Below the Radar

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal is joined by Lauren Wendling, Director of Institutional Success at Collaboratory. Together, they chat about community engagement in higher education, how she got involved in the work, and the evaluation and evolution of the field. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-lauren-wendling.html Resources: Collaboratory: https://cecollaboratory.com/ Carnegie Classification: https://cecollaboratory.com/carnegie/ Lauren’s website: https://laurenwendling.wixsite.com/laurenwendling Bio: Dr. Lauren A. Wendling is a scholar-practitioner whose work focuses on integrating community engagement, institutional policy, and data to drive cultural change in higher education. In her role at Collaboratory, she guides institutions in capturing and utilizing engagement data to inform assessment, institutional decision-making, and the broader institutionalization of community-engaged scholarship. Prior to joining Collaboratory, Lauren worked within the IU Indianapolis Office of Community Engagement, where she built structures to track collective impact and improve campus-wide reporting. Her scholarship focuses on the institutionalization of community engagement and the evaluation of faculty work across diverse campus contexts. Lauren earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University Bloomington, with a focus on urban education. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Evaluating Community Engagement — with Lauren Wendling.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, March 9, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-lauren-wendling.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Farheen Haq, an interdisciplinary artist who works with video, textile, installation and performance to explore personal, familial, cultural and political reconciliations. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/farheen-haq Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/farheen-haq Resources: Farheen Haq: https://www.farheenhaq.com/ Hamara Badan: https://www.farheenhaq.com/#/rhb-2/ Feast: https://www.farheenhaq.com/#/feast/ Silsila: https://www.farheenhaq.com/#/silsila/ Bio: Farheen Haq (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist living and working on unceded Lekwungen territory (Victoria, BC). She was born and raised on Haudenosanee territory (Niagara region, Ontario) amongst a tight-knit Muslim community. Her family roots are from Bihar, India and Karachi, Pakistan. Farheen works with video, textile, installation and performance to explore personal, familial, cultural and political reconciliations. Farheen’s current work is focused on the teachings of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb and how it can be applied to settler-Indigenous relationships on Turtle Island through culture making and ceremony. She has exhibited her work in galleries and festivals throughout Canada and internationally including New York, Paris, Buenos Aires, Lahore, Hungary, and Romania. Recent exhibitions include I am my mother’s daughter at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (2023) and The Reach Gallery, Abbotsford (2024), Sentirse en Casa at Casa Cultura Gallery, Medellin Colombia (2018), Being Home at the Comox Valley Art Gallery (2015), Fashionality at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (2012), Collected Resonance at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (2011), The Emperor’s New Clothes at the Talwar Gallery, New York (2009), and Pulse Contemporary Art Fair, Miami (2008). Farheen received her BA in International Development (1998) from the University of Toronto, her BEd (2000) from the University of Ottawa and her MFA in Visual Arts (2005) from York University. In 2014, Farheen was nominated for Canada’s pre-eminent Sobey Art Award. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “I Am My Mother's Daughter — with Farheen Haq” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, February 16, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-farheen-haq.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Ivana Filipovich, a Serbian-Canadian artist with a background in educational media, architecture, archaeology and design. We discuss her journey as an artist and her first graphic novel ‘What’s Fear Got To Do With It?’ Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ivana-filipovich Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-ivana-filipovich Resources: Ivana Filipovich: https://www.ivanafilipovich.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio What’s Fear Got To Do With It?: https://conundrumpress.com/product/whats-fear-got-to-do-with-it/ Bio: In 1999, Ivana Filipović/Ivana Filipovich/Ивана Филиповић, an architect, archaeologist, designer, cartoonist, and occasional procrastinator, became a literal escape artist, selling her beloved black lacquer piano for a one-way ticket to Vancouver. After a 20-year hiatus, during which she worked in educational media and communications at a Canadian university, she returned to cartooning. In the last few years, her comics were published in Sweden, Slovenia, and Serbia and were exhibited at the French Institute (L’Institut français) galleries in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia, and at the NOVA comic arts festival in Serbia. Deeply interested in psychology, her work aims predominantly to portray complex female characters and other underrepresented persons and groups. Mainly focused on slice-of-life stories, she occasionally ventures into other genres. Stylistically close to French and Italian cartooning, she uses both traditional and digital tools. Most recently, the Canada Council for the Arts has supported her exploration of 3D storyboarding. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “What’s Fear Got To Do With It? — with Ivana Filipovich” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, Feb 2, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ivana-filipovich

