LiftEd Podcast

Dec 13 2023

LiftEd Podcast artwork

How can we tackle haunting issues like poverty, racism, affordable housing, income disparity, and homelessness? The LiftEd Podcast, brought to you by EndPovertyEdmonton, brings a non-partisan, optimistic view to some of the biggest social issues facing our city. Join hosts Erick Ambtman, Executive Director at EndPovertyEdmonton, and former city councillor Scott McKeen as they discuss Edmonton’s most challenging social issues with opinion leaders and subject matter experts.

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Tim Adams

Dec 13 2023 42 mins

Tim Adams doesn’t love terms like ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at-risk’ or ‘marginalised’ to describe the thousands of kids he’s worked with these past 13 years.Adams' preferred term? Kids. Just kids.The founder of the Edmonton Free Play program, originally called Free Footie, believes in the potential for all kids to overcome life challenges, with a bit of work and a lot of pl

Peter Smyth

Nov 29 2023 38 mins

Peter Smyth has a novel suggestion for helping at-risk and high-risk youth.Try patience and kindness instead.Smyth, who worked 30-plus years for the Alberta Children's Services, says society’s punitive bias towards kids and teens is reflected in their government care.Client behaviour is largely corrected through coercion or punishment, which only confirms everything the traumatis

Shalini Sinha

Nov 15 2023 31 mins

Shalini Sinha is not here to make Canadians feel comfortable about our work to date fighting racism.Progress? What progress?But take note: Nor is she a flame-throwing activist. She makes a point of not blaming individuals or calling anyone racist. It’s complicated.Sinha says, however, that the political polarisation of today makes discussing race more difficult. People are frustr

Dr. Robin Mazumder

Nov 01 2023 37 mins

In essence, a city is just a hodgepodge of streets, buildings and green spaces where people live, work and play.Cities are the seas we swim in. Yet only now are researchers studying the way urban environments impact on our moods and mental health.One such researcher is former Edmontonian Dr. Robin Mazumder, an environmental neuroscientist whose research focuses on how urban stress

Anne Harvey

Oct 18 2023 42 mins

Anne Harvey’s passion is matchmaking. Mind you, not in the romantic sense.Harvey, a “relationship-oriented leader,” began introducing Edmontonians to each other in 2012 when the City of Edmonton’s Abundant Community initiative launched.The initiative was in response to growing reports of social isolation in modern cities; of people feeling disconnected from friends, neighbo

Don Iveson

Oct 04 2023 60 mins

You could say this man needs no introduction.Except Don Iveson was often improperly introduced as Don Ive-R-son, even during the years 2013-2021 when he served as Edmonton’s mayor. This odd, seemingly contagious malaprop never seemed to bother Iveson. He was so prepared for it that he locked down domain names for both Iveson and Iverson during his election campaigns.He was first

Introduction to LiftEd

Sep 27 2023 32 mins

Welcome to the LiftEd Podcast, sponsored by EndPovertyEdmonton and hosted by its executive director Erick Ambtman, along with former city councillor Scott McKeen.We’re hoping the twice-monthly podcast will live up to its name, LiftEd, by elevating many of Edmonton’s most challenging social issues into the public consciousness.The LiftEd Podcast will invite opinion leaders and s