rabble.ca - Health

Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to Occupied Palestine: Encroachment, resistance and criminalization

Peoples Health Radio — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 04:23:16 +0000

Part 1 of the show looks at the health consequences of gentrification in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and the powerful community struggle against the Sequel 138 condo development with Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council board member Ivan Drury. Part two examines mass incarceration and political imprisonment as an assault on people's health and people's aspirations for healthier, liberated world. It includes part of talk by Angie Ipong, a former political prisoner who spent 6 years in jail in the Philippines for her work organizing with peasants and indigenous people, and an interview with Charlotte Kates of the SAMIDOUN Palestinian Prisoners Support Network about the health consequences of mass incarceration of Palestinians in Israeli occupation jails.

A plague of prisons

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:15:51 +0000

People's Health Radio looks again at the health and social impacts of prisons and the mass incarceration agenda in Canada. This week's show features audio from a forum held in the Downtown Eastside with U.S. author Ernie Drucker and activists from the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

Women's health and women's liberation -- IWD special

Peoples Health Radio — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:15:08 +0000

To mark Internationl Women's Day 2012, PHR looks at the links between working class women's struggles for liberation and women's health. With the Alliance for People's Health IWD statement read by Martha Roberts at the Vancouver IWD rally; a discussion between grassroots community health organizers Yuly Chan and Jannie Leung; and coverage of the IWD march in Gaza, Palestine.

Drug prohibition and health

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:17:03 +0000

People's Health Radio looks at the current prohibition of illicit drugs, its impact on health and alternative approaches to drugs and drug use. Guests include UVic Professor Susan Boyd talking about the the history of drug prohibition in Canada and Dave Murray an "alumni" of the North American Opiate Maintenance Initiative (NAOMI).

Housing, homelessness and health

Peoples Health Radio — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:29:04 +0000

People's Health Radio takes a look at the health impacts of inadequate housing with a particular focus on people in extremely marginalized housing such as shelters and hotels in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Interviews with organizers Roland Clarke and Ivan Drury of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council.

Charity vs. Justice: Can the charity industry save us from capitalism?

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:59:32 +0000

Segment one takes a look at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the global leader in philanthrocapitalism, with People's Health Radio contributors Martha Roberts and Rohith Bhargavan. The second segment is a roundtable on charity vs. justice with Ann Livingston (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users), Dave Diewert (Streams of Justice) and Paul Taylor (Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House).

'Ghetto Palestine': Challenges and possibilities for resistance, with Jon Elmer

Peoples Health Radio — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:48:27 +0000

Today on People's Health Radio we bring you a lecture on "Ghetto Palestine" delivered by Canadian writer and photojournalist Jon Elmer at UBC on December 2, 2011. Jon's perspective is based on 10 years of reporting from the West Bank and Gaza. His on-the-ground experience of events such as the second intifada and the Fatah-Hamas clashes in Gaza inform an analysis absent from mainstream media narratives.

Smile with Dignity rally and lecture on 'Care and the Welfare State'

Peoples Health Radio — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:05:15 +0000

This week we bring you reports from two recent events in Vancouver: a rally organized by the 'Smile with Dignity' campaign for universal public dental insurance, and a lecture at UBC by Professor James Struthers on trends in health-care delivery.

On October 29, 2011, organizers and supporters of the Smile with Dignity campaign, an initiative of the Vancouver-based Alliance for People's Health, rallied at Premier Christy Clark's constituency office with the message that "the lack of dental coverage in B.C. is scary." The Halloween-themed protest included giant teeth costumes, a play, an open mic session and the delivery of a set of demands to the premier's office.

Canada's mass incarceration agenda

Peoples Health Radio — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:30:35 +0000

People's Health Radio looks at the mass incarceration agenda in Canada -- from the "ominous" crime bill, to prison construction and privatization in B.C. to targeting of poor people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Interviews with Caleb Chepesiuk of Canadian Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, Stephanie Seaton, a blogger on prison expansion and privatization and Laura Shaver, an activist with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users on her experience of prison.

Healing trauma in our movements: A spotlight on the Kindred Collective in the Southern United States

Peoples Health Radio — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:47:42 +0000

Jennifer from People's Health Radio had the chance to speak with Tamika Middleton and Cara Page of the Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective from their base in Atlanta, Georgia.

Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective is based out of the Southern United States. Founded in 2007, Kindred is conceived by healers and organizers in the South as a response to the crisis of trauma, violence and social conditions in the Southern United States.

Health and healing among activists and organizers

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:56:11 +0000

Are our radical communities healthy places? How can we fight burnout, depression and isolation among organizers and activists? Includes interview with radical Vancouver accupuncturist Laurel Irons.

