Welcome to Saskatoon Fire and Flood. It’s a Friday afternoon and Brennen Mills is showing me and my photographer, Rona Andreas, around the building. It’s a really impressive space full of tools and equipment designed to help people recover from an incident such as a house fire.

I feel lucky to say I have never had to call on Brennen and his team for their help. In fact, Brennen was not on my radar for podcast guests until his colleague, Candace Chickowski nominated him through the YXE Underground website. Her email was compelling and it really got me thinking of how important communication is in Brennen’s line of work.

Here is a portion of Candace’s email that really connected with me and got this episode in motion.

Brennen was born and raised in Saskatchewan’s construction industry. He knows this work inside and out, but what makes him different is his ability to see the human side of it. We deal with people going through some of the hardest days of their lives, fires, floods, and major loss and Brennen never lets us forget that we’re not just fixing buildings; we’re helping people get their lives back.

Helping those in need and giving back to the community are priorities in Brennen’s leadership style and his personal life. He is the Vice-Chair of the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation and his willingness is volunteer his time and energy led the SPSF to recognize Brennen and Saskatoon Fire and Flood at this month’s National Philanthropy Day.

Here's the thing about Brennen; he would rather talk about anything else than himself, which made for some very funny moments in our conversation when I would press him for a story.

You can listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or on the website: yxeunderground.com

Please feel free to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear.

You can follow YXE Underground on social media. Simply search YXE Underground on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. That's where you will see some lovely photos of Brennen and his puppy dog taken by Saskatoon photographer, Rona Andreas. My thanks to Rona for her amazing work on this episode.

Thank you to my cousin, Andrew Dickson, for creating the original theme music for the podcast.

Thank you to Saskatoon’s Danger Dynamite for creating and maintaining the website.

These interviews were gathered on Treaty Six territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis.

YXE Underground is a production of the Salthammer Production Company. Thank you so much for listening and we’ll talk to you soon, Saskatoon.

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. My name is Eric Anderson and it has been a busy week for the podcast.

Last Monday, I dropped an episode that took listeners to Beaver Creek Conservation Area to enjoy a Dark Skies event put on by the Meewasin Valley Authority.

On Thursday, I spoke with Katayoon Navabi about the Diaspora Film Festival she was helping organize at the Remai Modern. I saw a great documentary yesterday as part of the film festival called Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story. My congrats to Katayoon and her team for putting on such a wonderful event.

Today, I am sharing a conversation about an upcoming fundraising event that has raised more than three million dollars since 2007.

Choc’la Cure is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to purchase cancer treatment equipment used at the Saskaoon Cancer Centre. It formed 18 years ago and has impacted the lives of so many people in Saskatoon and throughout our province.

Choc’la Cure’s annual gala event takes place on November 7th at Dutch Growers, and I learned more about the organization and its impact on the Saskatoon Cancer Centre thanks to Kim Swiatecki, Breanne Cooper and Dr. John DeCoteau.

Kim is a volunteer on the Choc’la Cure committee and a previous guest on the podcast way back in season one. Breanne is the Chair of Choc’la Cure, and Dr. DeCoteau is the Medical Director of the Advanced Diagnostic Research Lab at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre.

The goal of this year’s gala is to raise money for a new piece of medical equipment for the Cancer Centre, which Dr. DeCoteau explains in fascinating detail in our conversation.

I met Kim, Breanne and Dr. DeCoteau at Citizen Café a few weeks ago and learned so much from all of them. Best of luck to the entire Choc'la Cure team on their upcoming fundraiser!

Listen and follow YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Please feel
free to leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed this episode. I would greatly appreciate it.

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. I am excited to share with you an interview with Katayoon Navabi.

Katayoon is the Program Director for the Paivand Society, which is a non-profit organization in Saskatoon that promotes cultural dialogue, and is on the organizing committee of the Saskatoon Diaspora Film Festival.

This film festival, now in its third year, shows movies that tell stories of migration, immigration, and of people settling into their new homes while trying to create community.

It’s taking place this weekend (October 24th-26th) at the Remai Modern’s beautiful theatre, and you can learn more by visiting paivand-society.ca.

I was introduced to Katayoon by our mutual friend and amazing human being, April Sora, and I am so glad she made this interview happen because, as you are about to discover, Katayoon is simply wonderful.

She is originally from Iran where she grew up in a family that loved to tell stories. Whether it was reading, listening, or cinema, Katayoon, was surrounded by rich storytellers. She attended university in Edmonton before moving to Saskatoon in 2010, and is passionate about sharing stories of migration and immigration with our community.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and hopefully see you at the film festival!

You can follow and listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcast including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or the YXE Underground website. Please feel free to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear!

Cheers...

Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. I’m Eric Anderson, and if you are listener of the podcast, you probably know I am a big fan of the Meewasin Valley Authority.

The organization does an incredible job of protecting and enhancing our beautiful river valley, and its conversation efforts are always worth celebrating.

Meewasin also puts on really great events, and in this episode, we are highlighting one that takes place at Beaver Creek Conservation Area.

Dark Skies at Beaver Creek gives people the chance to explore the wonders of the night sky along with learning how to photograph constellations, galaxies and if you’re lucky, like I was in this episode, the Northern Lights.

These Dark Skies events sell out quickly. I know this because I’ve been trying for a few years to get a ticket. It finally happened in late August on a beautiful and clear Friday night. I wanted to do a bonus episode to share with you the joy and wonder of a Dark Skies event, and I hope that comes through in what you are about to hear.

The next Dark Skies event at Beaver Creek will take place on Saturday, November 1st, starting at 7:30pm.

