Volition was originally launched in 2022 to run interviews with people whose careers I admired. To learn about how they switched between different kinds of work, learned new skills, and flexed their agency. These episodes will continue to be available in the podcast history but with this episode the podcast is relaunching with a new focus. I recent…

Show Notes: (0:18) Michael’s languages background (3:41) How Latin operates as a gateway drug for appreciating the general structure of language (6:50) Why philology is the atomic element of historiography (8:26) How Michael sent a letter to every federal minister in Canada (14:48) The dangerous and precarious dynamics of a life in policy (19:08) A…

Show Notes: (3:40) That time that Justin printed off a copy of pipe bomb plans (7:30) What is what like living in an Oil & Gas town and what drove Justin to leave (11:52) How and why Justin set up a tech newsletter for Vernon (15:32) The joys of working in co-working space (18:09) How to iterate into creating a coworking space (20:05) Conservatives…

Show Notes: (0:53) The most interesting Substack you’ve never heard of (2:58) Why the serial format is experiencing a renaissance on Substack (5:29) How conventional investing is like Groundhog Day (7:08) How tech avoids the Groundhog Day problem and how Linda ended up jumping ship (10:52) The journey from wood panelled Bay Street to remote Slack c…

Show Notes: (2:35) Why Ben says he studied “Semiotics” at university (6:01) Avoiding broken telephone at work (6:45) How this comes to life when communicating your brand to the public (9:13) Hydrogen’s “brand” story and why it matters to Shopify and to developers (12:40) The pros and cons of headless development (13:54) Ben’s thoughts on product ma…

A mid-summer session of Acts of Volition Radio full of eleven great songs from Polaris Music Prize winners, nominees, and others. Acts of Volition Radio: Session 34 (61MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 93.6MB MP3) Eleven great songs -. Recorded Sunday, July 26, 2009 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 61min. Joel Plaskett – Run, Run, Run Joel Plaskett – Heartless, Heart…

Six months later, a new session of Acts of Volition Radio with eight great songs. Acts of Volition Radio: Session 33 (43MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 52MB MP3) Six months and either songs. Recorded Sunday, Feb 15, 2008 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 42min. Frightened Rabbit – The Modern Leper Gordie Sampson – Davie Jones Holy Fuck – Lovely Allen Mardeen – It’s …

A summer session of Acts of Volition Radio with 2/3rds Canadian content. Acts of Volition Radio: Session 32 (53MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 48MB MP3) 2/3rds Canadian content. Recorded Sunday, July 20, 2008 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 64min. Matt Mays – Building a Boat Sloan – Witches Wand Bell X1 – Rocky Took a Lover Buck 65 – Cries a Girl Guided By Voices …

The first session of Acts of Volition Radio for 2008, the future. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Thirty One (48MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 41MB MP3) Music for 2008, the future. Recorded Monday, February 4, 2008 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 34min. Session Thirty One Playlist: Band of Horses – Is there a Ghost MxPx – Punk Rawk Celebrity Nada Surf – See These…

With winter in the air, Acts of Volition Radio is back with eight great songs. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Thirty (48MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 41MB MP3) Eight great songs. Recorded Sunday, October 15, 2007 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 45min. Session Thirty Playlist: Wintersleep – Weighty Ghost The Weakerthans – Utilities John Vanderslice – Karma Polic…

A new session of Acts of Volition Radio is full of delightful songs for the summer. The songs may also be enjoyed during other seasons. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Nine (48MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 41MB MP3) Songs for summer. Recorded Sunday, April 5, 2007 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 45min. Session Twenty Nine Playlist: Two Hours Traffic – Arm…

This session of Acts of Volition Radio is party will test your musical attention span with some long songs, but will reward you with some music gratification. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Eight (42MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 38MB MP3) Songs short and long. Recorded Saturday, April 7, 2007 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 41min. Session Twenty Eight Pl…

