Pullback

Kristen and Kyla are joined by food, migration, and labour historian Alexandra Sundarsingh in a reading of The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis by Amitav Ghosh. From the publisher; “The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism.” Lex, Kristen, and Kyla discuss more abstract idea...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. Kristen and Kyla talk about everyone’s favourite work drug: coffee. Topics: how coffee is made; coffee history; the coffee industry; working conditions on coffee farms; what is a fair price for coffee; the environment and coffee growing, brewing, packaging, and accompaniments; what you can do. Websit...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by Manic Pixie Dream Coffee founders Kristen Allin and Casey Kulczyk to discuss the ins and outs of coffee roasting. Topics: what is coffee roasting; how can coffee be ethically sourced; what is it like to run a small business; how can businesses better support the communities they source from; is it better to buy small or to buy Fair Trade. Leave us a voicemail! https:...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. "Anybody who can afford a Sphynx cat can also afford to pay somebody to wash their cat’s folds for them." Kristen is on vacation, so Kyla takes the opportunity to talk about her new kittens (her favourite subject these days). But is it ethical to keep pets? Topics: mental health, breeding, the histor...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by activist and friend of the pod Robert Miller to discuss two very different films: Planet of the Humans (we watched it so you wouldn't have to) and 2040 (Kyla's new favourite documentary)! You are encouraged to watch 2040, but Planet of the Humans isn't even worth hate-watching. Topics: climate denial tactics in action; what to do if you liked Planet of the Humans (it...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. In this episode, Kyla and Kristen talk about palm oil and the environment. Topics: what is palm oil; why is palm oil in everything; palm oil and deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution; working conditions; food security; the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil; boycott versus l...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by Erin Hynes and Kattie Laur to discuss how we can travel more responsibly. Topics: choosing a destination; carbon offsets and flying; how to find vendors, tour guides, and places to stay; choosing souvenirs; general intentionality. Leave us a voicemail! https://podinbox.com/pullback Website: https://www.pullback.org/episode-notes/episode91 Curious Tourism (formerly kn...

Kristen and Kyla discuss how to recognize prominent forms of climate denial, where climate denial started and where it is now, and what you can do to push back. Check out this great episode from How to Save a Planet for a guide to deep canvassing: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gbCRFSDUNznZhNhlZKrYX And one more from this great pod on how to talk to your loved ones about climate change: https:/...

Kristen and Kyla discuss how to recognize prominent forms of climate denial, where climate denial started and where it is now, and what you can do to push back. Check out this great episode from How to Save a Planet for a guide to deep canvassing: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gbCRFSDUNznZhNhlZKrYX And one more from this great pod on how to talk to your loved ones about climate change: https:/...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. In this episode, Kristen and Kyla talk to Sarah King, Head of the Oceans and Plastics Campaign at Greenpeace Canada, about the plastic pollution crisis. Visit the Greenpeace action page: https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/act/ Visit the Greenpeace plastics page: https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en...

Kyla is joined by Terence Hamilton, domestic policy specialist focusing on child rights, health equality, and social justice with UNICEF Canada, or the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF was established after world war 2 and works for child rights and well being. UNICEF helps children through natural disasters and humanitarian crises, and works to build global health and welfare systems that p...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. “So instead of being the Paper Bag Princess, we’re all kind of the plastic bag Princesses.” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen try out plastic-free July. Kyla discovers that coffee cups are plastic. Kristen joneses for chips. Topics: what even is plastic; the history of plastic; common types of plasti...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by Megan Linton, host of Invisible Institutions , to discuss the book “Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways To Think Like a 21st-Century Economist” by Kate Raworth. The book focuses on seven ways in which mainstream economics has failed humanity and paints a picture of a world where a just society lives within the means of our planet - and that picture looks like a doughnut! Find...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. “I mean I just smell like vinegar. I don’t know if that’s better.”  In this episode, Kyla and Kristen fail at the ultimate sustainability challenge: going zero waste. Learn about some easy wins, as well as Kristen and Kyla’s “probably never” list. Topics: what is zero waste; the disposable society; s...

This week, Kyla and Kristen are joined by Paris Marx, host of Tech Won't Save Us, a weekly podcast that critiques the worldview of Silicon Valley. Paris has been published by NBC News, CBC News, Toronto Star, Jacobin, Tribune, OneZero, Canadian Dimension, and more. Paris holds a Master's degree in Geography and will be talking to us about their new book, “Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. “That’s typically what taxes are, Kyla. We just don’t apply them to a lot of big companies…” Kristen and Kyla wrap up their discussion on electronics by exploring the complicated story of conflict minerals. Topics: what are conflict minerals; Democratic Republic of the Congo and conflict minerals; Th...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by activist Robert Miller to discuss Corey Doctorow’s book “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism”. For extra credit Kyla and Kristen also tried to read Shoshana Zuboff’s “ The Age of Surveillance Capitalism ”, as Doctorow wrote his piece in large part as a response to Zuboff’s. Topics: what is surveillance capitalism; what are the harms of surveillance capitalism; wha...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. "I remember years ago going to an optometrist, and they ask how many hours of screen time I have in a day and at the time I think I sort of sheepishly said like 4 hours, or something like that, knowing it was actually higher. But today if I went it's like… well how many hours am I awake in a day?" Kr...

Kyla and Kristen join Eva and Emma of team Gender Troubles to kick off their Porn Month with a chat about whether porn can be ethical, and what ethical porn looks like in practice. Topics: Kristen and Kyla think Bridgerton is porn; Kyla eats a banana; what are the labour rights of folks in the porn industry; is big tech ruining porn with surveillance capitalism; how to support creators directly; l...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by food, migration, and labour historian Alexandra (Lex) Sundarsingh. Lex adds her knowledge about historical human rights abuses in sugar production — which, unfortunately, look a lot like present-day human rights abuses in sugar production. In their disc...

Kristen and Kyla celebrate May Day with special guest Emily Leedham , Prairie Reporter for Press Progress , and editor of Shift Work , a weekly newsletter round-up of national labour news, strikes, lockouts and new organizing across Canada. Some of the topics covered in this episode include the current state of labour and unions in Canada, discussing how companies employ anti-union tactics (callin...

Encore! Look for pod favourite episodes being re-released outside of the regularly scheduled show. In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by activist Robert Miller for a special May Day episode reflecting on the state of the labour movement. Topics: problems and challenges; successes and promising starts; the future of labour; and what you can do. Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/m...

It’s Fashion Revolution Week! Kristen and Kyla are joined by special guest Erin Polowy , Partnerships and Programming Lead with Fashion Revolution ; the founder and editor of My Green Closet , a YouTube channel , blog , and community for slow fashion; and the author of Quit Fast Fashion . Topics: what is Fashion Revolution; what are the problems within the fashion industry; what solutions are acti...

“Don’t get rid of all your pants. You’ve gotta wear pants.” Welcome to our MEGA EPISODE where we re-mastered our Clothing series. In this tighter, better sounding classic, Kristen unravels some of the issues facing fast fashion. Topics: what is fast fashion; we are buying (and throwing out) so many clothes; how the fashion supply chain works; offshoring; FDR, labour hero; sweatshops; garment indus...

Kristen and Kyla are joined by special guest Corey Hardeman, painter, presenter, and certified Death Doula who also hosts workshops on climate grief. She holds a BSc in biology and is trained in both architectural drafting and classical drawing. Her art combines elements of traditional illustration and technical drawing, with a love of tonal painting and an eye for tension and movement. Corey disc...