Stories from the Hart

Eric joined us over Zoom to read us his poem Weatherman Elegy, a poem of mourning he wrote after realizing how many years it's been since he flipped open the Weather Channel. This poem is a reflection on the mysterious phenomenon of family,  looking back through child's eyes.  Eric is a student and aspiring writer residing in Scarborough. He is the recipient of the Jasun Singh Memorial Award in Creative Writing from UTSC, and he also won first prize in the 2020 Hart House Review Poetry Contest. This fall, Eric will be pursuing a master's degree in creative writing on the west coast.  You can find some of his work in publications such as Guernica, PRISM International, Contemporary Verse 2 and elsewhere. Follow him on twitter at @poemaroo

In this special episode featuring GTA artists from the Asian Diaspora, Patrick de Belen shines his light.  A Filipino-Canadian storyteller, arts educator, spoken word poet, writer, and director, Patrick is most known for his collaborations with the Toronto Raptors, the NFL, CBC. He has released 3 spoken word EPs and multiple cine-poems, written and directed by himself. He was the youngest poet to win a national poetry slam championship, awarded both the national poet of honour and youth poet of honour title, and a few more storytelling accolades throughout his career.  When he is not writing or sharing, he is an educator and youth mentor, partnering with many institutions like addiction centres, mental health focused organizations, libraries, schools, jails and more - advocating for storytelling opportunities in as many spaces as possible.You can find more of Patrick's work at PatrickdeBelen.com, or follow him on Instagram @patrickdebelen, and he's also on Spotify!

Sheniz Janmohamed was born and raised in T'karonto with ancestral ties to Kenya and India. A poet, nature artist and arts educator, she regularly visits schools and community organizations to teach and perform.  Sheniz's writing has been featured in Arc Poetry Magazine, Cv2 and Canthius. She has three collections of poetry, published by Mawenzi House:  Bleeding Light (2010), Firesmoke (2014) and Reminders on the Path (2021). Sheniz recently served as the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. To learn more about Sheniz, visit: shenizjanmohamed.com 

Kristal's song and all songs from the Pandemic Playlist Series can be found our Spotify playlistAJR's Bang video here

Lisa's song and all songs from the Pandemic Playlist Series can be found our Spotify playlistAfro in Heels Youtube Channel  The video for Wait by DJ Neptune ft. Kizz Daniel

What weight have you been carrying through the pandemic? While discussing “The Weight” by The Band, sisters Claire and Katherine open up about both the joy and the burdens of living with family during the pandemic. We recount family jokes and memories tied to The Band's documentary, “The Last Waltz,” and Katherine talks about what it's like to be the person in the family who's trusted to handle everything.Sign up here to share your pandemic song: https://forms.gle/pUpwKa5okmFMvTFJ9Listen to  Our Pandemic Playlist on SpotifyA copy of “The Last Waltz,” a documentary about The Band directed by Martin Scorsese, is available at the U of T Media Commons: https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/permalink/01UTORONTO_INST/14bjeso/alma991106070064006196

What does music mean to the Hart House Podcasting Team? Join Claire, Sheilah and Saba as they each share a song that got them through the pandemic, and talk about how music has helped them get through tough times. We discuss how our music has helped us heal, made us laugh, and consoled us through loss.Sign up here to share your pandemic song: https://forms.gle/pUpwKa5okmFMvTFJ9Listen to Our Pandemic Playlist on Spotify“Life Goes On” by BTS on the Late Late Show with James Corden: https://youtu.be/VnKtptlKnfI

Follow Your Art is the last in our 2 part series on Oasis Skateboard Factory, a Toronto District School Board school where students earn credits towards graduation by designing and making skateboards, and managing their own skateboard brand. In this episode, our podcasters talk with OSF students CJ, Will, Stellan, Maggie, Tyler, Otis and Kioni and ask them, "Do you see yourself as an artist?". Their answers prompt more questions and discussion about the perceptions and pressures of labels, how we see ourselves in the world, and advice about following a dream from folx who have really done it.Thanks to our friends at the Oasis Skateboard Factory. Check out the school's instagram, and the brands run by OSF students below.@oasisskateboardfactory@ronnskateboards@babyteethskateco@fireboardsk8@cootiesclubsk8co@persephoneseye@brainrotsk8.co

The ocean's rising, do you give a shit? Written, produced, edited and hosted by the Undeniable, Elijah “Lilo” Miller, a grade 12 student in Toronto, this piece asks interviewees, the audience and the podcast's creator to think critically about what we've all been avoiding: how are we dealing with climate change, and do we even care when it feels so overwhelming?Elijah interviews fellow students, teachers, and a therapist to hear their perspectives on climate, why it's so darn hard to make change, and who's responsible for it anyway?Elijah created this piece through a co-op placement with the Hart House Podcasting team through Support, Engage, Experience U of T which is a collaborative access program between U of T and the Toronto District School Board.Thank you to our guests, Adrian, Isa, Ms. Fernandez, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Sabetti, and Terry Gardiner.Music by Lilo, aka Elijah Miller @devilish_wonderkidEdited by Elijah Miller, with support from Shaela McCrackenThanks to Danielle DiNunzio and Day Milman at Hart House, and SEE U of T https://wdw.utoronto.ca/seeuoft

