This week on Terra Informa, stories about being exposed – on your bike and where you live. Musician Ben Caplan walks us through how organized Halifax’s naked bike ride. Then, Calgary resident Tamara Lee tells us about the surprising bonds revealed by the floods that devastated her neighbourhood in June.

Terra Informa: Exposed

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the entire globe shift online, whether it's for school, work, or socializing. But what about those individuals who need to access resources that affect their quality of life? How do we build a community online for those with disabilities to be able to access the support they need in their lives and thrive during this digital shift during the pandemic? This interview features Sahana Parameswara, the executive director of the Gateway Association, a family and employment resource centre, where she spoke about how the Gateway Association adapted to work with and serve individuals with disabilities during the pandemic, and work to create and maintain equity and inclusion in a digitalized world. She also discusses their new app which serves as a source of digital literacy for the community of individuals with disabilities. 

Simran Pherwani is a 2nd year MSc student at the University of Alberta and an incoming Medical Student at the University of Calgary. She has been volunteering with CJSR-FM in Edmonton since June 2020 and has been part of multiple projects including the "That's Food" Podcast and weekly 1-minute COVID-19 News Updates. She is passionate about working with children, as well as the issues of inclusion and (dis)ability, especially with the intersection of race and gender. 

Original broadcast: 20 May 2021
Music: Bountiful by Podington Bear from the FreeMusicArchive.org

Building Community and Maintaining Equity in Digital Literacy for Individuals with Disabilities

Christian Zyp interviews Rebecca Sadowski and Tamarra Lessard about their shirt film THE SASH MAKER. It streams as part of FAVA Fest from May 24th - 29th at fava.ca

THE SASH MAKER is based on a choreographer performance based on the work of Rebecca Sadowski. The film is designed to be an act of decolonization in which  Sadowski and Lessard put Métis and contemporary dance, Cree poetry, and traditional finger - weaving on the screen as a cinematic Lesson in Canadian History.

FAVA Fest 2021 - Rebecca Sadowski and Tamarra Lessard - THE SASH MAKER

This is the first of a two-part miniseries on the relationship between the communities of Morinville and Alexander First Nation. This episode is meant to provide insight and context that has been lacking in other media coverage of the St. Jean Baptiste church fire. These episodes contain difficult subject matter, and include references to residential schools, missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and racism. I look into the way that these communities have been shaped by colonialism, the way that politicians ascribed blame, and the response from both Indigenous and settler community members.
 On the morning of June 30th, 2021, the historic St. Jean Baptiste Church in Morinville burned down. Politicians and some community members quickly placed the blame on Indigenous people. I spoke with Paulette Houle, president of the Morinville Historical and Cultural Society, to learn more about the history of the town, as well as Brooks Arcand-Paul, someone who grew up in Alexander and Morinville, to get his input on the fire and the events since. I also spoke with a community member from Morinville, Vera Sandercock, about an event held by parishioners and community members after the church had burned. 
This episode is by no means meant to stand alone- it provides context to the second episode in this series, which will examine the real consequences of assumptions, as well as the way these communities were shaped by colonialism and the role of the church. Please consider that none of the people I spoke to are representatives of their communities, but rather people who grew up in them.

Acimowin: The St. Jean Baptiste Church Fire Part 1: Context & History

Christian Zyp interviews the owner of the last video store in Edmonton, Kevin Martin. The man I call the Sommelier of Celluloid discusses some of the more obscure films to grace the racks of the The Lobby DVD Store on Whyte Avenue like Ticks, Phantom of The Mall and Homebodies.

Kevin Martin of The Lobby DVD Shop - Phantom of the Mall, Ticks and Homebodies

CJSR 2014-09-30 12-00-00

Christian Zyp interviews Lowell Dean (director/writer) about two different films he helmed, DARK MATCH and DIE ALONE. You can see DARK MATCH as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival Sat Sept 28th @ 6:30pm at Landmark CIty Centre Cinemas with Lowell Dean in attendance for a pot-screening Q&A. See DIE ALONE in Cineplex Odeon theatres across Canada on Sept 27th, 2024.

In DARK MATCH, Miss Behave and her fellow wrestlers reach a creepy destination for an unsanctioned car. They realize too late that the weekend won’t go as planned. Once the event begins, Miss and her friends are pitted against each other, one at a time, in a kill or be killed event that’s part gladiator match, part ritual sacrifice.

