What’s That Noise?!

In this episode, we sit down with Darian Ducharme from Teqare, a digital literacy and cyber safety educator from Lac Seul First Nation who has worked with more than 70 Indigenous communities and over 100 schools across Turtle Island. Darian shares how his work brings him into First Nations communities to teach youth, Elders, and adults about cyber safety, financial literacy, digital privacy, and the rapidly changing risks associated with social media, AI, and online scams. Our conversation explores the realities of digital life in remote and northern communities, where many people are only now gaining reliable internet access through technologies such as Starlink. Darian reflects on how some communities are navigating digital risks that urban Canadians encountered more than a decade ago, while simultaneously confronting entirely new challenges tied to AI-generated content, deepfakes, misinformation, and online surveillance. Together, we discuss everything from scam culture and phishing attacks to AI-generated videos, data harvesting, and the hidden economies behind social media platforms and smartphone apps. We also explore the tension between digital opportunity and digital risk. Darian speaks thoughtfully about balancing caution with optimism, emphasizing that Indigenous youth should not be afraid to share their stories, languages, artwork, and experiences online. The conversation touches on how technology can support language preservation, economic opportunity, and cultural visibility, while also requiring communities to think carefully about privacy, exploitation, and the long-term consequences of digital footprints. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In this episode, we sit down with Stan Knight from Opaskwayak Cree Nation. He is the creator of Inspector in a Box: an initiative to build housing capacity in remote Indigenous communities across Canada. Drawing on his experience in construction, insurance adjusting, and community work, Stan explains how the program equips communities with tools, training, and digital infrastructure so that housing inspections and renovation planning can be led locally rather than relying on costly outside contractors that are often unfamiliar with the needs of Indigenous communities. Our conversation explores the deeper realities of housing across Indigenous communities, from the logistical challenges of shipping materials north to the cultural and environmental realities that make one-size-fits-all government housing ineffective. Stan walks us through how technology such as drones, LiDAR-enabled smartphones, thermal cameras, and inspection software are being used to capture housing data locally, allowing communities to document their needs, plan repairs, and access funding without having to bring outside experts into remote regions. This is a thoughtful conversation about housing, technology, and self-determination — and about how Indigenous leadership can reshape systems that have historically been imposed from the outside. We hope you’ll explore it as an invitation to think differently about infrastructure, innovation, and the role digital tools can play in supporting community-led solutions. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In this episode, we sit down with technologist and entrepreneur Matthew, founder of iComply, a company focused on trust, security, privacy, and digital identity. Matthew shares his journey from growing up in the Red River Valley and building a career in financial services to stepping into the tech world and helping shape the infrastructure of online trust. Our conversation explores what Indigenous digital identity could look like when sovereignty and consent sit with the individual rather than being endlessly copied and stored across institutions. Matthew reflects on reconnecting with Métis identity, the legacy of the Sixties Scoop, and how Indigenous values can guide the design of systems that protect people instead of extracting from them. Along the way, we dig into centralization vs decentralization, why accountability and transparency matter, and how Indigenous communities could leapfrog outdated government infrastructure to build digital governance on their own terms. This is a thoughtful dialogue about identity, trust, and building a digital future that serves communities for seven generations. We hope you will explore it as an invitation to think differently about where power lives online... and what it means to design technology with care. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In this episode, we sit down with serial entrepreneur Ryan St. Germaine, a visionary leader who helped found the Indigenous Tech Circle, a network of nearly a thousand Indigenous tech professionals. Ryan reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, his family history, and the responsibilities that come with leading in both business and community. Our conversation touches on themes of digital sovereignty, collective strength, and the importance of creating our own spaces rather than waiting for permission to join others. Ryan speaks candidly about the balance between Indigenous values and the often extractive nature of the tech industry, and why moving forward with courage and faith is essential. Along the way, he shares the story of Tech Circle’s growth, the challenges of sustainability, and the vision of building an ecosystem rooted in Indigenous knowledge, governance, and innovation. This is a powerful dialogue about resilience, responsibility, and the future of Indigenous leadership in technology. We hope you will explore it as an invitation to think about how we connect, invest, and shape digital spaces.   Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In this episode, we chat with the inspiring and visionary Tamara Goddard, a fierce advocate for Indigenous economic sovereignty and community-led healing. Tamara is the founder of Four Our Future, where she supports land-based economic development and Indigenous entrepreneurship rooted in ancestral knowledge and nation rebuilding. Tamara is joined by her business associate, Sam - someone has a lot to share about his journey in support of Indigenous innovation.  Tamara shares with us her approach to prosperity grounded in land, community wealth, and spiritual and cultural belonging. We explore her belief that reclaiming economic systems is a central pillar of self-determination and healing, and we imagine what Indigenous futures could look like 400 years from now. We're honoured to bring you this conversation. Settle in, open your heart, and join us as we dream bigger with Tamara. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

Happy New Year! To kick off 2025 we're excited that you'll join us in speaking to Anita Pawluk, Founder of Race Rocks 3D - an Indigenous-owned training company that utilizes cutting-edge technology. One of their largest partners is the Royal Canadian Navy. In this episode we learn a lot about what it means to work with not only the Canada government but its Armed Forces in all matters pertaining to listening to, working with, and training from coastal Indigenous communities across the furthest reaches of the north.  Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

We've got a fascinating and important episode for you today. Our guest is Ja'Elle Leite, CEO of Ultralogix Inc., who is a veteran of data management. Tommy and Lawrence speak with her about how to engage Indigenous communities when it comes to capturing and using their data. Ja'Elle provides a wealth of experience and insight about what it means to interact with Indigenous data. One of her many important points is that Indigenous data tells stories on its own terms. The question is whether or not we are willing to listen. In this case, she doesn't mean through data visualization tools. Join us to learn more listening and learning with and from Indigenous data. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

