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Tag: podcast

Walking through our history

Walking through our history

Left to right: Drew Carnwath, Measha Brueggergosman and Sam Rosenthal are the main creatives behind the podcast The Christie Pits Riot. (photo by John Ebata)

On Aug. 16, 1933, Toronto experienced what is viewed as one of the worst race riots in Canadian history. Earlier this fall, the Hogtown Collective, an immersive theatre company, released a four-part podcast that recreates the events of that summer evening 88 years ago.

The eponymously named podcast, The Christie Pits Riot, is seen through the eyes of its 12-year-old protagonist, Joey Rosenbaum. Created by Sam Rosenthal and Drew Cranwath of Hogtown Collective and set amid the circumstances of the Great Depression, Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and escalating ethnic unrest within Toronto, the series also contains an interactive walking tour through the neighbourhood where the riot took place.

The centre of the conflict is a baseball diamond in Christie Pits Park. Tensions began festering during a playoff between two local teams, the Harbord Playground, consisting mostly of Jewish and Italian players, and St. Peter’s, a club sponsored by a local church. Fights erupted and a full-on riot ensued. There were many injuries, but no fatalities.

The mass brawl, which lasted six hours, started after the final out of the second game of a quarterfinal pitting Harbord against St. Peter’s. Two nights earlier, at the first game, a swastika had been displayed by some fans. In the weeks before these games, troubles in Toronto had been brewing more broadly between some Jewish residents and antisemitic groups, primarily those calling themselves the Swastika Club.

A number of Jewish boys and young men who had heard about the swastika incident at the first game rushed to destroy the swastika unfurled at the end of the second. Supporters of both sides, including the Italians, who supported the Jews, joined in the melee.

In the podcast, narrated by Rosenthal, the listener gets a snapshot of life in the city at the time and follows Joey through his day – running errands for his father’s drugstore – along Bloor Street, near the ballpark.

“We wanted the audience to be able to access this story through an emotional, not just historical, perspective,” Rosenthal told the Independent. “Making our hero a young boy allowed us to show the world from his perspective.

“Exploring the deeper issue of systemic racism and antisemitic behaviour can be challenging,” he added. “Our young hero doesn’t understand hatred the way an adult might, so his character provides a means of asking questions about antisemitic racism. We also wanted a way to keep things rooted in the present simultaneously, so as to be able to draw clear parallels to the same problems and issues” that still exist.

The first three instalments take the audience through Depression-era Toronto, with the final episode coming to a head at the fateful game. When the riot breaks out in the story, we find Joey trying to get his friend Rachel home. They are helped along the way by Nala – voiced by Juno Award-winning soprano Measha Brueggergosman – who encourages Joey to stand up for what he believes.

In addition to providing her vocal talent, Brueggergosman was the podcast’s musical supervisor.

In releasing a theatrical production during the pandemic, the creators spotted a chance to provide audiences with a safe and tangible way to experience where the riot happened via the walking tour.

“To look out at Christie Pits Park and imagine what it would be like being in the middle of 1,000-plus people fighting is a terrifying thought, and so it makes the story land in a more visceral way if one can actually be there while listening in,” Rosenthal said. “Since my grandfather owned a store at the corner of Bloor and Manning, the walking tour is a perfect addition to share some of my family history within the broader scope of this chapter from Toronto’s history.”

Several scenes in the story are situated in the drugstore operated by Rosenthal’s grandfather from the early 1920s until the late 1950s.  Rosenthal’s father, Joseph, grew up in the neighbourhood and worked there. Joseph was born after the riot, and knew about it from his own father.

“My dad shared many stories of being a young boy in a deeply divided antisemitic Toronto,” said Rosenthal. “When he told me there were once signs posted at the Balmy Beach Club that said, ‘No Jews or Dogs,’ and that there were Swastika Clubs in the 1930s, I felt compelled to tell this story. My father and his friends were often brutalized or threatened whilst walking home from school. I wonder how many Toronto residents know this about our city’s past, and why it seems still entrenched in our present.”

Rosenthal’s hope for the production is that younger listeners not only learn that the riot was a dark chapter in Canadian history, but see it as a way to honour previous generations who paved the way for the diverse culture that Toronto is celebrated for today.

The Christie Pits Riot is available online from multiple providers. The Anchor app can be used by anyone interested in taking the guided walking tour through the Toronto neighbourhood where the riot transpired – the app can be found at hogtownexperience.com.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Format ImagePosted on November 19, 2021November 18, 2021Author Sam MargolisCategories Performing ArtsTags antisemitism, Christie Pits Riot, history, Hogtown Collective, podcast, Sam Rosenthal, theatre, Toronto, walking tour
The quirky stories of Israel

The quirky stories of Israel

The images posted at facebook.com/sipurisraeli highlight the diverse stories and people covered on the Israel Story podcast, which is in its sixth season.

The podcast Israel Story started its sixth season in September. The show, which offers a long-form journalism approach to quirky stories of the people and events in Israel that do not often appear in the headlines, has been called the Israeli version of This American Life by none other than Ira Glass, the host of the National Public Radio hit.

Started in 2011 and originally intended for family and friends, Israel Story has grown to attract thousands of listeners. It is one of the most popular Jewish podcasts in the world.

The Independent recently caught up with Zev Levi, managing producer of the podcast, for some behind-the-scenes insight on the behind-the-scenes show about Israel – and to ask him what’s in store for upcoming episodes.

