2023

On this episode of See How We Run! we’re joined by Hives for Humanity’s co-directors Sarah Common and Cait Hurley.

On this episode of See How We Run!, we’re joined by two cultural workers, Asia Jong and Vitoria “veto” Monteiro.

On this episode of See How We Run! we’re joined by Gallery Gachet’s executive Director Demi London and artistic director Moroti George.

On this episode of See How We Run! we’re joined by Neworld Theatre’s managing director Alen Dominguez and consultant Caitlin Jones to talk about Progress Lab 1422’s Backstage Spaces report.

On this first episode of the See How We Run! mini-series, co-hosts and SFU VOCE staff Julia Aoki, Kathy Feng, and Samantha Walters introduce the series and what’s to come. In each episode, they’ll speak to artists, consultants, administrators, and advocates at various stages in their career about how art and culture is made and sustained in Vancouver.

This week on Below the Radar, we’re joined by Vancouver legend Norman Armour, a curator, consultant, producer, director, actor and non-profit arts specialist with over 35 years of experience.

Alex Hemingway, Senior Economist and Public Finance Policy Analyst at the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), joins Am Johal on this episode of Below the Radar.

In this conversation, Samir and Am discuss the importance of challenging ideas in academia, how family trauma has impacted his perspective, and the Institute for the Humanities long history–leading up to the celebration of the Institute's 40 year celebration in October 2023.

Bruce Mutsvairo, Professor of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University, and a 2023 SFU CERi researcher-in-residence, sits down with Am Johal to discuss his journey from journalism into academia and the state of journalism in Africa.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Ali Kazimi, director and winner of the 2019 Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts.

On this episode of Below the Radar, Angela Aujla, visual artist and Professor of Sociology at Georgian College, sits down with Am Johal.

This week on Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Ryan Tacata, Assistant Professor of Performance at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts.

On this episode of Below the Radar, Charlotte Gill, author of the books  Ladykiller and Eating Dirt, sits down with Am Johal to explore her latest book, Almost Brown, which shares her experience growing up as a mixed-race child in a multi-cultural/religious household.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, joins Am Johal to discuss the pertinent topic of facism and how political figures use and promote the image of “strongmen'' in their pursuit of power.

Critical theorist Alberto Toscano sits down with Am Johal to discuss the emergence of critical theory alongside fascism's rise in the 1920s and 30s.

With details of our 5-year anniversary celebration event to come, let’s take a sneak peek of the upcoming season.

Since September 2022, we’ve held 42 events and workshops, released 33 episodes, and engaged more than 25,000 podcast listeners. During that time, working diligently behind the scenes—editing podcast audio, and supporting communications and events programming—was our interim Programs Assistant Samantha Walters, who we are pleased to announce has now moved into a continuing role in the office.

On June 29, 2023, 200 people turned out for the world premiere screening of Smokey Devil: Underworld Street Reporter, a feature length documentary by Nathaniel Canuel, co-hosted by SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement.

On our latest spring season of the podcast, we had the chance to sit down with five SCA artist-scholars for some exciting discussions on their artistic practices and latest research. Whether you're looking to hear more about arts education and the local arts ecology, or just seeking some artistic inspiration, we hope you join us in diving back into these episodes.

Released every spring, Voices of the Street (VOTS) is a compendium of writing by Megaphone community members, a space for exploration of creative expression through language.

Our spring season of Below the Radar has consisted of seventeen conversations with community builders, artists, and academics about dynamic research initiatives, new projects, and engaging stories.

A family journey that spans three generations. This week on Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Bill Sundhu, a human rights & criminal justice lawyer.

This week on Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Jorge Amigo, the head of cultural programming and the Vancouver Public Library.

Head of the departments of surgery at both the Vancouver General Hospital and the University of British Columbia, and Am Johal’s former brain surgeon, Dr. Gary Redekop, joins Am on this episode of Below the Radar.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Lama Mugabo, founding director of Building Bridges with Rwanda, a campaign manager with the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, and a member of the Hogan’s Alley Working Group.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal speaks with Michael Clague, a community developer who has spent decades connecting underserved people to much-needed supports and programming.

This week on Below The Radar, Am Johal is joined by author and associate professor at the Allard Law School at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Brenna Bhandar.

On this episode of Below the Radar, Kari joins our host Am Johal, to discuss how the seemingly conflicting frameworks of criticalness and hope are both vital to systemic change.

