Hour 1

SPECIAL: Sunday Edition Public Forum from Halifax The Final Exam Question: Is a University Education Worth the Cost?"

It's back to school time for roughly a million university students across Canada. In every region of the country, there are more students enrolled in university than ever before.

At the same time, university budgets are being squeezed. Tuition fees are going up. Arts courses are being slashed from the curriculum. Fewer grants are available. And the days when a B.A. carried with it a reasonable expectation of a good job are long gone.

In a special Sunday Edition public forum from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Michael asked: "The Final Examination Question: Is a University Education Worth the Cost?"

Hour 2

SPECIAL: Sunday Edition Public Forum from Halifax, Continued

In the second hour of our special Sunday Edition broadcast from Halifax, the audience got a chance to ask their questions.

Hour 3

Music
Song: Rompin' at the Rex
Artist: Chase Sanborn
Album: Perking Up

Weighing in on the "Twinkie Tax"

The man who coined the phrase "yo-yo dieting" and who first floated the idea of taxing junk food thinks, "eating in America is like swimming in a tsunami. The best of intentions get pulled under by massive forces."

In a super-sized world where baby bottles have soft drink logos on them, and toddlers are encouraged to love Ronald McDonald, it's not news that people pile on extra poundage.

And it's not a uniquely American problem. An estimated one billion people are overweight. Obesity presents major health challenges to countries all around the world. Canada is no exception. We each consume over 40 kilograms of sugar a year and wrestle with weight problems just like our American neighbours.

Dr. Kelly Brownell - a world-renowned obesity specialist - first suggested a tax on junk food in 1994. The idea? Place a surcharge on foods that make us fat, and use that money to fund healthcare and educational programs. Seems simple enough.

But from the moment Dr. Brownell proposed the idea sixteen years ago, critics - who called it "the Twinkie Tax", "the Sin Tax" and "the Snack Tax" - have ridiculed it. They argue that he doesn't have a scientific leg to stand on - or accuse him of bringing Big Brother into their lives.

But Dr. Brownell is not easily dissuaded. He continues to argue the case for taxing junk food. He is the author of 14 books including, Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It.

He is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University, where he also serves as Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and he's founder and Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. He joined Michael from the Yale University studio in New Haven Connecticut.

Music
Song: Elephant
Artist: London Symphony Orchestra
Album: Saint-Saëns: Le Carnaval des Animaux

Mail Pack - Education

We kicked off the season last week with a conversation with american scholar Marth Nussbaum about the ideas in her new book, Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities.

On the same program, Michael talked, and listened to the music of three incredible Canadian singers: Isabel Bayrakdarian, Diane Nalini , and Lauren Segal. They spoke about the relationship between their music and their backgrounds in science.

Remember...

You can write to us about anything you hear on The Sunday Edition. You can contact us right here on our website OR you can send us a letter at: The Sunday Edition, CBC Radio One, Box 500 Terminal 'A', Toronto, M5W 1E6.

Animal Cemeteries - Personal Essay

Music
Song: Fanfarinette (little fanfare)
Artist: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Album: CBC Disc Drive 2

Call me Nana - Follow up

Three years ago on The Sunday Edition, we met a complicated 16-year-old named Andrew in Alisa Siegel's documentary, Call Me Nana.

At 16, Andrew was surly, defiant, and struggled with the worst symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome, including a propensity for rages.

But Andrew loved music, and it is a passion that his grandmother nurtured.

This September, Andrew will be embarking on a new chapter of his life.

Music
Song: Last Day of Summer
Artist: Piltch and Davis
Album: Feast