Pullback

“Excuse me, but I can’t see you from on top of my horse over here. Clip clop, clip clop.” In this episode Kyla and Kristen spill the tea on tea production. Kristen tries to make chai and vows to leave future attempts to the experts. Kyla disses George Orwell’s formula for the perfect cup of tea. Topics: what is tea; how tea is produced; the tea supply chain; tea and the environment; tea and human...

“Ya… that’s dark, Kyla.” For part two of the forced labour series, Kristen and Kyla discuss what consumers should do to address forced labour. Kyla is sad about how Christmas lights are made. Kristen learns about three different kinds of forced labour in rice production. Topics: forced labour in global supply chains; leading big brands; fair trade; boycott?; use your voice to promote human rights;...

“Not to spoil food for everybody ever… I mean, that is, unfortunately, a sentence I say a lot at parties…” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen are joined by Alexandra Sundarsingh to discuss the topic of forced labour. Alexandra (Lex) Sundarsingh is a second year PhD student in the department of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has a BA and MA from the University of Toro...

“Apparently stinkbugs taste like apples.” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen try cricket powder and dig in to the subject of eating insects as food. Is this a fad, or the future of food? Topics: History of eating insects, environmental and health benefits, the ethics of farming insects, and the potential downsides of scaling up the industry. Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/eatinginsects...

“Depression: it’s in the name!” In this episode, Kristen tells the story of Operation Breadbasket, one of the civil rights movement’s most successful boycott campaigns. Kristen and Kyla reflect on why Breadbasket worked and whether a similar campaign would be possible today. Topics: what are boycotts; boycotts and civil rights; the Great Migration and segregation in the north; Operation Breadbaske...

In this episode, Kyla and Kristen are joined by climate activist Robert Miller to talk about carbon offsets. Robbie laughs when he learns that the Vatican tried to buy what he describes as climate indulgences. Kyla is shocked that Canadian forests have been net emitters since 2001. (Stupid pine beetles!) Topics: what are carbon offsets; principles of good carbon offsets programs; problems with car...

In this episode, Kristen and Kyla received 5 recordings from artists discussing how the pandemic has affected their lives so far. Recorded in May: Lydia Hall- an actor trained in musical theatre. London, UK Lisa Buchfink - a visual artist. Edmonton, Canada Recorded in June: Brad Fehr - a visual artist. Edmonton, Canada Recorded in July: Panthea Vatandoost - an actor for television, film, and theat...

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. Make your voice heard on the federal government’s plastics ban here: https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/act/support-complete-single-use-plastic-bans/ Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/plasticfreejuly Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Pullba...

“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 plastic; plastic pollution; recycling plastics; and bioplastics. Website: https://www.pullback.org/resear...

In this episode, Kristen interviews Michelle Desilets, the Executive Director of Orangutan Land Trust. Michelle shares her personal and professional journey in orangutan conservation, her love of orangutans, and the work of Orangutan Land Trust. Topics: orangutan conservation, the threats orangutans face, palm oil, the boycott v. sustainable palm oil debate, the future of sustainable palm oil, and...

In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Nisha Patel, Edmonton's Poet Laureate, to discuss how artists are being affected by COVID-19. Follow Nisha on Instagram or Twitter @AnotherNisha. Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/artistscovid Nisha's Links: https://www.nishapatel.ca/ and https://www.moonjellyhouse.ca/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PullbackPodcast   Instagram:  https://www.i...

“‘Better than nothing’: the motto of our podcast. We need to learn how to say that in Latin and then get it printed up.” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen discuss palm oil production and people, as well as what you can do about it. Topics: working conditions; Indigenous peoples; food security; the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil; boycott versus labelling; what you can do. Website: https://www.p...

In this episode, Kyla and Kristen talk about palm oil and the environment. Kyla flummoxes two McDonald’s employees. Kristen can’t pronounce the palm derivatives in her makeup. Topics: what is palm oil; why is palm oil in everything; palm oil and deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/palmoil Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Pullback...

