Displacements, an IMRC podcast series

Conversation with Sean Sithole: Fintech and remittances

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Sean Sithole, Ana Visan) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:27:09 +0000

On this episode, PhD candidate Ana Visan talks to Dr. Sean Sithole, who is an academic researcher and research fellow. His recent research work includes being a Balsillie Scholar with the Technology Governance Initiative at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in Canada, focusing on the fusion of financial technology (fintech), digital remittances and financial inclusion.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Conversation with Petra Molnar: The Walls Have Eyes

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (International Migration Research Centre) — Mon, 2 Feb 2026 15:09:32 +0000

On this episode, PhD candidate Ana Visan talks to Petra Molnar, lawyer, anthropologist and Associate Director of the Refugee Law Lab, co-hosted by York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies & Osgoode Hall Law School, about her new book The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence on the impact of surveillance and border technologies on people on the move and the stories of travellers and those who assist them as they encounter and resist the borders.

Conversation with Sharry Aiken & Stephanie Silverman: De-Carceral Futures

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, Sharry Aiken, Stephanie Silverman) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 14:19:01 +0000

Dr. Alison Mountz talks to Dr. Sharry Aiken and Dr. Stephanie Silverman about immigration detention in the context of their project, De-Carceral Futures, which aimed to create a broader public conversation about immigration detention and its consequences.

Conversation with Laura Bisaillon: Screening Out—HIV Testing and the Canadian Immigration Experience

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Laura Bisaillon, Alison Mountz) — Tue, 31 May 2022 07:45:24 +0000

Alison Mountz and Laura Bisaillon speak about the experience of being an immigrant and about what that means in today's world. They also talk about what it means to be a reluctant activist and what to do when starting in activism.

Conversation with Naomi Paik: Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (alison mountz, naomi paik) — Tue, 17 May 2022 09:23:00 +0000

Alison Mountz interviews Naomi Paik, who is an associate professor of Criminology, Law, & Justice and Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. They discuss Naomi's book, Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding U.S. Immigration for the Twenty-First Century, and what it means today to be an activist and an academic.

Conversation with Nandita Sharma: "Home Rule: National Sovereignty and the Separation of Natives and Migrants"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, Nandita Sharma) — Tue, 3 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

On this episode, Alison Mountz interviews Nandita Sharma, professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, about her recent book, Home Rule: National Sovereignty and the Separation of Natives and Migrants. They talk about how to overcome the labels of "migrant" and "native" and to build a decolonized commons.

Conversation with Maurice Stierl: "Migrant Resistance in Contemporary Europe"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, Maurice Stierl) — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

On this second episode, Alison Mountz, Laurier Research Chair in Global Migration, chats with Maurice Stierl, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sheffield, about his book, Migrant Resistance in Contemporary Europe, and his work with the NGO Alarm Phone.

Conversation with Reece Jones: "White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, Reece Jones) — Tue, 5 Apr 2022 03:55:00 +0000

On the second season premiere, Alison Mountz, Laurier Research Chair in Global Migration, chats with Reece Jones, Professor and Chair at the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and a Guggenheim fellow. They discuss racism and immigration in the United States in the context of Reece's book, White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall, published by Beacon Press.

Conversation with the author: Cetta Mainwaring, "At Europe's Edge: Migration and Crisis in the Mediterranean"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Cetta Mainwaring, Alison Mountz) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:25:40 +0000

On this season finale episode, Alison Mountz, IMRC's Director, chats with Cetta Mainwaring, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Social and Politics Sciences at the University of Glasgow, about her book, At Europe's Edge: Migration and Crisis in the Mediterranean, published by Oxford University Press in October 2019. This book is also winner of the 2020 Best Book Award of the International Politics of Migration, Refugees and Diaspora Working Group - British International Studies Association (BISA).

Conversation with the authors: Feyzi Baban, Suzan Ilcan & Kim Rygiel, "The Precarious Lives of Syrians: Migration, Citizenship, and Temporary Protection in Turkey"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Suzan Ilcan, Kim Rygiel, Feyzi Baban, Alison Mountz) — Mon, 31 May 2021 11:08:26 +0000

Alison Mountz, IMRC's Director, chats with Feyzi Baban, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Trent University, Suzan Ilcan, Professor in the Department of Sociology & Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo and Kim Rygiel, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and Associate Director of the IMRC, about their forthcoming book The Precarious Lives of Syrians: Migration, Citizenship, and Temporary Protection in Turkey (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2021)

Conversation with the author: Martina Tazzioli, "The Making of Migration: The Biopolitics of Mobility at Europe's Borders"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, Martina Tazzioli) — Mon, 17 May 2021 12:20:31 +0000

Alison Mountz, IMRC's Director, chats with Martina Tazzioli, Lecturer of Politics and Technology in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Goldsmiths College, University of London, about her book, The Making of Migration: The Biopolitics of Mobility at Europe's Borders, published by SAGE in January 2020.

Conversation with the author: William Walters, "State Secrecy: Refiguring the Covert Imaginary"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, William Walters) — Mon, 3 May 2021 11:14:53 +0000

Alison Mountz, IMRC's Director, chats with William Walters, Professor of Politics in the Departments of Political Science and Sociology & Anthropology and, Faculty of Public Affairs Research Excellence Chair at Carleton University, about his new book State Secrecy and Security: Refiguring the Covert Imaginary, published by Routledge in Spring 2021.

Conversation with Margaret-Walton Roberts, co-editor of "A National Project: Syrian Refugee Resettlement in Canada" and Bayan Khatib of the Syrian Canadian Foundation

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (International Migration Research Centre) — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 12:24:34 +0000

Alison Mountz, IMRC's Director chats with Margaret Walton-Roberts, Professor of Geography at Wilfrid Laurier University about her new co-edited book with Leah Hamilton and Luisa Veronis, A National Project: Syrian Refugee Resettlement in Canada published by McGill-Queen's University Press in August 2020. Joining in on the conversation as well is Bayan Khatib, Executive Director of the Syrian Canadian Foundation.

Conversation with the author: Irina Aristarkhova, Arrested Welcome

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Irina Aristarkhova, Alison Mountz) — Mon, 5 Apr 2021 12:33:49 +0000

Alison Mountz, IMRC's Director chats with Irina Aristarkhova, Professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, University of Michigan about her new book Arrested Welcome: Hospitality in Contemporary Art, published by the University of Minnesota press in spring 2020.

Conversation with the author: Kim Rygiel, "Fostering Pluralism through Solidarity Activism in Europe"

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Kim Rygiel, Alison Mountz) — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 11:31:03 +0000

Alison Mountz IMRC's Director chats with Kim Rygiel, Associate Director of the IMRC, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Balsillie School of International Affairs about her new co-edited book with Feyzi Baban, "Fostering Pluralism through Solidarity Activism in Europe: Everyday Encounters with Newcomers", published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.

Conversation with the author: Alison Mountz, The Death of Asylum

imrc.wlu@gmail.com (Alison Mountz, Kim Rygiel) — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 04:45:15 +0000

Kim Rygiel IMRC's Associate Director chats with Alison Mountz, Director of the IMRC, Canada Research Chair in Global Migration & Professor, Geography & Environmental Studies, Balsillie School for International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University about her new book "The Death of Asylum: Hidden Geographies of the Enforcement Archipelago", published by University of Minnesota Press, 2020.