Not all that long ago when our series started, very few of us had tried AI. The idea of even interacting with AI was almost absurd. One year ago, only a few industries began experimenting with AI. Now, in 2024, AI is everywhere... What does that mean for Digital Indigeneity? What does this mean for Indigenous peoples? How do our conversations adjust in response - or should they? Is AI merely hype? Is it a colonial trap? Is it possible for AI to liberate not only Indigenous communities but empower them? Does it make sense to continue talking about Digital Indigeneity in the way we have thus far?   Join Lawrence, Al, and Tommy as they reconnect and dive into not only AI - but what lies ahead for One Feather, Two Pens   Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Contact us at [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In Episode 8 Tommy and Lawrence chat with the venerable James Delorme, VP of Community Development at Salish Elements. James is one of our most fun yet most insightful guests. He brings a wealth of knowledge and insight into helping us understand what is meant by an Indigenous lens on all things technology, collaboration, innovation, and co-operation. James also helps us think through what is at stake and what is meant by decolonization, and one of it's remedies: Indigenization.  Thank you all for your patience during our prolonged absence. Tommy took some time to prioritize family and health, but we're back and more grateful than ever to be resuming our journey together. James is a wonderful fit for resuming our exploration of Digital Indigeneity so sit back, relax, and enjoy! Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In Episode 7 we speak to Melissa Giles-Hardy, owner, President, and CEO of ORIGIN - a company that design, develops, and delivers technology experiences to drive employment while also protecting and promoting culture for Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island. It's no surprise that Melissa is recipient of multiple awards, including the 2021 RBC Innovative Company of the Year award, the Indigenomics Top 10 Business's To Watch in Canada, the 2019 Northern Ontario, Influential Women's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Confederation College President's Award in 2019 - as well as a nominee for the 2019 Ontario Premier Award. As you can see, Melissa is not only a passionate innovator. She is also a passionate community member who is motivated to use technology, specifically Virtual Reality, to do many amazing things: to provide Indigenous youth in remote communities opportunities to learn about new jobs, to train Indigenous peoples to do new jobs or upskill in certain areas, and to also record, preserve, and create interactive VR-based media content that protects and promotes Indigenous cultural practices, learnings, and lessons. For example, using a VR headset to interact with Elders providing the viewer a language lesson.  This is one of our favourite episodes. It is full of incredibly powerful insights and advice. We're honoured to have Melissa on the show. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In Episode 6 we speak to Matthew Norris, Senior Policy Analyst at the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, and President of the Urban Native Youth Association. As a former candidate for Vancouver city council and a PhD student in UBC's Department of Political Science, Matthew has and continues to be exposed to numerous important intersecting Indigenous developments and issues. Between Matthew's grassroots community work and advocacy along with his academic studies on United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Matthew has much to contribute toward the emerging discussion around Indigenous digital identity and Indigenous digital space. We decide to explore Indigenous digital space and community in particular, and we are guided by some great questions Matthew raises throughout: how might be Indigenous digital communities be made? What are the pitfalls and divides, and how can we avoid them? When these spaces are constructed, what algorithms guide us through them and what content are prioritized? What does it mean to have a voice in this arrangement, and how do we subsequently think about, with, and through accountability? Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In Episode 5 of One Feather Two Pens we speak with the award winning actor, director, producer, writer, and storyteller, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. Member of the Kinai First Nation as well as Sámi from Norway, Elle-Máijá joins us to discuss her Rogers Audience Award winning documentary, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. The powerful film is an intimate and reflexive portrait of her community and the impact of substance abuse and opioid epidemic. Elle-Máijá is a remarkable wisdom and self-awareness facilitates a truly insightful conversation about representation, authenticity, and narrative sovereignty in Indigenous media. Join us as we explore what it means to truth, history, paternal politics, unlearning bias, and of the challenges and opportunities that emerge when navigating voice, privilege, and power. Elle-Máijá also raises important questions for Canadians seeking to assist and collaborate with First Nations peoples, such as: Who is the right person to tell a story? What does it mean to represent Indigenous life? And what happens when non-Indigenous narrators take up space without being aware of doing so? Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In our latest episode on One Feather, Two Pens we have the privilege and honor to chat with Mary Teegee and Matt Smiley, the Directors of For Love on Netflix. As an Indigenous woman and non-Indigenous man, Mary and Matt have worked closely together since before their powerful piece Highway of Tears. The two reflect on their journeys, learnings, and discoveries together, which leads to a fascinating and important set of realizations and offerings about the promise of Indigenous media.  Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

We are very excited to have Josh Nilson, Co-Founder of East Side Games, recent winner of the BC Tech Association's Person of the Year Award (and a Producer of one of Tommy's all time favourite games, Company of Heroes!), to talk about the value and importance of reconciliation through the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the tech sector.  Josh shares his fascinating professional journey, beginning in the world of culinary arts and then successfully transitioning into video game development where he produced some of the most popular Apps around, including The Office, Star Trek Upper Decks, Ru Paul's Drag Race, Trailer Park Boys and more. Josh reflects on the importance of learning, and especially on what's at stake for Canadian businesses to start thinking seriously about what Indigeneity does and does not mean and include. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

In our second episode of this new special series, we are honoured to be joined by Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, OC, OBC. Dr. Joseph is a hereditary Chief of the Gwawaenuk First Nation, is Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada where he has guided the Canadian Federal government through their residential school response. Dr. Joseph is a survivor of St. Michael’s Residential School.  Dr. Joseph guides Tommy, Al, and Lawrence through the importance of creating safe space to converse and listen deeply in order for reconciliation to move forward. Dr. Joseph believes that technology, and platforms like podcasting, can be vehicles for moving reconciliation forward - specifically by giving opportunities for unheard voices and experiences from Indigenous peoples. This episode is full of practical advice to any listener, particularly for Indigenous and Canadian entrepreneurs who are looking to innovate and collaborate in this digital space. Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

Once upon a time on What's That Noise?! we asked: wouldn't it be wonderful to launch a special series with their new friend and former guest, Lawrence Lewis? That time has arrived! Al, Tommy, and Lawrence are so very pleased to present One Feather Two Pens, a special series that interviews Indigenous thought and technology leaders about functioning and co-existing with Indigenous peoples in this digital space. We kick off the series in episode 1 by laying the terrain for what this new series is about, what it's goals are, and what it hopes to contribute by means of creating a safe, inclusive dialogue for sharing the stories and lessons of Indigenous people across Canada who are carving out and navigating Indigenous digital sovereignty. What does it mean for Canadians and Indigenous peoples to work together online? What values and principles should be prioritized? What does reconciliation mean and look like on the Internet? What does success look like here, exactly - and how will we even know that we've been successful?  Stay tuned for more episodes, releasing on the 15th of every month! Gila’kasla! Follow us on Twitter: Wtncast Follow your co-hosts: Tommy | Al | Lawrence A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series! Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.