“The rest of this season is packed with moving stories about identity, healing, looking back, and looking forward. We’ll hear about the everyday lives changed forever by a national tragedy, the space project that lifted hopes around the world, an unlikely pro sports team, a soldier’s unexpected journey to tabletop gaming, and an internet scam that made people’s blood boil,” Levi revealed.

Already featured in episodes this season have been the story of a day in which all nine of the show’s producers spent from early morning to evening interviewing various and sundry characters at the historic Jerusalem International YMCA; an effort to save a 2,000-year-old mikvah; and a look at the life of Bung-Ja Ziporah Kim Rothkopf, the woman who opened the Seoul House restaurant in Jerusalem and started KOKO, a Korean kosher food brand.

image - from facebook.com/sipurisraeliEver since its beginning, the show has covered the stories of a wide range of groups living in Israel: Jews, Muslims and Christians; Israelis and Palestinians; Ashkenazim and Sephardim; Russians, Bedouin and Ethiopians; Filipino foreign workers and Eritrean refugees; Orthodox and secular; political hawks and doves.

And, not surprisingly, according to Levi, there is an endless source of material for future shows based on Israel, a land of storytellers. Levi said that ideas for topics are supplied by listeners and others, who send in potential stories. The team of producers is also encouraged to chase narratives they think should be told. He said the team prides itself on investing the time and energy to “find the perfect stories that shine a spotlight on what it’s like to be here. We look for the everyday lives that bring listeners to Israeli streets and fill their lungs with Israeli air.”

He added, “We see our show as a platform to display the complexities and depth of living in this amazing part of the world. And there are always unique subcultures and norms and clashes to explore. We live in an area where there are so many different ways to define yourself – religion, culture, politics, race, language – and there are endless permutations of the intersections and clashes between them. The story of how people make themselves is something anyone around the world can relate to and connect with.”

image - from facebook.com/sipurisraeliLevi elaborated on the process the team undertakes to determine what stories will be aired. Most episodes run roughly an hour or more with some bonus segments added.

“To paraphrase [Albert] Einstein, a story should be told as succinctly as possible, but no more succinctly than that,” said Levi. “While pitching a story, we generally have an idea of how long it will take to tell it, but, during the production process, there are countless examples of a story being way more complex than first thought, and needing more time. And countless examples of a story being much more simple, and being trimmed down, or even killed completely.”

The team would prefer to curate several stories that speak to different angles of a single theme, or to restrict themselves to three 20-minute stories in each episode, said Levi. However, they feel such an approach would not do justice to the stories themselves.

“When it comes to holding interest, our first defence is our own team,” he said. “We each dedicate time to analyzing when a story loses its engagement, and what we (as listeners) would need to avoid that. Several producers will often weigh in on drafts to make sure the best, most-engaging version of a story is what makes it to listeners. But all our stories are about people. People struggling to be authentic. People struggling to heal. People struggling to achieve. And we can all relate to that.”

Israel Story was founded by Dr. Mishy Harman, who serves as the podcast’s host and chief executive officer. The show can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher, among other streaming services.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Format ImagePosted on November 19, 2021November 18, 2021Author Sam MargolisCategories Performing ArtsTags Israel Story, podcast, Zev Levi
Casting positive impact

Casting positive impact

Aaron Friedland, creator and host of the podcast Impact in the 21st Century. (photo from Aaron Friedland)

If you’re looking for a new, uplifting podcast to cast away the oppressive weight of pandemic blues, consider Impact in the 21st Century, recently launched by Vancouverite Aaron Friedland. The Vancouver-based founder of the Simbi Foundation, which promotes literacy and education worldwide, felt it was time to give voice to the inspiring things that people are doing.

“There’s a lot of really bad news and horrible things going on and, as a species, we seem to be more interested in those stories,” Friedland told the Independent in a recent interview. “There are lots of podcasts available that celebrate big businesses and a very capitalist ideology. Our goal is to help showcase the amazing, impactful things that many brilliant people are doing and that often go unnoticed, and to mainstream what positive impact really means.”

To date, Friedland has interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and scientific educator; David Suzuki, an academic, broadcaster and environmentalist; Maryanne Wolf, a Jewish author and Harvard academic researching the brain; Ndileka Mandela, the granddaughter of Nelson Mandela; and Alex Honnold, a rock climber and subject of the movie Free Solo. “It’s so nice to be the one doing the interviewing, and the people I’m speaking with are such brilliant minds with brilliant insights to share,” Friedland said. “I feel deeply privileged to be getting that information firsthand.” The plan is to release a new podcast every two to three weeks.

The Royal Bank of Canada has sponsored Impact in the 21st Century, but Friedland said he’s always looking for more sponsors. “Our goal is to reach a point where we have enough podcast sponsors that, with each episode we release, we can build another Bright Box,” he said. The Bright Boxes, which cost $55,000 per box, are classrooms comprised of shipping containers, refurbished with solar technology and aimed at enhancing learning in overcrowded classrooms in places that have little or no access to electricity.

Friedland’s next podcast will be an interview with Canadian cultural anthropologist Wade Davis. His dream interviewees are Elon Musk and David Attenborough, but he’s biding his time until those happen. “It could be they’re not ready yet,” Friedland quipped. “We look for subjects who have a track record of creating longstanding positive impact, and whose vision and values really align with ours.”

Listeners can stream Impact in the 21st Century anywhere they access their podcasts, or online at simbifoundation.org.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.

Format ImagePosted on November 27, 2020November 25, 2020Author Lauren KramerCategories TV & FilmTags Aaron Friedland, environment, Impact in the 21st Century, podcast, science, Simbi Foundation, tikkun olam, writing
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