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Andrew Witt, an art historian and critic who writes on contemporary art. We discuss Andrew’s new work Lost Days, Endless Nights, a critical study and artist's book on the history of photography and film from Los Angeles. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-andrew-witt Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-andrew-witt Resources: Andrew Witt: https://www.ici-berlin.org/people/witt/ Lost Days, Endless Nights: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049078/lost-days-endless-nights/ Bio: Andrew Witt is an art historian and critic who writes on contemporary art. He is currently the 2025–2026 PERICULUM Foundation for Contemporary Art Discourse Fellow. His book "Lost Days, Endless Nights: Photography and Film from Los Angeles" was recently published by MIT Press (2025). Andrew's writing has appeared in Camera Austria, History of Photography, Momus, Oxford Art Journal and Philosophy of Photography. Witt completed his PhD at University College London in 2017 and his MA at UCL in 2010. From 2018 to 2022 he was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Lost Days, Endless Nights — with Andrew Witt” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 26, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-andrew-witt.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Philip Hoffman, a renowned experimental filmmaker. We discuss his journey as an artist, founding the Film Farm, and what it means to work with a focus on process and memory. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-philip-hoffman Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-philip-hoffman Resources: Philip Hoffman: https://philiphoffman.ca/ Philip’s Films: https://philiphoffman.ca/filmography/ Film Farm: ​​https://philiphoffman.ca/film-farm/ Bio: Philip Hoffman has been making art and film for more than 40 years. His recent work explores plant processing of motion picture film. vulture (2019) received the Kodak Cinematic Award from Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Fugas Award at Documenta Madrid. Deep 1 received a Jury Award at Ann Arbor. He has been honored with more than a dozen retrospectives of his work, and the publication Landscape with Shipwreck: First Person Cinema and the Films of Philip Hoffman, comprising some 25 essays by academics and artists. In 2016 Hoffman was awarded the Governor General Award in Media Arts. He currently teaches Process Cinema in York University's MFA in Cinema and Media Arts. philiphoffman.ca Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Of Memory and Association — with Philip Hoffman” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 26, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-philip-hoffman.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal is joined by Kelsey Gallagher, Senior Researcher with Project Ploughshares. They chat about Kelsey’s work with Ploughshares on Canadian arms export control policies, and Bill C-233, or the No More Loopholes Act. Bill C-233 is a private member’s bill put forward by MP Jenny Kwan to press Canada to abide by the Arms Trade Treaty that it signed in 2019. It is set to be voted on in Parliament at Second Reading in late-February 2026. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-kelsey-gallagher.html Resources: Kelsey Gallagher's work with Ploughshares: https://ploughshares.ca/author/kelsey-gallagher/ Ploughshares Report on Bill C-233: https://ploughshares.ca/situating-bill-c-233-within-canadas-arms-control-framework/ Parliamentary Petition on No More Loopholes Act: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6808&fbclid=IwY2xjawPSRrFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKNndhNE1pV0tKTVhCQlRKc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHox9BGh-D98cXXqyy823e2-_3ehTWtk_u1bHQNbpF4E0PwvdRYLwV5BT2on__aem_1GUchewA_DmcwDwE2Gp0Iw Public Forum on January 30, 2026: https://events.sfu.ca/event/47169-the-no-more-loopholes-act-cleaning-up-the-canadian Bio: Kelsey Gallagher is a Senior Researcher with Project Ploughshares, where he focuses on conventional arms controls and the Canadian arms trade. He monitors exports of conventional weapons and their use in conflict abroad, as well as export control policy and transparency. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “No More Loopholes Act — with Kelsey Gallagher.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 12, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-kelsey-gallagher.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal is joined by Dr. Ira Allen, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media Studies at Northern Arizona University. Ira is the author of The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory and Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing. Together, they chat about living in a system of Carbon-Capitalism-Colonialism (or CaCaCo), AI’s disruption to meaning-making, and panicking. Enjoy the episode! Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ira-allen.html Resources: Ira J. Allen: https://troubledfreedom.com/ Ira’s CV: https://directory.nau.edu/?person=ia298 The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822965367/ Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing: https://utpress.org/title/panic-now/ Bio: Dr. Ira Allen (he/him) is Associate Professor of Rhetoric in the Departments of English and of Politics & International Affairs at Northern Arizona University. His scholarship on human meaning-making includes The Ethical Fantasy of Rhetorical Theory (U Pittsburgh P, 2018), alongside many articles and chapters, and undergirds his inquiry into the AI revolution and other features of polycrisis in Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing (U Tennessee P, 2024). With Scott Sundvall and Caddie Alford, he has a volume exploring our hypermediated and increasingly automated crisis of meaning forthcoming in 2026: Rhetoric Before and Beyond Post-Truth (U Pittsburgh P). Among other topics, Ira teaches undergraduate courses on digital argumentation and graduate courses on #datapolitics and humanizing rhetoric. