A New Podcast Series about Free Expression in Canada
In Conjunction with the Centre for Constitutional Studies at UAlberta
I’m happy to announce that a new project of mine launched this week.
It’s a podcast series titled Free Expression: The Future of a Fundamental Freedom, presented in conjunction with the Centre for Constitutional Studies in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta (where I’m a Research Affiliate).
You can listen to the first episode below (and also subscribe to get notifications of newly posted episodes).
As I mention in the introduction of the first episode, I conducted a wide range of interviews during my dissertation and book project research.
My biggest regret is that I didn’t initially design my research to be more publicly accessible. I had lots of great conversations about free expression on campus, but I could only use snippets of those interviews in my research. Had I thought about the research process a bit more deeply, I would have designed it in a way that could make portions of those interviews public.
That regret still lingers because so much ink has been spilled about free expression on campus. It would have been nice to add something - even something modest - to those debates while they were happening in real time over the past few years (even though the issue hasn’t disappeared).
The podcast series is therefore a bit of retribution for me.
Its focus is much broader - about free expression in Canadian law and society - but it’s an effort to take discussions and debates that typically happen on campus and push them into a more accessible venue. It’s something for which I’m now staunchly committed, but it took me a while to get here.
An experience from my dissertation research stands out.
One of my most anticipated research interviews was with a national newspaper columnist that’s very well known across Canada. They had been vocal about the allegedly declining state of free expression on campus, so the interview was an opportunity to flesh out their argument in more detail and understand their perspective as comprehensively as possible.
The two of us couldn’t disagree more about politics, but I was looking forward to the opportunity. I spent nearly two hours pitching them questions, prodding with follow-ups, and having spirited exchanges. Most of my political fellow travellers would consider speaking with this person a complete waste of time. I also questioned what could be gained from the interview in a research context, at least for a moment.
Nonetheless, at two separate points during our conversation, random bystanders interrupted us to say that they were eavesdropping and completely fascinated by what we were discussing.
That experience made me realize that maybe the problem with public discourse is related to supply and not demand. Most people aren’t confident about every idea they have, nor have they had an opportunity to think through everything. Instead, they’re curious to understand how the world works and overwhelmed by a never-ending stream of news reporting that’s equal parts complicated and terrifying (think climate change, mass shootings, and pandemics).
Since that experience, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to do teaching, research, and writing that’s not behind a paywall and as publicly accessible as possible. Hopefully the podcast will be a good example of that.
I need to thank Mike Contos for his top notch audio post-production, and Patricia Paradis and Richard Mailey from the Centre for Constitutional Studies for the new opportunity. They’ve all been incredibly supportive, so this will likely be the first season of many.
Lastly, there’s going to be a delay with the next instalment of A Toxic Legacy, but it’s for a good reason.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been researching and writing something about local air pollution and it will hopefully end up in a higher-profile venue. It’s a deep dive that includes an afternoon in the Bayview neighbourhood speaking with residents about their frustration, but also some of the research on air pollution and negative health outcomes.
The Breaking the Taboo podcast is also being developed right now. The first episode should launch this summer and the series will start by examining issues like local news poverty, civil liberties during the pandemic, and the housing affordability crisis.
Stay tuned and enjoy that sunshine.