RadioActive is an hour long talk show hosted by Natalie Kivell, a Ph.D. candidate in Community Well-Being at the University of Miami. Each week Natalie interviews academics and/or activists from around the world who dive into critical discussions from a Community Psychology lens aimed specifically at addressing structural inequality and the root causes of our complex social problems. The show aims to provoke listeners to think differently about social change and social justice to help shift how we think, act and react to social change efforts in our research and practice.
RadioActive airs every Sunday at 6pm on wvum.org out of the University of Miami student radio station.
On this episode we’re back in Waterloo, ON to speak with Dr. Manuel Riemer. Manuel is an Associate Professor in the Community Psychology Department at Wilfrid Laurier University and is the Director of the Centre for Community Research, Learning and Action and the Director of the Community, Environment and Justice Research Group.
During this interview Dr. Riemer explains the complexity of the concept of Sustainability and argues for the need for more social science in sustainability research – stating that “we need to breathe air, but we also need to be in community”. Taking real life examples from his role in a court case in Chemical Valley in solidarity with the Aamjiwnanng people, and his role as a social scientist in what will be the 1st net positive office building to open in North America he paints a picture of sustainability and environmental justice that has a welcome tinge of optimism.