Before the pandemic, AI was growing in Canada. Throughout the pandemic, AI has exploded in Canada. Through working from home and online schooling to the abundance of location, health, medical, and interaction data around us at all times, the last half decade truly has witnessed institutions moving rapidly toward AI to make money, increase efficiency, trim fat, and perhaps even assist in finding new cures and vaccines.  And as you might imagine, there are serious rights, liberties, justice, ethics, and equality issues that pop up along the way. So, how does a country insulate itself from such dangers? Through regulation, but easier said than done...  Join us as we chat with the distinguished Dr. Teresa Scassa, Canada Research Chair in Information Law and Policy at the University of Ottawa, an award winning author, a recognizable expert across numerous Canadian media outlets - and a fantastic Ad Lib'er to boot.  As you'll hear, the move toward regulating AI in Canada has been anything but clear... Tune in to hear more! Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Hey friends! Hope your summer is swell! It sure has been for us - perhaps a bit too good? While it's been rather tough to find time to record together, we're really pumped to finish off the summer with two new episodes. Today's chat is with Tommy's dear friend, Fernando Leiva - an analytics developer at the Centre for Advanced Computing at Queen's University. Tommy and Fernando have worked together for the past 3+ years to investigate location data-related privacy issues on smartphones. Today, we ask a simple but complicated question: location data - what do you mean? What we see in Google Maps is vastly different than what flows behind the scenes. GPS coordinates and mailing addresses represent a mere fraction of what corporations are able to collect from our devices. A big portion of these other, discrete data are in the format of NMEA 0183 - a standard data type that is produced by hardware in our smartphones as they intercept navigation satellite signals.  What is inside NMEA 0183? Why do companies harvest it, and for what reasons? Many questions, much confusion, and so little time! If you are privacy or data ethics nut, this episode is for you! Tune in for Al, and more - apparently! Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

More than ever people are questioning whether or not their job is the best fit. How many of us have found themselves in this position, particularly during the pandemic? How many of us have wondered what it takes to change ship, how much courage would be required to do so - and whether or not the grass is truly 'greener' on the other side?  In this episode we hear from our beloved co-host Mr. Al Coombs about his professional journey, one which began with a short stint in insurance, to over a decade as a popular AM daytime radio show host on the Telemedia, Standard, Astral, and Bell media networks - to newly minted public school teacher. Every confusion, every curiousity, and every pain-and-gain that you might imagine are all things that Al reflects on. The biggest? Energy. How much energy does one burn before what makes sense blurs into confusion and ambiguity?  We also address another confusion: an accusation from another podcaster that we have been targeting and attacking his show and attempting to steal their listeners. Tommy and Al explain the backstory, which begins with another host from the USA who uses our name: What's That Noise?! - verbatim. Our show precedes his, by more than a year - which is why Apple's legal team pulled his show from their content listing. We certainly never meant harm to this other podcaster, but the law is law - is it not? Tune in for Al, and more - apparently! Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Tommy and Al are excited to bring a fantastic piece filled with both confusion and clarity around a tremendously important subject: Indigenous Digital Identity. What's That Noise?! is honoured to speak with Lawrence Lewis, Founder and CEO of OneFeather: an Indigenous technology company that designs specialized software solutions for Indigenous peoples across Canada. Lawrence joins us to talk about the messiness that is "Digital Identity" and "digital identity". That's right, there's two. One has capitals in "D" and "I" in it, and the other does not. The latter refers to a concept - digital identity, as in 'who we are' online in terms of how governments and corporations define and represent us. The second, Digital Identity, is a technology. It is the one that we've seen governments around the world develop throughout the pandemic as a digital alternative to, for example, your driver's license... Imagine a passport you keep on your phone. What makes both versions particularly confusing is that both have tremendous implications for Indigenous peoples, albeit with very different but equally important stakes. Come listen to the solutions and efforts put forth by Lawrence and his company OneFeather to make both versions - digital identity and Digital Identity - meaningful, accessible, proactive and a hopeful avenue for relationship building between Indigenous communities and Canada. Lawrence has opened a door for Canada to commit to reconciliation in the digital space - how will we reciprocate? Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Almost immediately after the #warinukraine began, the Western world told Ukrainians: "our borders are open". When a humanitarian crisis unfolds, such as the largest exodus of a population occurs since the end of world war two, it's logical that a country would open its borders to those in need, no? Not so fast. The world's borders - how they are made, how they are managed, and how they affect the lives and geographies around them - as our returning guest and dear friend Dr. Benjamin Muller tells us, are confusing. Since well before 9/11 but particularly after it, borders and borderlands have been created to try and secure life in the image of those who build them. As you'll hear, securing life through borders and bordering practices is anything but clear, obvious or even helpful to the people that live near them. When we study borders critically, we don't find clarity - only more confusion.  Tune in for a fantastic chat with a brilliant researcher! Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Fact: for the week of March 28, the top 20 global Google search trends do not include the #pandemic, the #warinUkraine, #residentialschools. Will Smith, Jada Smith, Chris Rock, and celebrity reactions dominated. Why? What happened to the rest of the world? Where did it go? Is Western society seriously this obsessed with celebrity drama? Could it be the case that #theslap highlighted complex hidden social, mental health, and racial issues? Are algorithms and filter bubbles to blame? Why are we still talking about this?! When can we move on?! And how?!?! HOW?! Join us to help Tommy extinguish not only his confusion, but his frustration. Back to reality, please!! Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Part 2 of our chat about neurotechnology delves a bit deeper... If people have fluid identities, can neurotech capture them? What does it mean to enhance a body and a mind that are constantly changing? What happens when people are uncomfortable, unconfident, and uncertain about who they are, what they are doing and where they are heading? Can neurotech help with this, or perhaps make it all more complicated? Tommy and Al are joined by Dr. Brenda McPhail, Director of the Privacy, Technology & Surveillance Program and member of the National Security team at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Someone who knows lots about neurotechnology, but has even more questions than Tommy and Al do! Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Our hearts are with Ukraine. The situation is incomprehensibly horrific. As the world watches, many of us feel helpless. There's a ton of confusion around what it means to be a passive observer. Even if you wanted to help, could you? What would that look like? Is there any way to support Ukrainians in their time of urgent need beyond memes, hashtags, and profile pictures of blue and yellow flags? Tommy and Al spent the last day scanning civil society, journalism, news media, not-for-profit, and academic sources to find three ways that you can help. We hope that you'll find that donating, combatting disinformation, and connecting your neighbours will bring you a bit closer to helping those who desperately need the world to step up.  In this episode, we mention numerous charity organizations, reliable news sources, and credible journalists that we encourage you to connect with. Please take a moment this weekend to learn more about them. This listed is definitely not exhaustive. Let's keep expanding it together, friends. Charitable Organizations The Canada-Ukraine Foundation- a Toronto-based group that co-ordinates charitable aid for Ukraine Doctors Without Borders- a humanitarian group that is currently mobilizing an emergency-preparedness response plan to ensure that access to health care and medicine are available to Ukrainians Save the Children- an international NGO delivering emergency aide to Ukrainian families Voices of Children- offers psychological support to kids affected by the war in Ukraine Phoenix Wings - supplies the Ukrainian army with medical treatment and defensive equipment like vests and helmets Shelter Ugolyok - an animal rescue and farm sanctuary in Ukraine, an incredibly important organization with a personal connection to Tommy's family Outright Action International - protects marginalized BIPOC and LGBQT2+ community members, which is particularly important given Putin's legacy of antihomophobic violence   Credible Journalists Olga Tokariuk, Sarah Rainsford, Christopher Miller, Olga Rudenko   Credible, Local News Sources The Kyiv Independent, The New Voice of Ukraine, Ukraine World, Kyiv Post   Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

