Wonks and War Rooms

Where political communication theory meets on the ground strategy

Host, Professor Elizabeth Dubois, picks a political communication theory, explains it to a practitioner, and then they have a chat about whether or not it makes sense at all out in the world of politics and communications. She chats with political staffers, journalists, comms experts, lobbyists, activists and other political actors. Elizabeth quizzes them on pol comm theory and they tell her how ridiculous (or super helpful) that theory actually is.

Season 8 Episode 6: Indigenous Governance, Digital Sovereignty and AI Policy

Season 8 Episode 6. In this episode Elizabeth chats with Jonathan Dewer, Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Information Governance Centre and a member of the inaugural board of directors of the National Council for Reconciliation, to explore Indigenous governance principles in AI.

5 days ago

Season 8 Episode 5: Health Policy and AI

Season 8 Episode 5. In this episode Elizabeth chats with Kumanan Wilson, Chief Scientific Officer at Bruyere Health Research Institute, internal medicine physician at the Ottawa Hospital, and co-founder of Canimmunize, at unpack AI and health.

Oct 28

Season 8 Episode 4: AI and Higher Education

Season 8 Episode 4. In this episode Elizabeth chats with Shaily Gebethner, a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa's in the Faculty of Education and Director of International Programs at Ecole Des Langues ABCE, to unpack AI in higher education.

Oct 21

Season 8 Episode 3: Ethics, Engineering and AI

Season 8 Episode 3. In this episode Elizabeth chats with Jason Millar, a professor in the School of Engineering, Design and Teaching Innovation in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa, and Canada Research Chair in the Ethical Engineering of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, to unpack ethical engineering in AI.

Oct 14

Season 8 Episode 2: The Information Environment, Philosophy, and AI

Season 8 Episode 2. In this episode Elizabeth chats with Étienne Brown who is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa. From recommending algorithms to AI chatbots, Étienne has spent the last ten years exploring how the fight over attention is reshaping democratic discourse and why he thinks AI products should face safety review before release.

Oct 7

Season 8 Episode 1: Provincial, National and International AI Approaches

Season 8 Episode 1. In this episode Elizabeth chats with Christelle Tessono who is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto and a researcher at The Dais, to unpack what AI governance really means. They chat about AI as a socio-technical system which includes the technology but also the labor, land, water and infrastructure behind it.

Oct 1

Season 8 Trailer: AI Beyond Tech!

Season 8 Trailer: Get ready for Season 8 of Wonks & War Rooms! This season, we’re looking at AI Beyond Tech. Chatting with experts...

Sep 21

Canadian Election Laws with Mike Pal

Season 7 Episode 6 - In this episode, Elizabeth talks to Mike Pal, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, about election laws in Canad

Nov 27, 2024

Newsletters in a High-Choice Media Environment with Nick Taylor-Vaisey

Season 7 Episode 5: In this episode Elizabeth talks to Nick Taylor-Vaisey, a journalist for Politico who works on the Ottawa Playbook, a fre

Nov 13, 2024

Foreign Interference at the Nomination Level with Conner Coles

Season 7 Episode 4: In this episode, Elizabeth is joined by Conner Coles, a former lobbyist with experience working in and around politics,

Oct 30, 2024

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