The first Acts of Volition Radio session of 2007. Warning: some of these songs might make you cry. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Seven (44MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 42MB MP3) A few pairs of great songs. Recorded Wednesday, February 5, 2007 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 45min. Session Twenty Seven Playlist: The Delgados – Keep On Breathing Mike Knot…

In keeping with my complete lack of a publishing schedule, here is the latest session of Acts of Volition Radio. If the commentary is lacking, I assure you that the songs are worth the wait. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Six (45MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 50MB MP3) A few pairs of great songs. Recorded Wednesday, November 22, 2006 by Steven Garrity.…

The day after Canada Day, I put together a new session of Acts of Volition Radio. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Five (46MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 62MB MP3) Songs for Canada Day, 2006. Recorded Sunday, July 2, 2006 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 44min. Session Twenty Five Playlist: Joel Plaskett – Absentminded Melody Joel Plaskett – Happen Now Pilat…

It’s been a few months since my last session of Acts of Volition Radio was recorded. I’m back with six fantastic songs. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Four (34MB Ogg Vorbis) (or 40MB MP3) Back with six great songs. Recorded Sunday, April 2, 2006 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 34min. Session Twenty Four Playlist: My Morning Jacket – Wordless C…

My last session of Acts of Volition Radio was recorded in the waning days of my bachelorhood. Though this session now features a married host, the music continues to rock (though sometimes gently). I’m as excited about sharing these great songs as I was when recording the first session. This session is the first available in Ogg Vorbis format (info…

This, the 22nd session of Acts of Volition Radio, was recorded the the safe-harbour of my office on a Saturday night. Meanwhile, back at my house (from which I was temporarily banished), my bride-to-be and her friends celebrated the waning days of her life as a single woman. The songs don’t really have anything to do that, but I thought I’d give yo…

Many of you have likely seen the many weblog posts entitled “A Musical Baton” over the last few weeks. The chain-letter-like post asks the author to share a bit about the music they are enjoying, and pass the duty on to five more people. Having been passed the “baton” myself (thanks Garrett), I’ll let this, the 21st session of Acts of Volition Radi…

The 20th session of Acts of Volition Radio is a collection of hard rock and punk songs. This session runs a bit longer and rocks a bit harder than previous sessions. It may rock your ass off. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty (65MB MP3) Music that rocks hard. Recorded Saturday, April 24, 2005 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 1hr11min. Session Twen…

The nineteenth session of Acts of Volition Radio includes some new songs I’ve discovered recently, and some older material that you might not have heard before. I had a cold when I was recording it, so pardon the nasal tone. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Nineteen (41MB MP3) Newly discovered and recently rediscovered songs. Recorded Sunday, March …

The eighteenth session of Acts of Volition Radio is a collection of some old songs, some new songs, and an appeal to help me track down the composer of one of the songs. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Eighteen (42MB MP3) A collection of songs old and new. Recorded Thursday, January 13, 2005 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 47 min. Session Eighteen Pla…

While I’m a confessed scrooge about most things Christmas and I do hate most Christmas music, there is some truly great Christmas music. I share some of it in the seventeenth session of Acts of Volition Radio. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Seventeen (25MB MP3) Christmas music that doesn’t suck. Recorded Saturday, December 11, 2004 by Steven Garri…

This, the sixteenth session of Acts of Volition Radio is a collection of hidden gems. These are great songs that you have likely never heard before (most of them, at least). This session features a super-duper-quadruple-pack of a band you’ve almost certainly never heard of before, Chagall Guevera. Thanks to Dennis for rekindling my love for the ban…

I had already accumulated a great list of songs to share, so session 15 of Acts of Volition Radio comes out hot of the heels of theprevious session. No musical theme this time, but all great songs. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Fifteen (42MB MP3) More good music. Recorded Wednesday, September 29, 2004 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 42min. Session F…

The fourteenth session of Acts of Volition Radio searches the barren wasteland of “adult contemporary” radio music and comes back with a few worthwhile songs by artists that deserve a second listen. The speech recording is a little weak on this one, so I boosted the signal between songs – the songs sound fine, but the speech is a bit rough. It’ll b…