In DIE ALONE (starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Frank Girllo) a young man with amnesia bands together with a rugged survivalist after a devastating virus causes a zombie-like outbreak.

DARK MATCH and DIE ALONE - Lowell Dean Interview

All That Matters tells stories about arts and culture around Alberta. Each week we take small bites out of a big question. This week: Boot Camp Poets. How could rap or poetry help inmates at the Edmonton Remand Centre find a different life, and what roadblocks might be in their way? This is the second half of a two-part documentary speaking to inmates in the Edmonton Remand Centre's Boot Camp unit.

In this episode, John Howard Society's Howie Hoggins speaks to us about what's ahead for men in the Boot Camp unit transitioning out of prison. Métis writer and researcher Patti Laboucane-Benson tell us what her graphic novel The Outside Circle has to say about why so many Aboriginal people end up behind bars. And we hear more poetry from Boot Camp unit inmates Joshua Charles Thom, Michael Nelson, and Nathan Laboucan.

All That Matters - Boot Camp Poets Pt 2

Lucas Anders interviews Xander Robin (director) about his documentary THE PYTHON HUNT. See it at CUFF.Docs Saturday November 22nd at 9:15 pm at the Globe Theatre in Calgary. 

THE PYTHON HUNT... Every year, the Florida government calls upon the general public to compete in an invasive python removal contest in the Everglades in an attempt to save the threatened ecosystem. For 10 gruelling nights, an eclectic group of amateur hunters confront the dangerous terrain, nocturnal creatures, and their own desires. Meanwhile, one professional hunter leads the charge to undermine the competition, questioning what hides beneath the python mania gripping the ‘glades. The film, which had its World Premiere at SXSW, is the feature documentary debut of CUFF alum Xander Robin, who attended CUFF in 2017 for the Canadian Premiere of his first narrative feature ARE WE NOT CATS.

TIX: https://www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org/cuff-docs/2025/the-python-hunt/
WEBSITE: https://xanderrobin.com/
INSTAGRAM: @xanderroobin

THE PYTHON HUNT - Xander Robin Interview

Helen Kwan Yee Cheung, a 2013 M.A. University of Alberta graduate, pursued studying the Chinese community history in Edmonton through the lens of Cantonese Opera. She found that Cantonese Opera had elements of several social functions: cultural entertainment, philanthropy, and homeland politics. In this audio story, Helen talks about Cantonese Opera being used as a platform for the politics in China.

Interview and editing by Scott Bell. This documentary was produced as part of a Community Service Learning project at the University of Alberta. It is part of a multimedia project capturing the history of Edmonton's Chinatown, called Figure 一，二，三，六，八.

This piece features a public domain recording of "White Hibiscus at Night," performed by Cantonese Opera star Peony Su. More info: archive.org/details/Peony_Su_Wh…e_Hibiscus_At_Night

Photo: Chan Shu Liu in a costume adorned with propaganda in support of the Nationalist government in China (City of Edmonton Archives, EA-600-1559b).

Propaganda - Helen Kwan Yee Cheung On Cantonese Opera And Homeland Politics

In this interview, author and culture activist Stephen Jenkinson speaks with Terra Informer Dylan Hall about death, grief, and his new book, ‘Come of Age: a case for elderhood in a time of trouble’, particularly in view of this troubling time we are in. Stephen will be on tour through Canada and the U.S. this fall with the Gregory Hoskins band, performing ‘Nights of Grief and Mystery’. For information, go to https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/nights-of-grief-mystery-concert-edmonton-tickets-47027994999

Terra Informa - Stephen Jenkinson on Death, Grief, and the Withering World Tree

Edmonton's independent, listener-supported, volunteer-powered campus-based community radio station!

Broadcasting from the basement of the Students' Union Building at the University of Alberta located on Treaty 6 land, CJSR operates as a non-profit society and registered charity. 

Our mission is to “enlighten and entertain our audience through high quality and diverse programming that constantly challenges the status quo”. We do this by amplifying voices and perspectives often underrepresented in mainstream media. We provide a safe and inclusive (and fun!) environment for folks to learn the ins and outs of audio production, as well as educate listeners on local issues and stories.

THE PYTHON HUNT - Xander Robin Interview

CJSR Radio

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