What do you get when you combine "nervous system" with "technology"? Confusion, evidently! What is neurotech, exactly? Sure, it is technology that is attached to the body's neural activity... But what part of the body? Does it affect the body, and if so - how? Why even build this technology? Who builds, and for what reasons? And as ever, what are the social, ethical, and privacy implications of doing so? Soo many questions, and so few answers - even for experts like our wonderful guest, Dr. Brenda McPhail, Director of the Privacy, Technology & Surveillance Program and member of the National Security team at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Even a Canadian thought leader in our rights around technology is often uncertain about what exactly is going on with #neurotech. Why? There is a ton learn to learn, and all of it is worth openly talking about. So come be confused with us! Confusion has a lot to teach us, especially about what can happen to our rights and liberties if we don't ask the right questions about technology on and inside our bodies... Subscribe for updates! Follow Tommy and Al on Twitter! Email Tommy and Al: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

What is the connection between bedsheet-related incidents and the consumption of cheese? Hopefully none. That would be confusing, and weird. However! There might be a correlation between those unusually paired items! Correlations, correlations. Part two is about the wonderfully bizarre world of data correlations. Is it not correlations at the heart of AI and advertising, after all? That's certainly where this conversation is headed. We're delighted to resume our superbly odd conversation with our friend Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi, Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. If you haven't caught Part 1, consider heading back and giving it a listen first. It's a douzie!

Today we chat Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi, Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County about his confusion with AI and advertising! Join Tommy, Al and Dillon in this first episode of a two-part series that explores the complexities of how targeted advertisements show up in your smartphone. Even with his background in computer science, Dillon is as confused as Tommy and Al about how automated systems find ways to build profiles about who we as consumers are.  How are your preferences measured? What happens with these data? What kinds of assumptions are made about who we are?... And we all happen, of course, to be cisgender white men. What happens in automated advertising when you do not fit the majority?  You might not find many answers to these questions in this episode, but you might just find that finding answers is not always possible... Stay tuned for episode 2 - release on February 1st!

Happy New Year, everyone! I am so grateful for two things! First, we have a new co-host! It's truly my pleasure to introduce my dear friend, Al Coombs to you. Al is a seasoned radio broadcaster who hosted and co-hosted shows in London, Ontario for over a decade. He joins us at WTNCast as a freshly-minted public school teacher, too! His warmth and interview experience is truly invigorating. It's such a pleasure to have you join the show, @thatalcoombsguy! Second, the podcast has re relaunched! For the past four months, Tommy and Al have worked together to refine the show's focus. You can expect a closer dive into noise-as-confusion with our guests, and especially so when that noise becomes political. We are excited to continue bringing exciting guests on the show who will talk about times they've encountering confusion, or closely-related noisy matters, like ambiguity, distraction, and so on. We're also looking forward to hear from our guests about how their field, profession, career, colleagues, and their professional and personal worlds around them encounter and deal with noise, too.  We don't expect that you'll leave with answers, perhaps just more questions. But there's so much to learn in confusion, especially when there's no clarity... Come be uncomfortable with us, and laugh a little, too.  Thanks so much for (re)joining us, friends!