Music by Leah Abramson and Smog.

Social and structural determinants of health: A global perspective

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:07:35 +0000

A further discussion of the social and structural determinants of health. In two presentations recorded at the International League of People's Struggles Fourth International Assembly, Martha Roberts from the Alliance for People's Health and Delen de la Paz from Health Action for Human Rights expose the inadequacy of the World Health Organization's interpretation of a social determinants of health approach and argue that we need to look to socialist models of health care such as in Cuba and post-revolution China for a guide to creating a truly people-centred health-care system.

Social and structural determinants of health in the Philippines

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:57:47 +0000

Aiyanas and Martha report back on their recent trip to the Philippines where they worked for six weeks with grassroots people's health organizations. Looking at the experience of two communities in the city of Escalante we look at how th people's movement in the Philippines is addressing both the social and structural determinants of health. Includes an interview with a leading human rights advocate from norther Negros.

Report back from the frontlines of the health-care fight in the U.S.

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:35:45 +0000

Jennifer interviews fellow collective member Rohith on his summer spent with the Physicians for a National Health Care Program in Chicago. We talked about the status of the fight for universal health care and the health-care apartheid that is so entrenched in the U.S. today.

The Revolution Starts at Home: The Vancouver launch

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:57:52 +0000

This podcast includes audio from the July 21 Vancouver launch of the book The Revolution Starts at Home, Confronting Intimate Violence In Activist Communities, including readings by two of the book's co-editors Ching-In Chen and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. We didn't record the question and answer period, which starkly illustrated the need to have these discussions within activist communities here in Vancouver. http://revolutionathome.tumblr.com/

Also includes an interview that Hugh and Jen did with Leah and Ching-In about the evolution of the project, the idea of restorative justice, and the response from progressive communities.

Think before you Pink: The politics of breast cancer

Peoples Health Radio — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:05:39 +0000

We constantly hear about the "cure for cancer" runs that are sponsored by powerful banks such as the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Why is nobody running for cancer prevention, and what is the role of large business interests in setting the agenda for cancer activism?

With:

Breast Cancer Action, a U.S.-based education and advocacy organization located in San Francisco, California.

Joy Simmonds, on her experience living with breast cancer.

Music by Vanessa Richards and Invincible.

Health and human rights in the Philippines

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:57:54 +0000

What's the state of health and human rights in the Philippines today?

We revisit the story of the Morong 43, a group of 43 community health workers detained by the Philippine government from February to December of 2010. What have been the impacts of the detainment and ongoing military harassment on the health workers, their families and communities?

Includes:

Interview with Aiyanas Ormond -- People's Health Radio co-host and local organizer who is currently in the Philippines with his partner and children on a solidarity mission. More information about their trip can be found at thistinyglobe.wordpress.com

Interview with Merry Mia-Clamor, one of the 43 health workers detained by the Philppine government.

Nine Month Blues: A look at women's reproductive rights in Canada

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:19:49 +0000

From birth control, to abortion, to access to information and education, what's happening with sexual health for women in Canada?

We talk to Greg Smith (Executive Director of https://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/) and Joyce Arthur (Executive Director of the Abortion rights Coalition Of Canada -- http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/home.html) about the lay of the land for women's reproductive rights in Canada. We also include audio from the audio documentary "The Women Are Coming" about the Abortion Caravan to fight for women's right too access free and legal abortion. Check it out here -- http://youtu.be/pq_JZhLT5y8 -- the images are very moving and inspiring!

Music by Peggy Seeger, the Gruff, Ani Difranco, the Great Lake Swimmers and Nellie McKay.

Health care for sale? The health impacts of privatization

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 03:30:12 +0000

Just how public is our public health-care system? We look at the trend of increasing health-care privatization in Canada and B.C., and the health impacts on patients and health-care workers.

Featuring:

Roundtable with Vancouver-based Alliance for People's Health on the community health impacts of health-care privatization in Canada.

Feature interview with union organizer Jen on Bill 29 and the privatization of health care in B.C.

Feature interview with Colleen Fuller on the mechanisms of health-care privatization in B.C.

With music by Mountain Man, Cuff the Duke, and K'naan.

Suffer for your art: A look at musician health and safety

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:52:08 +0000

On this show we take a look at the state of musician health and safety. What are the hazards? What protection do musicians have from injury and strain? From electrocution to repetitive strain to addiction, we take a look at the hazards musicians can risk in pursuit of their creative vision.