As we approach our 5th year of Below the Radar, we’re pleased to share that our podcast has surpassed 100,000 listens!

Research Assistant Sena Cleave reflects on how they translated the skills they acquired as a student at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts (SCA) to their work at SFU VOCE.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by NiNi Dongnier, an interdisciplinary choreographer and dancer, and Assistant Professor in Dance at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts.

Independent curator and Vancouver based writer, Joni Low (劉植紅) joins our host, Am Johal, on this episode of Below the Radar.

This week on Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by writer, editor, and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow of Contemporary Art at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Yani Kong.

We are delighted to welcome Julia Aoki as Program Manager at SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement!

Our host Am Johal is joined by Erika Latta, Assistant Professor in Theatre Performance at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, and the Artistic co-director and co-founder of WaxFactory in New York.

Artist, filmmaker, and Assistant Professor for the School of Contemporary Arts, Nadia Shihab, sits down with Am Johal to explore her path as a filmmaker.

Our host Am Johal is joined this week by Dr. Svitlana Matviyenko, Professor of Critical Media Analysis in SFU’s School of Communication and Associate Director of The Digital Democracies Institute.

The 2023 Spring season has already kicked off with four episodes that explore varying topics from racial justice, community building, colonialism, and regional storytelling.

This week our host Am Johal is joined by Cliff Atleo, a scholar and professor in SFU’s School of Resource & Environmental Management.

Former Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Indian Summer Festival, Sirish Rao, speaks with Am Johal about his previous work as a Himalayan mountain guide, as a book publisher in India, as well as his experience in organizing the Jaipur Literature and Indian Summer festivals.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal speaks with June Francis, a professor, researcher, and advocate for anti-racist and decolonial practices in universities, businesses, and governments.

Marianne describes how her work challenges the colonial practice of treating Indigenous artmaking traditions as resources to be extracted.

This special episode of Below the Radar is a live recording of a conversation between our teammate Paige Smith, Megaphone Magazine’s Julia Aoki, and Megaphone vendor and storyteller Yvonne Mark, as they discuss the creation of the Voices of the Street podcast, which was featured on Below the Radar the previous year.

On the seventh and final episode of The Climate Imaginary, a Below the Radar series, Am Johal is joined by Karenna Gore, the founder and executive director of Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary.

In Below the Radar’s The Climate Imaginary series we touched on disinformation, links between the arts and climate activism, and the challenges in making real environmental change.

On the sixth episode of our Below the Radar series: The Climate Imaginary, Am Johal is joined by journalist and researcher Julian Brave NoiseCat.

SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement was honoured to support four events at the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, featuring activists, performance artists, and a comic journalist, telling their stories and illuminating directions for positive change.

On the fifth episode of our Below the Radar series: The Climate Imaginary, our host Am Johal is joined by investigative climate reporter and author, Geoff Dembicki.

On the fourth episode of our Below the Radar series: The Climate Imaginary, our host Am Johal is joined by Dr. Andréanne Doyon, Assistant Professor at the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University.

On the third episode of our Below the Radar series: The Climate Imaginary, our host Am Johal is joined by Charles Henry.

On the second episode of our Below the Radar series: The Climate Imaginary, Steve Tornes and Alex K Masse sit down to talk with Kendra Fanconi, artistic director of The Only Animal.

On this first episode of The Climate Imaginary, our host Am Johal is joined by Stephen Collis for a discussion on the relationship between art and environmental activism.

This week, our host Am Johal is joined by Dr. Kora DeBeck, Erica McAdam, Kali Sedgemore, and Dean Wilson; four guests who all do important work in research and advocacy for drug users in Vancouver.

Am Johal and Matt Hern, two longtime friends, talk with Leela Gandhi about human and non-human friendships in the contexts of democracy, post-colonialism, and climate change.

Philosophy scholar and author Willow Verkerk sits down with Am Johal to discuss Nietzsche and his ideas of friendship, as well as her current work on the Gendered Mimesis project at KU Leuven.

In this episode, our host Am Johal sits down with Bob to discuss his public life and the political impacts that his decisions continue to have.

Khari Wendell McClelland, a diversely talented musician, writer, and community facilitator, joins Am Johal to discuss music as a tool for community healing.

