In our new episode, Lesli speaks with Dr. Alyson Kelvin, an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University and an active member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine design. She is currently working in Saskatoon with VIDO-InterVac to aid in the evaluation and development of COVID-19 vaccines for Canada. Dr. Kelvin answers many of your questions about COVID-19 vaccines - and some you may not have thought of. We talk about how vaccines work, building vaccine development capacity in Canada, how vaccine effectiveness is measured, the equitable distribution of vaccines, and much more. (Note: this episode was recorded on November 24, 2020.)For more information on Dr. Kelvin, visit https://www.akelvinlab.com or follower her on Twitter at @akelvinlab. Theme music: Happy Monday by Kevin McLeod.

Business operations expert Hillary Samson joins the pod to talk about how businesses have had to pivot and adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk about how businesses are staying open in difficult economic times by using the skills they *already have* to offer new products and services that are currently in demand, and be of service to our communities at the same time. We also chat about the awkward necessity of business development in the pandemic, moving your business online, taking this time to plan for the future of your business - both during and after the pandemic.To contact Hillary about how to adapt your business during the pandemic, visit Samson Consulting at https://www.samsonconsulting.ca/If you'd like to donate to Aisle to help them make masks for Downtown Eastside front-line workers, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fabric-masks-for-frontline-workers-in-the-dtesAnd for info about the B.C. Agri-Business Planning Program that Hillary mentioned, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/programs/agri-business-planning-programTheme song: Cheery Monday by Kevin McLeod

Bowinn Ma - MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and Parliamentary Secretary for TransLink - joins the podcast to talk about transportation in the pandemic, and the work that's being done to encourage people to return to transit (including encouraging all passengers to wear a non-medical mask). We also talk about increasing mode shifts during the pandemic, including more walking and cycling. Bowinn is also a member of the all-party committee that's been appointed to review BC's outdated Police Act in BC - we talk about how this review will seek to tackle the systemic racism present in many public institutions, including BC's police forces.

Maria Dobrinskaya, BC Director of the Broadbent Institute and co-host (with Lesli) of the feminist political podcast, Call the Question, joins The Places Between to talk about BC and Canadian politics in the pandemic: how a global anti-racism movement is taking white supremacy head on (and is challenging us as white people to look inward to understand how we perpetuate these systems of oppression), how the federal and BC political parties are handling the COVID-19 crisis, and the critical public policy issues that need to be addressed as the BC and Canadian economies take their first, tentative steps towards recovery.

Community organizer Markiel Simpson joins the pod to talk about the year the past few months have been, as global Black Lives Matter and anti-racism movements are demanding action on systemic racism and white supremacy...in real time. Markiel talks about how ongoing efforts to oppose hate crimes against Black students in Vancouver schools, and to introduce Black history in Canada into BC schools, have quickly gone from the bottom to the top of the public policy agenda in BC during the pandemic. He also talks about his work with the BC Community Alliance, and the role of police liaison officer in schools, how young people engaging in politics (many for the first time), and how each one of us can be part of the change by making our voices heard.You can sign the BC Community Alliance's petition demanding action on anti-Black racism in BC schools here: https://www.bccommunityalliance.com/anti-black-racism-petition/

As News Director of NEWS 1130, Charmaine leads one of Canada’s largest local newsrooms. She's also a community leader who has spent her career challenging norms in media. Charmaine joins the pod for a nuanced and thoughtful discussion on one of the most talked-about topics in Canadian media today: systemic racism in media. We talk about the current reckoning happening in Canadian media, how the principle of "balance" has become problematic in the Trump era, and how racial bias impacts who's hired in newsrooms and the stories that journalists tell. We also talk about the importance of leadership in media in making lasting change, and how to create a newsroom culture where it's safe to question, challenge and change age-old assumptions and norms.

When schools were closed after spring break due to COVID-19, no one knew when - or if - kids would get back in the classroom again during the pandemic. But in BC in June 2020, they did - for the last month of the school year. As we look ahead to reopening BC schools again in the fall, we hear from Victoria-based school teachers Colin Boldt and Natalie Robinson, who joined the pod in early June to talk about what it was like to go back to school on June 1. Nat and Colin walked us through how they prepared to get back to school, the changes they made to their classroom and library layouts, and how much the connection of returning to their school meant to their kids (and to teachers).

Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, photographer Joshua Berson has had his camera out, documenting this historic time and keeping a record, in images, of their extraordinary time that we're living in. His images of empty streets, paramedics, front-line workers and even Dr. Bonnie Henry, capture powerful moments in our journey, as we all grappled with the new world we were living in. On this pod, we talk about why documenting this period is so important to him, and the power of photography and images to tell stories, when words are not enough. Find more of Josh's work on Twitter and Instagram @bersonphoto, or visit his website at www.bersonphoto.com. You can view some of Josh's work during the COVID-19 pandemic here:https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/05/26/SisterSquare-DTES-Popup-Refuge/ https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/04/14/Photo-Essay-On-Paramedics-Reality-During-COVID-19/https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2020/04/27/On-Vancouver-Walls-Signs-Of-The-Times/Theme music: Cheery Monday by Kevin McLeod

New Westminster City Councillor and consultant Nadine Nakawaga joins the pod to talk about the current global movement to remove statues of colonial and historical figures that for many, represent their harmful actions in the past. Nadine was one of two city councillors in New Westminster who brought forward a motion to have a statue of Judge Michael Begbie removed from outside the Provincial Law Courts in her city. Nadine’s motion was approved by her Council, and that statue was removed in July of 2019. We talk about why - in the midst of a global pandemic - people around the world are supporting the removal of these monuments to injustice...and reclaiming different versions of history in the process.For more on this topic, I recommend this opinion piece from poet Caroline Randall Williams on the subject of Confederate monuments in the US: You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/confederate-monuments-racism.html?smid=tw-shareTheme song: Cheery Monday by Kevin McLeod

Canada's former Minister of Justice and Attorney General - and current independent Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville - Jody Wilson-Raybould shares how she's had to adapt the way she serves her constituents in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jody reflects on the global demonstrations against systemic racism and discrimination, and the actions people in Canada and around the world are taking to demand meaningful and lasting change. She gives her perspectives on how the governments of BC and Canada have responded to the pandemic, what's top of mind for her as BC transitions into Phase II of pandemic recovery, and what a 'just recovery' and better future for Canada might look like.Theme music: Cheery Monday by Kevin McLeod