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Panic Now? — with Ira Allen.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, January 5, 2026. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ira-allen.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Djaka Blais, the Executive Director of Hogan’s Alley Society. Am and Djaka discuss the history and future of the organisation, and its ongoing work in daylighting Black history in Vancouver and beyond. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-djaka-blais Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-djaka-blais Resources: Hogan’s Alley Society: https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/ Hogan’s Alley 2024 report: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/654e87e4e6889372eafb1636/t/6776c85dd93b442d0750f334/1735837829981/HAS+-+2024+Final+Year+In+Review-compressed.pdf Bio: Djaka Blais (she/her) is a social sector leader with 21 years of experience in philanthropy, government, and community mobilizing. She is a change agent to shift power dynamics and remove oppressive structures within philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. Djaka is the inaugural Executive Director of Hogan’s Alley Society, a Vancouver-based non-profit focused on advancing the social, political, economic, and cultural well-being of people of African descent (Black People) through the delivery of inclusive housing, built spaces, and culturally informed programming. Djaka is a founding Director of the Foundation for Black Communities, the first philanthropic foundation for Black communities in Canada. She is a board member with Philanthropic Foundations Canada and a How Women Lead fellow in their first Black cohort. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “The Future of Hogan's Alley — with Djaka Blais” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, November 12, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-djaka-blais.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Ness Nöst, an independent singer-songwriter. Ness is known for her powerful live performances, and her breakout EP, Working Hours (2024), received international airplay and acclaim. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ness-nost Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-ness-nost Resources: Ness Nöst: https://www.nessnostmusic.com/ Ness’ Bandcamp: https://nessnostmusic.bandcamp.com/ Bio: Ness Nöst is known for her soulful blend of indie folk, jazz, and dark poetic storytelling. Think Joni Mitchell and k.d. lang meets Feist. She is currently working on her debut full-length album following the release of Glimmers (March 2025), her second self-released, self-produced EP. A fully independent artist, Nöst continues to push creative boundaries while integrating themes of women’s rights and advocacy into her music. ​ Her breakout EP, Working Hours (2024), received international airplay, including on London Soho Radio in the UK, and was featured in Exclaim! and RANGE Magazine. Following a Canada-wide tour in 2024, she returned with Glimmers, which has already been featured on CBC Music. She has also collaborated with grassroots organizations such as Good Night Out and #NOTME, using her platform to support workplace safety and harm reduction. Known for her powerful live performances, Nöst has played over 250 shows across Canada, captivating audiences with her rare ability to connect through music. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “The Regular — with Ness Nöst” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 25, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ness-nost.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Rosemary Georgeson and Jessica Hallenbeck, two artists whose ongoing community engaged collaborative work have produced multiple acclaimed film and research projects. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-rosemary-georgeson-jessica-hallenbeck Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-rosemary-georgeson-jessica-hallenbeck/ Resources: Lantern Films: https://www.lanternfilms.ca/ Rosemary Georgeson: https://rosemarygeorgeson.wordpress.com/ Jessica and Rosemary’s Research: https://geog.ubc.ca/news/written-out-of-history-restorying-the-archive/ We Have Stories: Women in Fish: https://www.facebook.com/WeHaveStories The Saltlicks: https://thesaltlicks.bandcamp.com/album/diaries Bio: Rosemary Georgeson is a Coast Salish and Sahtu Dene filmmaker and multi-media artist. She was born and raised in the commercial fishing industry, spending the first half of her life fishing around Galiano Island and the Salish Sea, sometimes as far as Prince Rupert. Since leaving the industry, she’s worked in the arts community as a writer, storyteller and researcher. Recognized in 2009 by the Vancouver Mayor’s award for emerging artist and in 2014 as the Vancouver Public Library’s Storyteller in Residence, her work is deeply rooted in her family history on Galiano Island. Jessica Hallenbeck is a documentary filmmaker, independent scholar and community planner. With an undergraduate degree in media and film from Queen’s University, she has worked in documentary for 20 years. Jessica holds a PhD in Geography from the University of British Columbia and her multimodal research cuts across filmmaking, writing, and exhibitions. Jessica is a Sundance Institute and Chicken and Egg Alumni. Her dissertation (2020) won The Starkey-Robinson Award for graduate research on Canada and is currently under contract with UBC Press. She has been the recipient of multiple Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grants (SSHRC), including the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “We Have Stories — with Rosemary Georgeson and Jessica Hallenbeck — with Rosemary Georgeson and Jessica Hallenbeck” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 14, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-rosemary-georgeson-jessica-hallenbeck.