This bonus episode reacts to the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality. Kyla and Kristen share ten things that they have learned since the killing of George Floyd. Check out the research notes for facts from this episode or for resources on supporting the movement. Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/georgefloyd Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PullbackPodcast   Instagram:  http...

In this episode, Kyla and Kristen uncork the topic of ethics and wine. Topics: South African wine and Apartheid legacies; Fairtrade wine; migrant labour and wineries; pesticide use on vineyards; organic wine; biodynamic wine; salmon-safe vineyards; climate change and wine; boxed versus bottled; and animal welfare and wine. Website:  https://www.pullback.org/research/wine Twitter:  https://twitter....

In part two of this two-part seafood series, Kyla and Kristen explore questions about animal welfare and human rights in fishing and fish farming. Kristen talks about her seafood-alternative kitchen disaster. Kyla considers getting a monkfish as a pet. Topics: animal welfare and wild-caught versus farmed fish; human trafficking and the fishing industry; seafood sustainability labels; what to think...

“Salmon: bears love it!” Kyla and Kristen dive into the ethics of seafood. In part one of this two-part seafood series, Kristen explains how fishing works and the problems behind the overfishing crisis. Kyla discovers what a monkfish looks like. Topics: overfishing; illegal, irregular, and unreported fishing; seafood fraud; different fishing methods; and the environmental impacts of fishing and aq...

“You’re just giving side-eye to all of the dogs in the airport, being like: ‘Hey! Don’t narc!’” In this episode – recorded on 4/20 – Kristen and Kyla talk cannabis. Topics: how cannabis works; the cannabis supply chain; legalisation; the Canadian cannabis market; the Mormon grandma story; Cannabis and the environment; and which method of consumption is best (it’s not disposable vapes) Website: htt...

In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Alix Jansen to talk about COVID-19 and inequality. Alix is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on work and social policy in advanced industrial democracies. Topics: COVID-19 and racial, gender, social, and economic inequalities; the white collar quarantine; the economic crisis and COVID-19; social p...

In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Robert Miller, a progressive activist and Extinction Rebellion organizer in the heart of oil country. The discussion is all about personal behaviour changes and where they fit in the global climate movement. Topics: the Wetsuweten solidarity blockades; protest and our relationship with public spaces; Robert’s climate crisis awakening; belief and the...

COVID-19 is a health crisis, but it isn’t only a health crisis. In this bonus episode, Kristen and Kyla discuss ten unexpected effects of the pandemic. Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/10unexpectedcovid Twitter: https://twitter.com/PullbackPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pullbackpodcast/?igshid=i57wwo16tjko Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PullbackPodcast/ Pullback is prod...

“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; single-use plastics and our oceans; the zero waste movement; zero waste principles (reduce, reuse, re...

In this special bonus crossover episode with Potential Spoilers, Kyla, Kristen, Kieran, and Matty D imagine their own ethical movies. Do any of us have a future as producers? Listen in to hear what we came up with! Website: https://www.pullback.org/research/hollywood Featuring Potential Spoilers: https://potentialspoilers.podbean.com/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PullbackPodcast   Instagram:  htt...

“It was definitely a movie we had to crack a few beers for. If we’d been in Canada, we might’ve been smoking it up, but since we can’t: it was weird.” We all need a little fun right now. So, Kyla runs the show for this special collaborative episode on movies, featuring Kieran and Matty D. from Potential Spoilers (a podcast that predicts the plot of movies from the trailer). Topics: diversity in Ho...

Recorded Wednesday, March 18, 2019. Social distancing! In this bonus episode, Kyla and Kristen each shout out three problems and three champions as the COVID-19 pandemic asserts itself in Canada. Kyla notices how pandemics change our lives and routines in unexpected ways. Kristen realizes she had no idea what a week’s worth of groceries looks like. Topics: social distancing; are we over- or under-...