“Covid! Capitalism! Climate!” For listeners of the Courage My Friends podcast, this has by now become a familiar refrain.
Over our first and second limited-run series, we had explored the complexities of living in the vortex of these and other converging crises. And as there seems no end to the critical and complex issues we are faced with as we stand at the threshold of exiting COVID-19 into a newer ‘new normal’; there is still so much to discuss.
We are very pleased to announce the Courage My Friends series will be returning this month for a third season on rabble.ca’s Needs No Introduction.
Where it all began
Founded by the Tommy Douglas Institute (at George Brown College) and co-produced with long-time media partner rabble.ca, and with the support of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation, the Courage My Friends podcast was launched in the midst of the pandemic in the summer of 2021.
Public safety protocols dictated distance and (for those able to do so) remote living, learning, work and play to protect us from this virus. A virus that spotlighted how interconnected and unequal we truly are even as it exploited those connections and inequalities to do its damage.
An opportunity born of necessity, the podcast enabled us to continue highlighting issues of human rights and social welfare in a rapidly changing world, while building on and strengthening spaces for critical dialogue.
Not only did it allow us to extend our reach to wider audiences, it demanded that we expand our focus beyond the narrow physical and conceptual confines of our annual pre-pandemic conferences. We were now able to bring on a greater range of guests to reflect on the global realities impacting all of us – the most vulnerable among us, most harshly.
In case you missed it…
Over the first two seasons, the podcast series brought together a roster of activists, scholars, writers, researchers, community leaders and policy experts. Some of these guests included: Vandana Shiva, Ed Broadbent, Paul Taylor, Keith McCrady, Loly Rico, Ashlee Cunsolo, Vijay Prashad, Linda McQuaig, Bryanna Brown and Henry Giroux.
These and our other notable guests offered their analysis, expertise and passion on a range of issues: From climate justice and food security to rethinking health, labour and life in the city; and from critical education, economic inequality and ecological grief to border politics, refugees, and the double-standards between the Global North and the Global South.
In our third installment of this series, housing, education, erosion of public goods, just economics, the plight of migrant workers, and – of course – climate, are just some of the topics we’ll be exploring.
This season, we start with healthcare
On the heels of a two year global health disaster, in a country where universal healthcare is virtually carved into our national identity – and on a podcast echoing the words of the great Tommy Douglas as he battled for the right of all to healthcare in Canada; it is in many respects a bitter irony that we begin this season discussing the potential loss of this most vital and public good.
OPSEU President JP Hornick and health justice activist and palliative care physician Dr. Naheed Dosani join us in our series launch to discuss the threat of privatization and the struggle to protect universal healthcare in Canada.
Please join us for this and other upcoming episodes of The Courage My Friends Podcast.
Episodes will launch every two weeks beginning this September. You can find new episodes every other week here.
In the words of the great Tommy Douglas: Courage my friends; ‘tis not too late to build a better world.
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Nick Seebruch, editor