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we are joined by Sadhu Binning, bilingual author, educator, and advocate for Punjabi literature, culture, and language. Sadhu shares stories from his life, and discusses the path to founding arts and cultural collectives in Vancouver in the 80s and 90s. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-sadhu-binning.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-sadhu-binning.html Resources: No More Watno Dur: https://www.mawenzihouse.com/product/no-more-watno-dur/ Watan: https://www.watanpunjabi.ca/oct2018/ Bio: Sadhu Binning, a bilingual teacher, advocate/founder, author, and editor, has lived in Vancouver since 1967, when he migrated there. During his resilient career, he has published and edited over nineteen poetry, fiction, plays, translations, and research books. His works have been included in more than fifty anthologies both in Punjabi and English. He edited and co-edited the Punjabi magazines Watno Dur and Watan. He co-founded Vancouver Sath, a theatre collective (1983), Ankur, an English literary magazine (1993), and founded the Punjabi Language Education Association and various other literary and cultural organizations, including the Punjabi Literary Association (1973). He has sat on the BC Arts Board, is a central figure in the Punjabi arts community, and was named one of the top 100 South Asians who made a difference in BC. He has received numerous awards in Canada and Punjab, India, including the supreme nonresident Punjabi author in 2015. Sadhu Binning received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from UBC in 2019. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “No More Watno Dur — with Sadhu Binning.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 21, 2025.. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-sadhu-binning.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Dave Biddle, artist, musician, theorist, and PhD Candidate at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts. Together, they chat about Dave’s research, artistic practice, and rugby. Enjoy the episode! Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-dave-biddle.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-dave-biddle.html Resources: Copyright Linda Fox: https://kopyrightlindafox.bandcamp.com/ Dave’s Oasis: https://davesoasis.cargo.site/ Liquidation World: https://www.instagram.com/liquidationw0rld/?hl=en Bio: Dave Biddle (being me) is a musician (being Copyright Linda Fox), a theorist (being susceptible to gnosis), and a filmmaker (being quick to tell you about his new "script"). He (still being me) is interested in how the many different forms of life on earth (being metaphorically different) are all oriented toward the production of new expressions of meaning (being negentropic), and in this process some of those expressions emerge as something called an "artist bio" (being the ultimate expression). Dave Biddle (being the artist whose bio is in question) was born in Vancouver (being the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations) and he continues to live in that (being this) strange place where he studies the silverfish in his books (being being). Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “M.I.T.C.O.E. — with Dave Biddle.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 21, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-dave-biddle.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, we’re joined by Johan Grimonprez, a Belgian multimedia artist, filmmaker, and curator whose film Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 97th Academy Awards. Am and Johan discuss Johan’s past video work, and what Johan discovered along the way in creating and sharing Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-johan-grimonprez Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-johan-grimonprez Resources: Johan Grimonprez: https://www.johangrimonprez.be/ Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat: https://kinolorber.com/film/soundtrack-to-a-coup-d-etat Vancouver International Film Festival: https://viff.org/ Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y: https://vimeo.com/231411671 Bio: Who owns our imagination in a world of existential vertigo where truth has become a shipwrecked refugee? Is it the storyteller who can contain contradictions, who can slip between the languages we have been given to become a time-traveler of the imagination? Johan Grimonprez’s critically acclaimed work dances on the borders of theory and practice, between art and cinema, beyond the dualisms of documentary and fiction, other and self, mind and brain to weave new pathways and stories, emphasizing a multiplicity of realities. Informed by an archeology of present-day media, his work depicts intimate stories that brush up against the bigger picture of globalization. It questions our collective imagination and the contemporary sublime, one framed by a fear industry that has infected political and social dialogue. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat — with Johan Grimonprez” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, October 14, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-johan-grimonprez.html.