In Best.School.Ever. Part 1 of a 2 part series, Claire and Sheilah visit the Oasis Skateboard Factory, a Toronto District School Board school where students graduate with a whole lot more than a highschool diploma. Our podcasters talk with students CJ, Will, Stellan, Maggie, Tyler, Otis and Kioni about what it means to be in charge of your learning and your own skateboard brand. Teacher Lauren Hortie gives us the goods on the philosophy behind learning by doing, working in community, and the meaning of education. Check out the school's instagram, and the brands run by OSF students below.@oasisskateboardfactory@ronnskateboards@babyteethskateco@fireboardsk8@cootiesclubsk8co@persephoneseye@brainrotsk8.co

Jenny is a Nehiyaw and Finnish-Canadian artist, musician, community advocate, student, producer and radio co-host, and Auntie. In this podcast, she will be telling you more about her work and passions, such as art, Indigenous advocacyand community building, and more. We explore how Jenny builds a communityof Indigenous students at UofT, how art is folded into her life, how being anAuntie in a restorative justice framework works and more. Join Sheila and I as we get to know a real UofT hero.Jenny is a Student Life Coordinator at Indigenous Student Services at U of T @firstnationshouseCiimaan/Kahuwe'yá/Qajaq Indigenous Language Initiative at U of T (CKQ)Some of the cool topics we talked about on this episode:Learn more about Cree Code Talkers hereHere you can find out more about the Jingle DressIndian Residential School Survivors Society Save the Evidence CampaignJenny promoted and recommended other very talented Indigenous artists. Be sure to check them out!  Erica Violet Lee https://twitter.com/ericavioletlee?s=20Thirza Cuthand https://www.thirzacuthand.com/Ruth Cuthand https://www.ruthcuthand.ca/Keitha Keeshig-Tobias https://www.instagram.com/keithakeeshigtobias/?hl=enTheresa Burning https://ifwtoronto.com/artists/theresa-burning/Graham Paradis https://www.instagram.com/mkwaboogit/?hl=enNative Women In the Arts http://www.nwia.ca/This is Jenny's own radio show on CIUT, if you enjoyed her here, which we're sure you did, go support her on her show, Indigenous Waves Radio Show If you're like Jenny and Jerico who take comfort in otter videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEjC7Ropp_Y   

Thank you to our guests today Jasjit Sangha, PhD, Learning Strategist, Identity and Learning, Academic Success Centre U of T, and Adela Jeon, Peer Facilitator, Academic Success Centre U of TThe Academic Success Centre is located at https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/department/academic-success/, sign up here for any of the workshops mentioned in this episode such as How to Navigate Academics as Racialized Student (Jan. 25, Feb.22, March 29, 5-7)  and many moreTo make an appointment with a Learning Strategist or a Peer Mentor at U of T https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/task/meet-with-a-learning-strategist/To access the Career Learning Network (CLNx) https://clnx.utoronto.ca/Medicine Wheel Exercise: https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/Being-Mindful-through-the-Medicine-Wheel.pdfLet's talk abut failure blog post: http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/innovationhub/files/2021/06/LetsTalkAboutFailure_Final2021-compressed-1.pdfGuided practices and exercises in self-compassion: https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#exercisesHost: Claire Latosinsky and Jerico RanguindinProducer: Sheilah Madonna Mortel SalvadorEdited by Claire Latosinsky and Shaelah McCrackenAudio Facilitator Nick Lloyd-KuzikSenior Producer Day MilmanSupported by the Hart House Student PodcastersSheilah Madonna Salvador, Jerico Ranguindin

An intimate and cosy episode about your very own Stories from the Hart podcasters, Claire, Jerico and Sheilah, who are meeting for the first time, in person, to introduce themselves to each other and to you, our listeners. They talk about how they got into podcasting, what podcasts they listen to, and what they are passionate about. Claire discusses why this workstudy is different from all of the workstudies she has done with UofT. A music major, she talks a little bit about her craft and how the music department is starting to slowly decolonize. Jerico talks about his passion for climate justice, representation and advocacy. A natural leader, he invites our student listeners to get involved with student government in order to advocate for themselves and each other, and to be more informed of what is happening in the insitution and how it affects them and should benefit them. Sheilah discusses how empowering a podcast could be for under-represented people like herself and why she likes true crime. The show concludes with the group being thankful for making it safely through the pandemic and for what good things are yet to come with life and from the Stories from the Hart podcast. To  discover all the work-study and career opportunities available at UofT, check out CLNX @ https://clnx.utoronto.ca/home.ht Podcaster Recommendations: Claire: Aria Code, Pod Save AmericaJerico: Rooster TeethSheilah Ear HustleAll available wherever you get your podcasts.Host: Sheilah Madonna Mortel SalvadorGuests: Claire Latosinsky and Jerico RanguindinEdited by Sheilah and Shaelah McCrackenAudio Facilitator Nick Lloyd-KuzikSenior Producer Day MilmanSupported by the Hart House Student PodcastersSheilah Madonna Salvador, Jerico Ranguindin  