This latest episode is a special one. Tommy has wanted to explore predictive policing for a while. He had the opportunity to do so as a sample case study for one of the classes he teaches at Queen's University: AI, Ethics & Society - a Masters of Engineering course where students use any media format they wish to explore the social and ethical implications of artificial intelligence systems.  And so, this episode is presented a bit differently than what you are used to - but it is still driven by matters of confusion, and certainly in the pursuit of clarity. Tommy raises some hard questions as he looks into the history of PredPol. As he outlines right off the top, PredPol is a relatively well known system by this point - as too are its social and ethical implications. But the matter of how the system came to be so problematic is an important one, too. As Tommy argues, the biases, assumptions, and limited intellectual scope of its designers implicated how the system was built, what kind of data it uses, and what kind of algorithm it used. This lattermost point is an intriguing one, precisely because the algorithm PredPol is built on has virtually nothing to do with social, cultural, or political life. Rather, it was designed to detect earthquakes... Special shout out to João Lobato, the brilliant mind behind LASERS, whose EP you hear on this track. You can hear his incredible work here. Follow your host: @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates! Email Tommy: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

In association with the University of Texas Press, the third instalment of the My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora special series features, Prof. Mehdi Tavana Okasi and Dr. Roger Sedarat. Mehdi is Professor of Creative Writing at Purchase College of the State University of New York, who was born in Iran and became a refugee of the Iran-Iraq war, which led him to the suburbs of Boston. Roger is a Professor in the Department of English at Queen’s College of the The City University of New York. Roger was born in Normal, Illinois to an Iranian father, and grew up in San Antonio. Instead of talking primarily about their wonderfully powerful pieces, Tommy chats with Mehdi and Roger about what occasioned their coming together: the unexplained suspension of Katherine and Leila's Twitter account. A perplexing and confusing situation that remains unresolved after more than 6 months. Indeed, today's chat is about politicized censorship, the ironies of cancel culture, and of course, their catalysts: a pandemic riding out on the heels of the most incompetent President in American history. From the burden of hybridity, the policing of the imagination, and the absence of space for ambiguity, to the false ideal of whiteness and the commodification of lies, there’s something here for everyone. We begin by discussing the utter disappointment of Katherine and Leila’s twitter account suspension, and Twitter’s refusal to not only reinstate it, but their lack of willingness to actually investigate what happened. Follow your host: @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Follow our guests, Prof. Mehdi Tavana Okasi: @mokasi and Dr. Roger Sedarat: @rogersedarat Follow Katherine, Leila and their contributors (IF THE ACCOUNT IS EVER REINSTATED): @IRANMusings Follow the University of Texas Press: @UTexasPress A very special thanks to Dr. Babak Elahi and The Resonant Freqs for sharing their incredible music for this special series. Dr. Elahi is also a contributor to My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora. Subscribe for updates Email: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify   Note: revised episode published on evening of March 9, which includes a reference correction to Prof. Okasi's title. Episode listening stat prior to change: 27. 

In this second instalment of our special series, in association with the University of Texas Press, Tommy speaks with Dr. Babak Elahi, Head of Department, Liberal Studies at Kettering University. Dr. Elahi is a special contributor to My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora, not only as the musical talent behind the series' music, but also as author of chapter 25: Errand. Dr. Elahi reflects on his deeply personal piece, which surrounds the days and months leading to the loss of his dear mother. In his travel back to Iran, Babak negotiates navigates cultural, emotional, political, and social tensions that, in more ways than one, offer themselves rather productively as points of reflection about his personal and professional journeys as an Iranian-American living in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Elahi is a rich source of experience and insight about identity, justice, language, honor, belonging, and mobility. Babak is a gracious, articulate, and thoughtful speaker who has a lot to share about the values of family, community, and the importance of basic human connection.  Follow your host: @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Follow our guest, Dr. Babak Elahi: @babakelahi Follow Katherine, Leila and their contributors: @IRANMusings Follow the University of Texas Press: @UTexasPress A very special thanks to Dr. Babak Elahi and The Resonant Freqs for sharing their incredible music for this special series. Dr. Elahi is also a contributor to My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora - we look forward to his interview, indeed! Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify

From the vault of unpublished episodes comes with a fascinating conversation with Desmond Cox, an IT and software development professional who has a fresh and often competing take on Tommy's understandings and perspectives about data, privacy and ethics. During a trip to Germany in 2019, Tommy and his wife visited Des and Chrissy - good friends who moved out of Ontario to start new lives in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. In this chat, Tommy and Des get to chat about their mutual passion for the politics of data and privacy, as well as their ethical complexities. What makes this conversation particularly important for Tommy is that Des has a radically different way of approaching and comprehending data, privacy and ethics - and rightly so. Des has over ten years of experience working on the inside of complex networked systems - in front-end and back-end development, coding in C#, Java, Python and JavaScript... whereas Tommy, has zero experience with any of this beyond his studies as a social scientist; there are considerable differences between social scientific and computer scientific perspectives on data, ethics and privacy. As we will come to find in this episode, this is largely due to the fascinating tensions between theory and practice. Should we be surprised that on certain large-scale issues, Tommy and Des agree almost entirely? Would it be any less surprising to find that micro-level issues strike a dissonant chord between the two? This episode covers a lot of micro and macro terrain: studying versus doing network surveillance and security, DeMorgan's Law, considerations of not just 'how' or 'where' but 'when' ethical questions ought to emerge around matters of data protection and digital privacy, the social and political dimensions of walled gardens, the privacy paradox - and even a contemplative dialogue between the two about a new way of conceptualization privacy itself: as the unfettered space necessary to 'grow'.    Follow your host: @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates! Email Tommy: [email protected] Follow What's That Noise?! on Apple Music and on Spotify 

