Below the Radar Transcript

Voices of the Street — series trailer

Speakers: Paige Smith, Jules Chapman, Eva Takakanew, Nicolas Leech-Crier, Yvonne Mark, Angel Gates

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Paige Smith  0:04 
Launching February 15, a special podcast series titled Voices of the Street will be premiering on Below the Radar. This six-part series is curated and hosted by Megaphone Magazine storytellers and features writers from their 2021 Voices of the Street anthology. Tune in to hear from these talented storytellers as the series moves through immersive soundscapes, poetics and creative prose, alongside critical conversations about poverty, incarceration, indigeneity, and connections to home, land and relations. Keep listening right now to hear clips from these upcoming episodes.

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Jules Chapman  0:46 
How many times have I put pen to paper to make notice of something only to come back to it later? How many times have I wanted to write something, but the words wouldn't come? My mind is blank, and I really feel dumb. Then there are times that I can't write fast enough. My thoughts racing through my head trying to organize my thoughts is tough.

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Eva Takakanew  1:15 
What is reconciliation? Can they really reconcile with us?

Nicolas Leech-Crier  1:18 
Exactly. The truth part of it, in the reconciliation process. They weren't... They didn't mention anything about the mass graves yet. They're like, now it's getting uncovered. And they're like, oh, yeah, that, right. 

Eva Takakanew  1:29 
Truth and nothing but the truth needs to be told. 

Nicolas Leech-Crier  1:31 
Yeah. 

Eva Takakanew  1:31 
That's the first step to reconciliation.

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Yvonne Mark  1:34 
Like I said earlier, this is my first time ever podcasting, so it's all new to me. I was very intrigued by your story when I read it. I was emotional. I was angry, and mixed emotions, about the injustice of our people. I didn't do much time, but the way I've been treated I could relate to, you know, lock 'em up and throw away the key attitude that the judicial system has. And most of us… so a lot of us.

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Nicolas Leech-Crier  2:09 
Through all these years of wandering aimlessly, often not even caring if I catch whatever it is I so madly pursue so blindly stumbling clumsily incompetently across endlessly mountain valley nights of rain and rage, desperate and disgraced. Oblivious as to how obviously close I clamor to my own tragically predictable yet preventable demise. Alas, I can at last in absolute honesty, except that I choose to stay simply because I refuse to accept that staying and struggling and suffering and somehow still standing in solidarity and sharing love is not in fact, what I'm supposed to do.

[transition sound]

Angel Gates  2:58 
I have no idea what else to say. 

Eva Takakanew  2:59 
I know. 

Angel Gates  3:00 
I'm trying to use my radio voice here. 

Eva Takakanew  3:01 
Here we go. Excellent. Signing off, thank you.

[soft guitar music]

Paige Smith  3:11 
Tune in on Tuesdays for this special collaboration between Megaphone Magazine and SFU's Vancity office of Community Engagement. Subscribe to Below the Radar on your podcasting app of choice so you don't miss any of the episodes.

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