Showcasing research and creative activities in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Episode 27: Questions of Identity
August 14, 2026
Tune in as we chat with the Faculty of Education’s Carla Peck. In this discussion, Professor Peck shares her unexpected journey into academics and delves into research projects that explore how student and teacher identities shape the way history and citizenship are perceived.
Episode 26: The Cultural Politics of Sleep
July 27, 2026
A conversation with political scientist and philosopher Cressida Heyes about her popular podcast “Sleep is the New Sex,” a lively and compelling exploration of research across disciplines into the significance of sleep in our lives, our cultures, and the way we understand the world.
Episode 25: Sound as a Sculptural Material
July 2, 2026
Delve into the multi-disciplinary world of sound studies with Scott Smallwood, composer, professor of music, and director of the Sound Studies Institute (SSI). Learn about rich sound environments, the value of what Smallwood refers to as “deep listening,” and discover how SSI supports and promotes sonic research at the University of Alberta.
Episode 24: Impactful Research and Compelling Stories
June 19, 2026
A conversation with Chris Andersen, dean and vice provost of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. In this episode, Dean Andersen describes his ambition to amplify research relationships, not only between disciplines but across departments and faculties, by enabling and supporting researchers to tell powerful stories.
Episode 23: Layers of Impact: Connection and Research in Business
May 20, 2026
A discussion with Vikas Mehrotra, Dean of the Alberta School of Business. In this episode, Dean Mehrotra shares how peeling back the layers of disciplines and borders creates transformative engagement opportunities for students and communities, while broadening the depth of research across academia.
Episode 22: Research-Informed Education for the Public Good
April 16, 2026
A conversation with Jennifer Tupper, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. In this episode, Dean Tupper describes the research ecosystem in the Faculty of Education and how it informs public education, advances the public good and transforms lives.
Episode 21: SpokenWeb Literary Sound Archive
March 30, 2026
A conversation with Michael O’Driscoll, KIAS Director, and Sean Luyk, Digital Curation Librarian, about the SSHRC SpokenWeb Partnership, a multi-campus project to build a literary sound archive to transcend page-based literary studies, create sonic-study methodologies and pedagogy, and preserve sound artifacts from multiple sources.
Episode 20: Literature and Landscape in Conversation
February 18, 2026
A conversation with Sarah Krotz, the director of the Centre for Literature in Canada | Centre de littératures au Canada (CLC) at the University of Alberta. Learn how CLC reaches across faculties and communities through its research and its interactions with authors, as well as Sarah's love of learning and her own exploration into how we inhabit our landscape.
Episode 19: Central European Connections: Arts, History and Cultural Exchange
February 11, 2026
A conversation with Dominique Reill, the new director of the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies at the University of Alberta. In this episode, learn about the extraordinary connections between research, arts, history and cultural exchange at the Institute and in Professor Reill's own wide-ranging academic work.
Episode 18: The Arts Impact
November 27, 2025
A discussion with Robert Wood, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. In this episode, Dean Wood talks through the strategic directions of the Faculty of Arts, the breadth of research and creativity within the faculty, and the impact the Arts has both institutionally and on broader society.
Episode 17: New Season of SSH Podcast
October 31, 2025
Marking the first anniversary of SSH: Podcast, this episode kicks off a new chapter as we thank Professor Joanna Harrington for launching us and welcome Professor Temitope Oriola as host of the podcast, and learn a little about both professors’ research.
Episode 16: Modernizing Family Law
July 28, 2025
A discussion with Dean Fiona Kelly about her work in family law and law reform, the legal regulation of assisted reproduction, donor linking laws, and the need for interdisciplinarity in research to address the complexities of modern families. Professor Kelly is Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta.
Episode 15: Transnational Black Writing
July 8, 2025
In this episode, we chat with Professor Michael Bucknor about the transnational connections between Black writers and Black communities and the importance of these connections for creating an ecosystem for Black writers. Dr. Bucknor is a Canada Research Chair in Black Global Studies and Decolonial Practice and a Professor in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta.
Episode 14: Affirming Disfluency
June 16, 2025
A discussion with Professor Joshua St Pierre about disfluency studies, the Stuttering Commons project, and his work to provide accessible public resources about speech disabilities. Dr. St Pierre is a Canada Research Chair in Critical Disability Studies and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta.
Episode 13: Recognizing Our Pasts
June 2, 2025
A discussion with Professor Sarah Nickel about the stories of Indigenous women’s activism and achievement, and the value of bringing historical training into community. Dr. Nickel is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Politics and Gender and an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Classics and Religion at the University of Alberta.