Are you tired of getting advice on how to be the perfect student? So are we! In this episode, Claire talks with U of T students Joe and Adil about their unconventional university experiences. We discuss the realities of our time at U of T--the good and the bad--and what we've learned from the process. Listen in for some funny stories, inspiring ideas, and potentially helpful tips. We promise we won't tell you to "get involved!" More info on the Transitional Year Program can be found at: http://sites.utoronto.ca/typ/ The Hosted and written by Claire LatosinskyEdited by Claire and ShaelaAudio Facilitator Leonarda Carranza, Nick Lloyd-KuzikSupported by the Hart House Student PodcastersSheilah Madonna Salvador, Jerico Ranguindin 

Music plays an important role in all our lives, so it's no surprise that music has been a prevalent part of our pandemic experiences. In a year when we've been physically distanced, how has music connected you to your friends and family, to the world, or to yourself? Claire invites U of T students to share their pandemic songs and stories, to build Our Pandemic Playlist. Special thanks to Adil Rehman for the background music for this episode.Sign up here to share your pandemic song: https://forms.gle/pUpwKa5okmFMvTFJ9  

Episode transcript available here.It's another Hart House Hip Hop Education Takeover of The West Meeting Room! Hart House Hip Hop Ed works with campus partners and community Hip Hop practitioners to further values of representation, collaboration, and social justice, as we explore the key principles of Hip Hop and its importance in our everyday culture. In Winter 2021, we were joined by two U of T student interns as we explored Indigenous voices in Hip Hop. Drew Rickard and Lloyd Cousins joined Marco Adamovic  for our second episode, with legendary Toronto engineer, producer, artist, and DJ, David ‘Gordo' Strickland . We explored his love for Hip Hop, including meaningful records in his catalog, elements of his Indigenous identity, the relationship between visual art and music, and so much more. Fun fact: the title for this episode is based on a waveform tattoo that David has on his arm. Listen in to hear its origin, as well as knowledge and wisdom from a true legend in the Canadian Music Industry! Check out Hart House Hip Hop Education online  Check out Spirit of Hip Hop on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7f9GCfRXmuPcYdPC4Y9GQKDavid Strickland: Website  //  Instagram: @david.stricklandSamples of the following tracks from the Spirit of Hip Hop album are featured in this episode:(11:01) Spirit of Hip Hop(21:26) Truth(27:12) Turtle Island(33:21) Time's Runnin Away

Episode transcript available here.Our team of West Meeting Room producers gathers for our last roundtable of the season to reflect on the past year and look to what comes next. Join in as each of us shares what we're looking forward to learning, exploring and reclaiming after graduation. Even though most of us have never met in person, we spent the past year building meaningful connections while collaborating on stories that mattered to us. Thank you to all of our guests, listeners and community members who have supported us this past year. Being able to laugh, cry and connect across the airwaves each week has been nourishing for us all in a difficult year. We have one more episode in store for you this season and then we'll be taking a break for the summer. Take good care of yourselves and each other. We look forward to reconnecting with you all soon.

Episode transcript available here.Sabrina Brathwaite revisits interviews and conversations that she had conducted during a conference that she attended in South Africa (2019). Sabrina and her interviewees discuss activism, youth engagement, mental health, apartheid, and more. Sabrina's two guests are Mogamat Benjamin and Tamatha Paul. Find out more about them, and about District Six, through the links below. 

 https://www.districtsix.co.za/ 

https://www.quivertreepublications.com/books/district-six/ 

 https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/06/19/532251097/south-africas-district-six-cookbook-helps-preserve-a-lost-community 

 https://www.facebook.com/tamathapaul1/ https://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/about-the-council/mayor-and-councillors/councillors/tamatha-paul

Episode transcript availlable here.This week in the West Meeting Room, Rebekah is missing home and a very special someone, who consistently fails to pick up the phone. Annabelle, Mariajosé, and Rebekah's mom Damien, offer their take on the importance of staying connected with four-footed friends, which is actually quite common, according to psychology professor Hal Herzog. Article: Why Do Humans Talk to Animals If They Can't Understand? https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/talking-to-pets/537225/ Connect with Rebekah @bex2241 on Twitter

Episode transcript available here.On this week's episode of The West Meeting Room, Melissa talks diversity, equity, and inclusion in the museum sector with Dominica, Denise, and Megan from the student group Museum Professionals of Colour (MPOC). With a focus on examining the complicated relationship between museums and the communities they are meant to serve, this episode focuses on mistrust, underrepresentation, and areas of contradiction that are so present in the museum sector. Throughout this conversation, the members of MPOC share incredible insight, personal anecdotes, and a glimpse into current issues with museums as institutions.

Producer Sabrina Brathwaite shares tape that she had collected during her first year working in audio and working at Hart House. This is part of her goal to look back and reflect on the four years she has spent as a UofT student and Hart House student podcaster. There are six different segments to this episode, most recorded in 2017/2018 and most edited during that time as well. Listen in as Sabrina discusses love stories, race and identity, academic excellence, building community, and more with her peers.

