The JCR: A Massey Podcast

What does it mean for a river to have personhood? Award-winning documentary film director Stephanie Boyd speaks about the Marañón River’s personhood with Gabrielle Pulver, a PhD student at OISE in Social Justice Education studying water justice and folklore. They also discuss Stephanie's tour at Canadian universities to show the award winning film Karuara, People of the River, made in partnership with Mari Luz Canaquiri of the Karuara people in Peru’s Amazon. 

Citizens need to read, watch, and subscribe to fact-based news media if they want to keep democracy healthy . That was the message from Carmela Fonbuena, a freelance journalist and former Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Ms. Fonbuena spoke with Rodginie Dorcent, the Saul Rae Fellow at Massey College as part of her Canadian speaking tour as 2026 Marshall McLuhan fellow/ The Fellowship, a flagship program of the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines, encourage responsible journalism with the belief that a strong media is essential to a strong democratic society. #media #journalism #rappler #masseycollege #uoft #democracy #citizenship #PCIJ #MarshallMcLuhan

What does it take to descend into a flaming gas crater, chase a tornado, or stand at the edge of an erupting volcano? In this episode, Silvia Castilla, a PhD candidate of the Department of Earth Sciences and a Junior Fellow at Massey College, sits down with George Kourounis, a Canadian explorer, storm chaser, and host of Angry Planet, to talk about a life spent in the heart of nature’s most extreme forces. From life-or-death moments in the field to the science behind his most daring expeditions, George shares what drives him to keep going back.

In this episode, Sina Sayyad, a medical student at the University of Toronto and Junior Fellow at Massey College, speaks to Dr. Naheed Dosani, a leader in health equity. He founded and leads the PEACH program – Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless – an outreach program that goes to patients in their environment. Dr. Dosani discusses PEACH’s journey, key lessons learned and advice for other advocates in health equity.

Join Junior Fellow Sarah Semchism and audience members for an afternoon of classical music recorded at Massey College. Hosted by Violetta Kurkurina, a Master’s student in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Toronto, the concert features performances by fellow student musicians Cathy Wang, Victoria Jiang, and Yanfeng Charlie Pan. Through performance and conversation, the musicians explore the stories, interpretations, and emotions behind each piece of music. Cathy Wang played the first movement of Joseph Haydn’s piano sonata in E flat Major Hob. 16/52. Victoria Jiang played the first movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s sonata No.9 in D Major K.311. Yanfeng Charlie Pan played Frederic Chopin’s Ballade No.1 in G minor Opus 23. #uoft #massey_college #music #piano #arts

In this episode of The JCR: A Massey Podcast, Junior Fellow and biomedical engineer Megh Rathod speaks with Hugo Higueros, a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, about his work developing new tools to monitor kidney health. The conversation explores many of the vital roles that kidneys place including in supporting the cardiovascular system, the limitations of current monitoring methods, and how innovation could transform organ transplantation and long-term care. #UofT #MasseyCollege #BiomedicalEngineering #MedicalDevices #KidneyHealth #Innovation #Research #HealthTech #AppliedOptics

In this episode of the JCR: A Massey Podcast, Junior Fellow Sarah Semchism speaks with Western University professor and  Massey  Senior Fellow, Dr. Lisa Cameron about how genetics and the environment shape asthma. Dr. Cameron  breaks down why treatments don’t work the same for everyone and how new, more personalized approaches could change the future of care. #uof #masseycollege  #western #asthma #medicine #genetics #science #research #biologics #education #environment

In this episode of “The JCR: A Massey Podcast,” Junior Fellow Rodginie Dorcent sits down with Sanjana Jones, a Master of Public Health candidate at Uof T to explore Black women’s health in Canada. From community-centred research, the importance of language in research and advocacy, to mentorship, creativity, and care, this conversation highlights why listening to lived experience is essential to building equitable healthcare systems. The Voices Unheard Report mentioned in this podcast is a publication of the Black Women’s Institute for Health. #uoft #masseycollege #health #Blackwomen #data #publichealth #education #dallalana #medicine #healthcare #equity

In this episode of The JCR: A Massey Podcast, Junior Fellow Rowan Munson speaks with Dr. Rafael Do Nascimento Grohmann, Assistant Professor in Media Studies (Critical Platform Studies) at the University of Toronto about his research in South America into worker-led technology development. #labour #AI #massycollege #uoft #mediastudies #technology #computer #cooperatives

In this episode of The JCR: A Massey Podcast we’re taking a walk or at least talking about what it’s like to take a walk, a really long walk. Massey College Junior Fellow Ben Pulver speaks with Senior Fellow Kim Kierans about her pilgrimage across Spain in the fall of 2025, 38 days and 700 kilometres walking The Camino Frances. #walking #camino #spain #pilgrimage #masseycollege #spirituality