Year End Quiz 2022

Kristen and Kyla are joined by Executive Director of the Harbinger Media Network Andre Goulet, academic and Ethical Parenting guest Sarah Mistak, and Invisible Institutions' Megan Linton on the annual year end panel quiz. Revisit events of the past year, and the winner receives a donation to their organization of choice.

Megan shouts out Sunshine House in Winnipeg

Andre shouts out The Rover

Sarah shouts out Kids Help Phone

Read More

May Day 2022 with Emily Leedham

Kristen and Kyla celebrate May Day with special guest Emily Leedham, Prairie Reporter for Press Progress, and editor of Shift Work, a weekly newsletter round-up of national labour news, strikes, lockouts and new organizing across Canada.
Some of the topics covered in this episode include the current state of labour and unions in Canada, discussing how companies employ anti-union tactics (calling out Uber and Amazon specifically), how COVID has and will continue to affect labour in Canada, how the current state of journalism hurts the labour movement, and how workers can become empowered to protect themselves in a world that is becoming increasingly difficult to work in. Emily recommends the Organizing For Power Course, as well as Jane McAlevey’s No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age and Eric Blanc’s Red State Revolt to learn more!

Read More

The Olympics

"I'm just pulling up the Olympic sponsors list right now... oh yeah, it's a real axis of evil as far as corporations go."

Kristen and Kyla are joined by Abdul Malik of the Off Court Podcast to discuss what it would take to have an ethical Olympics. Topics include: effects on the environment, vulnerable citizens, and athletes; global politics; sponsorships; corruption; labour movements; the value of sports to our community.

Abdul recommends:
Bad Sport and Drive to Survive on Netflix
NOlympians by Jules Boykoff

Read More

Halloween Spooktacular

“Now I’m picturing the Lorax with guns taped to his hands.”

In this special Halloween episode of Pullback Podcast, Kristen and Kyla are joined by activist Robert Miller to talk Squid Games and share spooky stories inspired by capitalism. Robbie shares a folktale based on his Welsh heritage; Kyla puts a modern twist on a classic ghost story; and Kristen tells a tale from the Gilded Age.

Read More

The Fallout from COVID-19 with Steven Ayer

This is a special episode on COVID-19’s impacts and the prospects for a just recovery, created in partnership with PhiLab, the Canadian Philanthropy Partnership Research Network. Kristen and Kyla are joined by Steven Ayer to discuss the Toronto Fallout Report. Steve is the President of Common Good Strategies. He is also the lead researcher and author of the Toronto Foundation’s Vital Signs Report and, most recently, the Fallout Report. The Fallout Report explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto. Listen in for a discussion covering topics from health inequality to food insecurity, mental health, economic challenges, housing, and the future of the nonprofit sector.

Read More

2020 Wrap-up Quiz

"So if you combine the estimated wealth of those 2153 billionaires, it exceeds the wealth of how many other people on the planet?"
In this episode, Kyla and Kristen say goodbye to 2020 with a wrap-up quiz, featuring previous guests Brianna Botchwey, Fariya Mohiuddin, and Alexandra Sundarsingh. The group looks back at ethical consumption trends and issues from throughout the year.

Read More

Holiday Episode: Ethical Past, Present, and Future

“The Ghost of Christmas Present’s call to action is… yikes.”
In this special Christmas Carol-themed holiday episode, Kyla and Kristen are joined by Robert Miller to discuss ethical consumption’s past, present, and future. Kristen shares the story of Florence Kelley and the anti-sweatshop White Label Campaign; Kyla canvasses 2020 for good news (yikes); and Robert imagines alternative futures.

Read More

Halloween 2020

"Pumpkin pie is so good, I didn't have it until like... I think the first time I ate pumpkin pie was like two years ago? Game changer, I could not believe what I had been missing for so many years."
In this episode, Kyla and Kristen take on the spookiest day of the year by challenging themselves to find ethical Halloween solutions. Topics: costumes and cultural appropriation; sustainable costumes; ethical candy; and ethical decorations.

Read More

COVID-19 and Inequality

In this episode, Kristen and Kyla are joined by Alix Jansen to talk about COVID-19 and inequality. Alix is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on work and social policy in advanced industrial democracies. Topics: COVID-19 and racial, gender, social, and economic inequalities; the white collar quarantine; the economic crisis and COVID-19; social policy responses; and possible long-term legacies of the pandemic.

Read More

Kristen and Kyla React to COVID-19

Social distancing! In this bonus episode, Kyla and Kristen each shout out three problems and three champions as the COVID-19 pandemic asserts itself in Canada. Kyla notices how pandemics change our lives and routines in unexpected ways. Kristen realizes she had no idea what a week’s worth of groceries looks like.

Read More

Kyla and Kristen Ruin Christmas

In this episode, Kristen and Kyla ruin Christmas — but, you know, in a fun and practical way. This episode covers online shopping, artificial versus real Christmas trees, and solutions to reduce waste at Christmas. Kyla and Kristen also gift each other ethical presents (carbon emissions from cross-country shipping not included, yikes). Tune in as Kristen tortures listeners with misophonia by eating the world’s crunchiest cookie.

Read More

What Is Ethical Consumption?

In this introductory episode, we explain what the Pullback podcast is all about. To illustrate how difficult it is to know what the right thing to do is, Kristen quizzes Kyla on the world of ethical consumption. If you are interested in trying the quiz, you can access it here.

Read More