Cherry Picking with Alexia Benn

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Welcome to Cherry Picking, a political podcast recorded on lək̓ʷəŋən territory. Initially, this show was created by host Alexia Benn as a coping mechanism to find joy while completing the final year of her undergrad. Uniquely messy, at times particularly niche, and consistently caught within the contradictions of life, Cherry Picking now seeks to analyze, interrogate, and assess private and public policy through the consumption and gossip of mainstream media, acknowledging profit incentives lurking in the political sphere. From municipal politics, RCMP expenditures, anarchist and Marxist theory, environmental policy, and Indigenous governance, facts, feelings and ideas meet in the ether, given a chance to air themselves out. Always professionally unbiased, and always driven by the utmost care and consideration for human life, with a goal of accessibility. What does the acid rain which falls from the sky whisper to us? How do we listen? What will we do? Tune in most Wednesdays, sometimes with guests!

  1. 09/04/2024

    Interview with Ned Taylor 2.0 - Saanich South MLA Candidacy

    In 2021, host Alexia Benn interviewed Ned Taylor for the first time. At the time, Taylor was a Saanich City Councillor and CRD Board Member. We catch up with him three years later to see whats new. Now a current Saanich South Provincial MLA Candidate, Ned Taylor and Alexia Benn hash up topics of safe supply, conservative fearmongering (a nearly prophetic discussion considering the backing out of the BC United Party days after recording), and fixing the South Island transit system. What did Ned Taylor accomplish while a city councillor, and what can he bring to the table as an MLA? How many bills were introduced by Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen? When is the BC Provincial Election? And, why vote Green?  As always, thanks for tuning in.  Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    51 min

  2. 05/22/2024

    There and Back Again

    Hello dear friends and welcome back to the podcast!  It's been a year, hasn't it? Time flies when you have no other choice than to live each day out in a perpetual cycle embodying Sisyphus. How nice it is to be able to catch up like this amidst it all.  I know life has changed for me since I last hosted, and I'm sure it has for you too. So join me today for a chat as we consolidate what is going on, both internally and externally, the details and the bigger picture.  Towards the end of 2023, I spent some time traveling through the prairies and central Canada, seeing protests erupt in Montreal.  Volunteering, Mark Fisher, long-distance relationships, avenues as alternatives to capitalism, and state-sanctioned violence are all on the agenda.  What role are you fulfilling for the state? And what is a state again, anyway?  I think it's due time for a refresher.  Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    55 min

  3. 05/24/2023

    Should Canada Release It's "Royal Bond"?

    What does it mean to be Canadian? Come one, come all. Welcome back to the pod. Today we talk about titles, the genuine joy of fulfilling employment, and a pressing question of necessity when it comes to Canada's status as a Commonwealth country under the British monarchy. There's been a petition initiated by a man in Abbotsford, brought to the House of Commons by the Conservative candidate for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon. Let's talk about it, we have time. And there's an email? Refer here to the aforementioned petition and consider your own opinion. I trust myself, and I trust and value my peers' insight. What do you think? The quote regarding Listening, Understanding, and Acting comes from a lecture on March 30th 2021 by Stó:lō Tribal Chief Tyrone McNeil through remote learning via Zoom, University of Victoria  :P Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    27 min

  4. 04/12/2023

    Perfection Is Not The Goal

    Baby we are back in a big way. It's been a year! Literally. I hope it has been a good one for you. Your host Alexia has been caught up in the world in a whirlwind. It's been so long I barely know where to begin! So, without further ado, lets get into it. Today's episode is really more of a catch up, recorded in January of 2023. This one is to those who are personally invested.  A book on the horizon? What was that?  The bottom line is, I've missed this, I've missed us, and despite the break in the show the world has continued to turn. Download this episode if you want to hear about what's been going on in my world, and check back next week to zoom out and take a bigger peak at the world at large.   As an aside, please forgive any potential janky audio. We are testing an upload in .wav format although the diva host is so out of practice it's already a botched trial because she recorded the whole episode in mono! Oopsies. Bare with me friends as we figure this out together. Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    27 min

  5. 07/13/2022

    Interlude

    Hello and welcome to Episode 21 of Cherry Picking with Alexia Benn. This Episode comes as an interlude, bridging the first and second seasons of the show together. This episode stands unique as it is probably the most scattered chronologically thus far.  How so?  This episode was recorded on February 2nd, 2022 and edited on July 5th 2022. In it, I share an old blog post I'd written on January 9th 2021 following the USA Capitol terrorist attacks that resulted in the loss of lives. This story comes to contrast the January 22nd 2022 Freedom convoy, which has since evolved and developed in character. Even editing this episode felt like peering back in time, now that the vaccine mandates are gone. What were we all so worked up about? Time changes our perspective maybe more than anything else. I hope you enjoy this little bonus episode, a little bit shorter than the average but may suffice until more is to come. As the situation stands, there is a lot more to be worked up about, and a lot more to work on. Since season one, wars have started—refugee crises. International travel is booming amidst a recession. Roe v Wade has been overturned. NFT markets have crashed. On a more local level, John Horgan has announced he will be stepping down from his role as Premier before the next election. Saanich will have a municipal election on October 15th, which will leave lasting impacts on local response to issues such as climate change, the opioid crisis, and the housing crisis.  We have lots of catching up to do... Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    31 min

