Humanities, Literature Cameron Graham Humanities, Literature Cameron Graham

Episode 045: Alison Halsall

Dr. Alison Halsall, Associate Professor of Humanities at York University, studies graphic texts in relation to children and childhood. She is the coordinator of the Children, Childhood and Youth Program at York, an undergraduate program that takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding childhood from the perspective of children. The program prepares students for work in fields such as advocacy, counselling, education, health and wellness, and international development, all related to the rights and the experiences of children and youth. In this interview, she talks about her new book, Growing Up Graphic: The Comics of Children in Crisis. The book deals with some very tough topics, including child soldiers and migrant children.

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Philosophy Cameron Graham Philosophy Cameron Graham

Episode 044: Susan Dieleman

Dr. Susan Dieleman is the newly appointed and inaugural Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at the University of Lethbridge. Dr. Dieleman is a renowned authority on the philosophy of Richard Rorty, the American pragmatist whose approach to understanding society through language and solidarity has been so instrumental in the work of many scholars in the humanities.

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Geography, Finance Cameron Graham Geography, Finance Cameron Graham

Episode 043: Emily Rosenman

Dr. Emily Rosenman, Assistant Professor of Geography at Penn State University, is an urban and economic geographer. Her research examines the connections between finance, urbanization, and inequality, and the relationships and structures that produce wealth and poverty simultaneously.

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Classics Cameron Graham Classics Cameron Graham

Episode 042: Elizabeth Greene

Dr. Elizabeth Greene, Associate Professor of Classics at The University of Western Ontario, holds the Canada Research Chair in Roman Archaeology. Her work on Roman ruins near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England looks at everyday objects like leather footwear. History is written by the winners, they say, and as a result, the voices of women are often left out of historical narratives. But by looking closer at the archaeological record, Dr. Greene has been able to discover a lot more about everyday life in Roman society. It’s an approach to history that challenges our assumptions about how the world works.

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Marketing Cameron Graham Marketing Cameron Graham

Episode 041: Markus Giesler

Prof. Markus Giesler, of the Schulich School of Business at York University, is a consumer researcher. This means he looks at how markets dynamically shape human behaviour. He is an Editor at the Journal of Consumer Research and the bright spark behind one of the most popular courses at our school, "Customer Experience Design." It’s a course that models customer experience design for his students in every lecture, project, and assignment. In this episode, he talks about his latest research paper, “The Consumerization Of Care,” in which he explores how we as a society have responded to the global pandemic in ways that redefine social solidarity.

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Philosophy, Bioethics Cameron Graham Philosophy, Bioethics Cameron Graham

Episode 040: Françoise Baylis

Prof. Françoise Baylis is a renowned bioethicist and recipient of this year’s Killam Prize in the humanities. Her work on the ethics of gene editing and other technologies related to human reproduction offers clear guidance and thought-provoking critical insights into an area of research that is not only on the cutting edge of science, but tied to the most profound emotions of women and their partners who are trying to have children.

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Environment, Ecology Cameron Graham Environment, Ecology Cameron Graham

Episode 039: Josh Thienpont

Dr. Josh Thienpont is a paleolimnologist from York University's Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. He studies inland aquatic ecosystems in the Arctic to understand what the distant past of lakes and streams can tell us about how climate change is affecting the Arctic. His work is crucial for understanding the effects of humanity on the very waterways on which human life depends.

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Communications, Culture Cameron Graham Communications, Culture Cameron Graham

Episode 038: Alison Harvey

Dr. Alison Harvey of York University studies digital games from a communications and culture perspective. Her research looks at issues of inclusivity, justice, and accessibility in digital culture. The multibillion-dollar electronic games industry blurs the line between work and play, exacerbating the exploitation of workers. This makes it an ideal site for Dr. Harvey to study contemporary employment practices.

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Biophysics Cameron Graham Biophysics Cameron Graham

Episode 037: Ozzy Mermut

Assoc. Prof. Ozzy Mermut of York University’s Centre for Vision Research investigates the diagnosis and treatment of age-related eye diseases using lasers. Her work on biophotonics harnesses the power of light to provide new insights into the structure and function of the eye, with the promise of new diagnostic tools and minimally-invasive treatments for serious eye diseases.

