Mind the disruption
is a podcast about people who refuse to accept things as they are. It’s about people pushing for better health for all. It’s about people like us who have a deep desire to build a healthier world.
On Mind the Disruption, the NCCDH podcast, you’ll hear the stories of people who have disrupted the usual ways of doing things in their organizations, communities, and society in pursuit of better health for all.
In weaving together interviews with community organizers, public health practitioners, researchers and more, we ask the question: what does it look like to challenge the status quo for health equity?
To find out more information about the podcast click on the ‘About the Podcast’ tab below.
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Listen to the podcast (in English) on our website or subscribe on these streaming platforms:
Meet the Team
Bernice Yanful
Producer & Host
Bernice (she/her) was born to Ghanaian parents. She is a Knowledge Translation Specialist at the NCCDH, and PhD candidate studying the intersections between school food and food security. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a public health nurse at an Ontario public health unit in the areas of school health and health equity.
Rebecca Cheff
Producer & Project Lead
Rebecca (she/her) is a white settler living in Toronto. She works with others to disrupt harmful and unjust policies and structures by bringing people together, mobilizing research, practice, and community-based knowledge, and building strategies for policy and practice change. Rebecca has been a Knowledge Translation Specialist at the NCCDH since 2021.
Carolina Jimenez
Producer
Carolina (she/her and they/them) is a queer migrant settler of mixed ancestry from Medellin, Colombia. She is a community organizer, a nurse practitioner student, and a Knowledge Translation Specialist at the NCCDH. Carolina resides in Vancouver, which is the unceded and occupied territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
Pemma Muzumdar
Producer
Pemma (she/her) joined the production team for Mind the Disruption in 2023. She is racialized as Brown. She is grateful to live, work, play, and parent in Tiohtiá:ke ‒ now known as Montreal ‒ on the unceded lands and waters of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation. For the past 12 years, Pemma has worked for the National Collaborating Centres for Public Health in various capacities. She is passionate about public health system renewal, building a culture of equity in public health organizations, and supporting public health to address root causes of health inequities.
Welcome to Mind the Disruption, the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health’s podcast. We’re so glad you found us!
We’re making this podcast for you: people across Canada who are working to build a healthier, more just world. On the podcast, you’ll hear the stories, struggles and hopes of public health professionals, academics, community organizers and more who are pushing for better health for all in their organizations, communities and beyond.
We are so grateful for our guests for their willingness to share their stories of not only recognizing but also acting on health inequities.
From Season 1 to 2, our fifteen episodes explore pressing social and structural determinant of health – from food insecurity, to racism, to employment conditions. Through stories and conversations with practitioners both inside and outside of public health, we define key concepts, contextualize emerging research and evidence, and share promising practices.
On the podcast, we intentionally speak to people working both inside and outside of public health across Canada because we know that collective action across sectors is needed to achieve health justice for all. Each episode includes reflection on our roles as a public health field and concrete actions that practitioners, decisions makers, researchers, and students can take to advance equity wherever they are.
We’re making this podcast grounded in the beliefs that:
· A desire to maintain the status quo cannot coexist with a radical commitment to
health equity
· The world can be different and better
We’re guided by values of risk taking, solidarity and inclusion. We put these values into action by:
· Taking risks in not shying away from thorny issues and stories that may surface
tensions and biases within public health
· Supporting solidarity through advancing ideas and actions that are driven by the
needs of the communities served and not self-interest
· Prioritizing inclusion and featuring a range of voices and experiences while
showcasing diverse ways of knowing
About Us
At the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health (NCCDH), we work to integrate health equity and structural and social determinants of health into Canadian public health practice, policy, and decision-making. This podcast is one of many ways we move knowledge to action. We hope it is a useful tool for you and your team to build your understanding of the structural and social determinants of health and health inequities and increase your capacity to act.
This podcast is created, developed, and produced by Rebecca Cheff, Carolina Jimenez, Pemma Muzumdar (Season 2), and Bernice Yanful (Knowledge Translation Specialists, NCCDH). Coordination of communications, webpage development and dissemination are led by Caralyn Vossen (Knowledge Translation Coordinator, NCCDH). Technical production and original music by Chris Perry. Artwork by comet art + design.
Special thanks to Claire Betker and the rest of the NCCDH team for their support, and to Sume Ndumbe-Eyoh and Pemma Muzumdar for their early thinking and conceptualization of the podcast.
The NCCDH is hosted by St. Francis Xavier University. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people.
This podcast is made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada through funding for the NCCDH. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Season 2
Social Movements for Social Justice
Welcome back! In the second season of Mind the Disruption, we explore social movements for social justice: groups of people working together to build collective power for change.
In each episode, you’ll hear from someone – a disruptor - who works with others to challenge the status quo because they have a deep shared conviction that a healthier, more just world is possible. You’ll also hear from a second guest, someone who will reflect on public health strategies for social change. Together, we’ll explore approaches for advancing racial equity and intersectionality, building community power, and working together.
Season 2 is made up of six episodes that we will release biweekly starting in February 2024.
Welcome back! In the second season of Mind the Disruption, we explore social movements for social justice: groups of people working together to build collective power for change.
In each episode, you’ll hear from someone – a disruptor - who works with others to challenge the status quo because they have a deep shared conviction that a healthier, more just world is possible. You’ll also hear from a second guest, someone who will reflect on public health strategies for social change. Together, we’ll explore approaches for advancing racial equity and intersectionality, building community power, and working together.
Season 2 is made up of six episodes that we will release biweekly starting in February 2024.
Season 1
Cultivating Creative Discontent
In the first season of Mind the Disruption, we explore creative discontent: what it means to look around, see something that needs to be changed – something that is unfair and unjust – and then take bold action despite the resistance we might face.
Season 1 was released starting in Fall 2022 and includes six episodes and three additional bonus episodes.
In each episode, you’ll hear the stories of disruptors challenging the status quo in work, food, immigration, Whiteness, and more. You’ll hear about what this means for public health and how each of us can and should play a role in taking bold action for a healthier and more just world.
In the first season of Mind the Disruption, we explore creative discontent: what it means to look around, see something that needs to be changed – something that is unfair and unjust – and then take bold action despite the resistance we might face.
Season 1 was released starting in Fall 2022 and includes six episodes and three additional bonus episodes.
In each episode, you’ll hear the stories of disruptors challenging the status quo in work, food, immigration, Whiteness, and more. You’ll hear about what this means for public health and how each of us can and should play a role in taking bold action for a healthier and more just world.
