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“Every art form is valid… and that’s the beauty of diversity”

Art spans every line of intersection and speaks to every person in varying emotional or spiritual ways. But Calgary’s art scene does not reflect the broad range of people or work contributing to the industry. For a craft that can provoke profound thought, address social constructs or give meaning to a moment, those diverse pursuits can’t exist in spaces that exclude people with different experiences or identities. A first-generation artist, Harvey-Nichol, and an Indigenous musician, Sandra Sutter, explain the impact of the current underrepresentation in Calgary’s arts community resulting from racism and sexism. Whether that means not being included in events or not receiving funding, the impacts are far-reaching. Ultimately, it’s up to galleries and institutions to create opportunities and choose to welcome artists from diverse backgrounds. 
 
Episode two of What’s Your Story? is hosted and produced by Astrid Cunanan.
 
This series is powered by Shaw and produced as part of the Community Podcast Initiative at MRU Journalism.

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How reciprocity, solutions and rethinking objectivity can help decolonize journalism

In a first-of-its-kind textbook for journalism students, Duncan McCue sets out to demonstrate how integral reciprocity is raising the standards of coverage of Indigenous communities.
This episode features a conversation with McCue, Anishinaabe journalist and a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, and host Gabriela Perdomo, Editor-in-Chief of J-Source. Tune in to hear them discuss McCue’s latest book, Decolonizing Journalism: A Guide to Reporting in Indigenous Communities (2023), and what kinds of changes need to be made to improve reporting on and relationships with Indigneous communities.
This episode is a collaboration with J-Source; you can find the full article here: https://j-source.ca/how-reciprocity-solutions-and-rethinking-objectivity-can-help-decolonize-journalism/
To learn more about the CPI, visit our website at thepodcaststudio.ca or find us on social media at @communitypodyyc.

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“This beat isn’t going to judge me”

What is music for you? For Sinzere, hip-hop was her saving grace. She was struggling with her mental health and didn’t have an outlet to help her navigate her feelings and emotions. Hip-hop gave her a space to express herself and deal with life’s challenges — rap is a space to be free of judgment and self-criticism. Sinzere’s experience with hip-hop is similar to other folks looking for a way to navigate life, find connection and express themselves. For the rappers in this fifteen-minute documentary, hip-hop is transformative and identity-affirming.
 
Episode one of What’s Your Story? is hosted and produced by Lorenzo Gavilan Vargas.
 
This series is powered by Shaw and produced as part of the Community Podcast Initiative at MRU Journalism.

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Air Passenger Problems

In this episode of the Article 1 podcast, Zach Poole talks to Terence Hong
about his experiences with and observations regarding the current state of Canada’s airline
industry. As air travel issues seem to become more and more common, Hong and many other
Canadians are becoming increasingly frustrated. In order to navigate these issues, Hong has
become a member of the Air Passenger Rights (Canada) Facebook page – A social media-based
advocacy group which has over 100,000 members at the time of this recording.

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Women, religion, and violence – the connection

In this episode of the Article 1 podcast, Article 1 reporter Hajar Al Khouzaii takes a closer look at the relationship between religion and violence, a women’s choice to wear a hijab, the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, and the continuous conflict and human right violations against Iranian protestors. This episode’s guest is, Dr. Michael Hawley a religious studies professor at Mount Royal University, who will discuss religion and violence, and women’s role in the issue.

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Contraceptive access

Sara Eftekhar is a campaign volunteer with Access B.C. — an advocacy group working to eliminate the barriers to accessing contraception in Canada. Eftekhar’s work as a nurse practitioner allowed her to see the injustices in Canada’s healthcare system, leading her to become a health equity advocate. On February 28, 2023, B.C.’s government announced it would provide free prescription contraception, becoming the first province to do so. Eftekhar sees this change as a success story but says change is still needed in Canadian policy to make healthcare equitable for all Canadians.

Access B.C.: https://www.accessbc.org/

B.C. 2023 provincial budget to fund free prescription contraception: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023FIN0015-000244

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The Making Of: The Second Gen with Karina Zapata

In this episode, we take a look back on The Second Gen series produced by Karina Zapata, the CPI’s first Podcaster-in-Residence. 
The Second Gen offers a glimpse into the experiences faced by the children of immigrants. The episodes explore different topics that affect first-generation Canadians — like discussions on being the eldest child to the sometimes polarizing experiences in the LGBTQ2S+ community. As a daughter of immigrants herself, Karina brings her background and experience to each part of the series.
Host Sam Jolin talks to Karina about the series, what inspired it, and how it all came together.
To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.
 