Episode transcript available here.On this weeks episode of West meeting room producers Janine and Lisa sit down with Sarah B. Zaman to deconstruct shame and engage in nuanced conversations about its deep-rooted impact on all of our lives. Shame, much like embarrassment and guilt, can be debilitating but throughout this conversation Sarah, Janine, and Lisa find strength in situations that put them to shame in the past and opt for a narrative that emphasizes confidence, self-forgiveness, and courage.

Episode transcript available here.It's a Hart House Hip Hop Education Takeover of The West Meeting Room! Hart House Hip Hop Ed works with campus partners and community Hip Hop practitioners to further values of representation, collaboration, and social justice, as we explore the key principles of Hip Hop and its importance in our everyday culture. Our first podcast led us to the homie, Colanthony Humphrey, aka Cola. H. Cola draws outside the lines and paints his own path in music and in business. The Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter enjoys the abnormal and adds his own color: to punk rock as the drummer of the OBGMs, touring exclusively as the drummer for Sonreal, and Hip Hop collaborations with Clairmont the Second and DijahSB. Our own Marco Adamovic sat down with Cola to talk about how he got into music, connections between Hip Hop and Punk, the Oooh Baby Gimme Mores (The OBGMS) in 2020, who he's become by the risks he has taken, some of the best and worst advice he's heard in the industry, and a whole lot more. We also put together a Cola H. playlist inspired by the tracks he dropped in our conversation, so make sure to go check that out on Spotify. We hope you dig our conversation with trailblazer, role redefiner and master collaborator, Cola H. Cola H. Inspired Playlist on SpotifyHart House Hip Hop Education  onlineCheck out Cola H.: Instagram @dieforcola // Spotify  // websiteThe OBGMs: Instagram @theobgms // SpotifyThe OBGMs: Band Practice PodcastClairmont the Second Instagram @ctsecond // Spotify

Trigger Warning: Mention of suicide or ideation from 30:03-30:08, 46:50-47:16
 Host, producer, and editor Sabrina invites listeners to a roundtable discussion that she put together back in 2019. Mental health and the University of Toronto were the topics of this discussion and, while much of this information may be out-of-date during publishing and/or participants' opinions may have changed since the original taping, there are so many things that make this conversation worthwhile. You can reach out to our podcasting team through email at stories@harthouse.ca, @HHpodcasting on Twitter, and @HartHouseStories on Instagram. Thanks for listening! Keep reading to learn how to connect with the featured guests and for links to things mentioned in the discussion.
 Ece Yücer (she/her) Ece can be reached by email at ece.yucer@mail.utoronto.ca Elham Numan (she/her) Elham is a graphic designer and illustrator based out of Toronto. She's completing her last year of undergrad at the University of Toronto, Mississauga majoring in art and art history and english. Elham can be reached by email at elhamnuman.com Lucinda Qu (she/her) Lucinda is an Equity Studies/Health Studies double major who graduated in Spring 2020 and has been pursuing a master's in Global Mental Health and Society at the University of Edinburgh as of Fall 2020. Lucinda can be reached by email at lucinda.j.qu@gmail.com or through engagement with the student and community run initiative, the "UofT Mental Health Policy Council" which can be found @uoftmhpc on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram Blythe Shulan (she/her) Blythe is now a Cinema Studies MA student at U of T and has had her work published by Flare, Chatelaine, and Maclean's. Blythe can be reached by email at blythe.hunter@mail.utoronto.ca Links: Nothing About Us Without Us (NAUWU) Form for students to pledge their support for mental health reformNAUWU's Call for Student Testimonials in relation to the mental health crisis on campusJoin the Protest UofT's Inaction on Mental Health Reform mailing list to keep updated with mental health reform initiatives and ways to get involved across campus  Protest UofT's Inaction Facebook group to keep updated with mental health reform initiatives and ways to get involved across campus and connect with peers who are also passionate about this issueNothing About Us Without Us Student's Final Statement Document Follow the How Many Lives movement on Facebook 

Episode transcript available here.This week in The West Meeting "Zoom" we are hosting a roundtable reunion conversation that took place at the end of January, which is a follow dialogue from a conversation that first took place during October of 2017. Four undergraduate students - Guershom Kitsa, Nour Bazzi, Sabrina Brathwaite and Rebekah Robinson gathered with John Monahan, the Warden of Hart House for a recording of Hart House Conversations (a former monthly radio show) almost four years ago as first year students to share their hopes and fears about their upcoming academic careers at the University of Toronto. Now, almost four years later, as they near the end of their academic programs, they have all joined together once again in a very different world than when they first met, and they invite us into their reflections on the past four years of university and their hopes for what comes next.The original conversation with these students from 2017 can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/harthousestories/hh-conversations-2017

