Hyacinth Podcast

The labour theory of value says the value of a product should be determined by the amount of labour expended on it. If that was true, music would be very, very expensive to buy. But it's almost free these days. So how do we reconcile the countless hours of behind-the-scenes work that goes into every little 3-minute song on an album? In this episode, I interview musicians Nick MacLean and Jordi Comstock about the the invisible labour of music making. www.hyacinthpodcast.com/themusic

In the first episode of a new Hyacinth Podcast sub-series "The Music," I interview two of my best friends and longtime collaborators - Kim Wempe and Norma MacDonald are both songwriters and emergency room nurses (in the middle of a global pandemic). We talk about music, work, and the fine art of balancing real life and artistic practice. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

In this episode, I wrap up Season 1 with the most beautiful words I could find to leave you with: a story from the prodigy poet, Ocean Vuong, and a gorgeous meditation from the iconic Mary Oliver. And while the world aches and calls out for justice, I also leave you with one small story of my own. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

Instead of "getting back to normal," why don't we use this extraordinary time in the world to reimagine how we make things and who we make them for? What if we integrate accessibility into everything we do going forward? And what if accessibility was more than just a utilitarian exercise, but an artistic practice as well? This episode includes interviews with arts-based disability scholar Dr. Carla Rice and adaptive circus artists Erin Ball and Vanessa Furlong. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

Explore the way small and private intimacies of human life persist and even thrive in times of major upheaval. Meet me in the one place we can still travel to: into the words of others who have lived through life’s great cruelties. I compile excerpts from some of the things I've been reading during this crisis and share a love letter that I discover, by happy accident, in the front cover of one of my books. Are these small things enough to get us through these difficult times?  This episode is a gentle way of being together when we must be apart. It is a love letter for difficult times. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

There’s a box under my basement stairs that I haven’t opened for ten years. I thought I knew what was inside. But when I finally get the courage to open it, I encounter a mystery that goes beyond my own family archive and leads me to ask: What does “the archive” mean and who gets to decide “what remains” there? To find out, I follow archivist Heather Home into a vault at the Queen's University Archives and speak with Dr. Kristin Moriah and Dr. Mark Campbell, whose research confronts important issues around what is missing in institutional archives and why. Plus, we learn how black studies and the culture and artistic practice of hiphop could reshape traditional archival processes. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

Democracy is under threat across the globe. Humanities studies are in decline in universities around the world. Is there a connection? This episode is not about politics. It's about democracy as an idea. It's about the skills needed to be democratic citizens, including deliberative discussion and community-building, and how the humanities are central to teaching us how to think and act democratically. Guests: Dave Meslin - Democracy activist and author of Tear Down: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up Dr. Amanda Anderson - Professor of English, Director of the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University, and author of Psyche & Ethos: Moral Life After Psychology Dr. Cecil Foster - Professor at University of Buffalo and author of They Call Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada I also explore important ideas from Pulitzer prize-winning American author Marilynne Robinson and Kandice Chuh of the CUNY Graduate Centre in New York. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

Bonus episode: Hear my extended interview with architect and planner Dhiru Thadani. We discuss the history of urbanism as a design theory and the enduring value of beauty in our public and civic spaces. We first met Dhiru in Episode 5: Looking for Beauty. This is our full conversation. If you enjoy this interview, be sure to subscribe and check out my regular, curated episodes on your favourite app or at www.hyacinthpodcast.com. Connect with @hyacinpodcast on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

What is beauty? Where can we find it? In this crazy world that is burning up (quite literally) and seems to be falling apart, does beauty even matter? I discuss the enduring imperative of beauty far beyond physical appearance or aesthetic with Dr. Alice Brittan, a professor of contemporary literature, and architect Dhiru Thadani. Fascinating parallels and paradoxes emerge that take us on a journey from a vacant lot in Hamilton, Ontario, to the Piazza Navona in Rome. Along the way, we consider the meaning of beauty through the lens of Elaine Scarry’s seminal book On Beauty and Being Just, Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, and the philosophy of American writer Marilynne Robinson. www.hyacinthpodcast.com

Do you hide memories away in boxes under beds, at the top corners of closets? Or do you keep them all around you, cluttered up on your mantel and stuck to the front of your fridge? From our personal stories to our public histories, memory affects the way we view and move through our world. I talk with journalist Pauline Dakin, writer Emma Donoghue, memoirist Jennifer Browdy, and poet Canisia Lubrin about the power of memory and how to harness its mystery and meaning. Find details and links to all the books discussed in this episode at www.hyacinthpodcast.com Topics: memory, memoir, writing, poetry, public memory, history, monument, archive, poets, purposeful memoir

