A trans scholar and activist explains why trans rights are under attack

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Monk is the lead character of the new movie "American Fiction," which is based on the 2001 novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett. Monk is a Black man but never feels 'Black' enough: he graduated from Harvard, his siblings are doctors, he doesn't play basketball and he writes literary novels.  In fact, his last novel got rejected for not being "Black enough."  As a Black man who thinks about race but also rages against having to talk about it, Monk gets so frustrated that he decides to poke fun of those who uncritically consume what has been sold to them as  "Black culture." He uses a pen name to write an outlandish "Black" book of his own - a story about "thug life" called "My Pafology."  But plot twist: the book becomes wildly popular - and Monk ends up profiting from the stereotypes he so despises. The story has so many layers, and in this last episode of Season 6, Vinita breaks it down with  two scholars who are well versed in Percival Everett's work - and the use of Black stereotypes in pop culture. Vershawn Ashanti Young is the director of Black studies  at the University of Waterloo. And Anthony Stewart is a professor of English at Bucknell University.

In this episode which we're running in full, host Gemma Ware speaks with Doseline Kiguru, a research associate in cultural and literary production in Africa at the University of Bristol in the UK, who has co-published research on the history of choral music and the role it plays in Kenyan national political culture. The episode originally aired on Dec. 11. 

Kenya is marking 60 years since its independence from British colonial rule on December 12, 1963. Each year, the country celebrates the occasion with a national holiday, Jamhuri Day. And for much of the past 60 years, patriotic choral music has been a regular feature of those celebrations. In this episode, Gemma and Doseline explore how much one song can tell you about the politics of a new nation -- and who controls what gets remembered and what gets forgotten. 

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Further reading:

• All episodes of TC Weekly

Further Research:

Kenya's 'patriotic' choral music has been used to embed a skewed version of history

Kenya at 60: the shameful truth about British colonial abuse and how it was covered up

You may have noticed that food bank lines have grown exponentially this year.  In Toronto alone, the number of people who use food banks has doubled since last year and nationwide, the numbers using food banks have jumped by 32 percent from last year and 78 per cent since 2019.  And those who are lining up for food defy the stereotypes: many, for example, are employed full-time. In other words, we are in the middle of a major food insecurity crisis.  And as we head into this holiday season - traditionally a time for giving and sharing and gathering around food - there is no better time to talk about this and help us understand what we as individuals can do to help. According to the latest Statistics Canada data, almost one in five households experiences food insecurity. Single-mother households are especially affected, as are some racialized homes. Black and Indigenous people face the highest rates of food insecurity, with over 46 per cent of Black children and 40 per cent of Indigenous children living in households that don’t have a reliable source of food.

But for years, advocates have been saying that more food banks is not the answer.  So what is?  In today's episode, Vinita sits down with Elaine Power, a Professor in Health Studies at Queen’s University whose research focuses on issues related to poverty, class, food and health.  She is also the coauthor of  "The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice." Prof. Power says reducing food insecurity requires our political and business leaders to address the root causes – including the ability of household incomes to meet basic needs.  Some of those solutions won't happen overnight, so she also has tips for individuals looking to make a difference now.

The idea for today's episode started with local Toronto kids, who were reporting experiencing sexist, homophobic and racist attitudes in the classroom, especially  from the boys. The research shows they are not alone; the rise in far right ideologies globally has deeply affected school-age students. Many experts point to Andrew Tate, the far-right social media influencer as one of the culprits.  Teachers say he has a big presence in the classroom. On top of that, there's been an exponential rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada that have also impacted the classroom. Why are boys especially attracted to  these hateful ideologies? As we near December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, Vinita speaks to two experts who have been thinking a lot about this question. Teresa Fowler is an assistant professor in the faculty of Education at Concordia University of Edmonton whose research focuses on critical white masculinities. Lance McCready is an associate professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.  His research explores education, health and the wellbeing of Black men, boys and queer youth, especially in urban communities and schools. 

When a lot of us think about psychedelics, we think about magic mushrooms - and hallucinatory drug trips.  But the concept of psychedelics as a tool in therapy is  making its way into the mainstream. Online stores have popped up selling psilocybin capsules promising to boost focus. And on a more official front, the Canadian Senate recently recommended  fast-tracking research into how psychedelics can help veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  But research also suggests psychedelics - including psilocybin ("magic mushrooms") and MDMA - can help heal racial trauma. In today's episode, Vinita speaks to clinical psychologist and University of Ottawa psychology professor Monnica Williams, about how psychedelic-assisted therapy can help with those dealing with this type of trauma, which usually encompasses ongoing experiences of what Williams calls "insults to your person." But it doesn't end there: With racial trauma, Williams says, therapists are also looking at events beyond an individual's lifetime such as "historical trauma, that may have happened decades or even centuries ago, that is still associated with the person's cultural group."  And while psychedelics show incredible promise in treating this type of trauma, many challenges remain. Part of it has to do with legalization and the lack of clinical trials. Another part has to do with the terrible track record institutions have when it comes to communities of colour and drugs. There is a long and ugly history of using Black and racialized bodies without consent for medical experimentation, including drug testing. And we can't ignore the racial roots of the war on drugs and the devastating impact it had - and continues to have - on Black and racialized communities.  Williams tackles these hurdles in her work.  And in this episode, she shares her thoughts about how we can open up the healing properties of psychedelics to racialized people  in need in a way that works with them, rather than against them.

