Speaking Stones Podcast

What is Speaking Stones?

Speaking Stones is a half-hour podcast that focuses on Kingston’s social history hosted by the Stones Kingston Content Coordinator Elaine Yuan. The city’s often unheard stories and history are shared here. The show mainly features interviews with individuals from the community. The podcast ended on September 14th, 2015. It aired regularly on CFRC Campus/Community Radio at Queen’s University while it was running.

Podcast Archive

Speaking Stones Episode 20: Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Part 2 – Young Adult Experience

In this episode we are collaborating with SWIHHP to talk about the history of Kingston’s Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour. Here, Laura and Lauren discuss the challenges and opportunities in oral history research and the young adult experience of the neighbourhood.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Sept 14, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 19: Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Part 1 – Industrial History

In this episode we are collaborating with SWIHHP to talk about the history of Kingston’s Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour. Here, Laura and Bronwyn discuss the industrial history of the neighbourhood and how they went about finding the information.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Sept 7, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 18: Jewish History of Kingston (Interview with Gordon Dueck)

In this episode professor Gordon Dueck from Queen’s University talks about the Jewish history of Kingston, starting from the first immigrants in the late 19th century. He talks about their occupation as pedlars, their stores along Princess Street, and the current Jewish community in the Kingston area.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Aug 31, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 17: L’Histoire Francophone (L’Entrevue avec Normand Dupont)

Dans cet épisode on a une entrevue avec Normand Dupont, un enseignant à la retraite et il a enseigné pendant 33 ans dans École Secondaire Catholique Marie-Rivier. Il est aussi le directeur artistique d’un troupe théâtre communautaire francophone de Kingston. Il parle de l’histoire francophone de kingston, à partir des premiers colons français à la communauté francophone actuelle à Kingston.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Aug 24, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 16: Kingston Penitentiary History & Alfie Pierce

This episode is divided into two parts: history of the Kingston Penitentiary and the story of Alfie Pierce. For the former topic, I conducted a phone interview with the Curator of Canada’s Penitentiary Museum, Dave St. Onge. For the latter, I was able to have Rick Neilson, who wrote for Historic Kingston, in the studio where he read some rare articles regarding Alfie’s life to us.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Aug 17, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 15: Prisoners’ Justice Day Special Broadcast

In this 45-minute episode we have an interview with James and Donny Hogan and David Lawrence. James and Donny are ex-convicts and they were experimented on back in the 60’s and 70’s by Canadian prisons. In this episode they talk about their experience and what they want us to do about this issue. This is a special episode for Prisoners’ Justice Day.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Aug 10, 2015 (Prisoners’ Justice Day)

Speaking Stones Episode 14: Youth Immigrants in Kingston (ISKA Multicultural Youth Group)

In this episode we hear the stories of Bashar (Joe) Al-Ani and Noor Ul-huda, two youth who have immigrated to Kingston from Jordan and Pakistan/Texas respectively. We discuss the motivations, challenges, and reflections of their experience.

Broadcast Date: Monday, Aug 3, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 13: First Peoples of Kingston (Interview with Terri-Lynn Brennan)

In this episode we go more in depth into the history of the First Peoples in Kingston with Terri-Lynn Brennan, the Program Coordinator in the Community Engagement and Education Division of Cultural Services at the City of Kingston.

Broadcast date: Monday, July 27, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 12: Black History II (Interview with Judith Brown)

This episode features the second part of two parts of an interview with the President of the Afro-Caribe Community Foundation in Kingston, Judith Brown. Some topics she talks about here are the history of blacks in Kingston, stories of notable blacks such as Robert Sutherland, Alfie Pierce, and George Mink.

Broadcast date: Monday, July 13, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 11: Black History I (Interview with Judith Brown)

This episode features the first part of an interview with the President of the Afro-Caribe Community Foundation in Kingston, Judith Brown. Some topics she talks about here are the history of blacks in Kingston, stories of notable blacks such as Robert Sutherland, Alfie Pierce, and George Mink.

