Season 3

In the second part of this chat on feminist parenthood, Karen Uwase talks with Maïra Martin about topics that are often not explored from a young age, including children’s privacy, sex education, gender identities, and queer realities. Through her lived experience, both as a mother and a feminist, Maïra shares her thoughts on balancing parental control with a child’s autonomy, ways to discuss injustice and current events without sensationalizing them, as well as the importance of welcoming diverse backgrounds with openness, respect, and curiosity. Both intimate and political, this episode helps make parents more aware in their educational journey, without adding pressure.

In this second part of the conversation, Karen Uwase and Mélanie Stafford continue talking about treatment programs and the public backlash to them. They also discuss the inherent hypocrisy with respect to the mental health discourse, as well as the work that needs to take place to make our systems and institutions more accessible to those dealing with mental health issues. Towards the end of their chat, Mélanie shares key messages on the topic.

In the episode’s first part, Karen Uwase chats with Mélanie Stafford for a vital conversation on ableism. Together, they explore the ways in which ableism intertwines with other forms of oppression, such as patriarchy, colonialism, and gender-based violence. Mélanie also shares her thoughts on the relationship between ableism and substance use, the impacts of repressive policies, and the limitations of treatment programs and conditions to access housing, which are often disconnected from people’s lived realities.

In this episode, Karen Uwase sits down with Marie-Pascale Lafrenière to explore the links between capitalism and patriarchy. Together, they assess the systemic effects of late-stage capitalism on financial insecurity, gender inequalities, work conditions, and violence against women. Through specific examples and perceptive insights, Marie-Pascale also tackles how capitalism seeps into our daily life, encompassing everything from education, health, housing, and relationships. She also explores how it contributes to impoverishment, isolation, and tolerance of injustices.

An essential conversation to understand why eradicating gender-based violence also requires rethinking traditional economic models.

This month, Karen Uwase speaks with Michelle Petersen to examine a troubling reality: the ways in which healthcare systems fail women. They tackle medical misogyny, the lack of understanding of trauma and its impacts on health care, stigmatizing psychiatric diagnoses, and postpartum depression. Challenges, such as the medical culture, the hierarchy of roles, the relationship to power, and gender norms throughout the system are also addressed.

In this authentic and engaging conversation, Karen Uwase discusses feminist parenting with Maïra Martin. They talk about passing on values to kids from a young age centred on equality, social justice, solidarity, and respect.

Drawing on her personal experience as a mother and a feminist activist, Maïra explores the daily challenges related to raising children without gender stereotypes; teaching empathy, non-violence, and critical thinking skills; and allowing space for diverse identities and journeys. They also discuss how to talk about complex topics, like healthy masculinity, gender identity, social inequalities, and global conflicts without infantilizing or scaring kids.

Anchored in real life, this thoughtful episode will help you think about parenting through a conscious, brave, and decidedly feminist lens.

In this new episode, Karen Uwase hosts Sophie Doucet, Ph. D. student at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, to discuss a little-discussed topic: BDSM. They deconstruct myths and talk about roles, consent, and the immediate and long-term impacts of people who engage in BDSM practices, through a feminist lens. Our guest also highlights the difference between abuse and BDSM and shares resources for those interested in learning more about BDSM.

Géorgie Gagné, an artist, educator, facilitator, and activist with Cree and Franco-Quebecois heritage, sits down with our host Karen Uwase for an essential conversation on conflicts within feminist, queer, and Indigenous movements. They tackle the need to rethink how we handle disagreements, the tension between retributive and transformative justice, as well as the importance of prioritizing “accountability spaces” over “safe spaces”.

With nuance, Géorgie invites us to consider solidarity, dignity, and accountability as pillars of our work, and explores the limits of cancel culture and the possible avenues towards collective transformation.

Julie Lalonde, Franco-Ontarian feminist activist, joins our host Karen Uwase for a powerful conversation covering different perspectives on stalking and sexual harassment. They unpack the culture that trivializes violence and gaslighting through media, mainstream portrayals of romance, and social media. The justice system’s shortcomings are also highlighted, and practical solutions are offered.