Is This For Real?
Is This For Real?
Black ex-journalism from a place calling itself Edmonton. We take a local focus to societal issues like media bias, corruption, racism, class inequality, government failure, and police brutality.
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Top 10 Is This For Real? Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Is This For Real? episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Is This For Real? for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Is This For Real? episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
RIP BHM
Is This For Real?
03/07/22 • 44 min
Black History Month has always been more or less a joke, but it was especially terrible this year. We’re looking back on this especially unfortunate February, from revelations that the Edmonton Police Service owns a plane (!) and is gearing up to purchase yet another, to the Calgary Police killing of community member Latjor Tuel. We also brought back Tom Engel to the show for a great interview about the Police Act, an important piece of legislation that we should all be focusing on ahead of the next provincial election.
Empty Elections
Is This For Real?
12/10/21 • 47 min
With the recent federal election in Canada and local election in Edmonton, we continue the thriving era of neoliberal politics that leaves harmful institutions unchecked, despite everything that has come to prominence in public discourse since we started the show. We had a chance to interview Edmonton's new mayor Amarjeet Sohi to dig a bit deeper into the emptiness of performative politics and why politicians can't save us.
Close Encounters
Is This For Real?
11/22/20 • 44 min
It’s plainly obvious that the most vulnerable people are the most heavily policed. Along with a lack of mental health and addiction supports, this creates a cycle where vulnerable populations remain in poverty or enter our punitive justice system. Hannan and Oumar talk to Shima Robinson, an organizer at the recently-closed Pekiwewin camp, about police targeting of homeless populations, the importance of de-escalation training, and the need for transit accessibility. We also speak to Mark Cherrington at the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights about the fear of police, lack of police accountability, and what a world without police might look like.
Inflated Importance
Is This For Real?
07/31/22 • 68 min
We're turning our focus to the devastation inflation that we've all be facing throughout this year. We're taking a look at a new study from the University of Calgary that outlines why inflation hits low-income households especially hard, record profits that companies like Loblaws are making during this time, and some incredibly cringe advice that the media is giving to consumers.
We also have some on the ground reporting from the Pope's visit to Edmonton. We discuss the clearing of homeless encampments from the area surrounding the Sacred Heart church, the problematic messaging embedded into the Pope's activities here, and whether or not meaningful change can ever even be achieved through symbolic gestures.
Rotten Foundations
Is This For Real?
05/30/22 • 56 min
Oumar and Nicholas discuss the recent school shooting in Texas and its relevance to Edmonton’s school resource officer program. We also discuss the violence and challenges in Chinatown, as well as the tendency from politicians and the community to support further enforcement of the same system that causes those challenges.
Language of the Status Quo
Is This For Real?
04/08/22 • 48 min
Canadian media is terrible when it comes to holding powerful institutions accountable and challenging the status quo. In this episode we’re talking about the media’s failure of students criminalized by the School Resource Officer Program, and examples of how both independent and traditional media can be shaped by toxic work environments and politics of recognition.
Police Funding Industrial Complex
Is This For Real?
01/26/22 • 55 min
The Edmonton Police Service budget continues to be increased, for the second time in a row since the killing of George Floyd and supposed calls for police accountability. We break down the recent history of police funding in Edmonton and the complicity of media and politicians in this cycle of growing police power. We also had a great discussion with Rob Houle about the harmful roots of policing in the west and the ultimate impact of the Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force, of which he was a part of.
Lip Service
Is This For Real?
05/16/21 • 42 min
The Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force was formed by Edmonton city council last summer in response to protests and hearing on anti-Black racism in the city. Oumar talks to task force member Irfan Chaudhry about the recent release of the task force’s recommendations, the nature of committees in creating change or exposing hypocrisy, and the police’s attempts to keep any change within their own purview.
The Crumbs
Is This For Real?
03/10/21 • 30 min
We’re seeing a lot of performance politics these days, particularly from our elected leaders who fancy themselves progressive. This allows them to evade criticism from media, would-be allies, and others in power while they remain complicit in systems of anti-Black violence.
Oumar talks to Celina Caesar-Chavannes, former Liberal Member of Parliament about her experience being tokenized, excluded, and eventually left to burn by her own party while they continued to create a performance of a progressive politics. She also shares her advice for creating change and surviving in institutions that are designed to crush us.
Working Progress
Is This For Real?
06/17/22 • 94 min
We interviewed Ashlynn Chand about some great reporting she did on Amazon’s union-busting at the Nisku warehouse. We discuss our government’s alignment with corporate interests at the expense of workers and how politicians co-opt working class struggles. And we even detail some recent victories in the labour movement in Alberta.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Is This For Real? have?
Is This For Real? currently has 23 episodes available.
What topics does Is This For Real? cover?
The podcast is about News, Society & Culture, Documentary, Podcasts and Politics.
What is the most popular episode on Is This For Real??
The episode title 'Working Progress' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Is This For Real??
The average episode length on Is This For Real? is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of Is This For Real? released?
Episodes of Is This For Real? are typically released every 40 days, 8 hours.
When was the first episode of Is This For Real??
The first episode of Is This For Real? was released on Jun 12, 2020.
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