Broadcast date: Monday, July 6, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 9: Train of Thought in Kingston 3 (Indigenous Tour)

The ninth episode of Stones Kingston is the last episode in which we are covering the Train of Thought in Kingston event, which happened on Thursday, June 11th. The Train of Thought is an evolving community arts journey from west to east coast, with on-board activities and over 20 stops along the way (it has now finished). In this episode we have interviews with various participants to learn about what they have learned through the Train of Thought.

Broadcast date: Monday, June 29, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 8: Train of Thought in Kingston 2 (Indigenous Tour)

In the eighth episode of Stones Kingston we are covering the Train of Thought in Kingston event, which happened on Thursday, June 11th. The Train of Thought is an evolving community arts journey from west to east coast, with on-board activities and over 20 stops along the way. In this episode I had interviews with various participants and I recorded some of the songs the whole group sang together during the event.

Broadcast date: Monday, June 22, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 7: Train of Thought in Kingston 1 (Indigenous Tour)

In the seventh episode of Stones Kingston we are covering the Train of Thought in Kingston event, which happened on Thursday, June 11th. The Train of Thought is an evolving community arts journey from west to east coast, with on-board activities and over 20 stops along the way. In this episode we have an interview with Ruth Howard, the founding Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre, and one of the main organizers of this project.

Broadcast date: Monday, June 15, 2015

http://trainofthought.co/

Speaking Stones Episode 6: Chinese Discrimination Today & Black History Intro

In the first part of this episode we had a phone interview with Carol Lee discussing the extent of Chinese discrimination today in Canada. The second part of the episode is a brief introduction of black history in Kingston.

Broadcast date: Monday, June 8, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 5: Chinese History II (Interview with Carol Lee)

The fifth episode of the Stones Kingston project is the second of two parts for the Chinese social history tour. In this episode Carol F. Lee continues to talk tell the story of her father, Frank B. Lee’s time at Queen’s University in the 1940s. She also talked about an incident involving Chinese discrimination in the Royal Canadian Navy. The image attached to this audio file was also kindly given by Carol.

Broadcast date: Monday, June 1, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 4: Chinese History I (Interview with Carol Lee)

The fourth episode of the Stones Kingston project is the first of two parts for the Chinese social history tour. In this episode I briefly explained the Chinese experience in Canada since the Fraser River Gold Rush in the 19th century. The episode also includes the first part of a phone interview with Carol F. Lee, whose father, Frank B. Lee, had attended Queen’s University in the 1940s. The image attached to this audio file was kindly given by Carol.

Broadcast date: Monday, May 25, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 3: Gay and Lesbian History II (Interview with Marney McDiarmid)

The third episode of the Stones Kingston project is the second of two parts for the Gay and Lesbian social history tour. This episode features an interview with Marney McDiarmid, who completed her M.A. in oral history and did five years of PhD in HIV stigma and gay men in Toronto. The episode discusses her findings in her thesis “From Mouth to Mouth: an Oral History of Lesbians and Gays in Kingston from World War II to 1980s”.

Broadcast date: Monday, May 18, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 2: Gay and Lesbian History I (Interview with Marney McDiarmid)

The second episode of the Stones Kingston project is the first of two parts for the Gay and Lesbian social history tour. This episode features an interview with Marney McDiarmid, who completed her M.A. in oral history and did five years of PhD in HIV stigma and gay men in Toronto. The episode discusses her findings in her thesis “From Mouth to Mouth: an Oral History of Lesbians and Gays in Kingston from World War II to 1980s”.

Broadcast date: Monday, May 11, 2015

Speaking Stones Episode 1: Introduction

This episode introduces and explains what the project is all about: exploring the often unheard aspects of Kingston’s social history. The project will last five months and will air every Monday on CFRC 101.9FM at 17h30. It will explore seven cultural communities: Francophone, Indigenous, Chinese, Jewish, Gays and Lesbians, Black, Penitentiary.

Broadcast date: Monday, May 4, 2015