May 2013 Show

Malek reported on the Status For All March which took place earlier this month in Montreal. 

We also featured a special report by Alyssa Clutterbuck on Assata Shakur and her recent placement by the FBI on their list of Most Wanted Terrorists. Shakur is the first woman and the second domestic target to be added to the list.  Alyssa discussed the implications of this action and the four decade long hunt for Assata and what she represents for the US government. 

Mercedes Bonair facilitated the second installment of our roundtable discussion on race, media, and pop culture. 

Listen to the show here.

April 2013 Show

We welcomed back into the studio, journalist and critic Christiana for an interview with Mercedes Bonair about  the Funny or Racist Panel Discussion that took place at McGill on March 28th. 

We also featured an exciting piece from Mercedes, who discussed the film “Life is but a Dream”, a recent documentary about Beyonce.   We then held a roundtable session, on the question of the representation of women of colour in popular culture.

Listen to the show here.

March 2013 Show

We started our March show with a piece by Preeti Dhaliwal on a crime that has received widespread international media attention - the rape of a young woman in India.

In honour of International Women's Day, Malek Yalaoui reported on a demonstration held in Montreal celebrating this event. 

Alyssa Clutterbuck covered the vicious responses to those speaking out against rape in the wake of the convictions of two boys in Stubenville, Ohio. They were charged with sexually assaulting an unconscious girl, an incident that was captured on video and widely circulated on social media outlets.

We also featured an exciting piece by Victoria Nam, who turned a critical eye to Status Quo, a new documentary by Karen Cho, exploring the state of feminism and the status of women in Canada. We then held a roundtable discussion, where fellow Spitfiyahs weighed in. 

Listen to the show here. 

February 2013 Show

Mae interviewed  sex educator and burlesque performer Lorraine Hewitt in Toronto.

In honour of Black History Month, Alyssa Clutterbuck reported on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and today's US Supreme Court’s hearings on the matter.  

Malek Yalaoui brought us a report on the sexaul assaults and acts of violence against women in the Tahrir Square protests, as well as on the worldwide day of action that took place this month  calling for an end to the violence.

We also welcomed black feminist writer and critic Christiana Collison as our in-studio guest.  Mercedes Bonair interviewed Christiana on her recent piece “Complicating Space - Safe Space and the Politics of  Privilege and Marginality” which was published earlier this month in the McGill Daily.  

Listen to the show here. 

January 2013 Show

We featured an interview from McGill artist KOSI whose art will be exhibited next Wednesday, February 6th at O Patro Vys.

Alyssa brought us a report on a story not getting the attention and care it deserves: The survivors of the “Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children” have broken their silence and are now suing in a class action suit for the sexual and physical abuse they suffered, or what one survivor describes as “torture”

Alyssa also gave a small comment on President Obama’s second inauguration and Merlie Evers’ Williams, long-time Civil Rights Activist, who delivered of the 2013 invocation


We also  hosted a round-table discussion about recent headlines this month -- The removal of Kwaanza as proposed by Senator Glen Grothman -- also the controversial film Django Unchained.   

Listen to the show here.

December 2012 Show

Alyssa reported on the Idle No More Movement, a nationwide grassroots movement to protest the Harper government’s harsh policies and treatment of First Nations peoples.

We also heard from Mercedes about reality TV and its portrayal of Black men.

Spitfiyah also caught up with D’Bi Young, dub poet and playwright, when she was in town for her show last month.

Lastly, Alyssa spoke about Republican opposition to the reauthorization of the  Violence Against Women Act, the main piece of federal legislation which addresses domestic violence, and what it could mean for Native Women.

Listen to the show here.

November 2012 Show

This month, we featured another edition of the Spitfiyah Roundup, where we share highlights from news stories outside the margins. We also spoke with D’bi Young  during her 333 tour through Montreal. 

Listen to the show here.

October 2012 Show

This month, we celebrated Spitfiyah’s 10th anniversary. That's ten years of broadcasting every last Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. on CKUT 90.3 FM.

Alyssa brought us another edition of the Spitfiyah Roundup, where we share highlights from news stories outside the margins.

Malek recapped a lecture by Professor Joanne St. Lewis titled “Race, Representation and Black Women in Public Life - Imagining Michelle Obama” and facilitated a roundtable discussion on that lecture.

Nicole had the opportunity to interview visionary artist, social activist and member of JustSeeds Favianna Rodriguez about her on-going poster and print exhibition at Cagibi.

Listen to our Tenth Anniversary show here.

September 2012 Show

Nicole attended Governor-General award winner Kevin Loreng’s play, Where the Blood Mixes, performed by the Teesri Duniya Theatre company. She joined in on a panel discussion that followed the performance. Nicole will be filling us in with a short review of the play as well as discussing how art can be used as a form of healing.

We will also be hearing excerpts read by Preeti Dhaliwal from her short novel, Embodying Geography, and insight about her creative project.

Malek will be sharing a piece on on the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

Finally, Alyssa will look back at the Democratic National Convention and the appearance by former president Bill Clinton who has been romanticized as this crusader for justice, women's rights, and a man of the people. She challenges us to look at Clinton in both substance and policy to come to a different conclusion.


Listen to the show here.

August 2012 Show

Nicole Ebert spoke with the founder and team captain of the local duo Institutional Prostitution. Malek Yalaoui has a poem for us. Lindsay Cheong and Mae J. Nam will also be discussing Chimamanda Adichie’s novel, Half of a Yellow Sun. Alyssa Clutterbuck, who will be talking about the Québec election, addresses what separatism means for women of colour in Québec and in Canada.

Listen to the show here.

