In the first episode conducted during the current Covid-19 lockdown, Andy Clark talks remotely with Montreal-based oral historian and activist Fred Burrill. The conversation gives fascinating insights into the challenges of doing oral history during the crisis, the relationships between research and activism, the ethics of co-production, and Fred’s campaigning work.

Fred is an activist and oral historian based in Montreal, Canada. He has been involved in a number of tenants rights movements in the St Henri region of the city, campaigning for social housing and opposing uncontrollable private property speculation. He is also undertaking a PhD with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling at Concordia University. His PhD thesis is titled: Displacement Wars and the Battle for Collective Memory in Saint-Henri, 1970-2016. You can find out more about Fred’s work at his COHDS profile page here and follow him on Twitter here.

As many podcasters and broadcasters can attest, recording digitally online does have some challenges, and there are points where the audio is briefly unclear, but these are minimal. We hope you enjoy!