The Medium/The Message

In the final episode of this season of The Medium/The Message, Liz and Aia reflect on four years of undergrad, their time with The Medium, and all the memories they’ve made along the way. As they both go on to new adventures post grad, Liz and Aia share their most memorable moments, and most remarkable lesson, while also giving some advice to current students.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

In honour of the latest Medium Magazine, titled "In With The New" (available at www.themedium.ca/magazine), Liz and Juliana chat with Professor Kate Maddalena of University of Toronto Mississauga’s ICCIT department, who teaches writing classes on speculative non-fiction, about what it means to write about the future.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

As we enter the final weeks of Winter semester, Aidan and Juliana are thinking about what comes next. Be it the work world, grad school, or six months of existential dread, they don't feel ready to make decisions about anything, and are hoping that talking to you about their dilemmas for 45 minutes will help them come to some sort of (temporary) conclusion.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

In this Valentine's Day themed episode, Liz, Aia, River, and Georgiy answer 14 spicy questions from our listeners. Should you believe him if he says she's just a friend? How do you break the touch barrier? What are some turn ons we don't talk about? Find out everything you need to know about love in this episode. Make sure you let us know your thoughts and don't forget to... 

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

River and Juliana are kind of stressed—which is why they've used this episode of the podcast as a way to share their stress relief tactics with each other. Join us to talk about music, stress baking, house plants, and more!

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

In this episode, Liz and Aia welcome Z and Mahi onto the podcast. The conversation begins with a friendly discussion on New Year's resolutions and ends with a heated debate comparing UTM to UTSG. Tune in to see who wins! In between you'll find Z's favourite restaurant, where you can find Drake's butt-cheeks, and tips to slay 2023. Let us know your thoughts!

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

In this final episode of the year, Liz, Aia, River, and CFRE Tech Director Georgiy discuss military service, Aia’s weird dream that had her end up in Amsterdam, and why we should ban Filas. Tune into the episode for all the hot takes.

The Medium/The Message wishes you all Happy Holidays! See you next year!

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

The news has been saturated with Elon Musk's shenanigans. In this episode, Juliana, Aidan, and River discuss the Twitter tea, their preferred social media platform, outrageous baby names, and their favourite video games. And, as an extra treat, tune into the end of the episode for The Medium's World Cup predictions. 

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

Happy spooky season! Liz, Aidan, and Omar share their top three conspiracy theories (as well as some hilarious honourable mentions) in an exciting round-table. Tune in to hear more on how trees are bushes while mountains are stumps, why birds aren’t real, and if the moon landing was a hoax! What’s your favourite conspiracy theory?

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

"There are times, moments, and people that deserve your openness" and this is one of those moments. Liz and Aia are joined by The Medium's Copy Editors Aidan and Juliana as they discuss burnout, art, English literature, and how to manage stress. Although talking about burnout can be tough, our co-hosts and guests spare no words in this episode of The Medium/The Message. 

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

Co-hosts Liz and Aia enter the boxing match with fists of fury. In this episode, guest stars, The Boys (L&A’s close guy friends), face our girlboss co-hosts in a showdown. Here’s the inside scoop on the male perspective. 

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

Nothing says arts lover quite like attending mosh pits, bingeing your favourite trashy Netflix shows, and screaming for help front row at a concert. From summer concerts and current faves to erotica writers hacking The Medium, our host and guests spill all on this episode of “The Medium/The Message”.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

Not as in “Behind The Scenes”, as in “Back To School” silly! Leave it to Liz and Aia to get you all excited for another year of heavy workloads and sleepless nights on this season’s opening episode of The Medium/The Message.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

For the final episode of Season 2 of The Medium/The Message Podcast, the contributors of the ‘In Touch’ magazine discuss moments when they felt most connected to themselves and their loved ones.

In this episode, Liz shares how her career aspirations have changed over time, and how watching Grey’s Anatomy and a conversation with a friend helped her reconsider medical school. Elisa catches up with last year’s Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor, Paula Cho and Ali Taha. Paula is studying journalism at Columbia University in New York City, and Ali recently founded Archetype: A Literary Journal. They chat about random jobs they’ve picked up, capturing stories through videos and words, and upcoming projects.

CONNECT W/ Archetype: A Literary Journal 

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work as a section editor, photos editor, or even as the Editor-in-Chief of The Medium?

In this episode, Elisa Nguyen (Managing Editor) interviews the volume 48 elected editors on how they got involved with The Medium, whats unique about their role, challenges they’ve faced, and advice they have for aspiring student journalists.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

“I could write about racism and make it look beautiful. But it’s about you questioning yourself and asking if you’re actually part of the people promoting racism. You want to fight it, you want to go against it. You want to question yourself. That’s what I do with my poetry.”

In this week’s episode, current and former Arts and Entertainment editors join Liz and Elisa for a roundtable discussion about recent movie, book, podcast, YouTube, and T.V. show favourites. Join us for some cool recommendations, fun banter, and laughter with friends!