 Stay tuned: Next month is our TEN YEAR anniversary!

Spitfiyah! Radio November 2010 show

(Note: During the slot for our October show, a special edition of Hersay was broadcast for CKUT's annual funding drive. If you would like to donate, please visit the CKUT website. Please donate if you can! Community radio is so important.)


On Spitifyah! this month:

Listen to the show:

First, we have the second installment of our interview with Dr. Tara Atluri, Professor of Women's Studies at York University. Professor Atluri researches Race and Comedy. She is also the one behind the “ Where is Omar?” street-art installations in Toronto, which seek to raise awareness about the Omar Khadr case. Prof. Atluri talked to Zabrina about this project as well as identity politics and social change.


Also, two weeks ago, McLean's published an article entitled Too Asian. The article begins by quoting a high school student saying that she would not choose the University of Toronto because it is essentially "too Asian", and that the killjoy, antisocial and competitive attitudes of Asian students have made certain universities a less desirable place to go. The public response to this article has been considerable. In Toronto, Zabrina spoke with Florence Li, the Project Coordinator of the Toronto chapter of the Chinese Canadian National Council, and also one of the main organizers behind Too Asian Talkback, a group formed in response to this article.

Lastly, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw is a pioneer in the legal field. Dr.Crenshaw has been a professor at the UCLA law faculty for over 20 yrs. She is a key figure in the Critical Race Studies movement producing seminal scholarship and has actively worked to make the law and the legal profession more accessible to people, and especially, women of colour. In this homage to Kimberlé Crenshaw, Alyssa discusses the barriers that women of colour face in accessing legal careers and the importance of Kimberlé Crenshaw's work.


Music played:

Bonnie Pink, Joy, One
Masia One, Telephone Love, Pulau
Erykah Badu, Window Seat, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)

Theme songs:
Mystic, The Life, Cuts for Love, Scars for Freedom
Michie Mee, Don't Wanna be Your Slave, The First Cut is the Deepest

Spitfiyah! Radio September 2010 show

On Spitifyah! this month:

Listen to the show:

Zabrina met with Tara Atluri, Professor of Women's Studies at York University. Professor Atluri researches Race and Comedy. She is also the one behind the “ Where is Omar?” street-art installations in Toronto, which seek to raise awareness about the Omar Khadr case. Prof. Atluri talked to us about this project as well as identity politics and social change.

Alyssa spoke with Tia Hicks, a Senior in the Africana Studies Program at Cornell University. Over the summer, Tia Hicks conducted interviews with women involved in the Black Panther Party. She spoke to us about that. She also shared her views on gender politics in Black political movements today.

Lastly, Eleshia will be reviewing Canadian writer, Lawrence Hills’s, The Book of Negroes. The novel was published in 2007 and has won numerous awards including the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. As of last week, it had been announced that the book has sold more than 500 000 copies in Canada.

Music played:

Billie Holiday, Easy Living, Yesterdays.
Georgia Anne Muldrow, Run Away, Early
Georgia Anne Muldrow, Child of the Sun, Early

Theme songs:
Mystic, The Life, Cuts for Love, Scars for Freedom
Michie Mee, Don't Wanna be Your Slave, The First Cut is the Deepest

Spitfiyah! April 2009 Show

A report from a fact finding mission in the Philippines, a book review of Solomon Schimmel's Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth, a piece on trans national surrogates, and a comment on the surge of anti-black racism post Obama's election. Listen here

Spitfiyah! May 2009 show

This month: an interview with Sana Siddiqui from the Amal women's centre which caters to the Montreal Muslim community, a piece on Proposition 8 eliminating the right of same sex couples to marry, a poem by Angelica, and a report back from the UGAT conferance for Filipino youth. Listen here

Spitfiyah! Radio May 2008

On this month's show, a discussion with Stephanie Guico on the newly released Bouchard-Taylor Commission Report, an overview of Asian Canadian History for the celebration of Asian Heritage Month, and a piece on the life and work of Octavia Butler. Listen to the show.

Spitfiyah! April 2006 Show

Listen to the show.

Spitfiyah! Radio March 2008

On this month's show, an interview with Latoya Morgan from the Black Student's network, and Kenson talking about his recent experience of police brutality, a piece on black focused schools and the white-washing of Hollywood movies, including the newly released 21. Listen to the show.

Spitfiyah! February 2008

This month, we are celebrating Black History Month with a jam packed show! We are discussing black focused schools in Toronto, we have an interview with Rosetta on sickle cell anemia, a piece on the landmark 1997 case of R v. RDS which acknowledged systemic racism and bias in the justice system, and a review of the documentary Black is, Black Ain't by Marlon Riggs. Also, throughout the show, we have incorporated short pieces about important events in Black Canadian history including the hanging of Angelique, overlooked facts about the Underground Railroad, the desegregation of Canadian schools and environmental racism and the razing down of Africville in Nova Scotia. Listen to our archive of the show here.

Spitfiyah! February 2007 show archive

Happy new year everyone!

The February 2007 show features interviews with poet and author Afua Copper with director Shonali Bose on her new film Amu and with Sarah Elgazzar from CAIR CAN speaking on reasonable accomodation in Quebec. Listen here.

Spitfiyah! April 2007 archive

In an effort to have our show archives readily available, here are the first ones! Radio4all, the website that houses our archives, has been experiencing some issues lately, so please keep trying if you can't get to it on the first attempt.


April 2007: Interview with Camille Cendana, observer to the Permanent People's Tribunal, commentaries on the Six Nations Land Reclamation, the Ebony Roots Symposium, the Don Imus affair, and the VA Tech shootings. Listen to the archive.