Pullback

Kristen and Kyla dive into 'An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us' by Ed Yong. Join us as we explore this delightful journey through the many fascinating ways animals perceive the world. Published in 2022, Yong masterfully weaves together interviews with scientists and in-depth research, offering a narrative that deepens our appreciation for the many creatures we s...

Kristen and Kyla read Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. "Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own." We recorded this for our Patron's, but loved the book so much we decided to share with everyone instead! Get a copy of the book! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/714055/chain-gang-all-stars-b...

Kristen and Kyla read Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. This book explores the gender data gap in research when the "male body" is treated as default and "female body" as atypical, revealing how this bias bakes discrimination into systems as far reaching as healthcare, education, public policy, and economic development. Get a copy of the book! https:/...

Pullback is pleased to share Green Majority Radio with our listeners! Hosts David and Stefan Hostetter and Lauren Latour bring together environmental justice news with voices and strategies from the grassroots. Broadcast from CIUT 89.5 FM in Toronto on Fridays at 11:00AM ET and at various community radio stations around the country, GMR is also available on all podcast platforms. In this episode,...

Pullback has been collaborating with The Climate Justice Organizing HUB to develop "Climate Organizing Shorts," a collection of discussions with climate activists on how to build inclusive and effective movements. The inaugural episode is now available, offering a condensed rendition of our previous Deep Canvassing chat featuring the esteemed Montana Burgess. Look for new episodes every Friday unt...

Kristen and Kyla take a break from taking a break to discuss The Age of Insecurity by Astra Taylor. Published in October 2023, this book explores how crises of inequality, mental health, authoritarianism, and ecological collapse could all be addressed by re-evaluating our culture of insecurity. Institutions that promise to make us more secure are functioning to undermine us in this moment, includi...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by Dr. Jennifer Jill Fellows ( Gender, Sex, and Tech ), Kattie Laur ( Curious Tourism | Pod The North ), and Eric Wickham ( Unrigged | Big Shiny Takes ) on the annual year end quiz panel show, revisiting the big talking points of 2023. Jennifer's links https://gendersextech.opened.ca/2022/03/28/hello-and-welcome/ https://indspire.ca/ Kattie's links https://pinatravels.o...

Canadian journalism has been struggling for quite a while, with layoffs and local newspapers closing shop. Facebook’s reaction to the Online News Act and has added a layer of difficulty for independent news, who will lose a key platform for sharing their content. Can working together save independent journalism? On today’s episode we talked to Andre Goulet and Eric Wickham about their new initiati...

The country is pretty divided on climate change and what to do about it. Can deep canvassing help to get people on board with decarbonization? Is deep canvassing the pixie dust necessary to bridge political divisions? How does it work, anyway? On today’s episode Kristen spoke with Montana Burgess, the Executive Director of Neighbours United, an organization based in interior BC that led the first...

With the shifting nature of work, downtowns in many cities are emptying out, leading to business closures and fears about a “transit death spiral”, all while it is becoming ever more difficult to find affordable housing. Is it time for bold thinking to transform our cities so they are greener and more inclusive than they were before? We talk to Patrick Esmonde-White, host of Canada Re-Imagined, a...

Western governments say that they are working toward a net-zero future. But are those same governments propping up fossil fuel companies with billions of dollars in subsidies? And how can we change that? On today’s episode we talk to Katrina Miller, the Executive Director of Canadians for Tax Fairness about their new report, Taxes and the Path to a Green Economy , which is all about how the Canadi...

The five day work week was designed for an economy that relied mostly on physical labour. But does that framework need updating for the knowledge economy? In other words, should we be moving toward a four day work week? On today’s episode we talk to Dr. Dale Whelehan, the CEO of 4 Day Week Global , a company that helps businesses pilot a four-day work week. Prior to joining 4 Day Week Global, Dale...

As countries look to reach net-zero and to reduce their energy dependence on Russia, nuclear is having a moment. Nuclear energy is a non-emitting source of energy, but it also comes with some pretty big risks. Should countries be building new nuclear power plants? Or would this solution cause bigger problems? Environmentalists have been divided on nuclear energy for quite a while, and that debate...

It feels like everyone is struggling to get by. With poverty and inequality on the rise, is unconditional cash the ticket to a happier, healthier, more equal society? Universal basic income is gaining momentum around the world – including in Canada, where the Senate is currently considering Bill S-233, which would require the federal government to develop a national framework for implementing a gu...

This year of cascading disasters is a good reminder that climate change has arrived, and some impacts are here to stay even after we reach net-zero . Is climate repair an opportunity to get back to a place of relative safety for humanity? Or is it just another delay tactic? On today’s episode we dig into the debate on climate repair with Andrew Dana Hudson . Andrew is a sustainability researcher a...

We are living in a biodiversity crisis: 42,000 animal species are currently threatened with extinction, which is more than a quarter of all species that have been assessed for the International Union of Concerned Scientists’ Red List . But are zoos a solution? On today’s episode we talked to Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde, a Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Laurentian University. Albr...

Sure, the rent is too damned high – but are we currently in a housing crisis? Or is the housing market working exactly as it was intended? On the first episode of our brand new season, we were joined by Ricardo Tranjan of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to talk housing. Ricardo just wrote a fantastic new book called the Tenant Class, which makes the argument that tenants are an exploit...

Kristen sits down with author Seth Klein to discuss his book, “A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency”. This book explores what it would actually look like for Canada to mobilize on a wartime level to tackle climate change, using Canada’s efforts in the Second World War as proof that this isn’t the first time we’ve come together in the face of a world altering threat. Get the book...

Kristen and Kyla take a break from summer vacation to dive into the groundbreaking book "This Changes Everything" by Naomi Klein. Published in 2014, this critically acclaimed book discusses the interconnected nature of the economic, political, and environmental systems, and the ripples of it's influence can be felt everywhere in the climate movement today. Klein examines the impact of extractive i...

Kristen and Kyla sit down during their season break to discuss the book How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World by Chris Turner, a climate reporter sharing his personal research on technological climate solutions, from green islands to solar panel factories. This book outlines how much progress has been made in the last 25 years, and explores what technology exists today that c...

Kristen and Kyla sit down during their season break to discuss the book The Great Displacement by Jack Bittle. This book tells the story of climate migration in the United States through interviews with those who have experienced climate disasters including floods, fires, drought, and storms. This book paints a picture not only of how climate change is already affecting thousands of people in a co...

A lot of settlers in so-called Canada want to walk the path of reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples who have always been here. On our last episode of season 1, we’re joined by Riley Yesno to discuss the land back movement that seeks to reclaim Indigenous rights and rebalance our relationships with one another and the land. Riley is an Anishinaabe scholar, writer, and commentator from Eabamet...

Effective altruism is a moral theory that says we need to give as much money as possible to the most effective charities. Is that a harmless idea, or a hyper-capitalist ideology that helps billionaires like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet launder their reputations? On today’s episode we dig into a utilitarian-flavored philanthropic movement that has become very popular in Silicon Valley....

Kristen and Kyla are coming for your burgers in their ongoing fight against their arch-nemesis; Big Agriculture. Plant based foods are having a moment; sales for “meat” substitutes alone are projected to grow to $85 billion by 2030, and demand for plant based ingredients is expected to grow to $13 trillion by 2025. As we continue to reckon with the climate crisis and the cruelty of the modern worl...

Critical Race Theory is at the heart of some of today’s most fiery culture wars, but does it deserve the heat? We are joined by scholar, teacher, and advocate Joshua Sealy-Harrington to discuss the many nuances of CRT. Josh is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law, and Counsel at Power Law. Josh’s expertise in critical race theory, critical dis...