  6. 12/22/2021

    The Finale + RCMP Update

    Hello everyone! Today marks our 20th episode of the show, and with that milestone, also the conclusion of our first season.  And what a season it has been! Today we go over some pleasantries and I lay out my plan for this break, catching listeners up on what I have in store for season 2 and what can be expected. Lots of little tweaks and improvements to be made, and I couldn't be more excited!   I also reiterate some of the lessons I've learned during the process of becoming acquainted with podcasting, discussing some of the challenges I've had as well as all the ways this adventure has opened up my mind to a world of possibilities. Most importantly, I also thank my listeners for their endless support. Whether you've listened to one episode or listened every week, you're a part of the tree. Researching, recording, and editing is fun and all. But being able to share the finished product with you? Now that's something else. Finally, if you want to skip to about 20 minutes into the episode, I also cover and discuss the very recent news which broke on December 20th updating the cost of RCMP enforcement at Fairy Creek to $6.8 million.  And that's a wrap! Happy happy holidays, take care, and enjoy your time with family, friends, and loved ones. While I won't be publishing new episodes for a little while, all my current episodes are all up and here to stay. I'll catch you in the New Year. Until then, stay frosty.  Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    34 min

  7. 12/15/2021

    The Future is Now

    Good morning and happy Wednesday! I'm pleased to have my first episode out on time in a little while here and man, does it feel good. Today on Episode 19 of Cherry Picking we talk about the Metaverse. Or Meta? The Meta. Metaverse. Something vaguely reminiscent of Facebook but more ominous and somehow even less cool. This episode covers a brief history of a long slew of the legal entanglements of FB and Mark Zuckerberg, our favourite lizard barbeque, before getting into some more.. opinion-driven ideas of what this transition to 'augmented reality' means for us.  In all honesty, I am a nerdy granola girl at heart. I love reading and being outside, and technology has a way of keeping me from doing that sometimes. I despise the metaverse and everything it stands for, but each day that passes I am reminded of how thin a line we walk as our lives become increasingly integrated digitally with technology. The social, economic, and political implications of the modern trajectory of social media are already profound, and what is sure to come next will be... more profound?  If any of this is interesting to you, hop on and join the ride. It is a weird world to exist in when the promise of an ideal, online, augmented, artificial reality genuinely appeals to ANYONE over the real thing. And if this world gives you the ick, you're not alone.  Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    46 min

  8. 12/09/2021

    Are White People 'Indigenous'?

    Hello! Before anything else, I would like to answer the above question with a resounding no! However, in today's episode of Cherry Picking, we'll dive into the opinion of someone who might disagree. To start off we'll discuss the concept of racialization, the process of developing and attributing features to a group of people on the basis of race with the intention of justifying a specific form of treatment. We'll be piggybacking off of some content from last week for this, so if you want to, check that out first! It isn't necessary though.  Then, we'll apply this concept to Indigenous people and the Canadian state, and how the social construction of race was used to differentiate Indigenous Peoples from the rest of Canada. This was done in order to apply them to a system of civic stratification, or the conditional application of rights and privileges based on one moral and legal social standing in society.  Finally, we'll close the episode off with a reading of one of the most interesting Instagram captions I've ever read. Yes, this is where the title of the episode comes from, and yes, it's because a white woman feels left out and wants to be Indigenous. This caption provides an excellent case of white privilege and the entitlement and ownership that many people express towards Indigenous identity and culture. Yes, these are sensitive topics to engage in. But it is valuable work to do and there is so much to learn from perspectives that are different from yours, even perspectives we may write off as wrong or bad.  Additionally, I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who regularly listens and downloads the podcast supporting me and my creative pursuits. We've had over 400 downloads of the podcast now, and I am so happy and grateful to have each and every one of you here 3 Without you, this is nothing.  Cheers, Alexia Instagram

    53 min
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About

Welcome to Cherry Picking, a political podcast recorded on lək̓ʷəŋən territory. Initially, this show was created by host Alexia Benn as a coping mechanism to find joy while completing the final year of her undergrad. Uniquely messy, at times particularly niche, and consistently caught within the contradictions of life, Cherry Picking now seeks to analyze, interrogate, and assess private and public policy through the consumption and gossip of mainstream media, acknowledging profit incentives lurking in the political sphere. From municipal politics, RCMP expenditures, anarchist and Marxist theory, environmental policy, and Indigenous governance, facts, feelings and ideas meet in the ether, given a chance to air themselves out. Always professionally unbiased, and always driven by the utmost care and consideration for human life, with a goal of accessibility. What does the acid rain which falls from the sky whisper to us? How do we listen? What will we do? Tune in most Wednesdays, sometimes with guests!

Information

  • Creator
    Full Disclosure
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Cherry Picking with Alexia Benn
  • Show Website
    Cherry Picking with Alexia Benn