This, the thirtheenth session of Acts of Volition Radio includes several tracks from the Future Soundtrack for America compilation CD I mentioned last week. There are also a couple of other tracks that warmed my heart in recent weeks. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Thirteen (29MB MP3) Songs for the future of America (and Canada). Recorded Wednesda…

In the twelveth installement of Acts of Volition Radio, I draw heavily on a mix by my friend Dennis Arsenault. Also, thanks to Timothy Chaisson for permission to include his track. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twelve (31MB MP3) Songs recommended by my friends. Recorded Sunday, August 22, 2004 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 34min. Session Twelve Pl…

This session of Acts of Volition Radio is a loose collection of story-songs and miscellany. It is punctuated by my reporting on the amusing musical selection of my sun-bathing and boom-box weilding neighbours. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Eleven (37MB MP3) Story songs and miscellany. Recorded Sunday, June 27, 2004 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 35…

Back in February, Matt Haughey kindly referred to me as “a tastemaker for Canadian indie rock”. I blushed, and ever since, I’ve noticed that there has been some pretty heavy Can-Con in my shows. Session ten of Acts of Volition Radio ended up, unintentionally, as another all-Canadian extravaganza. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Ten (43MB MP3) More …

After a short hiatus (the beauty of never promising deadlines), Acts of Volition Radio is back. This session is mostly comprised of Canadian indie rock and pop – but some Pedro the Lion got in there too (maybe they’re Canadian in temperment). Acts of Volition Radio: Session Nine (30MB MP3) Canadian content (mostly). Recorded Thursday, April 29, 200…

After being vocally out of commision for a while due to a bad cold, Acts of Volition Radio is back. This is a special session dedicated to the late Gene Eugene. If you haven’t heard of Gene Eugene, that is why I do this. His songs are among the most important to me of any I have known. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Eight (25MB MP3) The music of G…

I was waiting for some CDs to arrive for my next planned Acts of Volition Radio playlist, but great songs just kept coming to mind. So, instead of waiting, I’ve put together another session in the interim. This session was recorded while hunkered down in my little house surround by a lot of snow. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Seven (33MB MP3) Son…

Session six of Acts of Volition Radio done. This session doesn’t have a theme as some previous sessions have had. Rather, it’s just ten great songs. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Six (42MB MP3) Ten songs you’ll like. Recorded Sunday, February 8, 2004 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 52min. Session Six Playlist: Metric – Combat Baby Garrison Starr – S…

Session five of Acts of Volition Radio is all about great guitar rock songs. This is a good one to burn to a CD and play in your car. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Five (41MB MP3) A collection of great guitar rocks songs. Recorded Sunday, February 2, 2004 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 45min. Session Five Playlist: Aunt Bettys – Rock and Roll Cathe…

The fourth session of Acts of Volition Radio is here. This session is based on songs and albums that are particularly well recorded, produced, or engineered. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Four (45MB MP3) A collection of particularly well recorded, produced, or engineered tracks. Recorded Wednesday, January 21, 2003 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 49…

A little overdue (if that’s possible when you have no deadlines or schedule), here is the third session of Acts of Volition Radio. This session is based around artists that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at some point. Acts of Volition Radio: Session Three (37MB MP3) An hour of name dropping – music by people I’ve actually met. Recorded Sunday, D…

The reaction to the first session of Acts of Volition Radio was generally positive. Here, then, is Session Two: Acts of Volition Radio: Session Two (57MB MP3) Nine great live recordings. Recorded during a snow storm on Sunday, December 7, 2003 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 1hour. Session One Playlist: Jellyfish – Ghost at #1 (live) Ben Folds & John …

I’ve had the idea of doing a weekly radio show on the web floating around in my head since the Acts of Volition website started over three years ago. I like the idea of assembling a bit of music, talking about who it is and why I like it, and making it available for download. An hour show could be posted for download and those interested could list…