Toronto. They join Vinita to talk about what has been going wrong and how to get it right.

Companies have amped up their rhetoric about equity and inclusion, many churning out diversity statements. But Vinita’s guest today says their promises to promote anti-racist cultures without action plans can lead to greater blocks to success for racialized employees. Sonia Kang is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources Management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management - and one of Canada’s leading experts on identity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

For decades, Canadian media have covered Indigenous communities with a heavy reliance on stereotypes - casting Indigenous Peoples as victims or warriors. This deep-seated bias in the news can have unsettling consequences for both how a community perceives itself as well as how others perceive them. Award-winning Anishinaabe journalist and longtime CBC reporter Duncan McCue is trying to change that both in the classroom and in the newsroom. He joins Vinita to talk about what Canadian media could be doing better.

Long COVID, which impacts one in every five people who've had the virus, and especially Black and Latinx women, has been called a mass-disabling event. Join us for this episode of Don't Call Me Resilient as we speak with Margot Gage Witvliet who has insights into long COVID both as an epidemiologist and a patient.

Western industries and governments have refused to accept responsibility for climate change despite being the main drivers of it. Meanwhile, the Global South and Black and Indigenous communities globally have continued to bear the brunt of its impact. As world leaders gather in Egypt for COP27 — the United Nations Climate Change Conference — will this inequity finally be addressed? Join Vinita and Yvonne Su, Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University, to discuss our responsibilities towards those worst affected by climate change.

Welcome to Don’t Call Me Resilient, where we tackle systemic racism head-on and figure out ways to deal with it. This season, we’ll be delving into everything from tokenism at work to how long COVID is hitting women of colour especially hard. And from how climate change is wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable to how most journalists have a lot to learn about telling Indigenous stories. In each of these upcoming episodes, our guests bring their expertise to challenge us to do better. So we’ll also be looking at solutions – and sharing reasons to be hopeful for our future. Join us for Season 4 of Don’t Call Me Resilient from The Conversation Canada. Follow us and listen, wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

In the middle of the tremendous outpouring of love and grief for the Queen and the monarchy she represented, not everyone wants to take a moment of silence. And there are a lot of reasons why.

Has the symbolism of the Canadian flag changed since the Ottawa convoy? What does it mean to be a settler of colour in Canada?

In today’s episode, we look at how sound and noise are used as tactics of protest and how practitioners are using environmental soundscapes to protest against racism and police brutality.

In today's episode of Don't Call Me Resilient, we speak with two Canadian educators who explain how using critical race theory in their classrooms helps both students and teachers.

In today’s episode, we hear from two women who talk about how diamond mines in the Northwest Territories have negatively impacted and perpetuated gender violence.

In today's episode, we take a look at how TikTok can be used as a tool to educate and has been a space for sharing information during major events in the last two years.

Our guest today says that instead of deterring anti-Muslim hate, Canadian laws are actually making it worse - in essence, legalizing Islamophobia. Natasha Bakht is an award-winning legal scholar who has spent the past five years researching the rise in anti-Muslim attitudes in North America. She is a professor in the faculty of law at the University of Ottawa and the author of In Your Face: Law, Justice, and Niqab Wearing Women in Canada. In her book, Natasha explores the stories of niqab-wearing women who have faced discriminatory laws.

In today's episode of Don't Call Me Resilient, we take a look at what has happened since the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children were found in Kamloops B.C. in May 2021.

Today, we launch Season 3 of Don’t Call Me Resilient, our podcast that takes on systemic racism and the ways it permeates the many moments and systems of our everyday lives. This season we look at our responses to some of the most charged stories of the past two years and we explore what has and hasn’t changed. We’ll tap into our collective despondence but we’ll also celebrate refusal and resistance. We tackle everything from the sounds of protest … to how Islamophobia has been legalized … to a look back one year after the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

In this special edition of 'Don't Call Me Resilient,' host Vinita Srivastava chats with Cheryl Thompson, Professor of Performance about how "the slap heard around the world" is part of a layered story of racism, sexism, power and performance.

Introducing Don’t Call Me Resilient, a provocative new podcast about race from The Conversation