For part two of the forced labour series, Kristen and Kyla discuss what consumers should do to address forced labour. Kyla is sad about how Christmas lights are made. Kristen learns about three different kinds of forced labour in rice production. Topics: forced labour in global supply chains; leading big brands; fair trade; boycott?; use your voice to promote human rights; our challenges.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kyla and Kristen are joined by Alexandra Sundarsingh to discuss the topic of forced labour. Alexandra (Lex) Sundarsingh is a second year PhD student in the department of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Topics: what is forced labour; the scale of forced labour; where it occurs; who is affected; and causes.
Read More“Apparently stinkbugs taste like apples.” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen try cricket powder and dig in to the subject of eating insects as food. Is this a fad, or the future of food? Topics: History of eating insects, environmental and health benefits, the ethics of farming insects, and the potential downsides of scaling up the industry.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen tells the story of Operation Breadbasket, one of the civil rights movement’s most successful boycott campaigns. Kristen and Kyla reflect on why Breadbasket worked and whether a similar campaign would be possible today.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kyla and Kristen are joined by climate activist Robert Miller to talk about carbon offsets. Robbie laughs when he learns that the Vatican tried to buy what he describes as climate indulgences. Kyla is shocked that Canadian forests have been net emitters since 2001. (Stupid pine beetles!) Topics: what are carbon offsets; principles of good carbon offsets programs; problems with carbon offsetting; certification schemes; should you use carbon offsets and, if so, how should you buy them.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen and Kyla received 5 recordings from artists discussing how the pandemic has affected their lives so far.
Read More“So instead of being the Paper Bag Princess, we’re all kind of the plastic bag Princesses.” In this episode, Kyla and Kristen try out plastic-free July. Kyla discovers that coffee cups are plastic. Kristen joneses for chips. Topics: what even is plastic; the history of plastic; common types of plastic; plastic pollution; recycling plastics; and bioplastics.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen interviews Michelle Desilets, the Executive Director of Orangutan Land Trust. Michelle shares her personal and professional journey in orangutan conservation, her love of orangutans, and the work of Orangutan Land Trust. Topics: orangutan conservation, the threats orangutans face, palm oil, the boycott v. sustainable palm oil debate, the future of sustainable palm oil, and what you can do.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kyla and Kristen discuss palm oil production and people, as well as what you can do about it. Topics: working conditions; Indigenous peoples; food security; the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil; boycott versus labelling; what you can do.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kyla and Kristen talk about palm oil and the environment. Kyla flummoxes two McDonald’s employees. Kristen can’t pronounce the palm derivatives in her makeup. Topics: what is palm oil; why is palm oil in everything; palm oil and deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution.
Read MoreThis bonus episode reacts to the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality. Kyla and Kristen share ten things that they have learned since the killing of George Floyd. Check out the research notes for this episode for facts from this episode or for resources on supporting the movement.
Read MoreIn this episode, Kyla and Kristen uncork the topic of ethics and wine. Topics: South African wine and Apartheid legacies; Fairtrade wine; migrant labour and wineries; pesticide use on vineyards; organic wine; biodynamic wine; salmon-safe vineyards; climate change and wine; boxed versus bottled; and animal welfare and wine.
Read MoreIn part two of this two-part seafood series, Kyla and Kristen explore questions about animal welfare and human rights in fishing and fish farming. Kristen talks about her seafood-alternative kitchen disaster. Kyla considers getting a monkfish as a pet. Topics: animal welfare and wild-caught versus farmed fish; human trafficking and the fishing industry; seafood sustainability labels; what to think about when choosing ethical seafood.
Read MoreIn part one of this two-part seafood series, Kristen explains how fishing works and the problems behind the overfishing crisis. Kyla discovers what a monkfish looks like. Topics: overfishing; illegal, irregular, and unreported fishing; seafood fraud; different fishing methods; and the environmental impacts of fishing and aquaculture.
Read More“You’re just giving side-eye to all of the dogs in the airport, being like: ‘Hey! Don’t narc!’” In this episode – recorded on 4/20 – Kristen and Kyla talk cannabis. Topics: how cannabis works; the cannabis supply chain; legalisation; the Canadian cannabis market; the Mormon grandma story; Cannabis and the environment; and which method of consumption is best (it’s not disposable vapes).
Read MoreIn this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Alix Jansen to talk about COVID-19 and inequality. Alix is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on work and social policy in advanced industrial democracies. Topics: COVID-19 and racial, gender, social, and economic inequalities; the white collar quarantine; the economic crisis and COVID-19; social policy responses; and possible long-term legacies of the pandemic.
Read More“Certainly that feeling of apocalypse is amplified when you wake up and it’s like 9:00am in the summer, the sun should be high in the sky, and you’re like, ‘It’s dark out.’” In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Robert Miller, a progressive activist and Extinction Rebellion organizer in the heart of oil country. The discussion is all about personal behaviour changes and where they fit in the global climate movement. Topics: the Wetsuweten solidarity blockades; protest and our relationship with public spaces; Robert’s climate crisis awakening; belief and the climate crisis; climate anxiety; the most important personal behaviour change for the climate; community-building as democracy; first steps to joining the climate movement.
Read MoreCOVID-19 is a health crisis, but it isn’t only a health crisis. In this bonus episode, Kristen and Kyla discuss ten unexpected effects of the pandemic.
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