Standing Up in a World That Tried to Break You

Standing Up in a World That Tried to Break You

Trigger Warning:  This program talks about sibling violence and suicide ideology. This week on ReThreading Madness, Bernadine Fox speaks with three individuals - Sandra Yuen, Penny Marie, and Venge - about survival, identity, creativity, and what it means to keep living in a world that often punishes difference. Sandra Yuen who lives with schzophrenia discusses her new prose poetry collection I Want to Be Buried Standing Up, the tactile magic of writing on an old typewriter, neurodivergence, and creating art that refuses neat categories. Penny Marie shares the devastating realities of sibling abuse, growing up autistic and trans in a violent environment, and the lifelong impact of being scapegoated inside a family system that refused to protect her. Venge reflects on suicide, isolation, and the unexpected way a cat named Linus became the reason she stayed alive long enough to rediscover connection, nature, and herself. Together, these conversations explore what happens when people reclaim the stories that others tried to silence and how creativity, animals, language, and truth-telling can become acts of survival. Music by Shari Ulrich and Jann Arden  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. www.rethreadingmadness.ca

A Conversation with Jonathan Rogers at 89 on Getting Old and Dying

A Conversation with Jonathan Rogers at 89 on Getting Old and Dying Host Bernadine Fox is joined by Jonathan Rogers — animator, artist, former supervising producer at Disney and Marvel, stand-up comedian, and the man she was once engaged to — for a rare and honest conversation about aging, dying, and what remains. At 89, Jonathan reflects on a career that took him from Second City Toronto to NBC to Hollywood, on the childhood sexual abuse that shaped the first part of his life, on losing the ability to draw after more than eight decades as an artist, and on what it feels like when the tangible world begins to fade, the body begins to slow down, when one becomes invisible to the world, and what it feels like to be near the end of a life that was genuinely well-lived. Music: Shari Ulrich   Photo by: Jim Neiss Transcripts available upon request to rethreadingmadness@coopradio.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. www.rethreadingmadness.ca

The Marks We Miss: Forensics, Trafficking, and the Path to True Trauma-Informed Justice

The Marks We Miss: Forensics, Trafficking, and the Path to True Trauma-Informed Justice   Trigger Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions regarding human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault. It includes forensic descriptions of non-fatal strangulation, and the trafficking of children. We also discuss systemic failures affecting Indigenous and Black communities. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Trauma is the primary driver of mental health struggles; Rethreading Madness exists to expose how it happens and, more importantly, how we can survive it Host Bernadine Fox speaks with Canadian author and dental professional James Frizzel who is a forensic dental professional with specialized training from McGill University, the Sûreté du Québec, and the University of Tennessee’s "Body Farm." A graduate of Harvard Medical School’s "Train the Trainer" program for human trafficking, he also holds certifications in strangulation prevention and clandestine grave recovery.  Drawing on that background, Frizzel discusses the overlooked connections between domestic violence and sex trafficking, the physical and neurological effects of non-fatal strangulation, and why medical and law enforcement systems routinely misidentify or dismiss victims. They also cover the disproportionate impact on Indigenous and Black women and girls in Canada and the US, what a genuinely trauma-informed response could look like from disclosure through to court, the particular harm done to children trafficked within their own families, and the gap between legislation on the books and justice in practice. The conversation also takes in the Epstein files and what communities and professionals need to understand if survivors are going to be better protected.    Music by Shari Ulrich and Lauren Daigle Transcripts available upon request to rethreadingmadness@coopradio.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. www.rethreadingmadness.ca

BiPolar Princess: Victoria Maxwell

BiPolar Princess: Victoria Maxwell What happens when a spiritual awakening is mistaken for psychosis?  And what if the difference between harm and healing is simply being listened to? In this powerful and often funny conversation, Victoria Maxwell joins ReThreading Madness to talk about bipolar disorder, psychosis, stigma, and the fine line between spiritual experience and mental health crisis. A former actor turned internationally recognized theatrical keynote speaker, Victoria shares how a meditation retreat catapulted her into an altered state that was both profoundly meaningful and deeply destabilizing. For years, her experience was pathologized without curiosity—until one nurse asked a single question that changed everything. Together, Bernadine and Victoria unpack language reclamation (“crazy,” “mad,” “bipolar princess”), media portrayals of violence and mental illness, workplace stigma, and what happens when leaders model vulnerability from the top down. This episode is honest, nuanced, and unexpectedly humorous—a reminder that lived experience is not a stereotype, and that healing often begins with being seen. This episode includes snippets of comedic shows from Danny Docimo from ZaniesComedy and David Granrier from Stand Up For Mental Health. Victoria Maxwell is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, performing artist, and mental health advocate who blends three decades as an actor with lived experience of bipolar disorder, anxiety, and psychosis. Named a mental health leader by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, her theatrical keynote That’s Just Crazy Talk has been recognized by the Mental Health Commission of Canada as one of the country’s top anti-stigma interventions. Victoria is also a blogger for Psychology Today and serves as a Lived Experience Strategic Advisor for BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. Learn more at www.victoriamaxwell.com [http://www.victoriamaxwell.com].   Music:  I Found Myself/Clendening, It’s Alright/Shari Ulrich, YOY/Siibii Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. www.rethreadingmadness.ca

Systemic Trauma and the Indian Act with Bob Joseph

In this powerful and grounded conversation, Bob Joseph, author of 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, joins Bernadine Fox to unpack the law that has governed Indigenous lives in Canada since 1876. The Indian Act was not simply administrative policy. It was a system of control. It defined identity, stripped women of status, imposed elected governance systems, confined communities to reserves, criminalized ceremonies, and enforced assimilation through residential schools. It treated Indigenous peoples as wards of the state and positioned culture itself as something to erase. And while parts of the Act have been amended, it remains in force today. Together, Bernadine and Bob explore the deeper question: How does this law connect to mental health? Housing crises. Drinking water inequities. Substance use. Higher incarceration rates. Intergenerational trauma. When children were taken, languages banned, land reduced, and communities fractured, the damage was not incidental.  It was structural. The trauma did not begin in families. It began in policy. Bob challenges listeners to move beyond guilt toward responsibility. Reconciliation is not sentiment. It requires learning what we were not taught and understanding how law shaped lived experience. If we want to address mental health in Indigenous communities, we must first understand the system that created the conditions. Bob Joseph is the Co-Founder and CEO of Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. and has been providing Indigenous relations training since 1994. For over three decades, he has helped thousands of individuals and organizations understand the history, policy, and lived realities that shape Indigenous–non-Indigenous relations in Canada and beyond. His clients include all levels of government, Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions such as the World Bank, and organizations across North America and internationally. An award-winning author of 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Bob is widely recognized for translating complex legal and historical realities into accessible, practical learning. He has served as an associate professor at Royal Roads University, guest lectured at numerous academic institutions, and facilitated global Indigenous round tables, including a United Nations-connected gathering in Switzerland. His work bridges education, reconciliation, and informed responsibility, equipping Canadians to better understand the lasting impact of colonial policy on Indigenous communities today. music by Shari Ulrich Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rethreading-madness--5675300/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. www.rethreadingmadness.ca