A big thank you to the Meewasin team, especially the great Sam Cowan, for making this episode possible. I also want to thank Tim Yaworski, also known as the Living Sky Guy, for sharing his knowledge of the sky and photography with all of us at the event. Be sure to check out Tim's YouTube page to learn more about the stars and how to capture them on your camera.

Enjoy the Night Sky, Saskatoon!

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Welcome to Christy Morrissey's acreage.

We're about 15 minutes west of Saskatoon on a gorgeous Friday fall morning. The sun is rising and the grass is wet as Christy points a Hairy Woodpecker on an Aspen Tree.

Christy Morrissey is an ecotoxicologist and professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan who loves prairie grasslands and wetlands. She is doing important research to protect and preserve these beautiful but fragile ecosystems in Western Canada, which she talks about in this episode.

Christy also discusses why is hopeful to see more women in scientific and research roles.

I love prairie grasslands, which is kind of ironic because I'm allergic to grass, but I love their subtle beauty, and I think we are so fortunate to have access to beautiful grasslands in and around Saskatoon. I hope that sense of gratitude comes through in this conversation.

You can listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or on the website: yxeunderground.com

Please feel free to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear.

You can follow YXE Underground on social media. Simply search YXE Underground on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. That's where you will see some lovely photos of Christy and that woodpecker you heard at the beginning of the episode taken by Saskatoon photographer and emerging birder, Chelsea Klette.

I would like to acknowledge that these interviews were gathered on Treaty Six territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis.

YXE Underground is a production of the Salthammer Production Company. My name is Eric Anderson. Thank you so much for listening and we’ll talk to you soon, Saskatoon.

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Nuit Blanche is one of my favourite nights of the year in Saskatoon. The festival brings together talented artists from all walks of life to showcase their talents and express themselves under the darkness of a prairie night. There's something about seeing public art in the dark that makes the works unique and special.

Xiao Han expresses the uniqueness of Nuit Blanche Saskatoon way better than I can. She is an artist and photographer here in Saskatoon, and is this year's curator of Nuit Blanche. She sees our community through a special lens, and I think that comes through in our conversation. Xiao explains what listeners will experience on the night of September 20th, why the festival is spread out over three locations (Broadway, River Landing and Downtown) and how this year's theme of "Living In Between" has inspired artists this year.

It was such a pleasure speaking with Xiao! We met on a Saturday morning at the large steps that overlook the K.W. Nasser Plaza in River Landing, and it was wondering hearing why this location means so much Xiao.

You can learn more about this year's Nuit Blanche Saskatoon by visiting the website and give it a follow on Instagram as well!

Thank you for continuing to support a local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon. I hope to see you out and about on Saturday night!

Cheers...

Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Hello and welcome to Season Eight debut of YXE Underground. I’m Eric Anderson and welcome to the University of Saskatchewan’s Physical Activity for Active Living, or PAAL, program.

It’s a Wednesday night in late August. I’m in the gymnasium room of the Physical Activity Complex on the UofS campus. There are children and teenagers running and jumping on different obstacles set up throughout the space, and they’re joined by high school and university student volunteers who are helping them make the most of their time tonight.

PAAL is a program for individuals of all ages who are experiencing physical and or intellectual disabilities. Its mission is to provide quality physical activity focusing on fun, skill development and social interaction.

On this night, the child/teen PAAL program is wrapping up its summer session for youth ages 5 to 18. Half of the class is here in the gymnasium while the other half is downstairs in the pool…which we will visit later on.

It’s hard to articulate just how much positivity and joy are taking place in these two spaces, but I hope by the end of the episode, you will be able to feel just how impactful PAAL is for the participants, the student volunteers, and the parents of the children.

You can listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the YXE Underground website, and I am excited to say that you can now listen to the podcast on YouTube! It only took eight years. Simply search YXE Underground on YouTube and you will find all 116 episodes of the podcast.

Don’t forget to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear.

A big thank you to Saskatoon photographer Rona Andreas for taking amazing photos for this episode, which you can see on Facebook, Instagram and X. Simply search YXE Underground.

Thank you also to Saskatoon’s Danger Dynamite for creating and maintaining the website and to Saskatoon’s Vita Beauty Bar for supporting this episode.

Before I go, I would like to acknowledge that these interviews were gathered on Treaty Six territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis.

Thank you so much for listening and for your continued support!

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Hello and welcome to a special summer bonus episode of YXE Underground. I hope you are having a wonderful summer!

One of the highlights of my summer is always enjoying the Saskatoon Fringe Festival. It is put on by Saskatoon's 25th Street Theatre and features artists not only from Saskatoon and Canada, but from around the world as well. The Fringe Festival attracts amazing live theatre productions to our community and brings people together in very unique ways that Philippa Williams explains in this episode of the podcast.

Philippa Williams has been with 25th Street Theatre for years, and this year is one of the leaders who is ensuring the festival runs smoothly. I met with Philippa at the Fringe Festival site in W.E. Graham Park in the Broadway neighbourhood to learn more about this year's festival and discover why fringe performers continue to choose Saskatoon as a place to share their talents. Philippa also shares her passion for ensuring the Fringe continues to make a difference in our community. I think you will love our conversation and hopefully it sparks an interest in checking out this year's Saskatoon Fringe Festival!

Click here to learn more about the shows being performed at this year's festival and to purchase tickets. The Fringe Festival runs from July 31st to August 9th, and I hope to see you at one of the shows!

Don't forget that Season 8 of YXE Underground launches in September!

Thank you for continuing to support a local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon.

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis