Season 1Breaking the Blue Wall
Policing Black Lives in Edmonton
MAY 16Lip Service
Oumar talks to Community Safety and Well-Being Task force member Irfan Chaudhry about the release of the task force’s recommendations, the nature of committees in creating change or exposing hypocrisy, and the police’s attempts to keep any change within their own purview.
MARCH 10The Crumbs
Oumar talks to Celina Caesar-Chavannes, former Liberal Member of Parliament about her experience being tokenized, excluded, and eventually left to burn by her own party. She also shares her advice for creating change and surviving in institutions that are designed to crush us.
January 30Oversight
Oumar talks to Harsha Walia (BCCLA) about algorithmic policing, WIST, and the insidious nature of technological surveillance. Harsha also shares her thoughts on the hopelessness of reform, and how calls for the defunding of police are rooted in community safety.
DECEMBER 19Making Demands
Oumar talks to Batul Gulamhusein about the complicity of our municipal politicians in police violence and how we should approach next year’s election and the future beyond that. How can we elect leaders who we actually trust, and invest in community mechanisms of care?
November 22Close Encounters
We talk to Shima Robinson, an organizer at the recently-closed Pekiwewin camp, about police targeting of houseless populations and the need for transit accessibility. We also speak to Mark Cherrington about the fear of police, and what a world without police might look like.
September 30Are You Really Neutral?
Oumar and Hannan look into Canadian media’s friendly relationship with police forces, the sinister ways in which Canadian media organizations actively silence BIPOC journalists, and how method of “journalism” leaves racism unchecked.
September 10A Learning Moment
As a podcast that strives to properly communicate the experiences of Black Edmontonians, it’s been difficult to produce content with only one voice. Today we’re introducing a co-host, Hannan, who will bring important perspectives and talents to the project!
August 28Protect Our Children
After a failed school board motion to suspend Edmonton’s school resource officer (SRO) program, police will remain in schools this September. Oumar meets with a teacher who provides exclusive insight into her horrific experience with an SRO.
July 18I Can’t Breathe
When husband Jean-Claude arrived to check on Sifa after a vehicle accident, police pinned him to the ground with one officer's knee on his neck. They reflect on this traumatizing experience in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder and the calls for police accountability.
July 1Nyala
Oumar speaks with Moe Tesfay about his experience of police mistreatment as a veteran and local business owner. Criminal Trial Lawyers Association Policing Committee Chair Tom Engel explains the lack of police accountability from our current systems of politics and law.
June 12Dickinsfield
Oumar and Bashir return to where it all began. They meet at Dickinsfield Junior High and discuss how this upbringing shaped their relationship to policing in Edmonton. Avnish explains his work in the legal field and why police accountability is necessary for building safer communities.