In this podcast: an ethics expert on the importance of hate speech, eco-defenders stand up to corporate greenwashing, talking access to content with Canada's Pirate Party, and truckers with something to say. Not to mention some hard rock from the '80s, and a delicious taste of Montreal hip-hop!
It's been a little while since Ann Coulter's speech at the University of Ottawa was cancelled because of concerns for her safety due to angry crowds. Coulter herself was the one who pulled the plug on her appearance, but she's filing a human rights complaint because of the experience which, she says, violated her freedom of speech.
The ordeal has gotten people talking about what types of speech should and shouldn't be allowed a soapbox in public discourse. And beyond that – whether the banning of any kind of speech is something we should condone. Professor Arthur Schafer is Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba. In his opinion, even hate speech plays an important role in public dialogue. Here's what he had to say about the topic, in an interview with Canadian Dimension's Jeff Hughes.
Recently, Greenpeace hired Tzeporah Berman as its new Climate Energy director. The move has caused outrage among activists – especially ones in British Columbia, who are familiar with Berman's history of corporate collaboration. Dru Oja Jay is a member of The Dominion editorial collective in Montreal, and co-founded SaveGreenpeace.Org in light of the organization's growing flirtation with big business. Here's part of what he had to say in an interview with Redeye…
Even if she isn't here to play co-host this week, Meagan Perry's still making an appearance. For the latest episode of The Ruckus, Meagan had a chat with Brian Vollmer of Helix – one of Canada's most well-known hard rock bands. They talked about everything from Helix's three-decade history to women in music videos, with a few of the band's tracks thrown in for good measure – including this one. From 1983, here's Helix with "Heavy Metal Love."
If listening to music is something you're passionate about, you probably get it any way you can. Maybe you head to the nearest record store and pay for it at the counter, the good old fashioned way. Or perhaps you opt for buying individual songs on iTunes. Or maybe – just maybe – you don't pay at all. With advances in technology, pirated material is becoming more common all the time, and so are the measures being taken to prevent copyright infringements. That's where the Pirate Party comes into play. Following its success in Sweden, the Pirate Party of Canada was formed in late 2009. Its goal is to reform the copyright and patent system to reflect changes in how the public consumes content, and to protect both our privacy and access to culture. Street Cred's Adam Bemma met for an interview with Daniel LaSalle, the Pirate Party's spokesman. Here's some of that conversation…
"Getting a message out" is the theme behind the latest episode of Decoder – a new podcast put together by journalism students at the University of Western Ontario. For most people, conveying a message isn't something hard to do – we've got telephones, email, and even the classic face-to-face method, when you're feeling bold. But what about if you're behind the wheel of a big rig for hours at a time, alone on the road, with nothing to keep you company but ever-changing radio signals and your own thoughts? Well, it becomes more of a challenge. That's why there's a new community of truckers embracing the form of media you're using this very moment. Here's Curtis File's "big rig report" on how truckers are hitting the road – and the ears – through podcasting.
We leave you with a song by Dramatik, a Montreal hip-hop artist who recently performed at the Artists for Haiti II concert there. The song, "40 Barz", is the opening track off his album – "La Boite Noire."