Effective Conversations: Recent Episodes
Yael Finer
Inspiring conversations with social activists on how to navigate difficult conversations and inspire others to action.
Igor Sushko translates letters from the FSB operative Wind Of Change
https://twitter.com/igorsushko
Gary Kasparov wrote Winter Is Coming in 2015 that predicted this war:
https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Coming-Vladimir-Enemies-Stopped-ebook/dp/B012271KCU
https://twitter.com/Kasparov63
Kikila is a 43-year-old historian currently doing his PhD on how can we be a better allyship to indigenous people.
We talk about how and why the oppressed people become the oppressors.
He shares his perspective on the role of governments in controlling the population, limiting freedom and curtailing human rights in democracies today.
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To learn more about the police from land defenders' perspective listen to the episode with Glenn and Rainbow-eyes.
To learn about the police perspective in that conflict listen to the episode with Sgt. Holt.
Fairy Creek series / Part 7
Wa-Ya is a white 24-year-old land defender, who spent about 4 months at the Fairy Creek blockade in the Summer of 2021. He was doing his best to integrate into the community and be the best ally he can. He shares the challenges he faced in building good working relationships with BIPOC people.
I wanted to learn about how is it to be a police officer facing land defenders, how they view their power, what aggravates them and the situation and how they see their role in this conflict.
Srg. Holt turns out to be an open-minded and compassionate officer that does his best to be proactive in preventing conflicts. He shares his perspective about the challenges the police face dealing with mental health and their own emotions in a tense conflict.
David, who leans conservative and pro-life in his political views, brings a strong argument of why we need both progressives and conservatives on the political map and why polarization is the most dangerous thing we are dealing with today.
David explains why we became so polarized, points out dangerous trends in American society and offers a way out of this way of thinking and conversing with each other.
Learn more about Braver Angels: https://braverangels.org/
We explore the tendency to impose bad intentions on other people's actions and what it takes to be less judgmental.
Glenn invites any indigenous people that would like to get involved to contact him via FB messenger.
Bill is well aware of the hardship his people went through, he saw children taken away from their parents, families torn apart, and he's not surprised when his people find comfort in alcohol.
Bill voices his concerns about the mental health problems they see at the blockade. He believes that communication skills could help First Nation's people to take more leadership roles and that white and BIPOC have to find a way to work together.
Naas speaks about sexual abuse and the feeling of not being heard, which lead to their withdrawal from the movement. We also talk about the division in the native community and the difficulty of coming together for a common purpose under COVID restrictions.
We talk about his dual role as a white privileged man and a transgender, and their privilege to be both!
Mar-Mar shares openly about what is binarism for them which gives a valuable context to further understand the BIPOC transgender community at Fairy Creek and their needs.
Eartha shares her lifelong journey as an activist, being an outsider in her family, going against the stream and any expectations.
She speaks about the risks of being an activist then and today and how she nurtures herself through failure and hard times. We explore two incidents of her being accused of racism by a Native person and how she, a professional art therapist, overcame that and found the strength to keep going with love and acceptance.
More about the Fairy Creek blockade here: https://laststandforforests.com/
Natasha Edmunds is an environmental activist and an expert in deep engagement canvassing. Natasha has been using this tactic to change minds, fight Climate change and bridge the divide. She has learned a lot talking with people whose lives are intertwined with the extractive resource industry and shares in-depth stories about how she and her team do that.
Learn more about Deep Canvassing and get involved:
https://www.ecosociety.ca/campaign/deep-engagement/
Link to the report: https://sierraclub.bc.ca/intact-forests-safe-communities-sierra-club-bc-report/
Today I'm talking with Brenton Raby. He shares his insight and challenges as a life long cannabis activist and his concern with the government expanding its power and arresting people it simply doesn't like. He talks about racism and prejudice inside the government and police, and together we explore the contradictions in local and national climate policy that seem politically driven and arbitrary.
Today I'm talking with Rick Logtenberg. He is an environmental activist, entrepreneur a city counsellor, and the founder of Climate Caucus Canada. We explore conflicts related to the local e-bike and transit improvement projects that the city is working on. Rik talks about how to get the local government to listen to you and how to be empathetic to your counterparts, even when they dehumanize you.
I'm talking with Norm Yanke, a retired electrician who used to install solar panels for remote communities. He opposes the city of Nelson's plan to expand solar panel use and makes a surprisingly strong case against solar. Norm is very smart and knowledgeable but is frustrated because no one wants to hear what he has to say.
Alex is a former activist that wants the environmental movement to wake up and step up. He advocates innovation, nuclear power and organic markets in ideas and solutions. He believes in learning from history and nature to inform our decisions.
Garth, a well-spoken 67 years old climate activist, asks how can we coexist in a world when people don't listen to each other and can't even agree on the same reality. We explore the conflict with his childhood friend who opposes climate action. We talk about how this conflict and the ongoing fight to save the planet affects him personally.
Keith Weily is a climate veteran who courageously reflects back on years of debating and arguing and exploring his motives and intentions. He realizes he doesn't want to have those kinds of conversations anymore, where the entire point is to prove himself right.
We touch upon topics like the tar sands in Alberta and our wildfire experience in BC. He talks about his old buddy and their climate- endless debates, people that don't believe things can change, his belief that things always get better, his fear for his children's future and how it feels to be the bad-news-bearer around his friends.
Keith has a radio show on EcoCentricRadioShow.ca every Tuesday morning.
Mymoon Bhuiyan is here to make a difference. He is studying engineering to speak the language of the industry, to lead the change from the inside. We talk about the limitations of facts, the power of knowledge and the complexity of the conflict we are facing.
Sophie Price, founder of Divest Canada in Ottowa, and I talk about the divestment coalition, Climate education, justice, indigenous people, the importance of passive support and the emotional toll of taking ownership of your future as a young activist.
Jamie is the co-founder of the youth branch of StopEcocide Canada and an active supporter of Friday For Future in the last 2 years. He shares the deifficult conversations happening during FFF strikes and is courageous enough to empathize with climate change deniers who yell at him during those strikes.
Wa-ya is a young activist who found a unique way to empower people to realize they can make a difference. He shares his story, talks about what motivates him to take action and explains how he skillfully handles difficult conversations that often occur during Climate strikes.
In this conversation with Andrea Elizabeth Diaz, we talk about feminism, relationships and injustice. Andrea shares how she works with being triggered by aggressive male energy and how she transforms these encounters into meaningful conversations.