This episode of Below the Radar B-Sides is guest hosted by Joe Clark, term assistant professor at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. He is joined by Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa, Assistant Professor in Film Studies at Seattle University, and author of The Celluloid Specimen: Moving Image Research into Animal Life. Together, they chat about their shared interest in non-theatrical film, and the histories and speculative futures of scientific filmmaking. Resources: Joseph Clark: https://www.josephclark.me/ Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa: https://www.benjaminschultzfigueroa.com/ The Celluloid Specimen: Moving Image Research into Animal Life: https://www.benjaminschultzfigueroa.com/the-celluloid-specimen-moving-image-research-into-animal-life Bio: Joseph Clark: Joseph Clark (PhD, Brown University) is an educator, filmmaker, researcher, and arts programmer. His research and teaching interests focus on archival and non-theatrical media, including newsreels, home movies, and sponsored film. He is the author of News Parade: The American Newsreel and the World as Spectacle (University of Minnesota Press, 2020) and the director of the short film Persistence & Loss (2021). He is a long-time member of the DOXA Documentary Film Festival Programming Committee and part of the organizing committee of the Vancouver Podcast Festival. Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa Dr. Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa is an Assistant Professor in Film Studies at Seattle University. His research focuses on the history of scientific filmmaking, nontheatrical film, and animal studies. Among other venues, his writing has been published in JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Film History, Journal of Environmental Media. His book The Celluloid Specimen: Moving Image Research into Animal Life is due to be published by UC Press in February, 2023. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Clark, Joseph. “The Celluloid Specimen — with Joe Clark and Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, August 12, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-celluloid-specimen.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar, our host Am Johal is joined by Dorothy Christian, the Associate Director of Indigenous Policy & Pedagogy in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Simon Fraser University. Dorothy talks about her work as a storyteller and academic, as well as her activism with the Oka crisis and the Gustafsen Lake standoff. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-dorothy-christian Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-dorothy-christian Resources: Dorothy Christian: https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/about/contact/dorothy-christian.html Gathering knowledge : Indigenous methodologies of land/place-based visual storytelling/filmmaking and visual sovereignty: https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0343529 Bio: Dorothy Cucw-la7 Christian is Secwepemc and Syilx from the interior plateau regions of what is known as British Columbia. She is happy to be a good relative to her Coast Salish cousins while she lives, works, and plays on their lands. Her research centralizes land, story, cultural protocols and how Indigenous Knowledge informs film production practices. She is the the Associate Director of Indigenous Policy & Pedagogy in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Simon Fraser University. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Story Sovereignty — with Dorothy Christian” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, August 12, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-dorothy-christian.html.

On this episode of Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal is joined by Ming Wong, Singapore-born and Berlin-based contemporary artist. Together, they chat about Ming’s artistic practice, his research into Cantonese Opera cinema, approach to pedagogy, and the advantages of being at the fringe looking in. You can see Ming’s installation “Vast Oceans, Endless Skies / 海闊天空” in the Chinese Canadian Museum’s exhibition Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s-2000, on until May 31, 2026. Resources: Ming Wong: https://www.mingwong.org/ Chinese Canadian Museum exhibition: Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s-2000: https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/exhibitions/dream-factory-cantopop-mandopop-1980s-2000 Ming Wong: 2023 SFU Fall Audain Visual Artist in Residence artist talk: https://www.sfu.ca/sca/projects---activities/audain-visual-artist-in-residence/ming-wong.html Bio: Ming Wong (b. 1971, Singapore) currently lives and works in Berlin. His interdisciplinary practice incorporating performance, video and installation unravels ideas of ‘authenticity’ and the ‘other’ with reference to the act of human performativity. In recent years, he has had strong theatrical interests in the intersection of sci-fi and traditional Chinese culture, particularly Cantonese opera. Wong uses this speculative association to tackle issues such as Chinese modernity, the role of popular culture in building national identities. His works often assemble languages and personalities to create their own “World Cinema”. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am.. “Re-enactments, Theatre, and Cantonese Opera — with Ming Wong.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, August 12, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-ming-wong.html.

