Pullback

Pullback is between seasons, but while you wait we recommend one of our sister shows from the Harbinger Media Network; Cited reveals the hidden stories behind the experts that shape our world, and this season they discuss radical environmental thinkers and their dreams for our green future. This is the first episode of their new series, "Green Dreams". Like this? Find more from Cited on their website or your favourite podcast platform! Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network

Pullback is breaking for the summer, but we have a bonus episode for our lovely listeners! Kristen is joined by Christina Joy McRorie to discuss her experiences as a youth involved in climate action. Christina is from Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon, and at the time of this interview she was acting as co-chair on Canada's Environment and Climate Change Youth Council. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

Our global economic system is premised on the idea that gross domestic product needs to constantly grow. But on a finite planet, is green growth possible? And is prosperity possible in a world without growth? Today’s guest is Dr. Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. Tim is a leading researcher on de-growth, and is the author of several books on the subject including Prosperity without Growth, Post Growth - Life After Capitalism, and his latest The Care Economy. Tim explains the problems with our need for constant growth–how it is not only incompatible with a sustainable future but is also bad for our well-being. He also shares what a post growth society premised on a care economy could look like. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

The energy inefficiency in our homes is one of the biggest barriers to meeting our climate targets. Heating and electricity make up a huge portion of our greenhouse gas emissions, and those emissions are rising. At the same time, millions of people live in housing that’s drafty, expensive to heat, unhealthy, or even unsafe. Could retrofitting homes at scale be a climate solution that also improves health, lowers energy costs, and promotes housing justice? We spoke with Abhi Kantamneni, the Director of Action Research with Efficiency Canada, an organization that studies the technology, governance, and business systems influencing Canada’s energy future. Abhi has a decade of experience helping communities across US and Canada use clean and efficient energy to achieve local priorities including improving housing, increasing ‘good jobs’ and reducing poverty. In this conversation, Abhi highlights how much energy is wasted in our homes — often without us realizing. From drafty windows to aging heating systems, many people only make upgrades when something breaks, often in moments of crisis. Abhi makes the case for a coordinated, government-led retrofit strategy that supports renters and homeowners alike — not just to reduce emissions, but to lower energy bills, improve health, and address poverty through climate action. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

Our social safety nets were designed to protect people from “social risks” like illness and unemployment, and to alleviate poverty. But in the era of climate change, do we need to re-boot the social protection system so that it’s adaptive and responsive to climate risks? On today’s episode we spoke with Dr. Meghan Bailey, the Head of Social Protection and Health at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. Meghan leads the portfolios on climate-responsive social protection and the climate-health nexus. They are also an adviser on the design of forecast-based financing systems. Meghan holds a PhD on climate change adaptation from the University of Oxford. Meghan explains the need for climate-responsive social protection systems and the promising practices that are already being implemented around the world today – like providing people cash transfers before disaster strikes to prevent people from falling into poverty. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

The transition off of fossil fuels is important and needs to happen, but it will affect the livelihoods of oil and gas workers and those in fossil fuel dependent communities. How can we make sure the transition is just and people-centred? We spoke with Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Hadrian’s work focuses on the social and economic dimensions of Canada’s shift toward a zero-carbon economy, including the necessity of a just transition for vulnerable workers and communities across the country. He is a contributor to the CCPA's Trade and Investment Research Project and Alternative Federal Budget. Hadrian holds a MA in Political Economy from Carleton University. Hadrian explains the concept of a people-centred just transition and the challenges Canada will have to overcome to move away from fossil fuels. We also discussed the policies that are needed to help workers transition into new industries, including the need for green industrial policy. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

Welcome to Season 4 of Pullback, where we’ll be focusing entirely on climate justice — what it means, why it matters, and the policies we can implement today to address the crisis and build a fairer world. In this first episode, hosts Kristen and Kyla explore how climate change is already impacting people around the world, including the ways it’s deepening existing inequalities — especially for communities that are already marginalized. Featuring expert insights from Dr. Joan Casey, Associate Professor at the University of Washington in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences; Dr. Sean Kidd, Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist with the Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Professor and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health at McMaster University; and Stéphane Hallegatte, Senior Climate Change Adviser at the World Bank. Join us as we unpack the connections between climate change and social inequality, and make the case for urgent collective action to build a more just future. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

These days, humans are interacting with chatbots powered by artificial intelligence more and more, including for companionship. Can these new tools help a society experiencing a loneliness epidemic, or do they risk deepening isolation? And do they give tech companies even more power? This episode we’re joined by Dr. (Jennifer) Jill Fellows, a faculty member in the philosophy department at Douglas College and host of the feminist tech podcast Cyborg Goddess. Jill explains the history of AI, and introduces philosophical questions about trust, bias, and the reliability of modern AI systems. We discuss the impact of AI on human creativity, whether AI could ever be considered “conscious”, and how AI is affecting our social relationships. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

Universities have faced steep and sustained public funding cutbacks and have adapted by changing the way that they operate. What are the consequences of the de facto privatization of universities for students, researchers, and society? In this episode, we talk to Randy Robinson, Ontario Director for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and co-author of Back from the Brink, a report that explores public funding cuts in Ontario universities. Randy describes the deep provincial funding cuts that have led Ontario universities to hike tuition, especially for international students, while making university jobs more precarious and less permanent. We discuss how this is changing the student experience, reducing research capacity, and hollowing out communities. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

You’ve heard of speculative investors pushing up the price of housing, but did you know it’s happening on farms too? With fewer collective protections for farmers, and pressures to sell land and consolidate farms, is the family farm becoming a thing of the past? And is a new form of feudal tenant farming the future? On today’s episode we talk to the Parkland Institute’s Katherine Aske, author of Finance in the Fields: Investors, Lenders, Farmers, and the Future of Farmland in Alberta. We discuss who owns the farmland on the prairies, why ownership models are changing, and what that means for the future of farming – and our food. Farmers are facing immense pressure in a world with fewer collective protections and more unpredictable weather. For small family farms, this can mean going into debt or renting at the whims of the market. And, as Katherine explains, that has big implications for the future of our food. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

With climate action stalled by political gridlock, could citizens' assemblies be the bold democratic solution we need to break through barriers and finally make progress? When it comes to climate change, most of us want to see action but feel that we don’t have power and politicians aren’t listening. Deliberative democracy and citizen empowerment have been proposed as solutions to that widespread sense of disempowerment. In this episode, Kristen chats with Dimitry Courant, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, who explains what citizens assemblies are and how they have been used around the world to address climate change. He also shares insights about the best ways to design citizens assemblies so they work well and drive real change. We recommend Dimitri’s writing on mini-publics and citizen’s assemblies! Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

Canada relies on migrant workers to fill labour gaps, but the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is rife with problems, with a recent United Nations report calling the program a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery”. Can this controversial program be fixed, or should it be scrapped altogether? Should all migrant workers be granted permanent residency status when they arrive here? Kyla spoke with the Cooper Institute’s Eliza MacLauchlan and Ryan MacRae. Eliza and Ryan are the lead authors of Permanent Jobs, Temporary People, a report that examines how the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is operating on Prince Edward Island. Eliza and Ryan explain how the Temporary Foreign Worker Program has evolved, including its growing role in Atlantic Canada’s seafood industry and the forms of exploitation that migrant workers face. They also discuss how to fix the most problematic elements of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and whether recent measures go far enough. Pullback is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network Enjoy our work? Support us on Patreon!

In this latest season, Kristen and Kyla interview experts on topics like prison abolition, ending the Temporary Foreign Worker program, the financialization of farmland, citizens assemblies, the privatization of universities, the Loblaws boycott, and more! Coming September 17th