As violence continues to erupt in Gaza, and more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 remain missing, many of us are seeking to better understand the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been raging for decades.

Some of us assume that the violence between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians — a majority of whom are Muslim — is a religious conflict, but a closer look at the history of the last century reveals that the root of the tension between the two communities is more complicated than that.

At its root, it’s  a conflict between two communities that claim the right to the same land. And for millions of Palestinians, it’s about displacement from the land.

Land has so much meaning. It’s more than territory: land represents home, your ancestral connection and culture – but also the opportunity to be productive with the land; to feed yourself and your country.

One of the things that colonizers are famous for is the idea of terra nullius – that the land is empty of people before they come to occupy it.

In the case of Palestine, the Jewish settlers in 1948, and the British before that, viewed the desert as empty and as something they needed to “make bloom.”

But the land was already blooming. There is a long history of Palestinian connection to the land, including through agricultural systems and a rich food culture that is often overlooked by colonial powers.

Our guests on this week's podcast have been working on a film about the importance of preserving Palestinian agriculture and food in exile.

Elizabeth Vibert is a professor of colonial history at University of Victoria. She has been doing oral history research to examine historical and contemporary causes of food crises in various settings including Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

Salam Guenette is the consulting producer and cultural and language translator for their documentary project. She holds a master's degree in history.

Earlier this week, nearly five dozen people appeared in a courthouse outside Atlanta, Georgia to answer criminal racketeering charges brought against them by the state. The charges are related to protests against a planned paramilitary police and fire services training facility nicknamed Cop City. Georgia prosecutors have called the demonstrators “militant anarchists.” But many of those charged say they were simply attending a rally or a concert in support of the Stop Cop City movement.  The protesters, their lawyers and their supporter say the government is using heavy-handed tactics to silence the movement -- and worry about the type of precedent this might set for our right to protest. Kamau Franklin, one of the leaders of the Stop Cop City movement and a lawyer himself, and Zohra Ahmed, a professor of law at the University of Georgia, join Vinita to talk about the situation, and why so many people are watching it.

When the Buffy Sainte-Marie news broke last week, people were stunned.  A CBC investigation was accusing the legendary singer-songwriter of lying about her Indigenous roots.  Sainte-Marie had already come out on social media and said she had been claimed by the Piapot Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan - something the Piapot First Nation confirmed. And from earlier conversations about “pretendians” - those faking an Indigenous identity  -  it was clear kinship ties were maybe even more important than genealogy when it comes to establishing Indigeneity. In today’s episode, Lori Campbell, Associate Vice President of Indigenous Engagement at the University of Regina, speaks to Vinita about how this story rolled out, and why it matters to everyone following it.

Read Lori Campbell's story in The Conversation Canada:
Revelations about Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ancestry are having a devastating impact on Indigenous communities across Canada:
https://theconversation.com/revelations-about-buffy-sainte-maries-ancestry-are-having-a-devastating-impact-on-indigenous-communities-across-canada-216602

Episode show notes:
https://theconversation.com/how-journalists-tell-buffy-sainte-maries-story-matters-explained-by-a-60s-scoop-survivor-216805

It's hard to escape the news coming out of the Middle East. It's everywhere. And it's excruciating to take it all in. First came the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. 1,400 people were viciously attacked and murdered and at least 200 more were kidnapped and taken hostage. Then came the retaliation by the state of Israel. Almost immediately, those living in Gaza, under the leadership of Hamas, were faced with an evacuation order for more than a million people. They had their food and water supplies cut off and 6,000 bombs were dropped on them in one week. So far, more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault. There is so much polarization that it has become really hard to have a conversation about what is happening - and what has been happening for decades. In today's episode, Vinita speaks to two guests about how and why the conversation is getting shut down - and what we can do about it. Natalie Rothman is a  professor of historical and cultural studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She grew up in Israel. She has friends and relatives in the region including family members who have been taken hostage by Hamas. Norma Rantisi is a professor of geography and urban planning at Concordia University who has done work in the region. She has family in the West Bank and is a member of the Academics for Palestine Concordia, and the Palestinian-Canadian Academics and Artists Network.