Episode transcript available here.No Body/Mind Left Behind Show Notes This conversation between Disability Justice activist and educator Alex Locust, aka the Glamputee, and U of T Disability Justice leaders, centres lived experiences and explores how Disability Justice offers a framework to create a society that uplifts all people, where no body/mind is left behind. Our panel speaks honestly about claiming power through representation, activism, and self-care, challenging capitalism and toxic notions of productivity, and what it means to embody disability justice in our activism, planning, and the day to day. This episode captures a conversation held in November 2020 at the Diversity Moves Us Conference organized by U of T's Sport & Recreation's Diversity & Equity. With heartfelt gratitude to our panelists, and Robin Waley. Produced in partnership with KPE. Panelists Alex Locust @glamputeeJheanelle Anderson, MSW Grad, Disability Justice Network of Ontario Board Member Alisha Krishna, U of T Law student, Students for Barrier Free Access Board member Beau Hayward, Equity Initiative Student Lead, Sport and Rec Facilitated by Day Milman, Hart House Resources and mentions:Sins Invalid 10 Principles of Disability Justice https://www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/10-principles-of-disability-justiceStudents for Barrier Free Access link https://uoftsba.wordpress.com/ Disability Justice Network of Ontario https://www.djno.ca/U of T Sports and Rec Diversity and Equity https://kpe.utoronto.ca/aboutstudent-outreach/diversity-equityShe's All Fat https://shesallfatpod.com/Patty Berne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_(Patty)_BerneLeah Lakshmi https://brownstargirl.org/ Leroy Moore @kriphopnationMia Mingus https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/about-2/Sebastian Margaret https://transgenderlawcenter.org/about/staff-and-board/sebastian-margaretMutual Aid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_aid_(organization_theory)TL Lewis https://www.talilalewis.com/about.htmlEli Clair   https://eliclare.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacey_Milbernadrienne maree brown http://adriennemareebrown.net/Alice Wong Access is Love Project https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2019/02/01/access-is-love/Myrna Mcallum https://traumainformedlegal.ca/ 

Episode transcript available here.On today's episode, hosted by producer Rebekah (@bex2241), a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto pursuing a double major degree in History and Russian Language & Literature and a minor in Practical French, you will hear part of a conversation that she moderated, titled: Looking to the Future of LGBTQ Identities in Eastern Europe and the Slavic Diaspora, which took place on Zoom on Monday, November 2nd, 2020, and it was organized by the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department here at the University of Toronto. She sits down with writer and poet Gala Mukomolova, Dr. Mateusz Świetlicki, and Musician Damir Imamović to discuss the role of culture and activism in the community as they look toward the future. Rebekah would like to thank Professors Dragana Obradovic, Zdenko Mandusic, and Agnieszka Jezyk for putting together this conversation and the invitation to moderate. The bios for these accomplished speakers will be below: Gala Mukomolova (@Galactic_Rabbit) is a Moscow-born, Brooklyn-raised poet and essayist. Her full-length poetry collection, Without Protection, is available through Coffee House Press. Her chapbook, One Above One Below: Positions & Lamentations, is available with YesYes Books. She is a recipient of the 2016 Discovery Prize from 92nd St Y & Boston Review and has held residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Pink Door, and ASYLUM Arts. Gala currently writes astrology articles for NYLON Magazine, co-hosts Big Dyke Energy Podcast, and is one of the creators of QueerHealers.com. She is a founder and part of The Cheburashka Collective (@the_cheburashki), a growing collective of women & nonbinary writers who are emigres/refugees/first-generation from the Soviet diaspora. Damir Imamović (@damirimamovich) is a singer, musician, author, and sevdah master from Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He comes from a family of sevdah musicians and represents a new generation of the traditional music of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although he showed interest in music since childhood, he devoted himself to it only after studying philosophy. In 2004 he worked with Farah Tahirbegović on a monograph of his grandfather and one of the most influential sevdah singers – Zaim Imamović. That book introduced him to the world of sevdah and the world of professional music. Soon he started developing his own repertoire while performing in Bosnia and abroad. Damir has a trio and a quartet that he performs with, as well as individual musicians. Damir is very active as a traditional music researcher and educator with his SevdahLab program. He curated a multimedia exhibition on sevdah music, «Sevdah, the art of freedom,» in Sarajevo in 2015. His book «Sevdah» is the first history of the genre of sevdah (Vrijeme, 2016). Link to song mentioned by Damir: https://open.spotify.com/track/6sLfXy2Bxsacg2boDxv7kq?si=ysccniofRqKuvfQJ58WyTQ Dr. Mateusz Świetlicki (@drswietlicki) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wrocław (Institute of English Studies) and a founding member of the Centre for Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature (Faculty of Letters, University of Wrocław). He was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2018). He has held multiple fellowships in Munich, Kyiv, and Harvard. Mateusz specializes in North American and Slavic studies, and his expertise is contemporary children's and YA literature and culture, gender, and queer studies, as well as popular culture and film. Mateusz is the author of more than 50 scholarly publications in English, Polish, and Ukrainian, including a book monograph, six co-edited volumes, 25 articles, and nine book chapters. His work appeared in Children's Literature in Education, International Research in Children's Literature, and The Lion and the Unicorn. Link to Book and article mentioned by Dr. Świetlicki: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25695258-kim-jest-limak-samhttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/arts/music/taco-hemingway-poland-rap.html 

Episode transcript available here.For our first show of 2021 we are inviting you into our last roundtable conversation of 2020. Producers Sabrina, Rebekah, Janine, Melissa and Braeden gather in The West Meeting "Zoom" to share stories about slowing down and planting seeds for what lies ahead. We hope you find time to slow down and connect with yourself in the coming months. Thanks for listening and take good care of each other!

