Multimedia

In the fall of 2020, The Medium aired season 1, episode 1 of The Medium/The Message. It was a conversation between Liz and friends about all things related to student life. Since then, The Medium/The Message developed into poignant reflections that attempt to understand society & student life through stories.

New episodes are released biweekly from September to April. Season 2 features interviews with professors and experts on topics such as privilege, social media, finance, relationships, and more.

Connect with us on Instagram and listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Anchor!

Season 2

It’s been a while, but we’re back, baby! Welcome to Season 2 of The Medium/The Message with your hosts Elizabeth (Liz) Provost and Elisa Nguyen. For our first episode, Liz and Elisa explore the McLuhan phrase, “The Medium is the Message,” with the help of special guest Beth Coleman, ICCIT professor and author of “Hello, Avatar,” and reflect on the ways print media can influence our community. You’ll also hear about the history of The Medium, and what’s new this upcoming year.
Social media platforms began with simple intentions to connect communities and give people a place to express their interests, but one look at the apps today, saturated in algorithms and advertisements, raises suspicions about whether their intentions remain the same. In today’s episode, we reconnect with Jordyn Foster who reveals the ins and outs of algorithms, influencers, and social media diets. Belicia Chevolleau, The Medium‘s Social Media & Online Editor, also makes an appearance and shares a funny online experience. At the end of the episode, Liz and Elisa reflect on their own social media habits and how they portray themselves online.
“You don’t necessarily have to do anything once you acknowledge your privilege,” writes Roxanne Gay in Bad Feminist. What does it mean to acknowledge our privilege? What will happen once we do? Those are the questions we asked Professor Stephen Scharper in an interview. Acknowledging our privilege may be the first step in becoming both self-aware and understanding of the lived experiences of others.
There are so many questions students face throughout their time in undergrad—from academic success, to romantic relationships. Should I find time to relax if that sacrifices the quality of my work? I’m looking for love but why is it so hard to meet people in online classes? Is it bad that I keep experiencing burnout and I don’t know if I can continue with school for much longer?
Sometimes we need advice, other times we just need someone to relate to. Join us for a conversation with The Medium’s Features Editor Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes and guest speaker Professor Jennifer Stellar.
The media is a “big amorphous blob” that is both intimidating and captivating. Power and politics plays a critical role in the evolution of news media and the kind of news we get access to. As an independent student newspaper, The Medium is also a part of this system.
Join us for a conversation with Aroni Sarkar, The Medium’s Opinion Editor, Aya Yafaoui, the Ear to the Ground Columnist, and George Wootten, political science professor at UTM, about what makes something newsworthy.
When you think of the word ‘isolation’, what do you see? 
In this episode, The Medium’s editorial team discusses their contribution in the ‘Moving Still’ Magazine—a collection of creative non-fiction, essays, research, poetry, and photos. Topics discussed include social media, grief, mental health, health care, childhood memories, businesses, and change. The Magazine can be found across stands on campus, or online at https://themedium.ca/moving-still/. “We hope this magazine will inspire you to see isolation as it is: not necessarily good, not necessarily bad, but simply a state we all experience in life.”

Have you ever felt ‘meh’? Like you can’t get out of bed because, what’s the point? Perhaps you keep thinking about the future and it’s so foggy that it demotivates you.
Dear friend, what you’re experiencing is something you may have never heard of before: languishing. To put it simply, feeling languished is feeling hopeless and stagnant. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to get rid of that feeling.
In this episode, undergraduate student Louis Lam tells Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes, the Features Editor at The Medium, his story with languishment as he approaches the end of his university journey. Louis shares what he did to feel better and gives advice to other students who may be in the same spot as he was.
Co-hosts Liz and Elisa welcome returning guest and fan favourite, Chris, and not-so-shy newcomer, Peter, to answer all your burning questions on love, friendships, relationships, and life in general. Tune in for some laughs, insights, laid back conversations, and of course, hot takes.

In the final episode of 2021, Liz and Elisa have a conversation with University of Toronto Mississauga ICCIT Assistant Professor Dan Guadagnolo on the nuances of consumer culture, PR, and marketing. We explore how consumer culture has changed since the 1960s, the relationship of race, class and gender to consumer capitalism, and the impact of targeted ads. We also share three retail worker’s experiences, their advice on being better shoppers this Holiday Season, and the surprising phenomenon of the “Christmas Creep.” 
How do you measure success? Is it by the amount of money you have in your bank account? The number of friends and family that support you? Perhaps it’s the weight of all your accomplished goals?
We all have different definitions of success, but what we often omit is how we’re able to handle our emotions. This is what psychologists like to call “emotional intelligence.”
In this episode, University of Toronto Mississauga ICCIT professor Tracey Bowen sits down with The Medium’s Features Editor, Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes, to discuss how emotional intelligence can help us achieve great things in our personal and professional lives.

In this week’s episode, current and former Arts and Entertainment editors join Liz and Elisa for a roundtable discussion about recent movie, book, podcast, YouTube, and T.V. show favourites. Join us for some cool recommendations, fun banter, and laughter with friends!
“I could write about racism and make it look beautiful. But it’s about you questioning yourself and asking if you’re actually part of the people promoting racism. You want to fight it, you want to go against it. You want to question yourself. That’s what I do with my poetry.”
Newly appointed poet laureate of Mississauga, Ayomide Bayowa, has written poetry ever since he was a young student in Nigeria. He currently studies theatre and drama at UTM.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work as a section editor, photos editor, or even as the Editor-in-Chief of The Medium?
In this episode, Elisa Nguyen (Managing Editor) interviews the volume 48 elected editors on how they got involved with The Medium, whats unique about their role, challenges they’ve faced, and advice they have for aspiring student journalists.
In this episode, Liz shares how her career aspirations have changed over time, and how watching Grey’s Anatomy and a conversation with a friend helped her reconsider medical school. Elisa catches up with last year’s Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor, Paula Cho and Ali Taha. Paula is studying journalism at Columbia University in New York City, and Ali recently founded Archetype: A Literary Journal. They chat about random jobs they’ve picked up, capturing stories through videos and words, and upcoming projects.

For the final episode of Season 2 of The Medium/The Message Podcast, the contributors of the ‘In Touch’ magazine discuss moments when they felt most connected to themselves and their loved ones.

Season 1

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.” Browse our collection of videos about the UTM campus, our publishing process, our team, and student life.

Not much of a reader? We gotcha. Below you’ll find a collection of comics and trivia that entertain and provide student commentary about relevant issues.

Volume 48, Issue 16

Three rom-com tropes we (still) love and why — Volume 48, Issue 18

By: Helen Yu, Comic Artist (Volume 48)

Volume 48, Issue 16

Celebrating Black Voices in Media — Volume 48, Issue 16

By: Helen Yu, Comic Artist (Volume 48)

Don’t Look Up — Volume 48, Issue 14

By: Helen Yu, Comic Artist (Volume 48)

Volume 48, Issue 11 & 13

By: Reid Fournier

Volume 48, Issue 9

By: Reid Fournier

The Real Sicko Mode — Volume 48, Issue 9

By: Helen Yu, Comic Artist (Volume 48)

If UTM hosted Squid Games — Volume 48, Issue 7

By: Helen Yu, Comic Artist (Volume 48)

Zoom, Yikes: No Pants Edition — Volume 48, Issue 1

By: Helen Yu, Comic Artist (Volume 48)

Humans of UTM (@humansofutm_ on Instagram) shares stories that connect and inspire on a human level. Inspired by Humans of New York, every post features an individual from the University of Toronto Mississauga and an answer to a thought-provoking question.