The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay

When Haitian president Jovenel Moise was shot dead in his home earlier this month, the beleaguered nation once again made headlines for its current political and social turmoil. But this time, Haitian-American historian Marlene Daut is imploring the international community to look beyond the usual tropes, to the centuries of occupation, intervention, and forced indemnity the country and its people have endured. She takes guest host Rachel Giese all the way back through the republic's history, tracing a direct line from the Haitian Revolution of 1804 to today's unrest, and asks who bears responsibility for that unrest… and what they owe Haitians working for a more stable future. 

We breathe roughly 25,000 times a day. Yet we think about it zero times. Science journalist James Nestor chats with Piya Chattopadhyay about the lost science and art of breathing, what it can do for our physical health and overall well-being, and some simple ways to improve it.

Haitian-American historian Marlene Daut discusses Haiti's history, tracing a direct line from the Haitian Revolution of 1804 to today's unrest, and asks who bears responsibility for that unrest. We also revisit our conversation with journalist James Nestor about the science and history of breathing. He shares some simple ways to improve yours — a subject that's become even more relevant lately.

Science journalist Sarah Everts on what our sweat reveals about us -- our culture, our physiology, our sociology, even the way we love.

Guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks with science journalist Sarah Everts about what our sweat reveals about us -- our culture, our physiology, our sociology, even the way we love. We also revisit our conversation with novelist Omar El Akkad about his new novel What Strange Paradise, what children can see about the world that adults ignore, and why the current global refugee crisis will only intensify as climate change worsens.

80 million people were displaced worldwide by mid-2020 — and as novelist Omar El Akkad sees it, that number will grow as climate change worsens. He discusses his new novel What Strange Paradise, what children can see about the world that adults ignore, and why the current global refugee crisis will only intensify as climate change worsens.

In her debut novel, The Push, writer Ashley Audrain takes those taboo feelings about motherhood — the doubt, the loneliness, the way you suddenly dislike your spouse — and cranks them all the way up.

Guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks with poet and culture critic Hanif Abdurraqib about how the long history of Black performance has shaped him, and what it says about race in America today.  We also revisit our conversation with writer Ashley Audrain about motherhood and her debut novel 'The Push' .

Labour advocates say essential workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic, and that they’re owed a future with higher wages and better worker protections.

Former firefighter Mathieu Bourbonnais talks about the heat wave and wildfires that have devastated Lytton, B.C.; Guest host David Comon speaks to Minouche Shafik about the need for a new social contract; and journalist Lynn Berger about the myths of what it means to be a second (or first, or middle, or only) child.

Guest host David Common speaks with psychiatrist Dr. Nel Wieman about how to grieve the lives lost at residential schools, Hassan Yussuf and Deena Ladd on why essential workers need better protections and astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi on his journey from drug addiction to academia. We also revisit our conversation with writer Bonnie Tsui about why humans are drawn to swimming.

The discovery of 751 unmarked graves will take a toll on the mental health of Indigenous people and communities already grappling with intergenerational trauma and the pandemic. Psychiatrist Dr. Nel Wieman speaks to David Common about the toll on survivors of the schools and Indigenous communities, and what support is needed to help people deal with looming mental health crises — as well as how people can manage their grief in this moment.

The pandemic has forced an awareness of just how much work is essential to our way of life — from grocery store workers to people working in warehouses. Hassan Yussuff, the just-retired President of the Canadian Labour Congress who was appointed to the Senate on Tuesday, and Deena Ladd, the executive director of the Workers Action Centre, argue that we owe these workers an enormous debt for the work they've done, the risks they've taken and the sickness and stress they've endured. They say it's up to Canadian governments, business and the public to ensure essential workers see better wages and job protections as we come out of the pandemic.

We revisit Piya Chattopadhyay’s conversation with author Bonnie Tsui about why humans are drawn to swimming, especially during the pandemic. Her memoir-cum-social history Why We Swim explores the many ways we interact with water across history and cultures. With summer now in full swing, Tsui’s love letter to swimming reminds us of the transformative power of plunging into water.

Host Piya Chattophadyay speaks with Dr. Gabor Maté about the relationship between trauma and the pandemic, Julie Lythcott-Haims about why adulting is tougher now than ever before, Omar El Akkad about his new novel 'What Strange Paradise,' and Tate Ryan-Mosley about how beauty filters are changing the ways young girls see themselves.

'Adulting is scary' and 'Adulting is hard' might seem like excuses, but author Julie Lythcott-Haims believes there's validity to those claims. She says things like helicopter parenting has left younger people without the skills and self-efficacy they need to prosper in their adult lives.