Episode transcript available here.Host, producer, and editor Sabrina Brathwaite brings listeners on a 20-minute journey where she and her friends discover Hart House Farm. Press play, sit back, and listen in as you join them on their adventure. You can reach out to our podcasting team through email at stories@harthouse.ca, @HHpodcasting on Twitter, and @HartHouseStories on Instagram. Thanks for listening!

Episode transcript available here.The Hip Hop Education Program at Hart House is heading into its second year and will be exploring the landscape of Canadian Hip Hop, both past and preset. This week in The West Meeting Room, co-hosts Jessica Rayne and Zoe Dille from the Hart House Programming team are are joined in conversation Adeyemi Adegbesan, AKA Yung Yemi, to discuss Afrofuturism, creative process, and the value of community and mentorship in the pursuit of artistic craft. Yemi is a Toronto-based photographic artist whose practice aims to examine the intersectionality of Black identity. He uses his art as a way of weaving together his connection with his community. Throughout the show, he brings us into his creative process where he remixes and samples history with reimaginings of the future. We are delighted to have Yung Yemi join us in conversation and take a closer look at his art and the work he's been doing with community. We are also excited to have him engaged in the Hart House Black Futures and Youth Access Programming. If you have not seen Yung Yemi's work, be sure to follow him @yung.yemi on social media. Or visit his website yungyemi.com

Episode transcript available here.Hart House Stories Producer Janine AlHadidi interviews fourth year student and community organizer, Gelila Tgiorgis, to talk about building community on campus, and how her experiences in community work have informed her passion for supporting those around her, and leaving a legacy at the university as she approaches graduation next semester.

Episode transcript available here.This week on The West Meeting Room, host Rebekah (@bex2241) is joined in conversation with RE: Magazine Editor-in-Chief Korede (@re.themag) and content creator and co-host of podcast Bad Gyal Chat (@badgyalchatpodcast) Mish Maroon (@mishmaroon) as they get into their inspiration for starting their creative projects, navigating the creative scene in Toronto, all while balancing their academics. You can reach out to our podcasting team at stories@harthouse.ca, @HHpodcasting on Twitter, and @HartHouseStories on Instagram. Thanks for listening!

Episode transcript available here.Connection, Reconnection, Space and Belonging are the themes of the show this week in The West Meeting Room. Braeden hosts the show this week and calls Hart House Stories alumni producers Saba, Nermeen and Sabahat to reconnect across multiple time zones and reminisce about our time working together a year go in the West Meeting Room (the namesake of our show!). We recall a field trip we took to a sound exhibit that summer. As we move through these lonely days longing for connection, we remind ourselves of what it felt like to pile into a small space together and laugh and cry and share our stories with one other. To summon the remembering of that day, we begin the show with a piece by multimedia artist Phoebe Wang, titled "Isn't It Lovely?". It was one of the installations featured in the Resonant Bodies exhibit by Constellations, a collective of sound artists. This piece is an immersive multitrack tapestry of soundscapes and conversations that were bouncing off the walls of a constructed hideout at the exhibit and eventually made its way into our collective memories of a time when togetherness and shared space could coexist with ease. To check out Constellations and all of the amazing pieces featured in the Resonant Bodies exhibit that day visit the site below: www.constellationsaudio.com/resonantbodies

Episode transcript available here.The Hip Hop Education Program at Hart House is heading into its second year and will be exploring the landscape of Canadian Hip Hop, both past and preset. Jessica Rayne and Zoe Dille from the Hart House Programming team are co-hosting the show this week as they discuss all things Hip Hop and social justice with Dr. Francesca D'Amico-Cutherbert. Dr. D'Amico-Cuthbert is currently doing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Jackman Humanities Institute at U of T. Expanding on her previous research which focused on Hip-hop culture, identity and Anti-Black practices and systems of power, her current project will explore the history of the music industry and how it shaped the collective agency of people who are part of the Hip-hop community in Toronto. We are so delighted to engage with Dr. D'Amico-Cuthbert again as part of the Hart House Hip Hop Education program. Here is a playlist of all of the artists and songs mentioned in this episode: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6BoK2NHNWZuPPvY7bt60l3?si=pMhPTg_cQOqxF1WprdOQsw To learn more about the many Hip Hop Education programs and events Hart House is hosting this year, please visit - https://harthouse.ca/series/hip-hop

