Pivot Points
Wednesdays, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Hosted by Asad Chishti
A weekly current issues and news panel centred in Alberta’s capital city, hosted by CJSR.
Bringing together locals “in the know” with honesty and curiosity.
This show is for folks, who:
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are excited by real conversations – not hot takes or platforming
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understand rights go along with responsibilities
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don’t see themselves represented in the media in a just way
Hosted by Asad Chishti
EPISODE 7 | State of the Unions: Edmonton & Beyond
A conversation with Alyson Winkelaar, Anna Vesala and Cole Rockarts on labour and unions’ impact on employments rates, affordability, health and safety.
PANELISTS
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Alyson
A parent and long-time union organizer. Alyson is Chief Shop Steward at Civic Service Union 52 (CSU52). She balances this work with her “day job” as well as other roles. She’s been active in the union since 2014.
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Anna
A city employee and cat person. Anna is 2nd Vice President at CSU 52. She was elected in 2024.
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Cole Rockarts
A labour educator and organizer. They’ve worked in unions in Canada and the US since 2016. Fired Up About Unions is their debut book and published by Between the Lines.
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EPISODE 6 | Local universities suppressing their students
A conversation with Euan Thomson and David Slater about their reporting for The Breach on Edmonton and Alberta’s role in a secret network across post-secondary institutions suppressing students. We also hear from students and alumni who were targeted for their on-going advocacy about the war on Gaza and support for Palestinian lives.
PANELISTS
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Abraar Al Silwaadi
A writer and artist. Abraar is originally from the West Bank. She co-founded Palestinian Student Alliance (PSA) at MacEwan University.
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Chris Morrow
An Edmonton-based activist as well as DJ and artist.
Find Chris on Instagram
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David Slater
An Edmonton-based journalist focusing on institutional accountability and data journalism. A former musician, he’s finishing up a journalism placement at The Tyee.
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Euan Thomson
Halifax-based writer and editor. He investigates the intersection of policing and drug policy for Drug Data Decoded. Euan is a plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against the Calgary Police Service and University of Calgary.
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Eve Aboualy
A poet and organizer. Eve organizes with Palestinian Student Alliance (PSA) whose work focuses on MacEwan University and across the city.
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Nour Salhi
A journalist and writer. Nour is an advocate for collective liberation and is working towards ending institutional violence.
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EPISODE 5 | Policing from there to here
A conversation with former cop Dan Jones, advocate Kelsey Lyseng and long-time journalist Samira Mohyeddin hinging on surveillance, militarism and “justice” overseas creeping into Canadian cities and onto campuses.
PANELISTS
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Dan Jones
A criminologist and former police officer with the Edmonton Police Service. He resigned from the police commission in recent years and focuses on victim-offender overlap.
Find Dan on LinkedIn
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Kelsey Lyseng
A nurse and human rights advocate. She’s been using videos to focus on healthcare, Palestine, with an Edmonton-specific lens.
Find Kelsey on Instagram
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Samira Mohyeddin
A journalist and filmmaker. She left the CBC in November 2023 to found On the Line Media. Mohyeddin works to deliver critical and contextual journalism.
Find Samira on Instagram
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EPISODE 4 | Belonging in Alberta
A discussion with Shiza Wasi, Henry Sir and Sarah Hoyles hinging on what it means to be Albertan, the current state of governments and special interests.
PANELISTS
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Henry Sir
A comedian and writer. He’s been posting videos about politics and government – based on both sides of the 49th parallel.
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Shiza Wasi
An organizer and convenor. She works with both YEG Muslim Vote to increase civic literacy and Public Interest Alberta to make policy more accessible.
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Sarah Hoyles
Long-time journalist and CJSR’s station manager. She’s survived being in the journalism industry for more than two decades in a variety of roles.
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EPISODE 3 | The language of data centres and Alberta’s referendum
A conversation with Gabrielle Barber and Kayla Piccinin hinging on public literacy on data centres and the Alberta referendum questions. We also go to Sturgeon County to hear from Albertans concerned about the proposed data centre there.
PANELISTS
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Gabrielle Barber
An anthropologist and soon-to-be graduate student. She’s been making educational videos about the Alberta referendum. Calgary-based.
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Kayla Piccinin
An advocate and parent. Part of the Olds Transparency Project, she credits a proposed mega data centre next to her home for raising all sorts of alarms and flags on due process.
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EPISODE 2 | Do Land Back and separatism pivot the same?
A conversation with Matthew Wildcat, Leah Hennig and Tim Shoults orbiting around Alberta Separatists, First Nations rights, media responsibility + more.
PANELISTS
EPISODE 1 | How do we pivot together?
A conversation with Haruun Ali, Jeremy Appel and Karen Unland hinging on Edmonton Police Service, climate responsibilities, the city budget, our news diet + more.
PANELISTS
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Haruun Ali
An advocate and organizer. He resides on Treaty 6 and has spent years working on issues affecting Edmonton-at-large, his family, and himself personally.
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Jeremy Appel
A journalist and author. He’s written several books and regularly published The Orchard digital newsletter. Appel’s work is in the New York Times, the Toronto Star, National Observer, Tyee, Alberta Views, and more.
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Karen Unland
A journalist and publisher. She is the co-founder of Taproot publishing and the editor-in-chief of Taproot Edmonton. Before founding Taproot with Mack Male a decade ago, Unland worked in newspapers and podcasting. |
