New episodes of a podcast highlighting the lived-experience of multiculturalism in Saint John, N.B., have made a return.
“Racialized 506”, a production of the Saint John Newscomers Centre, began its second season earlier this month.
The weekly podcast features guests who share their own unique understanding and first-hand accounts with racism, anti-racism, diversity, and integration in and around the city.
Mohamed Bagha, the centre’s managing director, says the podcast is meant to create a local environment where people can “discuss and have tough conversations.”
“We wanted to project the voice of newcomers in a meaningful way so we could have those local voices be heard,” says Bagha.
The podcast’s co-hosts are Lina Gharbiya, a newcomer settlement lead at the centre, and Bob Whitney, a professor of history and politics at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John.
The podcast is taped over Zoom. Gharbiya says the virtual arrangement initially began as a pandemic necessity, but quickly became a format which made guests more comfortable.
“So they open up, they talk about experiences, some challenges they’re facing,” says Gharbiya. “We really need to give these people a voice. We want to amplify their voices.”
The audio portion of the Zoom conversation is posted to several streaming platforms as a podcast.
“One of the problems with racism is that it’s silenced and people don’t speak about it for several reasons,” said Whitney. ”Many people who are racist themselves don’t want to speak about it. But it’s precisely because it’s unspoken that it can be very insidious.”
Whitney says the goal is for the podcast’s audience to take action against racism and discrimination.
“I think that’s something the podcast will definitely help to do,” says Whitney.
Plans for a third season of “Racialized 506” are already underway.
