Below the Radar

Faranak Farzan works at a fascinating intersection of engineering and neuroscience — innovating technological solutions to mental health issues like depression and addiction. Using the concept of brain plasticity, Faranak speaks to host Am Johal about how technological interventions can help the brain to rewire itself. She delves into the exciting opportunities neuroengineering presents for stream...

From Mister Rogers to radioactive frogs, Below the Radar dives into the nuclear imaginary with SFU Associate Professor of Sociology Lindsey Freeman as she recounts the atomic culture she was brought up in. In this episode, Lindsey is in conversation with Am Johal about her new book, “This Atom Bomb in Me,” a reckoning with our nuclear past that resonates with the present moment. Through Lindsey’s...

Leilani Farha has a long history of advocacy around poverty and housing, in Canada and beyond. She is in conversation with Am Johal following her tenure as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, a post that saw her travelling the world to connect with people who were struggling with inadequate and precarious housing or homelessness, and to work with governments to uphold ho...

Finding a lack of space for experimentation and play in Vancouver’s theatre scene, New(to)Town Collective formed to provide accessible, low-barrier physical theatre training to the community. Our host, Am Johal speaks to two of the collective’s founding artists and alumni of SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, June Fukumura and Anjela Magpantay. They discuss barriers facing emerging artists in...

With the rise of podcasting as a forum for academic conversations and as a teaching tool, Hannah McGregor of SFU’s Publishing department set out to investigate — and enact — podcasting as a form of scholarly communication, knowledge mobilization, and open pedagogy. Hannah is in conversation with host Am Johal about her research into the exciting potentials of scholarly podcasting, and the power of...

Am Johal is joined by Maltese-American cartoonist Joe Sacco, renowned for his long-form graphic journalism and field work in conflict zones and places where people are facing displacement and dispossession. They discuss his new book, “Paying the Land,” dealing with the painful history of the relationship between Indigenous peoples and resource extraction in northern Canada, as well as overarching...

Jackie Obungah is in conversation with Aida Mwanzia about the importance of centering Black youth and community perspectives in policymaking. Aida speaks about a policy brief she wrote advocating for a cap on international student tuition, as well as her experience working with Ethọ́s Lab to create accessible and inclusive tech spaces. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-commun...

How do we come together to make and enjoy art in a time of physical distancing? Interdisciplinary artist and community organizer Vanessa Richards joins host Am Johal in his backyard for a physically distanced conversation about convening community through music during the pandemic. They discuss the challenges and opportunities of practising community-engaged arts over these past months; Vanessa’s...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our guest host, Jackie Obungah, is joined by Ayaan Ismaciil and Natasha Mhuriro. They discuss the importance of starting a Black in BC Mutual Aid fund during the pandemic as a means of community support and sustenance. Ayaan and Natasha also talk about finding a balance between student life and community organizing. Both Ayaan and Natasha are members of the Afri...

On this episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series, our host Am Johal is joined by Ann Livingston, community organizer and drug user activist. Ann is the co-founder of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and is currently the Executive Project Coordinator of the BC-Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors. Am and Ann discuss the two current public health emergencies: the COVID-19 pand...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Amal Ghazal, Director of the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies, and Associate Professor in the Department of History at SFU with a focus on the modern history of the Middle East and Africa. Born in Lebanon, she has studied at the American University of Beirut and moved to Canada in 1996 to complete her MA and PhD at the Univers...

On this episode of Below the Radar, we speak with Kenneth Bailey, the co-founder of the Design Studio for Social Intervention. With our host Am Johal, he discusses how social justice issues have been exacerbated during the pandemic and protests in support of racial justice and defunding the police. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Adel Iskandar, Middle East media scholar and Assistant Professor of Global Communication at Simon Fraser University’s School of Communication. He is the author and co-author of several works, including “Egypt In Flux: Essays on an Unfinished Revolution” (2013, AUCP/OUP), “Edward Said: A Legacy of Emancipation and Representation”, (...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal sits down with Dan Adleman, an Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Toronto. He has also previously taught at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design. Dan received his PhD from the University of British Columbia in...

In this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal sits down with Karen Jamieson, Vancouver-based dancer and choreographer. Karen's company Karen Jamieson Dance works with residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside through community engagement and cross cultural dancing, and is recognized nationally as groundbreaking. Additionally, her work, "Sisyphus," was named one of the 10 Canadian choreogr...

On this episode of Below the Radar's Pandemic Conversations series we talk with Garth Mullins, documentarian, community organizer, and host and executive producer of the podcast CRACKDOWN. Garth and our host Am Johal talk about how the overdose crisis in Vancouver has been affected by COVID-19, and the positive affects that listening to drug user activists can have on the safety of the community....

On this episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series our host Am Johal speaks with public health practitioner, activist and LGBTQ community leader Michael Roberson. They talk about how to read the current political times. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/pandemic-conversations/60-michael-roberson.html Read the transc...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal speaks with Louise Schwarz, founder and co-owner of Recycling Alternatives. Am and Louise talk about the cultural shift surrounding recycling from 1989, when Recycling Alternatives was founded, and today. They also discuss the future of recycling and waste management, and what policies might help keep more waste out of landfills. Full episode d...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal and guest host Fiorella Pinillos are joined by carla bergman, an independent scholar, filmmaker and producer. Alongside videomaker Corin Browne, carla is the co-director of EMMA Talks, a mini-art-festival and speaker’s series by women. With Nick Montgomery, she is the co-author of Joyful Militancy: Building Thriving Resistance in Toxic Times. R...

On this episode of Below the Radar, we are joined by Janice Abbott, the CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society. Our office’s Program Assistant Paige Smith sits down with Janice to discuss how the pandemic has affected the work of Atira in combatting violence against women. Janice discusses the many diverse initiatives Atira has, including their popup refuge SisterSquare for women in the Downtown Ea...

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal and guest host Rachel Wong are joined by Jackie Wong. Jackie currently is the Director of Communications and Race Equity Project Director at Hua Foundation and is a long-time collaborator and friend of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Together, they talk about Jackie’s past work as a journalist, the current work that she does in Ch...

On this special edition of Below the Radar, guest host Tiffany Muller Myrdahl (SFU Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies and SFU Urban Studies) interviews Brett Stoudt. Brett came to Vancouver in early 2020 to give a workshop on participatory action research based on the work and research that he does at the City University of New York. In this episode, Tiffany and Brett talk about what participat...

On this episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series, our host Am Johal chats with Kimberley Wong. Kimberley currently sits as the Chair of the City of Vancouver's Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, the co-chair of Vancouver Just Recovery Coalition, and the Community Development Coordinator for the Hua Foundation. Kimberley talks with Am about her current work in Chinatown and how its been...

In this episode we talk with Dr. Ethan Taylor, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina. With our host Am Johal, he discusses the current research on selenium as an anti-pathogenic factor in emerging zoonotic viral infections, such as COVID-19. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/s...

In the sixth episode of our Below the Radar Conversations Series, we talk with Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director of Battered Women's Support Services here in Vancouver, Canada. With our host Am Johal, she discusses how COVID-19 is affecting gender inequality and violence within intimate relationships. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-...