Episode transcript available here.In this episode, University of Toronto student Saba Mirabolghasemi connects with Iranian-Canadian musician, composer, and sound designer Arif Mirbaghi. He walks us through his artist's journey, and riffs on the magic of storytelling through sound, in a conversation filled with metaphors. Featured music tracks: Entezar (Album: Gole Sorkh) - Arif Mirbaghi Little Did He Know (Album: Alangu) - Zuze/Arif Mirbaghi : zuze.bandcamp.com/album/alangu ​Gole Sorkh (Album: Gole Sorkh) - Arif Mirbaghi Starry Night (unreleased track) - Zuze/Arif Mirbaghi, Local Dish Vineh Pervaneh (unreleased track) - Zuze/Arif Mirbaghi, Local Dish Shahre Farang (Album: Durneshan) - Arif Mirbaghi Connect with Arif: Instagram - @arif.mirbaghiSoundCloud - @arif_mirbaghi Zuze on BandcampZuze on Spotify  Zuze Redux on SpotifyQame Feraq on BandcampPointing at Canopus, composed for Constellations (2020): Connect with Hart House Stories: Instagram - @HartHouseStories // Twitter - @HHpodcasting Connect with Saba: Instagram - @saba.mir

Episode transcript available here.It can be difficult to connect with reading for pleasure when you are a student. This week we are joined in The West Meeting Room by Alexander Lynch, the host of Endnote - a podcast produced by the Hart House Literary and Library Committee, or "Lit and Lib" for short. Alexander shares a bit about what Lit and Lib offers as a community space within Hart House and offers some insights into connecting or re-connecting with your literary curiosities.For more episodes of the Endnote Podcast you can visit their website or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts:And you can follow @hhlitandlib on Instagram to connect with the Hart House Literary and Library Committee

Episode transcript available here.For this episode of The West Meeting Room, we discuss reclaiming power and joy in the face of discomfort, loneliness, isolation, and grief. Join us as Rebekah, Saba, Paris and Maria each perform an original spoken word piece and share with us the inspiration, state of mind and process that went these works. A link to the poem Saba shared at the beginning of her piece can be found here: #262, from Rumi's Kolliyaat-e Shams-e Tabrizi Edited by Badiozzaman Forouzanfar (Tehran, Amir Kabir, 1988) Translated into English by Zara Houshmand - https://iranian.com/Arts/Rumi/262.html You can follow Rebekah @bex2241 and Paris @parisunltd 

Episode transcript available here.Editor and producer Sabrina sits down with Tony Luong to talk about pride, activism, and self-care. Join us as we work through showing up for a movement and as we acknowledge the power of saying ‘I don't know'. This conversation is sure to inspire as many new insights and perspectives for you as it prompted for Sabrina and Tony. Find Tony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-luong-mph2019/  

Episode transcript available here.This week in the West Meeting Room, producers Saba and Sabrina are joined by Adrian Leckie, a Student Life Coordinator at University College and a recent graduate of the Masters of Education Program and Adult Education and Community Development at OISE. Join us as we explore what the expansion and reimagining of community care might look like as we adapt to a new framework of campus life.

Episode transcript available here.West Meeting Room producers Saba, Sabrina and Braeden sit down with the incredible Ruvimbo Mutangadura for an illuminating conversation about her podcasting journey, the power of storytelling, vulnerability, creativity and representation. Ruvimbo is not only a political scientist, public speaker, corporate governance specialist, and an alum of the University of Toronto and Hart House Stories, but the founder, producer and host of a moving and impactful podcast, RadioRue. In this episode, she shares her wealth of wisdom, insights and experiences and we get a chance to listen to a very special episode of RadioRue, RadioRue Recollects with Lindi D. You can follow Ruvimbo and RadioRue on Instagram @rumuty, on Twitter @rumuty13 and Facebook. You can listen to RadioRue on Spotify and on the Anchor app. 

Episode transcript available here.Producer Sabrina sits down with Dr. LaToya Brackett to talk about anti-black racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. This interview features the additional theme of the (in)visibility of black women, queer activists, and trans people in the movement. Join us as we discuss finding a way to contribute to activism that suits you, as well as how to care for yourself while fighting for justice and social change in the context of COVID, and late capitalism. You can connect with Dr. Brackett on her websites www.latoyabrackett.com, brackettperception.com, and brackettperception.com/pmbscholarship

Episode transcript available here.Hosts Saba and Sabrina are joined by university students, staff, artists, and community members to discuss how they are celebrating Pride this year and what 2SLGBTQIA+ representation and visibility mean to them. Listen to the voices, experiences, and insights of Kathy, Robin, Brie, Kate, and Phoebe. You can learn more about the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office at the University of Toronto by following them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @uoftsgdo, and access helpful information and resources by visiting their website https://sgdo.utoronto.ca/. YYou can also connect with Robin @blue.wild.rye, Brie @augustinethealien, Kate @kateelayne_ and Phoebe @feebswang on Instagram.

Episode transcript available here.This week in The West Meeting Room, co-hosts Saba and Sabrina are joined via Zoom by University of Toronto students Tegwende, Destiny and Felicia to discuss how they have been navigating some of the challenges of online learning during the pandemic. They speak openly about grappling with the uncertainty of the pandemic, the fight for racial justice, and how they have been practising self-care and community care during this time.

