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This week on the show, we're sharing an interview which is part of rabble's summer Boiling Point series. The Boiling Point examines the ways increasingly high temperatures due to the climate crisis are affecting our summers in Canada on a social, institutional, and ecological level. Today, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell speaks to Dr. Melissa Lem to talk about how the recent wildfires, heat domes, and record-breaking hot temperatures are affecting the physical and mental health of Canadians. A clinic assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Lem also serves as the President-Elect for the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (or CAPE). Lem first became a member of CAPE when she was still in medical school. Since then, she has worked on policy and advocacy campaigns around the climate crisis, including wildfires, active transportation, and the need to connect to nature for health. She and Wentzell dive into how climate change is a health issue and why it's so important for governments, at all levels, to put policies in place to protect people during extreme weather events. "If, as physicians [and] healthcare workers, we want to make sure that our patients have the best health status, we have to start looking beyond our offices and our hospitals," she explained. "We have to start looking at social determinants of health and ecological determinants of health, like making sure we have clean air to breathe, healthy temperatures, and have green space and trees to shade us and cool our cities to keep us healthy." - Dr. Lem. Read Wentzell's full article on this subject here. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Landon Parenteau

The concept of a guaranteed basic income has gained a lot of attention over the past few years. And on rabble, the idea has been discussed, debated, and deliberated from a variety of angles. In May this year, MP Leah Gazan and Senator Kim Pate joined us as part of our Off the Hill political panel series, talking about their proposed bills, Bill S-233 and Bill C-223 which urge the government to implement guaranteed livable basic income. They believe in a guaranteed livable basic income as a tool, not as a final solution, to combat the growing inequality in Canada. However, there are others who believe a basic income isn't key in solving inequality in Canada. Some argue that a program like basic income cannot adequately address the many issues that contribute to poverty in our country, such as the cost of housing, poor labour standards, access to health care and child care, and so on. Basic income, or a guaranteed income, the term has many different names - and means different things to many different groups. This week on the show, Doreen Nicoll speaks to Ron Hikel, a political scientist who has spent decades studying the economics of a guaranteed minimum income. They discuss what it would actually take to make a basic income program work in Canada. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Ilana Gotz on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/lqHhxCrG_JI

This week on rabble radio, we dive into the world of natural - or green, as it's sometimes called - burials. For many of us, talking about death isn't easy – let alone talking about what happens to your body once you've passed away. But what if there was a way to think of your burial as a way to help the environment? Since the 1990's, the natural burial movement has steadily gained interest as more and more people are exposed to the idea. With a natural burial, the body is not exposed to any chemical embalming. And instead of a traditional casket, the body is wrapped in a shroud or buried in a biodegradable casket. Rather than rows of tombstones on a manicured lawn, picture a meadow or woodland, restored and protected in its natural ecosystem. In place of tombstones, imagine graves marked with a small stone, a native plant, or a communal dedication. Some Canadians admire the spiritual connection to the earth that a natural burial grants. Many also find peace of mind knowing that their burial will have a very small ecological footprint. Yet despite the enthusiasm for the burial alternative, there are shockingly few places in Canada to be buried naturally. Susan Greer, the executive director of Natural Burial Association, speaks to Doreen Nicoll about the organization's mission to make natural burial more accessible in Canada. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.Photo credit: Kristine Cinate on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/QvjL4y7SF9k

This week on the show, Doreen Nicoll speaks to author and professor Dennis Raphael about the idea of "social murder" and how it applies to Doug Ford's government. The expression "social murder" was first introduced by Friedrich Engels, a German political economist in the 1840's. In his book, The Condition of the Working Class in England, Engels describes the misery and class division he witnessed in day-to-day English life. His conclusion? Proletarian revolution was necessary. Then in 2007, the term was re-introduced by Canadian economists Robert Chernomas and Ian Hudson. Their book called "Social Murder and Other Shortcomings of Conservative Economics" outlined how the influence and size of corporate power is shaping the world in a negative way - corporations are able to wreak social and environmental havoc with few serious consequences. Fast forward again to today and the term has gained popularity when referring to the recently re-elected Premier of Ontario Doug Ford and his government. And specifically - the cuts the Ford government has made to Ontario's healthcare system. Dennis Raphael explains why this term is being used, and what exactly it means in today's interview. Photo: Orfeas Green on Unsplash If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

It would be an understatement to say that COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed life in Canada. After two years since the pandemic came into our lives, we're still grappling with a "new normal" and grieving the experiences, time, and loved ones we lost during the worst waves of the pandemic. No one knows this grief better than our healthcare workers. Nurses and healthcare workers stepped up during the pandemic to face COVID first hand; working extended shifts with decreased or no time off; adapting to changes in the methods of delivering care; facing burnout, stress, anxiety, and sometimes contracting COVID themselves. All the while they were also encountering a small population of the public convinced that COVID-19 was something not to take seriously. Today, we give our healthcare heroes a voice. The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and rabble.ca present: Nurses' Voices: Stories of courage and determination in the face of COVID-19. We interviewed over 25 healthcare professionals from across the country and asked them to share what they'd like our audience to know about their experiences working through this deadly virus. Today on rabble radio, we share snippets of those interviews. If you'd like to read Nurses' Voices: Stories of courage and determination in the face of COVID-19, you can find a digital copy here. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Gunter Valda on Unsplash