"In the four decades since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iranian-Americans have made sense of their lives and reconciled their sense of belonging and not belonging through writing, first through poetry and memoir in the immediacy of migration and exile, and later in a developing and rich explosion of fiction. In the past decade, we have seen a blossoming of nonfiction writing that reflects complex voices and modern sensibilities and that reveals a broader range of stories and remembrances than ever before." - Katherine Whitney and Leila Emery, Editors, My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora.  In association with the University of Texas Press, we are proud to present "My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora: a Special Series on What's That Noise?!" - a collaboration that aims to lend a hand, if only modestly, in further cultivating this ongoing blossoming of otherwise marginalized reflections about life, identity, and belonging from the Iranian diaspora.  In this first episode, Tommy chats with the book's editors about their project, of how it came together, its sources of inspiration, its aims, and its aspirations. We trust you will find, just as Tommy did, that My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora is a vitally important contribution to an often overlooked, ongoing struggle - particularly in a time filled with system political intolerance, exceptionalism, and racism; in a world of increased distancing, My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora brings us closer together. Stay tuned for future episodes that interview contributors to this excellent book, which we aim to bring to you every month. On behalf of Katherine, Leila, their wonderful contributors and the University of Texas Press, thank you for opening your heart and mind to these powerful stories. Follow your host: @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Follow Katherine, Leila and their contributors: @IRANMusings Follow the University of Texas Press: @UTexasPress A very special thanks to Dr. Babak Elahi and The Resonant Freqs for sharing their incredible music for this special series. Dr. Elahi is also a contributor to My Shadow Is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora - we look forward to his interview, indeed! Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

In today's chat, Tommy sits down with his wife, Cristina, and his new second-cousins, Georgi and Florin Stancu, to share their incredible journey. Born, raised, and built lives in Bucharest, Romania, Cristina translates between Tommy and his new family to discuss their decision to leave Romania in search of better opportunities and a better for life for their daughter, Alyssa. Now living in Dachau, Bayern, Germany for the past seven years, Georgi and Florin reflect upon some of the challenges they endured not only living under Marxist-Leninist one-party Communist rule prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, but of the challenges they faced in a new democratic system after the fall of the Berlin Wall. As you'll find out, political corruption and failing public institutions persisted for years to come. New challenges emerge in face of old ones. While the move to Dachau brought new opportunities, it brought new uncertainty as well: finding new jobs, not speaking the local language, and navigating Germany's intensely admin-oriented public services made for a daunting set of new problems. And yet, the Stancus are an incredibly down-to-earth, grounded, passionate, fun-loving, and in-the-moment family. Their story is uplifting, precisely because of their perseverance and their love for one another's well being. Money and things are not everything - connections are; a particularly timely and sobering point of reflection as we all navigate COVID-19 together in April 2020.  Follow your hosts: @whatsthatdata | @Derekcrim | @wtncast Email us   Subscribe for updates   Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify 

Thank you for joining us on the most important episode we've published to date, and perhaps will be the most important episode we will publish - for more reasons than we could possibly articulate here in written text. In this episode, we discuss the inescapably difficult but exceedingly important matter of quality versus quantity life - when given a terminal diagnosis. It is impossible to convey our saddened we are that a dear friend to this show, Dr. Karen Rees-Milton (who joined us on episode 27), is bravely surviving a terminal diagnosis. As a true reflection of her character, commitment, and passion for life, Karen wishes to broach with us just how important it is for communication between doctors and patients about the end of life. We are also so grateful to be joined by Dr. Sarah McLean, an Assistant Professor of Physiology & Pharmacology and Anatomy & Cell Biology at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Like Karen, Sarah is an expert in cancer research - and she too has directly experienced the pains of being a centre for communication for and between her brothers, doctors, and her dear father, who she lost very quickly to cancer in the summer of 2019. Karen and Sarah are experts in cancer research, and their direct experiences with cancer make for a particularly important conversation. As you will see, doctors do not always communicate quickly or efficiently about terminal diagnoses. The very human impulse to make people happy in desperate situations often creates moral ambiguity that distracts from the hard but important conversation about whether or not often debilitating treatments are worth one's precious time. We hope that you will use this episode as a guide to help you when faced with these difficult matters, as we all will inevitably deal with them - one way, or another.    As mentioned in the episode, please visit the London Regional Cancer Program, the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases, Kingston General Hospital's Endoscopy Unit, and Jayne Dill's (RN) New Before You Go - a wonderful woman and tremendous resource for helping us navigate matters of value, wishes, and communication when dealing with the end of life.   Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Dr. Sarah McLean can be followed on Twitter @drsarahmclean Email us Subscribe for updates   Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify 

Happy New Year, everyone!  Derek and I are excited to bring you our first episode of 2020. Today's chat is a follow-up to the last episode of 2019. If you haven't heard it yet, you'll want to go back and check it out or this episode will leave you feeling as confused as Tommy was after Episode 28: Kawhi Leonard and the Expectation of Privacy in the Public Sphere. Over the break, Tommy felt Episode 28 should be continued as a discussion about culture industry: the production of psychological need, desire, and interest through the mass production of capital goods - like sports, like social media, like the celebrity. Tommy entered the break unsettled with the idea that sports fans simply enjoy sports because they choose to - a notion that Tommy felt Derek was endorsing in the previous episode. As it turns out, this was not the case. Nonetheless, chatting about what was meant launches into a fascinating chat about how and whether we can think of celebrities as products versus drivers of culture industry. Their debate leads to an important and perhaps forever unsettle-able question: do we fuel the media, or does the media fuel us? Perhaps the question itself is misleading? Tune in the find out! Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Email us Subscribe for updates   Follow us on Apple Music and Spotify 

