In the first episode of our #TrentUCares podcast miniseries, we talk to Nursing graduates Natalie Beavis and Scott Wight about their experiences over the past two months. We're also joined by Dr. Kirsten Woodend, Dean of the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing, who has a special National Nurse's Week message for nurses around the world. For a closed caption video of the recording, please visit: https://youtu.be/SCRYWrbaDR4

Trent Voices

Trent Voices: Nursing Alumni During the COVID-19 Crisis

Trent alumnus Dr. Tim Cook '90 is a Great War historian at the Canadian War Museum, as well as an adjunct professor at Carleton University. He has authored numerous books on both the First and the Second World Wars, including No Place to Run: The Canadian Corps and Gas Warfare in the First World War, Shock Troops, Vimy: The Battle and the Legend, and his latest, The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War. In 2008 he won the J.W. Dafoe Prize for At the Sharp End and again in 2018 for Vimy; Shock Troops won the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. In 2013, Cook received the Pierre Berton Award for popularizing Canadian history. In 2019, The Secret History of Soldiers won the Ottawa Book Award. Dr. Cook is a member of the Order of Canada. Trent Voices talked to Dr. Cook on how our perspective of historic events change, the balancing act between storytelling/entertainment and historical narrative when writing, and how he chooses the front-line stories that make it into his work.

Trent Voices: War Historian and Bestselling Author Tim Cook

Trent University Business alumnus Jason Parsons is best known as the DJ and Hype Man for the band Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS), where he performs under the name Human Kebab. But while he and bandmate Ashley Buchholz have garnered millions of Spotify streams, tens of thousands of likes on Facebook and toured all around the world over the past decade, the key to Mr. Parsons success has been as much about entrepreneurial spirit, career creativity, and keen business sense as it has music. We previously talked to Jason a couple of years ago, when he took on the role of Trent Alumni Day of Service Ambassador. "Trent Voices caught up with The Human Kebab via Skype for a conversation that ranged from the serious to the silly: from the origins of his unique stage name to jamming with Maestro Fresh Wes to touring the world making music to the impact of his Trent experience. But what we kept returning to was the importance of community – in this case, both the USS and the Trent University ones." You can find that interview here.

Trent Voices: Jason "Human Kebab" Parsons of Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

Women Leaders in Peterborough Politics, Part 3 of 3. Newly re-elected MP Maryam Monsef. Peterborough has a long history of being represented by Trent University alumni politicians. Currently, alumnus Dave Smith is the MPP for Peterborough-Kawartha. Alumnus Jeff Leal held that seat for the previous four terms (and sat on Peterborough City Council before that). There are also several alumni represented on area councils. Never before, though, have women taken on so many major political roles here. Right now, alumna Diane Therrien is Mayor of Peterborough, alumna Emily Whetung MacInnes is Chief of Curve Lake First Nation, and alumna Maryam Monsef is about to start her second term as MP for Peterborough-Kawartha – she was formerly Canada’s Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality. All three of these women are in their 30s – relatively young for politics – and all three are breaking new ground. TRENT Magazine was honoured to bring this trio together to talk about the state of local and Canadian politics today – in particular, about gender inclusivity and empowerment.

Trent Voices: Newly Elected MP for Peterborough-Kawartha Maryam Monsef '03

TRENT Magazine sat down with alumnus, environmental educator and director of Camp Kawartha and the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre for a conversation about education, leadership, and the relationship between kids and their natural environment.

Trent Voices: Jacob Rodenburg, Executive Directer of Camp Kawartha

Women Leaders in Peterborough Politics, Part 2 of 3. Emily Whetung MacInnes. Peterborough has a long history of being represented by Trent University alumni politicians. Currently, alumnus Dave Smith is the MPP for Peterborough-Kawartha. Alumnus Jeff Leal held that seat for the previous four terms (and sat on Peterborough City Council before that). There are also several alumni represented on area municipal councils. Never before, though, have women taken on so many major political roles here. Right now, alumna Diane Therrien is Mayor of Peterborough, alumna Emily Whetung MacInnes is Chief of Curve Lake First Nation, and alumna Maryam Monsef is MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, as well as Canada’s Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality. All three of these women are in their 30s – relatively young for politics – and all three are breaking new ground. TRENT Magazine was honoured to bring this trio together to talk about the state of local and Canadian politics today – in particular, about gender inclusivity and empowerment. This episode features Emily Whetung MacInnes. Look for the other episodes soon.