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Law Cameron Graham Law Cameron Graham

Episode 036: Dayna Scott

Prof. Dayna Scott, of York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, holds a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law & Justice. Her work examines the problematic jurisdictional reality that shapes the transition to a green economy, as Canadian mining companies seek to develop resources on land belonging to the First Nations.

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Women's Studies Cameron Graham Women's Studies Cameron Graham

Episode 035: Andrea O’Reilly

Prof. Andrea O’Reilly of York University studies motherhood from a profoundly feminist perspective. Deconstructing the taken-for-granted, culturally normative image of mothers has led her to publish over 20 books on mothering. Her most recent work explores the inordinate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers.

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Education Cameron Graham Education Cameron Graham

Episode 034: Sarah Barrett

Dr. Sarah Barrett, of the Faculty of Education at York University, studies the impact that the core beliefs and values of teachers have on classroom practice. She talks here about the emotional experience of online learning and how this has affected teachers and students during the pandemic.

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Dance Cameron Graham Dance Cameron Graham

Episode 033: Patrick Alcedo

Dr. Patrick Alcedo, Chair of the Department of Dance at York University, is an award-winning filmmaker whose documentaries capture the beauty of motion and the dreams of possibility among dancers in the Philippines. His work is gorgeous and human, with carefully framed images and haunting, evocative soundtracks.

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Economics, Management Cameron Graham Economics, Management Cameron Graham

Episode 032: Johnny Rungtusanatham

Prof. Johnny Rungtusanatham, Canada Research Chair in Supply Chain Management at York University, is a leading expert on the subject of supply chain disruptions. We discuss the impact of the huge storm in British Columbia, why stores are sold out of many goods during the pandemic, and what kinds of public policies could make supply chains more resilient.

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Healthcare, Psychology Cameron Graham Healthcare, Psychology Cameron Graham

Episode 031: Leeat Granek

Dr. Leeat Granek, of the School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health at York University, studies the emotional, psychological, and contextual factors that shape how healthcare workers do their jobs. Her research has helped thousands of oncologists and neurosurgeons understand how they process grief and how their emotional connection to patients influences life-or-death decisions that they face every day.

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Ecology, Engineering, Biochemistry Cameron Graham Ecology, Engineering, Biochemistry Cameron Graham

Episode 030: Satinder Brar

Satinder Brar, James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at York University, studies emerging contaminants in wastewater. She creates the techniques to identify new pollutants such as pharmaceutical compounds that are hazardous at extremely low concentrations, and then eliminate them in ways that contribute positively to the ecosystem.

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Ecology Cameron Graham Ecology Cameron Graham

Episode 029: Jeremy Kerr & Catherine Sirois-Delisle

Jeremy Kerr, Professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa, studies the causes of biodiversity decline and ecosystem degradation. Catherine Sirois-Delisle, PhD student at the University of Ottawa, studies the effects of human activities on the ranges dragonflies and bumblebees using complex distribution models.

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Criminology Cameron Graham Criminology Cameron Graham

Episode 028: Steven Bittle

Dr. Steven Bittle is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa and an expert on corporate crime. We discuss how so many of the Canadians who have died from COVID have been elderly residents of for-profit long term care homes. At what point would the death of so many of a corporation’s customers be considered a crime? Steven walks us through this question, and explains what would have to happen for a long term care corporation to be prosecuted for a crime.

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Episode 027: Public Scholars

Bettina Forget, Sylvie Ouellette and Erica Pimentel are members of the Public Scholars program at Concordia University in Montreal. They talk to us about the link between art and space science, how bacteria scavenge iron from their surroundings, and how accountants work with blockchain. We also talk about a problematic article in a chemistry journal.

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Episode 026: Gold Medallists

Siobhan Angus, Athina Peidou, and Stephanie Raposo are York University grad students and the 2020 recipients of the Governor General’s Gold Medal for academic excellence. Angus, an art historian, studies the visual culture of resource extraction in Canada. Peidou, an earth and space scientist, studies gravitational maps produced from satellite-based measurements. Raposo, a psychologist, studies sexual satisfaction and intimate relationships.

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