After the Toronto Raptors won their first championship in franchise history, attention quickly shifted from celebration to discussions of whether or not the team’s star player and finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, would resign with the team. What ensued was commonly referred to by media as the “Kawhi Watch,” which captivated the city, and perhaps even all of Canada, and led media and fans on path that would see them attempt to track and monitor Kawhi’s every move, on and offline. Perhaps predictably for Tommy and I, this whole thing led to questions related to the expectation of privacy in the public sphere. Why do we care so much about our own privacy and yet completely disregard the privacy of notable people? Why don’t people respect the privacy of individuals who may be – willingly or unwillingly - in the public eye? What do moments of extreme surveillance of notable people tell us about the so-called “surveillance society”? These are just a couple of the questions we touch on in this episode which, I must admit, is one of our personal favourite episodes of “What’s That Noise” to date. The voice that you hear in the intro and outro is none other than Kristi Lee, host of the podcast Canadian True Crime. Please support Kristi's excellent work by checking out her show on any of your favourite podcast apps. Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Imagine spending 24.5 years in a specific laboratory. And then imagine switching, to seemingly start all over again. In this show Tommy chats with Dr. Karen Rees-Milton, a veteran bench scientist who is expertly versed in protein biochemistry, enzyme kinetics, classical biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, cell culture, and glycobiology. After nearly a decade as a research coordinator, Dr. Rees-Milton has completely switched gears: computer programming. Karen's new work on Laboratory Information Management System design recently crossed paths with Tommy's empirical work on privacy data at the Surveillance Studies Centre, leading to a reflexive and unique conversation that has a bit of everything: Google, lecturing vs researching, intellectual maturity, and of course, ethical algorithms.  The voice that you hear in the intro and outro is none other than Kristi Lee, host of the podcast Canadian True Crime. Please support Kristi's excellent work by checking out her show on any of your favourite podcast apps. Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

In this episode, we continue discussing a long-standing theme of the show: how government develops, mobilizes, and uses surveillance technologies abroad and at home. More specifically, we focus on a program called the "Real Time Regional Gateway," a secretive data processing and mining system introduced by the NSA and deployed during American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In May of 2018, Henrik Moltke of The Intercept published a detailed exposé uncovering the RTRG's journey from the international sphere - used in military operations abroad - to the domestic, where it has been mobilized at the US-Mexico border since at least 2017. In what Moltke has called "mission creep," the US government is actively surveilling digital communications intercepted at the US-Mexico border, thus raising important questions of privacy, accountability, and transparency - all well-documented themes of this podcast.  The voice that you hear in the intro and outro is none other than Kristi Lee, host of the podcast Canadian True Crime. Please support Kristi's excellent work by checking out her show on any of your favourite podcast apps. Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

Tommy sits down with Dr. Midori Ogasawara, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ottawa, and one of the premiere investigative journalists on surveillance in Japan. For nearly twenty years, Midori has researched the legacy of surveillance in Japan, and is the only reporter from Japan to have interviewed NSA whistle blower, Edward Snowden. A recipient over 9 academic awards and the author two books on Snowden and surveillance in Japan, Midori has a wealth of insight to share. Tommy and Midori chat about the differences between media attitudes and (in)tolerances towards whistleblowing and surveillance in both Japan and the USA. They also touch on matters of heroism, individuality, and the insecurity mass surveillance perpetuates as well. Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

This episode is centered on the theme of representation and authority in the public sphere. Can we trust what authorities tell us about how we use our digital technologies, or how laws and public policies are developed and mobilized? How can we make sense of official justifications for interventions that are increasingly intrusive in our daily lives? From Apple and Google to our own governments, tune in as Derek and Tommy discuss these questions through the contexts of how we use our smartphones, dark tourism and prisons, and terrorism as an issue of public health. Derek also gets to FINALLY plug his own research! Needless to say, he is a bit giddy about that one. We're honoured to have Kristi Lee, host of the podcast Canadian True Crime, so graciously contribute to our show by providing us a shiny, brand new intro and outro. Please support Kristi's excellent work by checking out her show on any of your favourite podcast apps. Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

It's been so long! But we're back! Derek and I have reconnected and we've got a great run of new content coming your way. Today, we begin by touching base - to see where we've been to figure out where we're heading. A big focus of our reconnection is something that has kept Tommy really busy this past half year. In what we might otherwise call "A Day in the Life of Metadata: Part Two", Tommy updates us on his collaboration project, which has led him and his research team at Queen's University to the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). As it turns out, this organization has a lot to do with your smartphone, and even more to do with your privacy. We're honored to have Kristi Lee, host of the podcast Canadian True Crime, so graciously contribute to our show by providing us a shiny, brand new intro and outro. Please support Kristi's excellent work by checking out her show on any of your favourite podcast apps. Follow your hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata | @wtncast Subscribe for updates Email us: [email protected] Follow us on Apple Music and on Spotify 

An episode to begin the term, and one to close off. Thank you so much, and our deepest apologies, for our hiatus! It has been a great calendar year thus far, and also an exceptionally busy one. In today's episode, Tommy sits down with Dr. Samer Abboud, Associate Professor of Global Interdisciplinary Studies at Villanova University to chat about language. Tommy and Samer are old buddies and colleagues, and were able to catch up for the first time - in many years - at the recent International Studies Association Annual, which was held this year in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tommy and Samer don't discuss privacy, or even Samer's research expertise in Middle Eastern politics. Rather, they talk about language. Born and raised in an Arabic speaking househould in Ottawa, Samer's personal and professional travels throughout the Arab speaking world have given him a number of valuable, interesting experiences when it comes to verbal and written communication. Given their mutual passion for interdisciplinary things, we hope you will enjoy their exploration of language - linguistic and academic.  Follow the co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata  Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

Happy New Year, everyone! We're so very excited to share our first episode of the New Year, feat. John Hannant-Minchel, a Masters student of Kinesiology at Queen's University. After meeting at a local breakfast hotspot in the beautiful city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, John and Tommy found time to sit down again - over another coffee - to explore perspectives from within, and around, the Sociocultural Studies of Sport, Health and the Body. Much of our discussion explores interdisciplinarity - not merely in terms of intellectual enrichment, but as John puts it, "a way of keeping an eye on things." John shares a lot of valuable experience and insight about what it means to have a truly multidisciplinary background in an incredibly interdisciplinary field.  Follow the co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