On this episode of the Below the Radar B-Sides, our host Am Johal was joined by Alphonso Lingis, who was a renowned philosopher, writer, and professor at Pennsylvania State University. Alphonso passed away in May 2025, and we’re pleased to share this conversation where he discussed his recent writing, some of the thinkers who were important to his work, and notions of community and mortality. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-alphonso-lingis.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/btr-bsides-alphonso-lingis.html Resources: The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common by Alphonso Lingis: https://iupress.org/9780253208521/the-community-of-those-who-have-nothing-in-common/ Abuses by Alphonso Lingis: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/abuses/paper Irrevocable A Philosophy of Mortality by Alphonso Lingis: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo28301901.html Bio: Alphonso Lingis was an American philosopher, writer, translator, and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University. His areas of specialization included phenomenology, existentialism, modern philosophy, and ethics. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common — with Alphonso Lingis” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, August 12, 2025. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/btr-bsides-alphonso-lingis.html.

In this episode we are joined by Viola Tian, where she shares her journey from arriving in Canada at the age of 19 as a student in Queen's University, to becoming a leading advocate for anti-racism and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She discusses her work with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the U.S., highlighting bureaucratic challenges in achieving systemic change. Tian details her role in creating the Coalition Against Anti-Asian Racism Canada, focusing on education, policy advocacy, and community support. She emphasizes the need for nuanced approaches, addressing issues like online hate and funding cutbacks impacting Asian Canadian organizations. Tian also notes the importance of long-term education and the challenges of implementing DEI in corporate settings. Resources: Community Resilience Fund: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/bt/cc/fnd-en.aspx #blockhate Report: https://ywcacanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Block-Hate-Report-October-2022-corrected-1.pdf Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: https://www.eeoc.gov/ Canadian Human Rights Commission: https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en Canadian Race Relations Foundation: https://crrf-fcrr.ca/ Coalition Against Anti-Asian Racism Canada: https://crrf-fcrr.ca/coalition-against-anti-asian-racism-canada/ Online Harms Bill: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/44-1/c-63 Bio: Viola Tian Viola has combined five years of comprehensive experience in public policy with expertise in health and social justice. Throughout her career, Viola has engaged in meaningful collaborations in policy development and strategy with a multitude of non-profits and government institutions, playing pivotal roles in both Canadian and US federal settings. Most notably, she established the first national, pan-Asian coalition in Canada. She holds a firm conviction that every citizen possesses the potential to influence policy change, provided they are equipped with the right knowledge in government relations and advocacy techniques.

In this episode, we are joined by Irene Gammel and Jason Wang from Toronto Metropolitan University. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Irene and Jason held webinar series at the Modern Literature & Culture Research Centre. In this episode Irene and Jason share personal anecdotes and insights on how the pandemic has affected their lives, research, and cultural practices. They emphasized the importance of creative expressions, personal storytelling, and cultural documentation in navigating uncertain times and fostering a sense of community and solidarity. The speakers also discussed the surge of anti-Asian sentiment during the pandemic, highlighting the need for educational curricula, grassroots movements, and empathy across cultures to address the issue. Resources: Irene Gammel: https://www.torontomu.ca/english/about-us/faculty-and-staff/faculty/gammel-irene/ Jason Wang: https://mlc.torontomu.ca/people/jason-wang Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre: https://mlc.torontomu.ca/ MLC Pandemic Webinar Series: https://mlc.torontomu.ca/news/webinars/pandemic-webinar-series Creative Resilience and COVID-19 — Figuring the Everyday in a Pandemic: https://mlc.torontomu.ca/creative-resilience-and-covid-19 Bios: Irene Gammel Since coming to Toronto Metropolitan University in 2005, Dr. Irene Gammel has held positions as professor of English, Canada Research Chair in Modern Literature and Culture (2005; renewed 2011), and director of the Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre. She is the author and editor of fourteen