"Alright, Now What?" is a podcast from the Canadian Women’s Foundation. On the first Friday of every month, CKUT will air one new episode and two episodes from the archives where the CWF's experts and partners put an intersectional feminist lens on one topic or story we’ve all been hearing about … the issues and stories that just seem to keep resurfacing and make you wonder, “What’s this about?”, “Why is this still happening?”, and “How is it possible we haven’t fixed this yet?” They explore the systemic roots of these things and the strategies for change that will move us closer to the goal of gender justice.

Every 4th Friday of the month, 11am - Noon (EST)

October 6, 2023: How to Be a Woman Online With Nina Jankowicz and Digital Creator Kairyn Potts

The Canadian Women’s Foundation, in partnership with CKUT, is pleased to join you once a month to share episodes of our podcast, Alright, Now What, where experts and our partners put an intersectional feminist lens on one topic or story we’ve all been hearing about … the issues and stories that just seem to keep resurfacing and make you wonder, “What’s this about?”, “Why is this still happening?”, and “How is it possible we haven’t fixed this yet?” We explore the systemic roots of these things and the strategies for change that will move us closer to the goal of gender justice.

Today’s first episode: How to Be a Woman Online With Nina Jankowicz (27:23)

1 in 5 women experience online harassment in Canada. Young women, racialized women, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people are amongst those who face higher risks. Gendered digital hate, harassment, and abuse happens every day. It’s pervasive, urgent, and growing. You deserve to be safe and free from harm. Over coming months, we’re delving into this with experts and content creators, releasing in-depth episodes every week. We’ll offer practical tips to help you in your digital life, and we’ll talk about what it means to “take back the tech” for all of us.

Nina Jankowicz joins us in this first episode of our Gendered Digital Hate, Harassment, and Violence series. Nina is an internationally-recognized expert on disinformation and democratization and the author of two books: How to Lose the Information War and How to Be A Woman Online, an examination of online abuse and disinformation and tips for fighting back. She is Vice President at the Centre for Information Resilience, a non-profit focused on countering disinformation. She has advised governments, international organizations, and tech companies, and testified before the US Congress, UK Parliament, and European Parliament.

Content note: this episode addresses gender-based violence.

Between episodes:

When you know how to respond to the signs of abuse, you can change the story. If someone in your life told you they were experiencing abuse, would you know how to help? There’s a lot of stigma and silence around gender-based violence in our society: too many people who experience abuse are shamed, silenced, and stigmatized, and too many people don’t feel they have the confidence or knowledge to support them.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can support a friend, family member, or colleague who is experiencing abuse, visit signalresponder.ca

Second episode: Digital Creator Kairyn Potts (30:27)

Canada’s rising rate hate crimes is in large part due to increased hate in digital spaces against women, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and targeted ethnic and religious groups. Our second guest in this Gendered Digital Hate, Harassment, and Violence series is Kairyn Potts (he/him). Kai is proudly Nakota Sioux from Treaty 6 Territory, from Paul First Nation, and the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation. He is a proud Two Spirit person and sits as the National Youth Board Representative for the 2 Spirits in Motion Society. As a former Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention Team representative, he is a passionate advocate who works to improve the lives of Indigenous youth, particularly queer youth and youth in the child and family services system.

Kai now makes his home in beautiful Tkaronto where he works as a writer, actor, model, TV host, and continues his advocacy through content creation, frontline workshops, community events. He hosts Snapchat Canada’s first original series Reclaimed and has appeared in the APTN series 7th GEN. Kai co-founded the Indigenous gaming organization Neechi Clan in 2022. Kai is an avid gamer and streamer on Twitch and Tiktok who aims to create representation and opportunities for Indigenous youth in the gaming/content creation world. He uses his online platforms to share his culture, makeup, and fashion, his passions like gaming and acting, and some laughs with others. Interesting fact: Kai speaks English, Cree, Stoney (Iithga), Chinese (intermediate Mandarin), and Spanish.

Content note: this episode addresses gender-based violence and suicide.

Listen to the latest episodes of our Alright, Now What and our Signal for Help podcast produced with Media Girlfriends, wherever you get your podcast content. Our French Appel à l’aide podcast, produced by Zoé Gagnon-Paquin, is also live.

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