Episode transcript available here.This week in The West Meeting Room, we're listening to fragments of conversation. In the first half of the episode, tune into a continuation of a roundtable between our producers Saba, Sabrina, Braeden, Ari and Mica from January, when they were navigating the sounds and complexities of home. What does it feel like to have your sense of home fractured across places, people, moments and experiences? In the second half of the episode, listen to a sweet phone call between producer Ari and their mom, Anna, in the midst of quarantine. Let's keep the conversation going! Follow us on Instagram @HartHouseStories and Twitter @HHpodcasting for more content and conversation.

Episode transcript available here.A year ago, Hart House hosted a Talking Walls exhibit in collaboration with the U of T Law Faculty's International Human Rights Program for the release of the book And I Live On: The Resilience of Rwandan Genocide Survivors of Sexual Violence. Just before the release of the book, Hart House Podcasting alums Ruvimbo and Tony had a chance to meet with two U of T Law students from the IHRP clinic to ask them about their work on this project, what motivated them to pursue a career in law, and their reflections on some of life's bigger questions. This week on The West Meeting Room we'll hear from India Annamanthadoo, who paints us a picture of her travels Rwanda as she shares stories of vulnerability, connection and empowerment. Please note that while the focus of these conversations is on resilience, you should know that we will be discussing survivors of sexual violence. So be sure to take care of yourself in whatever way is best. Here is a link to the mentioned article that India wrote for Rights Review https://ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/reflections-rwanda

Episode transcript available here.A year ago, Hart House hosted a Talking Walls exhibit in collaboration with the U of T Law Faculty's International Human Rights Program for the release of the book And I Live On: The Resilience of Rwandan Genocide Survivors of Sexual Violence. Just before the release of the book, Hart House Podcasting alums Ruvimbo and Tony had a chance to meet with two U of T Law students from the IHRP clinic to ask them about their work on this project, what motivated them to pursue a career in law, and their reflections on some of life's bigger questions. This week on The West Meeting Room we'll hear from Mehak Kawatra, who shared insights about empowerment, emotional labour, and the vital role of stories in advocacy work. Please note that while the focus of these conversations is on resilience, you should know that we will be discussing the experiences of survivors of sexual violence. So be sure to take care of yourself in whatever way is best. https://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs-centres/programs/international-human-rights-program Here is a link to the article mentioned in the interview, written by Mehak for Rights Review: https://ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/they-live-survivor-s-narratives-empowerment-25-years-after-rwandan-genocide

Episode transcript available here.Producer Mica hosts the show this week and shares part of her story in a piece produced by her friend and fellow student Kashi Syal. We open the show by listening to Kashi's collection of audio stories of students' individual relationships to space on campus. She gathered these narratives and weaved them together for the final project in her English course. Kashi then joins our team of producers to reflect on her piece, prompting a roundtable discussion about storytelling, origins, space and learning the history of the land we occupy.

Episode transcript available here.This week on The West Meeting Room we discuss food and food systems. For a lot of us, our thoughts surrounding the food we eat don't extend past our trip to the grocer, but it's important to stop and think critically about our food. This week we talk to an urban farmer, local to the city of Toronto, Cheyenne Sundance the founder of Sundance Harvest farm. Cheyenne shares details about the farm, thoughts on food sovereignty, and steps that we can all take to gain some control over our food. Whatever you take from this episode, we hope you enjoy some of the stories and insights shared throughout the interview. And as always, thanks for listening! To learn more about Sundance Harvest, or to find out how to get involved, please visit www.sundanceharvestfarm.com and follow along on Instagram @sundanceharvest

Episode transcript available here.Loneliness, belonging and the tastes of home are what we are listening to this week in The West Meeting Room. Producers Mica and Ari hold space for their friends Kashi and Selva as they navigate through notions and experiences of identity, belonging and home. What does it feel like to grow up in the diaspora? To be connected to and disconnected from so many places, people and experiences you call home?

Episode transcript available here.This week on The West Meeting Room we are thinking about togetherness while we are physically apart. For a lot of us, we are used to connecting with loved ones across distances that span oceans and time zones. Taking a moment to share a conversation over the phone can be such a nice way to pause and really listen to one another. A few months ago the producers of our show recorded some phone calls with each other as we talked about notions of home, feeling connected to friends and family, and how we ground ourselves in moments of uncertainty. All things that are still at the forefront of our minds these days - so we thought we'd share a selection of those conversations this week. Stay tuned, stay connected and stay safe. And as always, Thanks for listening! To learn more about Food Share Toronto and to make a donation, please visit foodshare.net and follow them @foodshareto

Episode transcript available here.In this week's episode of The West Meeting Room, we sit down with the incredible Farhiya Jama, a Somali-Canadian visual media artist and diasporic storyteller whose beautiful and whimsical creations are nothing short of extraordinary. Through her multidisciplinary artwork- a fusion of photography and visual design - she merges fantasy and futuristic science fiction to weave narratives starring Black women and girls. Tune in as she shares her story and imparts so much wisdom: about representation, her creative process, and the purpose, inspiration and driving force behind her artwork. To learn more about Farhiya and her work, be sure to follow her on Instagram and Twitter @hausofriya