books, including the internationally acclaimed Baroness Elsa: Gender, Dada and Everyday Modernity (MIT Press) and Looking for Anne of Green Gables (St. Martin’s Press), as well as over 50 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Irene Gammel is well-known for her scholarship on gender and modernism. Her research has helped uncover the earliest roots of modern and feminist performance art, contributed to the consolidation of L.M. Montgomery Studies as an academic field, and claimed women's confessional discourses as a sub-discipline of autobiographical studies. As the Director of the Modern Literature and Culture (MLC) Research Centre, she has hosted and curated numerous exhibitions, symposia, and workshops; her passion is training students at all levels through experiential methods. Jason Wang Dr. Jason Wang holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Culture (York University, 2021), an M.A. in Literatures of Modernity (Ryerson University, 2013), and a B.A. Honours with double majors in Communication Studies and Psychology (York University, 2012). He specializes in studying how modernist and contemporary literature and culture encode power, politics, and social values. His doctoral dissertation, “Urban Walking: Configuring the Modern City as Cultural and Spatial Practice” (defended with distinction), explored the aesthetics of spatial politics and the politics of spatial aesthetics in urban literature and culture from the early twentieth century to the post-industrial era. Dr. Wang is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the MLC Research Centre (2021-2023), working with Dr. Gammel on a volume of essays exploring creative resilience and COVID-19. A member of the Executive Team at the MLC Research Centre, Jason oversees the CFI-funded research space of the MLC Research & Innovation Zone (RIZ), provides technology leadership for the CWAHI (hybrid) conference, and is cohost of the MLC Pandemic Webinar Series.

In this episode we are joined by Kevin Huang and Kimberley Wong of hua foundation. The conversation centers on the rise of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights urgent concerns around community health, public health orders, and hate crimes. Kevin and Kimberley emphasize the importance of recognizing and addressing diverse experiences and perspectives within Asian communities, and shifting community engagement and resource allocation towards racialized communities. Speakers also discuss the limitations of the model minority myth and the need to build intergenerational relations, while acknowledging the complexities of identity and power dynamics in community work. Resources: hua foundation: https://huafoundation.org/ Asian Community Convener Project: https://huafoundation.org/portfolio/acc/ Anti-Racism and Solidarities Resource Collection: http://solidarities.huafoundation.org The Choi Project: https://huafoundation.org/portfolio/seasonal-choi-guide/ Chinatown Cares Grocery Program: https://huafoundation.org/work/food-systems/chinatown-cares/ Chinatown Food Security Report: https://huafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Report_VancouverCTFoodSecurity.pdf Reorienting Our Trauma: https://huafoundation.org/portfolio/reorienting-our-trauma/ Bios: Kimberley Wong 黄壯慈 (they/them) Kimberley Wong | 黄壯慈 (they/them) is the Program Manager at hua foundation. In their role, Kimberley designs resources for anti-racism education, builds solidarity across racialized communities, and forges paths to access culturally-appropriate mental health care for youth facing barriers. They served as a Co-Chair of the City of Vancouver’s Chinatown municipal advisory committee, were a founding member and Vice President of Chinatown Today, and were an elected member of the OneCity Vancouver Organizing Committee. Their work often mirrors their experiences moving through spaces as a queer, neurodivergent, and fifth generation Cantonese diasporic person, and though they draw on their knowledge from over a decade of navigating precarious work environments in the arts, culture, political, and equity sectors, Kimberley’s work is also deepened by their love of being a lifelong crafter, a triathlete, and a descendant whose ancestors have long histories organizing for marginalized populations on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land known colonially as Vancouver. Find them online @KimberleyLW. Kevin Huang 黃儀軒 (he/him) Kevin Huang 黃儀軒 (he/him) is the co-founder and executive director of hua foundation, an organization with the mission of strengthening the capacity among Asian diasporic youth, in solidarity with other communities, to challenge, change, and create systems for a more equitable and just future. His work has ranged from scaling culturally appropriate consumer-based conservation strategies, advancing municipal food policy to address inclusion and racial equity, to providing supports for youth from ethnocultural communities to reclaim their cultural identity on their own terms. Kevin currently serves on committees with Vancity Credit Union, Vancouver Foundation, and Metro Vancouver.