Podcast or Perish

How do doctors cope with the emotions of life-and-death decisions? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Leeat Granek of the School of Health Policy and Management, York University. Her research brings psychology and medicine together to explore how grief, empathy, and moral distress shape clinical judgment—and how acknowledging emotion can make healthcare more humane. *** Full tr...

How do we detect pollutants that hide at parts per trillion? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Satinder Brar , James and Joan Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering, York University. She explains what “emerging contaminants” are, how her lab tracks them in wastewater, and how collaboration across science, engineering, and policy is esse...

What can bees and dragonflies tell us about a warming world? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Jeremy Kerr and doctoral candidate Catherine Sirois-Delisle from the University of Ottawa. Drawing on massive datasets and fieldwork, they show how climate change reshapes the ranges of pollinators and other species—and what those shifts mean for conservation, ecosystems, and human...

When does corporate negligence become a crime? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Steven Bittle , Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa. We explore how Canada’s for-profit long-term-care system left seniors vulnerable during COVID-19, and what his research on corporate crime reveals about accountability, policy failure, and justice in the face of mass h...

What can we learn from early-career academics about how to communicate research results? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I interview three outstanding emerging scholars from Concordia University in Montreal. Dr. Bettina Forget works at the intersection of art and science, using image‑making to communicate science and encourage girls’ participation in STEM. Dr. Sylvie Ouellette is a chemist/...

What can newly minted scholars tell us about academic research? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I interview three award-winning graduate degree recipients from York University in Toronto. Dr. Siobhan Angus is an art historian whose work explores how images shape our values, linking environmental harm and economic inequality. Dr. Athina Peidou is an earth and space scientist who builds gravi...

How do comics and literature reshape how we think about African society and its global audiences? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Fatoumata Seck , Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Stanford University. She studies African and diasporic literature, with special attention to Senegalese graphic comics and their intersections with journalism, translation,...

What can medieval art teach us about the politics of work and representation? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Lamia Balafrej , Associate Professor of Art History at UCLA. Her research focuses on image-making, materiality, and labor in premodern Islamic art. We explore how artistic practices reflected hierarchies of craft, race, and gender, and what those histories reveal abo...

What can robots teach us about the human body and how to teach engineering? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. James Smith of the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. A mechanical engineer and innovative educator, Dr. Smith designs robotic models of the human cervix and quadrupeds to study how biological systems move and adapt. We explore how biomimetic design cha...

How can research partnerships empower marginalized communities? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Uzo Anucha , Associate Professor of Social Work at York University and the founding Director of the Applied Social Welfare Research and Evaluation Group. Her work promotes community-engaged approaches to issues such as youth development, immigration, and housing. We explore her be...

How do family photographs shape our understanding of identity and belonging? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Thy Phu of the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University in London, Ontario. Her research explores the social life of photographs, particularly how images of families, refugees, and diasporic communities convey care, trauma, and resilience. We...

How can research and advocacy change the justice system from within? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Senator Kim Pate , an independent senator for Ontario and longtime advocate for criminal justice reform. Drawing on decades of work with marginalized women, she reflects on systemic inequities in sentencing, incarceration, and rehabilitation. We discuss her transition from activi...

What can the history of accounting tell us about race and imperialism? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Marcia Annisette , Associate Dean of Students and Professor of Accounting at the Schulich School of Business, York University. A leading critical accounting scholar, she examines how the profession has been shaped by colonial histories and global institutions like the Wor...

What does it mean to make harm reduction a matter of social justice? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Bernie Pauly of the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria and scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. She discusses her community-based research on housing, substance use, and public health, and the importance of embedding harm reduction in...

Can accounting serve democracy instead of capital? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Lord Prem Sikka , Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and a member of the UK House of Lords. A long-standing critic of corporate power, he exposes how accounting practices enable inequality, tax avoidance, and corruption. We explore his vision for socially responsible accou...

How does marketing shape our moral understanding of consumption? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Ela Veresiu , Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Her research examines how consumers are taught to see themselves as moral actors responsible for solving global problems like poverty and climate change. We discuss her influential...

What would it take to end youth homelessness in Canada? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Stephen Gaetz , Director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Homeless Hub at York University. A leading advocate for housing first policies, he brings decades of experience connecting academic research with government and community practice. We discuss his efforts to bui...

Do women make better board members? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Marie-Soleil Tremblay of the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP) in Québec. A specialist in corporate governance, she studies auditing and ethics in both the public and private sectors. We discuss her work on financial accountability, the gender composition of boards of directors, and what its...

How can research challenge the ways schools talk about gender and sexuality? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Jen Gilbert , Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University. A gender theorist and sex-education scholar, she leads the Beyond Bullying Project, working with students to understand how identity and power shape everyday school life. We explore her...

How do assumptions about money and finance change what climate-economy models tell us about decarbonization? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Dr. Jean-François Mercure , Senior Lecturer in Global Systems at the University of Exeter, and Hector Pollitt , Head of Modelling at Cambridge Econometrics. We compare mainstream models used by environmental economists, explore how differen...

How does speaking more than one language shape the mind? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Distinguished Research Professor Ellen Bialystok of York University. A psychologist, she studies how bilingualism influences cognitive development across the lifespan, from infancy to old age. We discuss her findings on attention and executive control, the policy implications of her work in...

Can corporate sustainability reporting really address ecological collapse? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I speak with Prof. Markus Milne , a critical accounting scholar at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. His research explores how corporate social and environmental reporting reflects, and often masks, the impacts of consumer capitalism. A mountaineer and environmental advocate...

What do children’s relationships teach us about aggression and kindness? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Distinguished Research Professor Debra Pepler of York University, a psychologist and leading authority on bullying and child development. Her pioneering work uses video recordings and observational research to study children’s real-time interactions. We discuss how social rel...

How can accounting reveal—or obscure—power in society? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I talk with Prof. Christine Cooper of the University of Edinburgh Business School, a leading critical accounting scholar. Drawing on Marxist and feminist theory, she studies how accounting practices sustain capitalist hierarchies and gendered inequalities. We discuss her research on the social consequence...

How does the brain coordinate movement as we age — and what happens when it falters? In this episode of Podcast or Perish , I speak with Prof. Lauren Sergio , a neuroscientist at York University’s School of Kinesiology and Health Science. Her research examines how the brain plans and executes complex movements, combining insights from sports science and neurology. We talk about her studies of athl...