Erika Lewis is a singer and musician of Tuba Skinny, a blues and ragtime band from New Orleans. Erika is also a solo artist with the albums, “Waiting for Stars” (2016) and “A Walk Around the Sun” (2022).

Situated within the current context of police brutality, for-profit prisons, and excessive incarceration rates, Am Johal sits down with educator, writer, and public scholar, Walidah Imarisha.

On this episode of Below the Radar, host Am Johal is joined by Lizzie Borden, an independent filmmaker who's been directing & creating since the 1970s.

Melissa Roach and Leanne discuss the inspiration for The Creative Instigator's Handbook, the different range of projects and artists described in the book, the impact of the pandemic, and the creativity of “Do It Yourself” art projects.

A podcast that maps accessible, sustainable and equitable transportation in urban spaces.

Steve Tornes speaks with Bowinn Ma and Uytae Lee about their work in public engagement, as well as the possible futures of transportation in the Lower Mainland.

On this third episode of The Trip Diary, Steve Tornes speaks with Councillor Tony Valente and Dr. Meghan Winters talks about cycling, advocacy, and street allocations.

Host Steve Tornes speaks with Dr. Peter V. Hall about the Employer Transit Subsidy Study.

On this first episode of The Trip Diary, Steve Tornes speaks with Lori Macdonald and Sadia Tabassum about their research on transit-based mobility through an equitable lens.

In this episode, Am and Genevieve discuss her research work on forced labour and the global market forces which incentivize those practices.

In this episode, Am and William discuss the writing process for his latest book, “Rez Dog Blues & The Haiku: A Savage Life in Bits and Pieces.”

David Lest discusses his latest book, Prophet Against Slavery, as well as his unique mix of art and activism, and his upcoming projects.

Am Johal talks with Shauna Sylvester, the former Executive Director of the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and the soon-to-be Executive Director of the Urban Sustainability Directors’ Network.

In this episode of Below the Radar, host Am Johal is joined by Magda Goemans, manager of Community Campus Engage Canada. Together, they discuss her almost decade-long journey in the field of community engagement, the priorities of their practice, and plans they hold for the future.

Am and Kevin discuss how Black theorists, like James Baldwin, discuss Indigeneity in their politics, and how tensions can arise between different conceptions of land, history and identity.

Am and Liz discuss the role of the Institute and how community engaged research can be used to provide a foundation for policy development and in widening imaginations and creating possibilities on the ground.

In 1983, the province of British Columbia saw the rise of a social movement like no other since — uniting activists, community organizations and trade unionists in protest. This time on Below the Radar, host Am Johal speaks to David Spaner, an author, cultural critic, and organizer who has written a compelling history of the Solidarity resistance movement.

A commemorative event organized by the Rwandan community in Vancouver.

SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts Assistant Professor Eldritch Priest joins this episode Below the Radar to discuss the potential in nonsense and failure, the phenomenon of the earworm, and his journey from musicianship to employing theory.

This episode of Below the Radar is a special live event recording from “A Conversation About Urban Choreography,” presented in-person at SFU’s Vancouver campus. Taking gesture as a point of entry, Justine A. Chambers and Alana Gerecke extend their collaborative exploration of the everyday choreographies that are built into an urban experience. In this discussion, Chambers and Gerecke are joined by architect Annabel Vaughan. Together, the panelists explore the accumulation of living archival gestures generated by the interactions between moving bodies and built space, an evolving assembly of lost gestures.

Micheal Vonn, from the PHS Community Services Society, joins Am Johal to discuss the relation between overdose prevention initiatives with different health policies at different stages of the pandemic.

SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement (SFU VOCE) and Megaphone are delighted to present the completed Voices of the Street podcast — a Below the Radar original series created by Megaphone storytellers. Inspired by writings and themes from the 2021 Voices of the Street literary anthology, this series was thoughtfully curated and hosted by Megaphone Speakers Bureau participants: Jules Chapman, Angel Gates, Nicolas Leech-Crier and Yvonne Mark.

City of Vancouver Councillor Jean Swanson joins Am Johal to discuss her time in politics, both as an anti-poverty activist, and as a city councillor. In this episode, they discuss the housing affordability crisis in Vancouver, the need for safe supply, and the high cost of living. Jean also describes how she was introduced to political activism through Bruce Eriksen and Libby Davies, the experience of developing a community newsletter, and her memories of being a political candidate over the decades.

