People First Radio is a weekly one-hour radio broadcast to educate and raise awareness about issues related to health and wellness — with a particular emphasis on topics related to mental illness and mental health, homelessness and housing, and addiction, harm reduction and recovery.
It’s currently broadcast weekly from Nanaimo, B.C. on CHLY 101.7 FM, Victoria, B.C. on CFUV 101.9FM, and Saint John, New Brunswick on CFMH 107.3 FM. People First Radio is produced and presented by Joe Pugh.
The program is also available as a podcast, click below to listen and subscribe to People First Radio on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
SpotifyIf you would like to receive episodes to broadcast on your campus/community/nonprofit radio station please contact us.
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Escaping from a rabbit hole of online grief
Oct 2, 2023 • 19:09
When her father was sick with throat cancer, Tate Ryan-Mosley headed online. At first, the self described ‘super-googler’ was looking to learn as much as she could about the medical aspects of her dad’s diagnosis. Then when it seemed like grief was on the horizon, she tried to use the…
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Jacking out - lessons from a year offline
Sep 25, 2023 • 37:10
Aron Lee Rosenberg spent all of 2020 offline. The McGill University lecturer shares what that experience was like, as well as what he says most people don’t think about when it comes to internet use. He’s also chronicled the experience in the book Jacking Out, from Rock’s Mills press.
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Masculinity in relationships
Sep 25, 2023 • 27:42
Research from the University of British Columbia found three main categories of men in heterosexual relationships. John Oliffe, a professor at UBC and the Canada Research Chair in men’s health promotion, spoke with People First Radio about the research, masculinity, and relationships.
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People First Radio - September 28, 2023
Sep 25, 2023 • 57:00
Aron Lee Rosenberg talks his year offline, as chronicled in Jacking Out. Tate Ryan-Mosley shares how her father’s throat cancer took her down an online rabbit hole of grief.
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Responding to prejudice with poetry
Sep 21, 2023 • 28:49
Spenser Smith wanted to respond to online comments denigrating people who use drugs, so the VIU creative writing grad turned to poetry. In A Brief Relief From Hunger, published by Gordon Hill Press, Smith reflects on his childhood, and his own recovery from addiction. Along the way, he weaves in…
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People First Radio - September 21 2023
Sep 21, 2023 • 57:00
Spenser Smith talks turning prejudice into poetry in A Brief Relief From Hunger. John Oliffe of The University of British Columbia shares insights into research exploring the different types of masculinity in relationships.
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What happened when a UBC study offered $7500 to People experiencing homelessness
Sep 19, 2023 • 21:07
UBC’s Jiaying Zhao and Foundations For Social Change’s Amber Dyce explore the results and process of a study that offered unconditional transfers of $7500 to people experiencing homelessness.
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'The villain in this story is poverty' - talking drug toxicity in Nanaimo
Sep 18, 2023 • 35:11
Sarah Lovegrove, outgoing chair of Nanaimo’s Community Action Team, speaks with People First Radio’s Joe Pugh at the Vault Cafe about the state of the toxic drug poisoning crisis in Nanaimo.
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Insights into rural and remote mental health
Sep 15, 2023 • 17:03
In conversation with Rachel Herron, Canada Research Chair in Rural and Remote Mental Health, and a professor at Brandon University.
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People First Radio - September 14 2023
Sep 15, 2023 • 57:00
In conversation with outgoing Nanaimo Community Action Team coordinator Sarah Lovegrove. And exploring a UBC study that offered people experiencing homelessness $7500 with no strings attached.