This week on the site, rabble's national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell reviewed Martha Paynter's new book, Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada. This week, we're sharing an interview between the two where Paynter dives into the misconceptions people have about access to abortion in Canada and the other threats facing reproductive justice in the country. Paynter explains that Canadians generally view our country as the most progressive in the world with respect to abortion care. The truth, though, is that abortion access is poorly understood in our country, and so are the continual threats to reproductive justice in Canada such as sexual violence, gun violence, homophobia and transphobia, criminalization of sex work, reproductive oppression of Indigenous women and girls, privatization of fertility health services, and the racism and colonialism of policing and the prison system. Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada tells the empowering true stories behind the struggles for reproductive justice in Canada, celebrating past wins and revealing how prison abolitionism is key to the path forward. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Alexandr Podvalny on Unsplash

This week on rabble radio, Libby Davies sits down with Liz Marshall, the writer, director, and producer of the recently internationally released documentary, Meat the Future. "Imagine a world where real meat is produced sustainably without the need to breed, raise and slaughter animals. This is no longer science fiction, it's now within reach." - meatthefuture.com Meat the Future tells the story of Dr. Uma Valeti, the co-founder and CEO of Upside Foods, the leading start-up of the cultivated - or "clean" as it's sometimes called - meat revolution. Marshall sits down with Davies to talk about the film and the powerful impact clean meat can have on agriculture and the climate emergency. Marshall last joined rabble radio to talk with Victoria Fenner about the documentary during our 'Climate hope in the time of pandemic' series. At that point, the film had just been released. Now, with a global audience, Marshall explains the response the film has received from policy makers and filmgoers alike. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Lomig on Unsplash.

This week on rabble radio, we featured a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was Off the Hill: Hot summer in the West. The Alberta political scene is in upheaval with the departure of the current (disgraced) premier and the federal conservative leadership race is becoming increasingly vitriolic. Amid this time of turbulence, what can we expect to see unfold in Alberta and in Ottawa? And what will the impact be on the political scene overall? Our latest panel was made up by special guests Rachel Snow, David Climenhaga, Chuka Ejeckam, Karl Nerenberg and co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Kevin Mueller on Unsplash

This week on rabble radio, we share a segment of this year's debut episode of the Courage My Friends podcast series, hosted on Needs No Introduction. In the first episode of this year's Courage My Friends podcast series, we welcome Henry Giroux. Does education have a moral and political purpose? What do we mean by critical pedagogy - and why is it so vital in these times? Giroux joins host of the Courage My Friends podcast Resh Budhu to talk about education, critical pedagogy and the future of learning in a post-pandemic world. If you'd like to hear more from the Courage My Friends podcast, please subscribe to Needs No Introduction - a podcast by rabble which presents a series of speeches and lectures from the finest minds of our time. Available on rabble.ca, Apple Podcasts, and now available on Spotify. The Courage My Friends podcast is presented by rabble.ca and the Tommy Douglas Institute, with the support of the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation. Upcoming news Our next Off the Hill is right around the corner: On Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30pm ET join us for Off the Hill: Hot summer in the West. The Alberta political scene is in upheaval with the departure of the current (disgraced) premier and the federal conservative leadership race is becoming increasingly vitriolic. Amid this time of turbulence, what can we expect to see unfold in Alberta and in Ottawa? And what will the impact be on the political scene overall? Join guests Rachel Snow, David Climenhaga, Chuka Ejeckam, Karl Nerenberg and co-hosts Robin Browne and Libby Davies as they connect these burning issues and knit together the connections, disconnections, challenges, and possible scenarios of unfolding current events. Register for this free event today at: bit.ly/OffTheHillJune7 Thanks to Between the Lines publishing, we'll be giving away 10 copies of just released book, Women Winning Office: An Activist's Guide to Getting Elected, by Peggy Nash. Everyone who registers for this upcoming panel will be entered in the draw! If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

This week on the show, Libby Davies speaks to Medea Benjamin, co-founder of women-led peace group Code Pink. Code Pink is a grassroots NGO with an anti-war mandate. The goal of Code Pink is to divest from the "war machine" and from companies that derive their profits from U.S. military interventions, the global arms trade, and the militarization in the streets. Benjamin sits down with Davies to talk about the inception of the NGO back in 2002 and looking for a non-military solution to end Russia's occupation in Ukraine. Benjamin says: "It is so difficult to cut through this incredible propaganda machine; now the call is we have to make sure Ukraine wins this war. As if there is any winning in this war." Upcoming news Our next Off the Hill is right around the corner: On Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30pm ET join us for Off the Hill: Hot summer in the West. With the Alberta political scene in upheaval with the departure of the current (disgraced) premier and the increasingly vitriolic conservative leadership race federally, what can we expect to see unfold in Alberta, in Ottawa, what will the impact be on the political scene overall? Join guests Rachel Snow, David Climenhaga, Chuka Ejeckam, Karl Nerenberg and co-hosts Robin Browne and Libby Davies as they connect these burning issues and knit together the connections, disconnections, challenges, and possible scenarios of unfolding current events. Register for this free event here: bit.ly/OffTheHillJune7 If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca. Photo credit: Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash