Send us Fan Mail Prominent music publicist and SiriusXM radio host Eric Alper explores the intersection of the music industry, systemic barriers for Indigenous artists and the way forward for truth and conciliation in Canada. In this conversation with cohosts Jessica Vandenberghe and George Lee, Alper reflects on his 30-year career, his lifelong passion for the magic of storytelling in music, and why he adopts the mindset of a "shameless idealist" when fighting to get musicians heard. "I keep...
Jun 5
1 hr 17 min
Send us Fan Mail Have you ever stopped to think about what happens when you turn on the tap? University of Calgary researcher Kerry Black certainly has—and is keenly aware of how that access to clean, dependable water separates her from many First Nations families. Cohosts Jessica Vandenberghe and George Lee sit down with the engineer and settler to discuss the great water divide and how it connects to persistent and destructive colonial constructs. "If I can turn on the tap, and I can ...
Mar 28
1 hr 38 min
Send us Fan Mail Ian Smith, director of business development with the University of Alberta's Faculty of Engineering, talks about personal actions and impactful programs that tie into his own truth and conciliation journey. Cohosts Jessica Vandenberghe and George Lee talk with Ian about moments of revelationeffective approaches, big and small, to truth and conciliationlearning to be a musician, responding to criticism and trying again (Ian has a master's degree in music performance from Arizo...
Sep 26, 2025
1 hr 8 min
Send us Fan Mail John Desjarlais, a professional engineer who grew up in Cumberland House, Sask., explores the values-based teachings of Indigenous peoples and his own Métis upbringing for pathways into more representative codes of ethics for professional bodies. A proponent of practical approaches to engraining truth and reconcilation (or conciliation or reciprocity) in the lives of all Canadians, Desjarlais speaks with hosts Jessica Vandenberghe and George Lee about community wealth, role-m...
Feb 28, 2025
58 min
Send us Fan Mail Nicole Weatherly's deep connection to the art and genius of her brother, his challenges and his unique essence underpin the space for change she's created under the banner Superstar X. Cohosts Jessica Vandenberghe and George Lee talk with Nicole about what makes her and her website tick, on the eve of Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and the launch of Love 2024, a multiplatform, weeks-long extravaganza. Subtitled An (un)Learning Summit for Truth & (re)...
Sep 26, 2024
1 hr 9 min
Send us Fan Mail Deborah Curran's passion for the environment flows through her psyche and the work she does as a lawyer, an academic and a consultant. "If you met me in my 15-year-old self and drew a line, it would be pretty straight to where I am today," says Curran, a professor with the Faculty of Law and the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. Jessica, George and Deborah discuss: the inherent limitations of colonial law in addressing Indigenous and environment...
Aug 30, 2024
1 hr 9 min
Episode 33: The Afterlife of a Family Lie Gives Rise to a Powerful Mohawk Voice, feat. Tom Wilson CM
Send us Fan Mail About 10 years ago, a stranger unwittingly revealed facts about Tom Wilson's adoption, pointing the singer and guitarist with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings towards life-changing truths about his identity. His origins had been hidden from him for more than five decades, even though a sense of not belonging and a recurring dream had made him suspect things were not exactly as they appeared. Growing up in Hamilton, he'd come to think of himself as "a big, puffy, sweaty Irish guy,...
Feb 29, 2024
44 min
Send us Fan Mail When your ancestors speak to you, you should probably listen. And in Mike Bern's case, that means using his talent and voice to honour them, his culture, and the loved ones he's lost. The folk rocker from Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick released the album Ancestors earlier this year, with the single no words for goodbye reaching number one on the Indigenous Music Countdown. Cohosts Jessica and George talk to Mike about his current and past musical focus, his culture, ...
Nov 30, 2023
48 min
Send us Fan Mail Renowned Blackfoot educator Ramona Big Head talks about overdoses and other tragedies, the ripple effect of residential school abuses through generations and families, and hope. Recent deaths in her community and family "knocked me off my feet," she tells cohosts Jessica Vandenberghe and George Lee. "I think I'm still processing the magnitude of these losses. And it's still happening." Among her tools for healing are prayer, ceremony, physical exercise, humour, empathy, and s...
Nov 1, 2023
1 hr 28 min
Send us Fan Mail Rooted in her own story of domestic abuse, Kristi Lane Sinclair's album Super Blood Wolf Moon oozes strength, perseverance, pain, and vulnerability. The award-winning Haida-Cree singer-songwriter has released a searing, deeply personal, and profound collection of songs, at once driving and anthemic, wispy and gentle, angsty and orchestral. "I didn't want to write this," says Kristi. "It was the last thing I wanted to do at that point, to share my story. But just going throug...
Sep 30, 2023
1 hr 3 min
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