Trent Voices: Emily Whetung MacInnes, Chief of Curve Lake First Nation

Women Leaders in Peterborough Politics, Part 1 of 3. Diane Therrien. Peterborough has a long history of being represented by Trent University alumni politicians. Currently, alumnus Dave Smith is the MPP for Peterborough-Kawartha. Alumnus Jeff Leal held that seat for the previous four terms (and sat on Peterborough City Council before that). There are also several alumni represented on area municipal councils. Never before, though, have women taken on so many major political roles here. Right now, alumna Diane Therrien is Mayor of Peterborough, alumna Emily Whetung MacInnes is Chief of Curve Lake First Nation, and alumna Maryam Monsef is MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, as well as Canada’s Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality. All three of these women are in their 30s – relatively young for politics – and all three are breaking new ground. TRENT Magazine was honoured to bring this trio together to talk about the state of local and Canadian politics today – in particular, about gender inclusivity and empowerment. This episode features Diane Therrien. Look for the other episodes soon.

Trent Voices: Diane Therrien, Mayor of Peterborough

Alumnus David Grand is the founder and CEO of Muskoka Grown, a 65,000-square-foot, top quality cannabis production facility, as well as a former member of the Trent University Board of Governors. Using the latest technologies, he is trying to create the gold standard of cannabis companies. Mr. Grand took TRENT Magazine’s editor, Donald Fraser, on a guided tour of the facility and followed it up with a conversation that tackled the science, economics, and social aspects of marijuana. We interviewed him in December, via Skype, and featured excerpts of this conversation in the March TRENT Magazine.

Trent Voices: Cannabis Production CEO David Grand '79 on Legalization, Cultural Change, and the Pot Economy

Anastasia Kaschenko is the chief technical officer and co-founder of Majik Water, a start-up currently creating new sources of affordable, clean drinking water for communities in Kenya and South Africa. Making use of technology that harvests moisture from the air, the company is aiding individuals and communities, but they’re also partnering with some of the world’s largest business to lessen industrial water consumption in areas most affected by shortages. TRENT Magazine/The Trent Voices podcast caught up with Anastasia in Australia. We're featuring the interview as the cover story for the Winter 2019 edition. Please visit www.trentmagazine.ca for more.

Trent Voices: Anastasia Kaschenko '12 Harvests Water from the Atmosphere to Help Water Scarce Parts of Africa

Alumna Jenna Pilgrim '12 is passionate about changing the way the world does business. Carving a career in the emerging cryptocurrency economy, she's a pioneer in way that people will be doing business in our not-so-distant future. She joins us on Trent Voices to explain both cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It's an insightful insider's look at an often misunderstood business infrastructure. Jenna is currently the Director of Business Development at Bloq Inc., a multipurpose software company building the next generation of blockchain and token infrastructure. She is also the Cofounder and COO of Streambed Media - a new era media company supported by a blockchain tech solution - aimed at reclaiming trust in media and video production. Previously, Jenna was the Director of Business Development at the multi-million dollar Blockchain Research Institute, conducting the definitive investigation of blockchain strategies, opportunities, and implementation challenges and funded by companies and governments worldwide.