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Revitalization of Yukon Salmon Culture

Most of the Yukon Territory is covered by the Yukon River watershed, fed by glacial lakes that flow into the Yukon River system, which is home to diverse species, including salmon. The Salmon people, who are made up of 14 Yukon First Nations, are the stewards and the Indigenous peoples of this land and continue to have a deep connection with salmon.

Canada is home to nearly 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater (Statistics Canada, 2018), which is an ideal environment for salmon. However, Yukon salmon populations have been declining for decades. For generations of Salmon People, this means losing a connection with their culture, especially with increasingly rare summer fish camps, where knowledge and practices are passed down.

In this episode of the Canadian Mountain Podcast, Chief Nicole Tom of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation and Elizabeth MacDonald, Manager of Fisheries at Yukon First Nation Salmon Stewardship Alliance, discuss the history of the Yukon salmon and Salmon People, the multiple factors behind their declines, such as commercial overharvesting, industrial mining and climate change and ultimately, how to move forward. Chief Tom and Elizabeth discuss community-led solutions, conciliatory management, Western science and Indigenous knowledge to revitalize the salmon population and connect the Salmon People to their heritage and the salmon.

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Podcasting in a pandemic: reflecting on two years of learning and sharing knowledge through the Canadian Mountain Podcast

This episode explores the behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing a CPI series: the Canadian Mountain Podcast.
As the Canadian Mountain Podcast completed its fourth season in Spring 2022, the series had officially spent half of its time recording remotely in a pandemic. What the team hoped would be a temporary means of production became a well-oiled machine over the past two years, with the podcasting team producing at least a dozen podcast episodes over the past two years that have reached thousands of listeners in more than 100 countries worldwide. For the podcast team’s outgoing senior students, the vast majority of their work was remote since joining the team in Summer 2020. In this podcast episode, they reflect on the technical and editorial skills learned in developing and producing a podcast in a pandemic, the role of podcasting in knowledge mobilization, and the unexpected ways they’re using their remote skills outside of making podcasts.
To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.
Panelists
Meg Wilcox (senior producer, roundtable host)
Meg Wilcox is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University and co-director of the Community Podcast Initiative.
Kyle Napier (senior producer)
Kyle Napier is a Dene/nêhiyaw Métis university instructor, media-maker, researcher and PhD student from Tthebacha, Denendeh beyé (Fort Smith, Northwest Territories).
Gabrielle Pyska (research assistant & podcast producer)
Gabrielle Pyska is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program and is currently working as MRU Library’s Podcasting and Media Support Specialist.
Eric Tanner (research assistant & podcast producer)
Eric Tanner is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program, currently freelancing in journalism and audio production.
Ethan Ward (research assistant & podcast producer)
Ethan Ward is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Journalism and Digital Media program and currently working as a research assistant at MRU, investigating COVID-19’s influence on Canada’s park systems.

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The Canadian Mountain Podcast: Considering place and respecting Indigenous intellectual property in podcasts

This episode explores the behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing a CPI series: the Canadian Mountain Podcast.
Since its third season, the Canadian Mountain Podcast has strived to share perspectives of both Ancestral Indigenous Knowledge Holders and settler science research conducted through the Canadian Mountain Network, all while exploring issues and topics that affect Canada’s mountain ecosystems. In this roundtable discussion, you’ll hear from the series’ undergraduate research assistants about their two years producing the podcast, as well as how they undertook to prepare a series land acknowledgement. Around the land acknowledgement discussion, both senior producers for the podcast then discuss the roles of Indigenous intellectual property and copyright within the production of the series, and outline their goals for the show’s fifth and final season.
To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.
Panelists
Meg Wilcox (senior producer, roundtable host)
Meg Wilcox is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University and co-director of the Community Podcast Initiative.
Kyle Napier (senior producer)
Kyle Napier is a Dene/nêhiyaw Métis university instructor, media-maker, researcher and PhD student from Tthebacha, Denendeh beyé (Fort Smith, Northwest Territories).
Gabrielle Pyska (research assistant & podcast producer)
Gabrielle Pyska is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program and is currently working as MRU Library’s Podcasting and Media Support Specialist.
Eric Tanner (research assistant & podcast producer)
Eric Tanner is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program, currently freelancing in journalism and audio production.
Ethan Ward (research assistant & podcast producer)
Ethan Ward is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Journalism and Digital Media program and currently working as a research assistant at MRU, investigating COVID-19’s influence on Canada’s park systems.

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