In this episode of Below the Radar, host Am Johal is joined by adrienne maree brown, organizer and author of nonfiction activism explorations Pleasure Activism, Emergent Strategy, and more. Together, they discuss brown's history as a community organizer and facilitator, the powers of solidarity and pleasure in activism, and some of her inspirations—from Audre Lorde and Octavia Butler to the beauty of nature itself.

For the final installment of the Voices of the Street podcast series, host Angel Gates invites Megaphone author Eva Takakanew into conversation about her powerful writings. As longtime friends, Angel and Eva share and discuss pieces of writing that shine a light on the traumatic histories and ongoing impacts of the Indian Residential School system and the Sixties Scoop.

We are delighted to welcome our newest co-op student Alex Masse, who has been diligently working behind the scenes with us at SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement (SFU VOCE) since January.

Storyteller, actor and activist Angel Gates invites Megaphone author Peter Thompson into conversation about his poem, “Empty Inside.” Peter’s piece, published in the 2021 Voices of the Street anthology, is a poetic contemplation of loneliness and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fourth episode of the Voices of the Street podcast series features a conversation on Indigenous honour, healing and empowerment, with your host, Nicolas Leech-Crier.

For the third installment of the Voices of the Street podcast, we have a candid and heartful conversation between host Yvonne Mark and Megaphone writer Dennis Gates in response to his piece “Without Prejudice,” published in the 2021 Voices of the Street anthology.

Be transported into the soundscapes of two different poems. This installment of the Voices of the Street podcast is produced by Jules Chapman, a writer and peer support worker who is deeply involved in the Downtown Eastside community.

The Voices of the Street podcast makes its debut on Below the Radar! Over the next six weeks, follow along as Megaphone storytellers weave tales and read from the 2021 Voices of the Street anthology. In this first installment, we hear from poet, writer, actor, research tech and overdose responder Nicolas Leech-Crier, in conversation with your host for this episode, Mr. Essential.

City of Vancouver Councillor Christine Boyle sits down with Am Johal to discuss her hopes for the City’s future. They talk about what can be done on the municipal level to combat the climate crisis, the housing crisis, and the issue of drug poisoning on Vancouver’s streets.

Writer, researcher, and Chairperson of the Institute for Global Analytics, Rumena Filipova joins host Am Johal to discuss her latest book, Constructing the Limits of Europe: Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia since 1989. Rumena speaks to how dominant conceptions of national identity have shaped the foreign policy behaviour of the Balkan states, Hungary and Russia. She explores the internal politics of European Union member states, the competing regional forces of Europeanization and their impact on traditions of national identity.

Sociocultural anthropologist and assistant professor at SFU’s School for International Studies, Darren Byler joins Am Johal to speak about his latest book, “Terror Capitalism: Uyghur Dispossession and Masculinity in a Chinese City."

As we step into 2022 with anticipation for the new engagement opportunities this year will bring, we are excited to introduce Steve Tornes, who has recently stepped into the role of interim Community Engagement Coordinator for SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement.

Continental philosopher and assistant professor of Philosophy and Women Gender Studies at the University of North Carolina, Elisabeth Paquette, joins Am Johal to speak about her latest book, 'Universal Emancipation: Race Beyond Badiou.'

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Alessandra Pomarico, an artist and curator of different, alternative residency programs. She is one of the founders of Free Home University and works with collectives around the world. In this episode, Am and Alessandra discuss the role of art in politics, collaborative art making during a pandemic, and the influences of Jean-Luc Nancy and the Zapatistas on her work.

On this week’s episode, we sat down with long-time Indigenous-rights advocate Scott Clark of the Coast Salish S'Klallam nation, and discussed creating systems of change from the ground up that produce positive and evidence based results.

Am Johal sits down with the team at InterGenNS, a North Shore community project working to inspire intergenerational connections. This intergenerational trio, Rachelle Patille, Sue Carabetta, and June Maynard, speak about bridging the gap of academia and community, the impacts that COVID had on project goals and funding, and the challenges of embarking upon community-engaged research.

The climatic events of 2021 (heat, fires, floods, storms) have brought home the reality of climate change like never before — and the urgency for media to address this crisis couldn’t feel greater. But how do we talk about the climate emergency in ways that move us away from despair and disaster coverage?