Celebrating 300 Episodes of The Authority File: DEIA, Politics, and Social Activism

These 11 episodes explore equity in mental health research, DEI policies in publishing, the geopolitics of the climate crisis, and much more

Posted on December 21, 2022 in Blog

To celebrate The Authority File reaching 300 episodes, the Choice team put together several lists highlighting key episodes and topics. This list gathers episodes that investigate DEIA, politics, and social activism. Subjects include Canadian community development, unequal impacts on the workforce from COVID-19, and carving out intentional and representational space in the archives. Enjoy!

Episode 15: Asian American Librarians and Library Services: Diversity in Programming

Bill Mickey talks with Janet Hyunju Clarke, Raymond Pun, and Monnee Tong about the oppositional nature of Asian American Studies as a discipline. Monnee explains what the program “Talk Story” is and how libraries can implement similar programs to reach their own diverse communities. Read more and listen here.

Episode 129: Constructing the Black Prairie Archives: Expanding the Narrative

Karina Vernon, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, knew that when collecting material for her book, The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology, she couldn’t include everything: “The fantasy of the total archive—it’s an impossibility.” Read more and listen here.

Episode 132: Looking at Canadian Community Development: The Benefits and Pitfalls of Theory

Theory is not a hard-and-fast rule. It’s a fluid practice, something that warps and bends due to new information, context, and the situation it’s being applied to. Sarah Todd, of Carleton University, believes that one of the dangers of applying theory to community work is clinging so tightly to a belief that it drowns out that community’s needs. Read more and listen here.

Episode 218: The Myth of the Covid-Transformed Workplace: Unpacking Impact Disparity

Throughout the pandemic, what once was considered optional in higher education—asynchronous learning, accessible features, electronic resources—has now become the norm. At work and in the classroom, many have embraced new methods of communication with welcome results. But does everyone experience these changes equally? Read more and listen here.

Episode 235: Anthropocene Geopolitics: Living in a Globalized World

We live in a globalized world. The clothes we buy, the food we eat, and the beliefs we hold have consequences on the other side of the planet. In fact, these activities—and many more—impact our climate on a global scale. And paradoxically, not only does our consumption cause problems, but so do our solutions, whether by halting the use of fossil fuels or designing massive geoengineering projects. Read more and listen here.

Episode 188: The Queer Evangelist: The Politics of Politics

Cheri DiNovo, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, has been inside the belly of the legislative beast. Known for passing a historic number of LGBTQ+ bills, Cheri forged many bipartisan connections, negotiating her way from “motherhood” issues into the more contested. Read more and listen here.

Episode 172: What We Can Learn from a COVID-19 Spring: Equity and Vulnerabilities

As health care workers and susceptible citizens receive the first COVID-19 vaccinations, many hope this will mark the beginning of the end of a dark, deadly period. But the vaccine rollout also deepens the same problems we’ve been facing all year: who are our most vulnerable, and how do we help them in an equitable way? Read more and listen here.

Episode 272: How HSS Scholarly Publishing Supports Social Justice: DEI Policies and Practices

Publishers today are working to implement robust internal practices that center diversity, equity, and inclusion. Palgrave Macmillan—a publisher whose titles focus on issues of race, gender, disability, class, and more—is certainly no different. What kind of DEI initiatives, projects, and training has the publisher introduced? Read more and listen here.

Palgrave Macmillan logo

Episode 236: Looking at Community Music: Activism, Resources, and Current Movements

While traditional music education prioritizes the music—namely, centuries-old classical compositions—community music seeks to understand the impact of music-making on both the musician and listener. Because of this shift in approach, activist intentions emerge. Read more and listen here.

Episode 200: Preparing Diverse Students for Success: Fostering DEI in Publishing and Beyond

It’s no secret that the publishing industry is an homogenous field. Issues range from barriers of entry to recruitment strategies to workplace culture. What can scholarly publishers and university presses do to retool outdated, exclusionary practices? Read more and listen here.

Episode 283: Introducing Nature Mental Health: Equity in Mental Health

While outlining the forthcoming journal Nature Mental Health, the editorial team wanted to build equity, awareness, and transparency into its framework. As Chief Editor Dr. Rebecca “Bek” Cooney notes, the journal’s scope underpins mental health as a human right in order to spotlight the lack of understanding and structural support for mental health issues. Read more and listen here.

Keep up with the rest of the Celebrating 300 Episodes of The Authority File posts on Choice’s blog, Open Stacks.

You can find more Authority File episodes on our website, Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

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