In Volume 20, Derek and Tommy sit down with Cale Sutherland, an Associate Lawyer practicing injury and health law at Lerner's LLP in the beautiful city of London, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Sutherland helps our co-hosts not only debunk some preconceived ideas they had about how much the law is like our favourite tv shoe, Suits. Cale also helps them debunk the notion that the courtroom and classroom are radically different. Anxiety, expectation management, the role of confidence, and the value of failure are all exceedingly central in both spaces. At the heart of the chat today is a thought-provoking conversation about the role language and data play in all our daily lives, which takes the interviewers and interviewee into a challenging discussion about privacy, agency, and trust in response to the recent Ottawa Senators controversy.  Follow the co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @whatsthatdata  Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

In this week's episode, Derek and Tommy chat about application privacy on iOS and Android. New technologies such as the Samsung Galaxy, Pixel, and iPhone have become so heavily relied upon for communication that it is almost unfathomable to be fully 'disconnected' from the social world. But our phones are not simply communication devices - they are now repositories for a host of sensitive information about our lives, our bodies, and our desires. In this episode, the hosts break down what is at steak when we simultaneously treat our personal communication devices as such repositories without knowledge about how those data will be collected, used, stored, and shares. Do we simply not care about our data and privacy? Or are we just misinformed? Tune in for this heated debate between Tommy and Derek. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Follow the co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @Thomasncooke Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

Tommy is back!  After a summer spent researching data privacy in Bochum, Germany (and traversing the Swiss alps with his newly-engaged parter), Tommy is back in studio to chat with Derek about his research project on visualizing data flows in smartphones. In many ways our cell phones are the most important communication tool in our daily lives. Not only are smart phones embedded into the fabric of social life, they also act as repositories for a host of personal and impersonal information about us. Applications collect, analyze, interpret, translate, and share data on their users in continuous flows. Yet, not much is known about how those flows operate - this is where Tommy's intervention comes in. Tune in for our discussion about the importance of visualizing the flow of data and its implications on accountability, privacy, and, ultimately, democracy.  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Follow the co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @Thomasncooke Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

The ASA annual meeting is almost upon us! In our final pre-ASA episode, Derek chats with one of his own mentors, Dr. Carla Pfeffer, Associate Professor of Sociology and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina (Derek's alma mater!), about her book Queering Families: The Postmodern Partnerships of Cisgender Women and Transgender Men (Oxford University Press), teaching conversial topics and issues, and some of the problems with traditional approaches to peer-review. Nothing like a chat about peer-review before thousands of sociologists gather in Philly, huh?   Carla's research lies at the intersections of sociological inquiry into contemporary families, genders, sexualities, and bodies considered marginal, as well as social actors' management of stigma and discrimination. Her book Queering Families, published in 2017, is one of the first deep explorations into the lives and partnerships of cisgender women married to transgender men. Her work has been widely published in the Archibes of Sexual Behavior, American Journal of Sociology, Gender & Society, Journal of Homosexuality, the Journal of Marriage and Family, and many other academic journals. Currently, Dr. Pfeffer is working as the United States co-Investigator on the projvect, "Trans Pregnancy: An International Exploration of Trans Male Experiences and Practices of Reproduction" (w/ Dr. Sally Hines, Leeds University), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.  In addition to her great work, Dr. Pfeffer is wonderful person, mentor, and colleague. You can follow Carla on Twitter! American Sociological Association Annual Meeting - August 11-14, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA. 2018 ASA Sexualities Preconference - August 9-10, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Follow the co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @Thomasncooke Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

Welcome to the second episode of our little University of Toronto mini-series! As we ramp up for the ASA annual meeting this weekend in Philadelphia, Derek chats with Dr. Jooyoung Lee (PhD UCLA), Associate Professor in the Deparment of Sociology at the University of Toronto and faculty member at the Centre for the Study of the United States in the Munk School of Global Affairs. In this episode, we discuss Jooyoung's award-winning book Blowin' Up: Rap Dreams in South Central (University of Chicago Press), his current projects, academic twitter, gun control and mass shootings, and strategies for teaching ethnography in the classroom!  He researches and writes about gun violence, health disparities, Hip Hop, and true crime. He is currently writing a new book, Ricochet: Gun Violence and Trauma in Killadelphia (under contract with University of Chicago Press). In addition to his academic work, Jooyoung is also a fantastic public speaker who frequently appears on TV as a news commentator and an award-winning teacher. His work is featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Huffington Post, VICE, Maclean's, and other notable media outlets. You can find Jooyoung on Twitter! Follow your co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @Thomasncooke Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

Following a few weeks off, we are finally back in the groove in the leadup to the American Sociolocial Association's annual meeting in Philly! In this week's episode, Derek sits down with a long time twitter-friend Dr. Neda Maghbouleh (PhD University of California), Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, to chat about her book The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian-Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race (Stanford University Press), her current work with Syrian newcomers in the #6ix, and the role of social media in academic circles. Neda is an expert on racism and immigration, with a particular focus on groups from the Middle East - broadly conceived. Some of her research currently on-the-go includes a SSHRC/IRCC-funded project on stress and the integration of Syrian newcomer mothers in Toronto and Peel regions (with Melissa Milkie and Ito Peng); a Connaught-funded project on boundaries and inequalities in local mothers' groups; and survey research on the "new U.S. racial and ethnic hierarchy" (with Ariela Schachter and René Flores). Dr. Maghbouleh frequently provides commentary to media outlets like CTV News, Global News, NPR Code Switch, Salon, Toronto Star, Vice, and Vox. She enjoys conducting research with UTM students and is running two undergrad ROP research teams, aligned with her SSHRC/IRCC- and Connaught-funded projects, in 2016-8. Not only all that, she is a totally rad person and her Twitter presence is awesome! You can find Neda on Twitter!   Don't forget to follow the show on Twitter!     Follow your co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @Thomasncooke Email us: [email protected] Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?