Trent Voices: Jenna Pilgrim '12 Helps Make Cryptocurrencies Less Cryptic

Trent University alumnus Richard Harrison ’76 has been named the winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry for On Not Losing My Father's Ashes in the Flood, published by Hamilton's Wolsak & Wynn. It was the latest honour for the book, which also won the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry and the third prize for poetry in the 2017 Alcuin Society's Book Design Awards. On Not Losing My Father's Ashes in the was also shortlisted for the City of Calgary's 2016 W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and a finalist for the poetry category of the High Plains Book Awards.We caught up with Richard for a Skype interview to discuss the award. The conversation ranged from the nature of the Canadian literary voice to the poetry of hockey to how Trent helped shape his career. Of his award winning collection, he noted: “There is a pause moment, where many of the things I started 40 years ago [while at Trent] have now come to this point. And in some senses there is completion here.” Harrison credits former Lady Eaton College Principal Douglas McCalla and faculty members Orm Mitchell and Michael Peterman for hosting readings and introducing him to writers such as Patrick Lane, Robert Kroetsch, Susan Musgrave, Margaret Laurence, and Adele Wiseman. He found the experience of listening to Patrick Lane read in the Sr. Common Room so powerful that it led him to try his own hand at creative writing. He also credits Trent with helping feed his curiosity and creativity. “Trent was small enough – and the faculty were friendly enough, not just in their discipline, but across disciplines. They were understanding of the nature of inquiry and allowed me to let inquiry lead me to where it wanted to go. And they encouraged me all the time to keep going. My professors understood that what I was doing was looking for a lifetime’s work, and that this was how I would find it.” He looks back to academic movements such as those found in Trent’s Canadian Studies programs as being intergral to helping Canada focus on their own unique stories and their own unique literature – something he says has benefited him and his writing. Richard Harrison’s eight books include the Governor General’s Award–finalist Big Breath of a Wish, and Hero of the Play, the first book of poetry launched at the Hockey Hall of Fame. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, a position he took up after being the Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary in 1995. His work has been published, broadcast and displayed around the world, and his poems have been translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.

Trent Voices Richard Harrison, the 2017 Governor General's Award Winner for Poetry

Jason “The Human Kebab” Parsons is DJ and Hype Man for Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker. On stage – when he’s not attached to his turntables – he’s a perpetual motion machine. On the mic he’s constantly urging the crowd to get into it – to really participate. His energy is infectious, which is definitely one of the aspects of the band that resonates with their legion of fans. USS has been described as “a science experiment put to music” and they are, in a word, experimental. They mix elements of rock, hip hop, grunge, electronica, drum and bass, and more, creating a sound that is altogether their own. They are modern music in a blender. #TrentVoices caught up with The Human Kebab via Skype for a conversation that ranged from the serious to the silly: from the origins of his unique stage name to jamming with Maestro Fresh Wes to touring the world making music to the impact of his Trent experience. But what we kept returning to was the importance of community – in this case, both the USS and the Trent University ones.For a full archive of our podcast interviews, please visit our #TrentVoices podcast page.

Trent Voices: Jason "The Human Kebab" Parsons, DJ and Hype Man for Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

The new season of Trent Voices, The TRENT Magazine Live/Trent Alumni Affairs podcast show, is kicking off with a "Women in Politics" mini-series that will feature interviews with successful Trent alumnae politicians, both past and present, including: Hochelaga NDP MP Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet '74, Nanaimo-Ladysmith NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson '85, and long-standing Peterborough mayor Syvlia Sutherland '68. We'll also revisit interviews with Peterborough-Kawarthas Liberal MP and Minister for the Status of Women Maryam Monsef '03 and Peterborough city councillor Diane Therrien '10 -- hopefully adding fresh new content to these conversations. This week, we start with Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, a Canadian anthropologist, unionist, and politician, who was first elected as an NDP MP in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Hochelaga. Since November 2015, she has served as the NDP's Whip. During our far-reaching conversation, we discuss her evolution from museum guide to union representative to Federal politician; gender representation in politics; and how gender and ethnic diversity have changed the nature of political discourse in the House of Commons.

