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The Action Research Podcast

The Action Research Podcast

Written by: Adam Stieglitz & Joe Levitan
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In the first podcast dedicated solely to Action Research, Adam and Joe do a deep dive into the lives, experiences, philosophies, and - of course - investigations of the most well respected action researchers in the field. Throughout our four seasons, come hear about successes and challenges, and learn about what makes Action Research unique. If you are passionate about social change, engage in research, or are a budding scholar, then this is the perfect podcast for you. The Action Research Podcast aims to offer unique and valuable insights for the field through accessible and engaging conversations about the “what” “why” and “how” of Action Research. The Action Research Team: Adam Stieglitz, Co-host Joe Levitan, Co-host Shikha Diwakar, Production manager/Co-host Cory Legassic, Co-producer/Co-host Vanessa Gold, Sound technician and voice-over specialistCopyright 2026 Adam Stieglitz & Joe Levitan Economics Management Management & Leadership Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Radical Incrementalism in Action

    Radical Incrementalism in Action
    Jun 1 2026
    In this episode, we invite authors from the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch university and collaborators from McGill university to discuss their article “Radical Incrementalism in Action Through Institutional Work: Case Studies of Embedded Research in South Africa”. As part of our special Eco-Justice and Climate Action series, the authors explore the complexities of navigating changemaking from within institutions. Listen in to discover secrets to radical change through slow and steady processes!In this episode, our co-hosts Joe and Blane introduce the team and the article at the center of today’s discussion. They begin by grounding listeners in the broader context of South Africa for those who may be less familiar with its history and contemporary dynamics [2:20], before moving into the deeper motivations and relationships behind their collaboration and the development of the concept of radical incrementalism [4:15]. What does this term mean, and how is it done? Our own curiosity increased as we continued our conversation.– What gave rise to this feeling that they needed another way to think about how to pursue change? Some critical scholars might challenge the idea that incrementalism can actually be radical, perhaps the idea represents an abandonment of the drastic and immediate “change we need” concept? So, we ask the authors to respond to this critique [5:15]. The episode then explores how radical incrementalism is actually done, and the messiness and complexity behind this way of working, including questions of embeddedness, role conflicts, ethical dilemmas, and the importance of political literacy [26:27]. Finally, the conversation closes with reflections on how these ideas are shaping daily practice, and what kinds of changes the guests have observed as a result [37:40]. Thank you Mark, Alboricah, Mlondi, Priscilla, Mapula, and Elaine for sharing your work with us in this episode. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold. Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic. Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us. Biographies: Mark Swilling is a Distinguished Professor and a former Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is an international expert in sustainable development, with over thirty years of experience in ‘societal transitions’ (with special reference to urban systems), initially focusing on democratisation and governance during the Apartheid era in South Africa. The primary research focus of his career can be defined as ‘societal transitions,’ more recently within the broader discipline of sustainability science and governance at the global level. His published research was coupled to major institution-building collaborations. This achievement was recognised in 2010 when he was awarded the Aspen Faculty Pioneer Award for success in introducing sustainability into leadership education. Dr. Elaine Huang is currently a Research Associate at the Faculty of Education, McGill University. Her research examines how the social sciences can contribute to just and sustainable futures by advancing ethical collaboration, institutional transformation, and collective learning. She is particularly interested in how researchers engage with the politics, evolving normativity, and uncertainties inherent in real-world change processes to serve the public good. Grounded in reflexive and relational approaches, her work reimagines knowledge production as a generative space for ethical engagement, systemic thinking, and transformative practice—both within and beyond academic institutions.Alboricah Rathupetsane is a PhD Candidate and Junior Researcher at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions in Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her research sits at the intersection of industrial policy, decarbonisation and infrastructure development within the country’s just transition agenda. Her doctoral work examines the role of infrastructure megaprojects in catalysing industrial revival, specifically focusing on strengthening the participation of local steel firms in South Africa's electricity grid expansion programme.Mlondi Ndovela is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His work focuses on co-developing and applying a non-equilibrium model to understand the broader macroeconomic implications of the energy transition in South Africa. This work draws its influences from systems dynamics/non-linear dynamics, stock-flow consistent approach, complexity economics and laws of thermodynamics.Priscilla Jezi is a part-time ...
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    46 mins
  • Learning from the Land: Action Research and Climate Education in the North

