News

Exciting news!!

We are thrilled to announce that the podcast episode “Becoming a Granddaughter Again: Shifting roles in an intergenerational Punjabi family"—told by Ashley Sharma with her nani Devki—was honoured by the Signal Awards as a Silver medal winner in podcast category that means the most to our team of researchers, producers and storytellers—Activism, Public Service & Social Impact.

The Signal Awards, announced the winners of its fourth annual honors on October 15, 2025.

Ashley’s audio diary—recorded with her grandmother, Devki, in their multi-generational home in Abbotsford, BC—tells a story about racism and gaps in the healthcare system, and the urgent need for human-centred and culturally sensitive healthcare supports for people with dementia. It’s also an emotional story about the messy humanness of loving and caring for someone with advanced memory loss, and how a young woman finds her way back to being a loving granddaughter again when she becomes lost in the role of caregiver.

“This year’s Signal Award winners illuminate how audio is shaping discourse. From investigative work that exposes truth, to personal essays that make the intimate universal, and cultural commentary that reframes how we see the world — this year’s winners remind us why podcasting has become not just relevant, but essential.

This year’s winners represent an extraordinary range of voices, genres, and production styles, underscoring the diversity and creative range that define today’s podcast landscape.

With a growing international cohort of creators and submissions from the U.K., Australia, Canada, Germany, Qatar, and beyond, the Signal Awards Winners reflect not just individual achievements, but the maturation of podcasting itself as a mode of creative expression.” ~Jemma Rose Brown, General Manager of The Signal Awards. 

Mariko Sakamoto was featured in the Institute of Aging newsletter on Instagram and X on February 13th, 2025.

A webinar was held on January 29th, 2025, with the Alzheimer Society.

https://alzheimer.ca/bc/en/whats-happening/events/webinar-i-co-design-sakamoto-lab

Read the 2022 UVic News media release:

UVic podcast aims to break the stigma of dementia

 Debra Sheets talked to Ben O’Hara, host of “A Little More Conversation” on Global Radio, Jan. 28, 2022. This interview aired on CKNW in Vancouver and across the country on the eight radio programs in the Global network, including Toronto and Calgary.

Brenda Brophy, storyteller from episode one “Beautiful Morning,” spoke to Gregor Craigie, host of CBC Radio Victoria’s “On the Island,” Jan. 31, 2022

Debra Sheets spoke to hosts of 15 CBC Radio afternoon shows across the country Jan. 31, 2022, including Halifax, Montreal, Whitehorse, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. Below, she speaks with Gill Deacon in Toronto, host of CBC Radio’s “Here and Now” about Call to Mind.

Greater Victoria residents share stories of dementia and caregiving in UVic podcast

Victoria News, by Jane Skrypnek, Feb. 5, 2022