Trent Voices Women In Power Part 1: Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet

With two well-received collections of poems and a fearless collection of essays, Canadian investigative journalist, essayist and poet, Michael Lista, was welcomed to Trent University as the 2017 Margaret Laurence fellow. His talk Outside the Whale: Literature and the Left in the Age of Trump focused primarily on the role the literary left will play in a new political climate of right-winged politics and nationalism. Mr. Lista has worked as a book columnist for The National Post, and as the poetry editor of The Walrus. He is the author of three books: the poetry volumes Bloom and The Scarborough, and Strike Anywhere, a collection of his writing about literature, television and culture. His essays and investigative stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, Toronto Life, The Walrus, Canadaland, and elsewhere. From the School of the Study of Canada: He’s been a book columnist and noted poet and during his visit at Trent University, Michael Lista was ready to defend his craft – and the literary left – particularly at a time when the political elite seems on the verge of stepping into the ring at the slightest comment. On February 9, 2017, speaking to a crowd at Traill College’s Bagnani Hall, he shared his own experiences in writing both ahead of, and following the U.S. election. Throughout his address, Mr. Lista painted a picture of struggles facing literary writers who have, by and large, been described as left leaning. Now, he suggests, they are under fire much in the way they held the right to the fire for so long. He says, “It has resulted in a new, drawn-out battle, pitting literary writers against one another. It’s taken the focus, to some extent, off those who would normally be the target of the writers.” This year, Mr. Lista has been named writer-in-residence, filling a fellowship established in 1988 as a tribute to and in memory of Margaret Laurence, Trent University’s fourth chancellor. It is co-administered by Department of English Literature and Canadian Studies Program and brings promising writers who are in the early stages of their careers to Trent University. Mr. Lista has worked as a book columnist for the National Post, and as the poetry editor of The Walrus. He is also the author of three books and his essays and investigative stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, Toronto Life, Canadaland, and numerous other publications. Kate Taylor, an English major at Trent, says she was compelled to take in the address after Mr. Lista spoke to her advanced creative writing class earlier in the day. “It’s very interesting to hear a writer read their own work and describe the process and annotations they give to their own work that you don’t get when you read it on a website,” she says.    

Margaret Laurence Lecture: Michael Lista "Outside the Whale: Literature and the Left in the Age of Trump"

From the first Canadian VJ (and Trent alumnus) Christopher Ward, Is This Live? captures the pure fun and rock ’n’ roll rebellion of the early years of MuchMusic television. Christopher Ward joins us by Skype to talk about his latest book. We talked to Ward last year in a wide ranging interview about his career as an award-winning songwriter, music journalist, and author. You can find that podcast here. But when we heard that he was working on a book about the early days of MuchMusic, we made him promise that he'd come back to talk to us about it.  He graciously agreed. From Penguin Random House:On August 31, 1984, the Nation’s Music Station launched, breaking ground as the Wild (Canadian) West of television—live, gloriously unpredictable, seat-of-the-pants TV, delivered fresh daily. The dream child of TV visionary Moses Znaimer, and John Martin, the maverick creator of The New Music, Much was live and largely improvised, and an entire generation of Canadians grew up watching the VJs and embraced the new music that became the video soundtrack of our lives. The careers of Canadian legends like Blue Rodeo, Corey Hart, Jane Siberry, Bryan Adams, Platinum Blonde, Glass Tiger, Colin James, the Parachute Club, Honeymoon Suite, Barenaked Ladies, Maestro Fresh Wes and Sloan were launched when Much brought them closer to their fans. Much also gave us international acts (Duran, Duran, Tina Turner, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Madonna, Motorhead, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and covered the second wave of music activism with events like Live Aid and the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour. Ranging from Toronto’s iconic studio at 299 Queen Street West, to Vancouver’s MuchWest, MuchMusic’s programming travelled across Canada and connected the Canadian music scenes in an unprecedented way. With stories of the bands, the music, the videos, the specialty shows, the style and the improvisational approach to daily broadcast life at Much, Is This Live? is told by the people who were there—the colourful cast of on-air VJs, the artists who found their way into our living rooms of the nation as never before, and the people behind the cameras. As our tour guide to the first decade at MuchMusic Christopher Ward delivers a full-on dose of pop culture nostalgia from the 1980s and ’90s, when the music scene in Canada changed forever.  

Trent Voices: Christopher Ward "Is This Live, Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic"

The Trent University Alumni Association podcast. A long-form interview show, Trent Voices shines the spotlight on our many talented alumni. From household names to people working behind the scenes – all of our guests are helping to shape the world in their own unique ways.

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Trent Voices

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