Includes interviews with Tim Tweedale (Headwater) and Leah Abramson (the Abramson Singers) about the hazards of being a working musician in Canada.

Music by Fred Eaglesmith, David Lindley and Wally Ingram, Headwater, the Abramson Singers, Janis Joplin and Amy Winehouse.

Dr. Julian Tudor Hart: A socialist life

Peoples Health Radio — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 02:32:08 +0000

Julian Tudor Hart is a retired family doctor, now working occasionally as a research Fellow at the new medical school in Swansea, Wales. He is otherwise occupied in writing and lecturing about health policy research in primary care, and the social functions of health care. Through a long life, his unifying theme has been application of Marxist philosophy to primary health care.

People's Health Radio spoke to Dr. Hart about his life as a socialist general practitioner, and the values we need to assert for a more just and humane world.

Music by Gil Scott Heron, the Peggy Lee Band, John Friesen, Tim Tweedale, Regina Carter and Nina Simone.

Poverty, criminalization and health

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:11:41 +0000

We tell the story of the story of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users campaign against ticketing for vending, jaywalking and public urination in the Downtown Eastside. Positive community alternatives to criminalization and the struggle to see them implemented.

Globalization and Health

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 25 May 2011 23:50:54 +0000

Featuring interviews with Professor John Calvert on the impacts of GATT and TRIPs on health, Dr. Chandu Claver, Chairman of BAYAN Canada on Globalization and Health in the Philippines and Martha Roberts of the Alliance for People's Health on Community Based Health Programs.

Mother's Liberation: Care-giving under capitalism

Peoples Health Radio — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:22:52 +0000

Mother's Liberation dreams of how mothers might be liberated from the isolating and at times grueling unpaid work of care-giving under capitalism.

Featuring:

Valcina Cos, single mom, member of the Breakthrough Mamas
Suzanne Baustad, single mom, anti-poverty organizer, and founding member of Grassroots Women
Sophia Roberts, a high-school student, reading a Grassroots Women Mother's Day statement
And speeches from the 2011 Mothers on the Move Mother's Liberation Rally!

Is capitalism a disease?

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 05 May 2011 06:59:48 +0000

We talk to Richard Levins, Dennis Raphael and Martha Roberts asking the question: Is capitalism a disease? Are structural inequality, class exploitation, racism and sexism making us sick?

We take the conversation about health beyond health care and look at health from a holistic perspective. What does it mean to be sick, and to be well? What does a healthy life look like?

Workers' health, workers' voices: Working class health through poetry and music

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:12:21 +0000

On this May Day special of People's Health Radio we share our own music and poetry on the topic of working class health and struggle, and also invite guests Beth Grayer and Zailda Chan to also share their poems. Also includes an interview with Anakana Schofield about her work to revive interest in Helen Potrebenko's important novel, Taxi!

Poetry and writings by Aiyanas Ormond, Beth Grayer, Cheryl Savageau, June Jordan and Zailda Chan.

Music by the Strange Fruit Project, Hazel Dickens, Jennifer Efting, Tracy Chapman, and Maria Dunn.

Homeopathy and people's health

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:12:55 +0000

We talk with Peter Fraser, who is Director of the Institute of Homœopathy (http://www.homoeopathist.info/) about the principles behind homeopathic practices and the health benefits he sees his patients enjoying from their homeopathic treatments.

We also talk with Lee Meloy, President of BC Sceptics, and Jamie Williams, Executive Director of the BC Centre for Inquiry (http://www.centerforinquiry.net/) about their concerns about the practice ofand theory behind homeopathy.

Music by the Gruff, Geoff Berner, Maria Dunn and Kevin Efting.

The impact of radiation on people's health

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:37:41 +0000

As the disaster in Japan continues to worsen, we take a look at the impact of radiation and nuclear energy on people's health. We talk to Glenn Alcalay about the history of U.S. nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands, and we also talk to Dr. Dale Dewar of Physicians for Global Survival about nuclear energy in Canada and why Physicians for Global Survival have taken a stand against nuclear proliferation for the good of all humanity.

Music by Peter Tosh, Joni Mitchell, Buffy St. Marie, K'Naan and Ani Difranco.

The great meat debate

Peoples Health Radio — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:53:11 +0000

Deals with the health implications of meat-eating and vegetarianism for individual health, the health of the community (looking at race, class and genedered implications) and the health of the planet. With topical music.

Mining and health: Canadian mining at home and abroad

Peoples Health Radio — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:11:47 +0000

Excerpts and commentary on 'Open Pit Imperialism: Canada at Home and Abroad,' a public forum held in Vancouver, B.C. in February 2011.