What are the limits of our narrative? How can stories lead us into blank spaces and the unknown? I interview Giller Prize winner Johanna Skibsrud and celebrated east coast writers Carol Bruneau and Nicola Davison about the transformative potential of story and the challenges of writing what is unsaid and unknown.   Johanna Skibsrud is a Giller Prize-winning writer and professor at the University of Arizona. Her latest novel, Island, explores imperial and colonial histories via the modern existence of "black sites." The story follows two women over a single day on a small island that is about to burst into revolution.   Carol Bruneau is an acclaimed Nova Scotia writer and the author of eight books. While writing her latest novel, A Circle on the Surface, Carol mentored debut novelist, Nicola Davison through the writing of her first book, In the Wake under the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia's Alistair MacLeod Writing Mentorship program. Both books would go on to win awards at the 2019 Atlantic Book Awards.   Be sure to listen to Part 1 of this Episode where I speak with best-selling writer and scholar Jesse Thistle, community organizer Masuma Khan, and fashion writer Musemo Handahu.   Get more details for each episode at www.hyacinthpodcast.com and follow @hyacinthpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

What if telling your story could endanger your life ... but also possibly save it? I interview best-selling author and scholar Jesse Thistle, community organizer Masuma Khan, and fashion writer Musemo Handahu about the powers and dangers of storytelling.   Jesse Thistle went from living on the street and suffering with addictions to being an award-winning scholar and Assistant Professor at York University. He shares his remarkable story in his new memoir, From the Ashes, which has been on best-sellers lists for months.   Masuma Khan is a committed community organizer who made international headlines while she was a student at Dalhousie University. She has had to reclaim her story in the face of hate speech, death threats, and skewed media coverage.   Musemo Handahu, better known as @misslionhuner online, is a fashion writer and influencer breaking new ground in fashion and marketing. Her unique style and authentic storytelling has helped her reach audiences across digital spaces. Get links more details at www.hyacinthpodcast.com and follow @hyacinthpodcast on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Bonus episode: Hear my extended interview with writer and psychotherapist Dr. Kathlyn Conway. Her book Beyond Words: Illness and the Limits of Expression explores storytelling about illness and trauma beyond the triumph narrative. As a cancer-survivor herself, she has come face to face with "the limits of the self and its expression in language." We first met Dr. Conway in Episode 2 - Trauma & Falconry. This is our full conversation. If you enjoy this interview, be sure to subscribe and check out my regular, curated episodes. Pick up Dr. Conway's book at www.unmpress.com Stay in touch via our email list at www.hyacinthpodcast.com or @hyacinpodcast on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Can encounters with the wild heal us? Can trauma yield discoveries that are beautiful and expansive? I talk to a psychotherapist and two licensed falconers about the surprising connections between traumatic experiences and the art of falconry. It turns out that training birds might be a little-known secret to healing. And (spoiler alert), to test out the theory, I learn to fly a hawk myself. Guests: Rodney Stotts - Falconer, Rodney's Raptors Dr. Kathlyn Conway - Psychotherapist and writer, Beyond Words: Illness and the Limits of Expression Jamie Stride - Falconer, Island Falconry Services I also discuss the work of Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk and his seminal book The Body Keeps the Score and Helen MacDonald's bestselling memoir H is for Hawk. www.hyacinthpodcast.com Topics: falconry, trauma, dissociation, therapy, birds of prey, hawks, falcons, falconer, healing, PTSD

Trees: Why do they have such broad and enduring significance in our collective imaginations? Why do we like them so much? I talk to an urban planner, a public historian, an instrument maker, and... my mom to find out. Plus, we hear about a single maple tree that birthed an entire ensemble of hand-made instruments. Conversations with: Adam Fine - Urban planner Dr. Martha Norkunas - Professor of public history, Middle Tennessee State University Otis Tomas - Instrument maker and composer Donna Mikol - My mom “When inquiring minds have perceived them, trees have become metaphors for the structure of human knowledge and for [hu]mankind’s place in the world.” - Matthew Bevis, Keble College, Oxford University Visit hyacinthpodcast.com for full list of citations and links for the research behind this episode. Transcripts & extended interviews coming soon. Written, produced, and hosted by Carmel Mikol Original music composed by Carmel Mikol (featuring "The Fiddle Tree" by Otis Tomas) www.hyacinthpodcast.com @hyacinthpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Why do trees have such such enduring significance in our collective culture? What do they really mean to us? And why do we like them so much? Hear some of my favourite moments from the first episode which launches in full on September 9th. I speak with public historian Dr. Martha Norkunas, urban planner Adam Fine, instrument maker Otis Tomas, and... my mom.   Don't forget to subscribe so you can hear the first episode in full on September 9th. Stay in touch! Join the email list at hyacinthpodcast.com