    Learning from the Land: Action Research and Climate Education in the North
    May 15 2026
    In this episode in the Eco-Justice and Climate Action Mini Series, we sat down with four members of the Climate Education and Teacher Education (CETE) team, which is based at the University of Northern British Columbia. Authors of “Mapping Climate Change Education: Reflections from an Education Design-Based Research Project from Northern British Columbia, Canada,” the CETE team created this project in response to the 2022 Association of Canadian Deans of Education report titled "Accord on Education for a Sustainable Future," which underscored urgency for climate change education. Join us for another great episode exploring the stories behind this collaborative and exciting action research project!To begin, our hosts Joe and Blane introduce the CETE team and the article that brought them together [00:00]. This leads into the origin story of the initiative and discussion of their team dynamics, which lead to a shared commitment to curriculum reform and a signature pedagogy built around people, place, and land [1:57]. The conversation then explores the co-creation process at the heart of the project, from building a national design team to running iterative workshop series across northern British Columbia, reflecting on how listening to teachers and communities continuously reshaped the project's direction [7:50]. From there, the team reflects on the iterative, cyclic nature of their design-based research, and the challenges of working within research frameworks that don't always honour more-than-human species and Indigenous ways of knowing [17:03]. We move to a discussion about the tension between theory and action, and between local focus and global relevance, focusing on how grounding the work in northern land, language, and Indigenous knowledge has proven to be both their most impactful contribution and a transferable model for others [22:23]. The team closes by sharing where the project stands today, and our hosts wrap up by honouring the messiness of action research as a defining strength of the journey, not a flaw [34:04].Thank you Hartley, Christine, Alexander and Glen for sharing your time and work with us.Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold.Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic.Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us.Resources: CETE Research PageBiographies: Hartley Banack, University of Northern British ColumbiaDr. Hartley Banack is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at UNBC and Principal Investigator for the CETE research program since 2022. Banack is a curriculum theorist, qualitative researcher, and teacher. He has years of experience as an outdoor environmental educator and scholar. His scholarship appears in Teachers and Teaching (Banack and Tembrevilla, 2024), Children’s Geographies (Banack and Berger, 2020), and Critical Education (Banack, 2018). Banack holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.Ed. in environmental education, all from Simon Fraser University, along with a B.Sc. from Trent University.Christine Ho Younghusband, University of Northern British ColumbiaDr. Christine Ho Younghusband is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at UNBC. Dr. Ho Younghusband is a founding CETE Co-Investigator. Her research focuses on teacher professional learning, identity development, and mathematics education. She has published on e-portfolios and identity (Younghusband, 2021) and out-of-field teaching (Younghusband, 2017). Dr. Ho Younghusband holds an Ed.D. and M.Ed. from Simon Fraser University, and B.Ed. and B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia.Alexander Lautensach, University of Northern British ColumbiaDr. Alexander Lautensach is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at UNBC. Lautensach is a founding CETE Co-Investigator. He holds five degrees in the areas of biology, science education, and philosophy, including a doctorate in environmental ethics education from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Lautensach has written two books on sustainability education and climate change and co-published the first open-access textbook on human security.Glen Thielmann, University of Northern British ColumbiaGlen Thielmann is a Lecturer in the UNBC School of Education. He is a founding member of the CETE Research Team. He is a master Social Studies teacher with leadership in curriculum, instruction, and professional & resource development in B.C. K-12 schools. In 2017, Glen received a Governor General’s History Award for excellence in Teaching. In 2022, Glen received a Teacher Educator Award from the Association of BC Deans of Education.--This episode is part of our Eco-justice and Climate Action Series. Authors from ...
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    44 mins
  • Rethinking Resilience: Climate Justice and Community Action Across Borders with Céleste Pepin

    Rethinking Resilience: Climate Justice and Community Action Across Borders with Céleste Pepin
    May 1 2026

    Welcome to the second interview in our special mini series, Eco-Justice and Climate Action. Today our guest, Céleste Pepin, graduate of the Gender and Social Justice Studies Honours program at McGill University, joins Blane and Joe, to share their work: “Politics of Resilience-Building: Explorations of Community-Based Interventions in Trinidad and Tobago”.

    An inspiring researcher, Queen Elizabeth Scholar (2023) and student, Celeste shares their insights from working and living in a new environment, the impact of research “trends” like resilience on project planning, and the intersections of action research and feminist methodologies. Join us for an exciting conversation traversing the many aspects of action research and beyond.

    Céleste first shares how the opportunity to engage in action research came to be during their undergraduate degree, as well as the project beginnings [01:00]. This led to exploring the preparation and challenges of working in an unfamiliar environment [6:57], along with the tensions they encountered between international agency funding and local realities on the ground in Trinidad and Tobago [10:11]. Céleste also reflects on the role of the university and how institutional context shapes the way research is designed and conducted [17:16]. Together, we explore the surprising parallels between climate resiliency efforts in Montreal and Trinidad and Tobago [20:53], leading to a rich discussion about the responsibility of the Global North to learn climate adaptation strategies from the Global South [24:00]. This connects to a broader conversation about the links between feminist popular education and action research as complementary frameworks [26:31], before closing with key takeaways and lessons Céleste is carrying forward [29:41].

    Thank you Celeste for sharing your time and work with us.

    Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold.

    Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic.

    Subscribe to our podcast on most major podcast distribution platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

    How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us.

    Biography:

    Céleste Pepin is a graduating Gender and Social Justice Studies Honours student at McGill University. Their research focuses on the use of feminist imperial foreign policies within international armed conflicts and uses decolonial feminist perspectives to analyze the gendered dynamics of war and the legitimization strategies employed by Western states during military interventions in the Global South. By foregrounding decolonial feminist perspectives, they challenge conventional narratives and highlight the complexities of power relations in contemporary geopolitics.

    Resources:

    Environmental Organizations in Trinidad and Tobago

    Green T&T: an NGO working in ecotourism

    CANARI: Ensuring that people whose livelihoods depend on the environment have a say in its protection and management

    Fondes Amandes, reforestation project

    ERIC, community-based approach to reef management and protection

    --

    This episode is part of our Eco-justice and Climate Action Series. Authors from journal articles in a Special Issue of the Canadian Journal for Action Research hop behind the mic and share the inspirations, process, and findings from their projects. Join Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar and special guest host Blane Harvey, as they interview an inspiring group of researchers, educators, organizers, and more, navigating the process of action research.
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    35 mins
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