Guests

• Liz Provost - Editor-in-Chief
• Elisa Nguyễn - Managing Editor
• Danica Teng - Arts & Entertainment Editor, Volume 48
• Aidan Thompson - Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor, Volume 48
• Chris Berberian - Arts & Entertainment Editor, Volume 47
• Paige France - Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor, Volume 47

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

How do you measure success? Is it by the amount of money you have in your bank account? The number of friends and family that support you? Perhaps it’s the weight of all your accomplished goals?

We all have different definitions of success, but what we often omit is how we’re able to handle our emotions. This is what psychologists like to call “emotional intelligence.”

In this episode, University of Toronto Mississauga ICCIT professor Tracey Bowen sits down with The Medium’s Features Editor, Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes, to discuss how emotional intelligence can help us achieve great things in our personal and professional lives.

Special thanks to Lou-Anne Carsault, Nik Towsey, Rene Post, Sam Huson, and Stephen Chupil for sharing how they measure success.

Co-hosts Liz and Elisa welcome returning guest and fan favourite, Chris, and not-so-shy newcomer, Peter, to answer all your burning questions on love, friendships, relationships, and life in general. Tune in for some laughs, insights, laid back conversations, and of course, hot takes.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

Have you ever felt ‘meh’? Like you can’t get out of bed because, what’s the point? Perhaps you keep thinking about the future and it’s so foggy that it demotivates you.

Dear friend, what you’re experiencing is something you may have never heard of before: languishing. To put it simply, feeling languished is feeling hopeless and stagnant. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to get rid of that feeling.

In this episode, undergraduate student Louis Lam tells Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes, the Features Editor at The Medium, his story with languishment as he approaches the end of his university journey. Louis shares what he did to feel better and gives advice to other students who may be in the same spot as he was.

Special thanks to Jordan Johnson and Shazreh Salam for sharing their thoughts on languishing.

MORE READS

When you think of the word 'isolation', what do you see? 

The media is a "big amorphous blob" that is both intimidating and captivating. Power and politics plays a critical role in the evolution of news media and the kind of news we get access to. As an independent student newspaper, The Medium is also a part of this system. Unintentional, nuanced, and complex dynamics of politics play into our decision-making processes, just like it does for big media.

Join us for a conversation with Aroni Sarkar, The Medium's Opinion Editor, Aya Yafaoui, the Ear to the Ground Columnist and previous Opinion Editor, and George Wootten, political science professor at UTM, about what makes something newsworthy.

ABOUT GEORGE WOOTTEN 

Professor Wootten is a political science lecturer and has been a sessional lecturer at UTM for about 15 years. His academic interests revolve around political communication with an emphasis on blame and blame avoidance. In his free time, he listens to heavy metal music and likes to cook. Wootten advises that when roasting a turkey, before you cut into it, make sure to let it rest for as long as you cook it. Otherwise, the turkey will be dry, and not very appetizing.

CONNECT WITH THE MEDIUM

There are so many questions students face throughout their time in undergrad—from academic success, to romantic relationships.

Should I find time to relax if that sacrifices the quality of my work? I’m looking for love but why is it so hard to meet people in online classes? Is it bad that I keep experiencing burnout and I don’t know if I can continue with school for much longer?

Sometimes we need advice, other times we just need someone to relate to. Join us for a conversation with The Medium’s Features Editor Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes (Jaros), who shares his experience switching majors, meeting his girlfriend Lou, and how he stays productive and happy despite many stresses.

We also welcome guest speaker Jennifer Stellar, a UTM psychology professor whose research focuses on positive emotions such as love, gratitude, awe, and compassion. She shares her journey toward becoming a psychology professor and lessons she has learned along the way.

“You don’t necessarily have to do anything once you acknowledge your privilege," writes Roxanne Gay in Bad Feminist. What does it mean to acknowledge our privilege? What will happen once we do? Those are the questions we asked Professor Stephen Scharper in an interview. Acknowledging our privilege may be the first step in becoming both self-aware and understanding of the lived experiences of others.

Social media platforms began with simple intentions to connect communities and give people a place to express their interests, but one look at the apps today, saturated in algorithms and advertisements, raises suspicions about whether their intentions remain the same. In today's episode, we reconnect with Jordyn Foster who reveals the ins and outs of algorithms, influencers, and social media diets. Belicia Chevolleau, The Medium's social media and online editor, also makes an appearance and shares a funny online experience. At the end of the episode, Liz and Elisa reflect on their own social media habits and how they portray themselves online.

It's been a while, but we're back, baby! Welcome to Season 2 of The Medium/The Message with your hosts Elizabeth (Liz) Provost and Elisa Nguyen. For our first episode, Liz and Elisa explore the McLuhan phrase, "The Medium is the Message," with the help of special guest Beth Coleman, ICCIT professor and author of "Hello, Avatar," and reflect on the ways print media can influence our community. You'll also hear about the history of The Medium, and what's new this upcoming year.