Episode 12: Understanding Prisons
May 5, 2025
A discussion with Professor Sandra Bucerius about the largest mixed methods study on Canadian prisons in the history of Canadian criminology, including Canada’s much overlooked remand prisons. Dr. Bucerius is the Director of the Centre for Criminological Research, the principal investigator for a $2.5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant on the intersecting issues of justice and injustice, and a Professor and Henry Marshall Tory Chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta.
Episode 11: Indigenous-Engaged Archaeology
April 22, 2025
In this episode, we chat with Professor Kisha Supernant about Indigenous-led and community-engaged archaeology, and the work of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology (IPIA). Dr. Supernant is the Director of the IPIA and a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta. The IPIA Guide to Good Relations when working with Indigenous communities is being released this month.
Episode 10: Women Entrepreneurs
April 2, 2025
A discussion with Professor Jennifer Jennings on gender and entrepreneurship, the importance of a contextualized approach to ensure research recognizes the institutionalized expectations at play, and the role of confidence in the entrepreneurial domain. Dr. Jennings is a professor in the Alberta School of Business and Canada Research Chair in Entrepreneurship, Gender and Family Business at the University of Alberta.
Episode 9: Immigration and Multiculturalism
March 5, 2025
A discussion with Professor Yasmeen Abu-Laban about research of impact on refugee reception, immigration and multiculturalism, and the benefits of collaboration with and across other disciplines and with practitioners. Dr. Abu-Laban is a professor of political science and Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights at the University of Alberta.
Episode 8: Indigenous Feminisms
February 3, 2025
In this episode, we chat with Professor Isabel Altamirano-Jiménez about the value of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing, the building of relationships, and the connections to be made between Indigenous women in Canada and Mexico. Dr. Altamirano-Jiménez is a professor of political science and Canada Research Chair in Comparative Indigenous Feminist Studies at the University of Alberta.
Episode 7: Testing Research
January 2, 2025
A discussion with Professors Mark Gierl and Cheryl Poth on the value of research to improve how we test to assess achievement, from elementary school through to university and beyond. Dr. Gierl is a professor of educational psychology and Canada Research Chair in Educational Assessment and Dr. Poth is a professor of education and was the Acting Director of the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation in Education (CRAME) at the University of Alberta.
Episode 6: Deaf Aesthetics in Education Design
November 25, 2025
In this episode, we chat with Professor Joanne Weber about the value of visual design for teachers of both deaf and non-deaf students, and the value of storytelling and the theatre arts to enhance curriculum and pedagogy. Dr. Weber is an associate professor of education and Canada Research Chair in Deaf Education at the University of Alberta. A transcript of this episode is available here.
Episode 5: Social Entrepreneurship
November 5, 2025
Can business serve as a tool for poverty alleviation? In this episode, we chat with Professor Angelique Slade Shantz about social entrepreneurship, necessity entrepreneurs, field research and community collaboration, as well as ecological economics, the rethink about growth, and the potential gains from embracing degrowth. Dr. Slade Shantz is an associate professor in the Alberta School of Business and Canada Research Chair in Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Alberta.
Episode 4: Electricity Economics
October 17, 2024
Where would we be without electricity? Join us as we discuss market regulation, renewables, electric vehicle charging, and the use of technology to unlock demand-side flexibility and lower costs in the electric power sector. Our guest is Professor David Brown, a professor of economics and Canada Research Chair in Energy Economics and Policy at the University of Alberta.
Episode 3: Indigenous Wisdom Traditions
September 24, 2024
In this episode, we chat with Professor Dwayne Donald on the ways Indigenous knowledge can enhance understanding, change how we train teachers, and contribute to the building of relationships. Dr. Donald is a professor in the Faculty of Education and Canada Research Chair in Reimaging Teacher Education with Indigenous Wisdom Traditions at the University of Alberta.
Episode 2: Black Decolonial Feminism
September 9, 2024
A discussion with Professor Shirley Anne Tate about Black diaspora studies, decolonialism, Caribbean theory, the impact of community in research, and the value of collaboration. Dr. Tate is a professor of sociology and Canada Research Chair in Feminism and Intersectionality at the University of Alberta.
Episode 1: Surveillance, Policing, and Prisons
August 19, 2024
Join us as we discuss the development of surveillance studies, life in prison and the work of the University of Alberta Prison Project, and the future we face with artificial intelligence. Our guest is Professor Kevin Haggerty, a professor with the Department of Sociology and Canada Research Chair in Criminology and Surveillance Studies at the University of Alberta.
LISTEN On...
Recorded at the Sound Studies Institute at the University of Alberta.
Production Team: Nicolás Arnáez, Tom Merklinger, Oliver Rossier
Host: Professor Temitope Oriola