The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay
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The Sunday Magazine for January 23, 2022
We unpack the simmering diplomatic standoff over Ukraine, Hilary Brown shares stories from her decades as a foreign correspondent, two former Olympians weigh in on political tensions surrounding the Winter Games in Beijing, and broadcaster Ray Suarez examines the forces driving financial struggle.
What does it mean to 'sonder?' Author invents new words that resonate during the pandemic
Author John Koenig has invented his own words to describe his inner emotional landscape — and it's resonated with people around the world, particularly during the pandemic.
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Are Russia and Ukraine really on the brink of war?
As tensions escalate over Russian troops on the Ukraine border and diplomatic talks continue to deal with the crisis, Maria Popova, associate professor of political science at McGill University, talks about how we got to this point, whether war can be averted, what actions Canada can take, and whether peace is possible.
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Can Beijing keep politics out of the Olympic bubble?
Two former Canadian Olympians – skier Jean-Luc Brassard and Angela Schneider of Western University's International Centre for Olympic Studies – weigh in on the Olympic movement’s approach to politics.
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Trailblazing foreign correspondent Hilary Brown tells her own story
Hilary Brown made history in 1974 as ABC News' first female foreign correspondent, and spent nearly five decades traveling the world to cover some of history's most iconic moments.
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Ray Suarez spent decades covering poverty – then found himself at the centre of the story
Ray Suarez is an acclaimed journalist who found himself jobless after his employer closed shop. He shares his own experience, as well as the stories of others going through tough economic times on his podcast Going for Broke.
The Sunday Magazine for January 16, 2022
Dr. Roberta Bondar reflects on 30 years since her landmark spaceflight, Monia Mazigh and Megan Leslie remember former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, Maxwell Smith weighs the ethics of tools to curb COVID-19, and novelist Naben Ruthnam interrogates workplace diversity initiatives.
Roberta Bondar flew into space 30 years ago and never saw Earth the same after that
It's been 30 years since Roberta Bondar was strapped into a five-point harness on the space shuttle Discovery and blasted into space and into fame as Canada's first female astronaut.
Remembering Alexa McDonough, former NDP leader and trailblazer for women in politics
Alexa McDonough, whose leadership of the Nova Scotia NDP in 1980 made her the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada, has died at the age of 77. Monia Mazigh, and Megan Leslie join Piya to reflect on Mcdonough's life, career, and the legacy she leaves behind.
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The rising ethical stakes of a prolonged pandemic
Bioethicist Maxwell Smith weighs the ethical considerations of tools being explored to curb COVID-19 at this point in the pandemic – from taxing the unvaccinated to broadening vaccine mandates,
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Naben Ruthnum interrogates workplace diversity initiatives with new novel
The Canadian author speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about his novel A Hero of Our Time, and his frank and funny take on why even the most well-meaning initiatives need to be probed in order to achieve meaningful change.
The Sunday Magazine for January 9, 2022
Stephen Marche projects perilous American futures, John Koenig shares invented words for universal feelings, Dr. Madhukar Pai urges taking a global approach to end the pandemic, and Hanya Yanagihara returns with her new novel To Paradise.
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Will Omicron finally spur wealthy nations to back vaccine equity?
As the Omicron COVID-19 variant overwhelms people and health care systems in Canada, Dr. Madhukar Pai is pleading with elected officials to look beyond borders and boosters to focus on true global health equity as the key to ending the pandemic.
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From 'sonder' to 'dès vu': A dictionary of invented words we didn't know we needed
Writer John Koenig has spent more than a decade coining hundreds of new words for universal experiences. He speaks with Piya Chattoadhyay about his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, and the English language's limits when it comes to describing emotions.
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Is the United States on the verge of its next civil war?
Canadian writer Stephen Marche speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about his speculative non-fiction book The Next Civil War, which sketches several possible future scenarios of Americans taking up arms against each other.
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Hanya Yanagihara interrogates the promise of the United States as paradise
A Little Life author Hanya Yanagihara speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about the themes she explores in her new novel To Paradise: freedom, utopia, borders, and disease over the span of three centuries, and through three different versions of the American experiment.
The Sunday Magazine for January 2, 2022
We discuss 'Big Tech’s' place in the global order, How science fiction can offer hope, Guy Vanderhaeghe muses on the consolations of historical fiction, Neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova on the science of forgetting and the art of remembering
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Big tech companies rival nation-states in power and influence, says Ian Bremmer
As the one-year anniversary of the January 6 insurrection approaches, Ian Bremmer is speaking out about the disproportionate role tech companies played in censuring those involved – and how their power could threaten the global world order.
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Premee Mohamed ditches apocalypse tropes to tell more complex stories
The Edmonton-based scientist and writer pulls from her own experience as the children of immigrants to weave a post-climate collapse story that focuses on rebuilding and adaptation and the real hard work of getting on with it after everything has changed.
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Guy Vanderhaeghe on the fragility of humanity in times of crisis
The three-time Governor General's Award winner speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about his new novel August into Winter and how times of crisis can both expose the worst in us and provide an opportunity for kindness and humanity.
Q&A
This neuroscientist wants you to embrace your forgetfulness
If you've ever forgotten where you parked the car or the name of someone you've just met, you know that it makes you question whether you're losing your mind. But bestselling author Lisa Genova says you're not. Her new book, Remember, explores the science of memory and the art of forgetting.
The Sunday Magazine for December 26, 2021
We look back on 2021's lows and highs, Omar Holmon makes the case to expand the spectrum of nerdom, Richard Powers talks about his latest novel Bewilderment, and Buffy Sainte-Marie reflects on her decades of art and activism.
Why listening to your old faves can be such an effective antidote to stress
There's a reason listening to favourite old songs surged over the past two years. One expert says feelings of nostalgia can act as an antidote to stress.
Facing flagging ridership, transit needs more investment, not less, to survive the pandemic: Andy Byford
Transit systems around the world are facing the major challenge of convincing commuters, who have stopped using trains and buses in record numbers throughout the pandemic that it will be safe to do so again, according to long-time transit guru Andy Byford.
Our reading habits changed with pandemic lockdowns — here's how
The pandemic has changed a lot about how we live in the last couple of years, from how we shop and how we socialize to how we work. It's also had an effect on our reading habits, changing everything from how much we read to the kinds of books we choose
