Ritchie Community League, one of the most active and creative community leagues in Edmonton, has chosen a novel way to celebrate its 100th anniversary — it has launched a podcast.
A Little Bit Ritchie has ambitious goals: "We aspire to challenge and reassess notions of place, community, and public space, bridging a gap in historical knowledge of our neighbourhood." You can hear that in spades in Episode 1, a deeply researched introduction to the area's namesake and exploration of the effects of settlement on Indigenous people living in the area that would come to be covered by Treaty 6.
Funded by the Edmonton Heritage Council and City of Edmonton, the podcast has a formidable team behind it. It is hosted by Lydia Neufeld (whose voice you may know from CBC Radio), researched by Linnea Bell, and written by Elyse Colville, with production by Castria.
"We hope to address Indigenous history, women's labour rights, social and political activism, transit accessibility, housing security, and environmental activism," Colville wrote. "Understanding the evolution of our community will inform how we can better its future."
Before creating its own podcast, Ritchie had a bit of a history with the medium, as Let's Find Out recorded three episodes based on walking tours of the neighbourhood. It's also worth noting that Erin Fraser, co-chair of the centennial celebration committee, is a stalwart of the Edmonton podcasting scene as co-host of Trash, Art, and the Movies and Bollywood is For Lovers.
You can listen to this and other podcast picks from Taproot on Listen Notes.