Father James Martin is a noted advocate for the LGBTQ community. He says there is much the Catholic church can do now to offer its support, even without changing church doctrine. Martin explains the difference between sadness and despair, and what The Lord of the Rings can teach us about morality.

Given the enormous costs of intoxication, why has the consumption of alcohol remained at the heart of social life? Author Edward Slingerland says it was essential to human evolution.

Indigenous people in Australia’s prison system experience a profound loss of connection to culture while incarcerated and isolated from the familiar sounds of home. A team of researchers worked with a group of incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to reconnect them to a sense of place — through sound.

Andrew Faiz is the grandson of a Presbyterian Pakistani saint - Vazir Chand. Most Presbyterians don't honour saints, yet for this specific Pakistani community, Andrew's grandfather has been given special reverence.

Hollywood Jade grew up in Toronto wanting to be a dancer. He found success at an early age, appearing in films such as Hairspray, music videos and awards shows. But as a queer man, he felt that being his authentic self was not always welcome.

A documentary brings the sounds of nature into an Australian prison, a queer dancer tries to make space for other LGBTQ performers, and what it’s like when your grandfather is revered as a saint by his church.

Studying music and culture from the 17th and 18th centuries gave historian Keith Johnston a vision for how we could mark the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnston says we can draw inspiration from a 10-day festival hosted in Naples at the end of the 1656 epidemic.

The Mahabharata is a 2,000 year old sacred text whose central message is “everyone dies.” And yet professor Arti Dhand has found it a place of solace through the pandemic.

Studying the culture of the 17th and 18th centuries gave historian Keith Johnston a vision for how we could mark the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnston says we can draw inspiration from a 10-day festival hosted in Naples at the end of the 1656 epidemic. The Mahabharata is a 2,000 year old sacred text from India whose central message is “everyone dies.” And yet University of Toronto associate professor Arti Dhand has found it a place of solace through the horrors of the pandemic.

As a portrait artist, Riva Lehrer says faces are her whole life. She’s also someone with spina bifida - and that means people give all kinds of unwelcome attention to her body. When that happens, her face has always been her ally. With our faces necessarily hidden under masks - she is navigating a new way of connecting with the world.

John Portmann, author of When Bad Things Happen to Other People, has long mulled over the implications of schadenfreude, and how the word has been perceived over the centuries. It’s a common feeling, but not always a morally clear one.

Writer Ian Leslie believes we’re missing out on a very human need when we can’t gossip. The murmured stories we’d normally share as we meet at a pub after work, or when we pass by neighbours, are the most informative, says Leslie. Without those conversations -- which we can’t have during a pandemic -- we risk living in a world that’s “a lot less human.”

Inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron – a book of stories on fear, grief and humour amid the Black Death of the 14th century – anthropologist Iza Kavedžija’s story collection transports readers “into other worlds without leaving your own house.”

Author Richard Van Camp knew he wanted to dedicate his life to telling stories after an Elder shared her experience with the afterlife. Van Camp says stories are the “soul fire” we need right now – in the pandemic and onward.

Throughout Canada, physical distancing restrictions are lifting and more people are venturing out and visiting friends and family. But trying to be a good person in the new normal can be challenging and disorienting. Philosopher Alice MacLachlan and moral psychologist Azim Shariff offer some ethical guidance.

The seven member boy band, who sing and rap mostly in Korean, share a coming of age story in their lyrics that has their fans thinking about representation, self-esteem and hope.

I’m a hard worker. He’s a sloth. I’m an introvert. She’s a social butterfly. It’s easy to label yourself and others. But writer Dan Brooks says typecasting yourself can curtail your life.

One introvert tells Tapestry how her journey to live life like an extrovert has been upended by the coronavirus pandemic, just as she had become skilled at the “whole leaving-the-house thing.”

Introvert Jessica Pan reflects on her ‘nightmarish’ quest to live like an extrovert for a year. American freelance writer Dan Brooks cautions against typecasting yourself. And, a Moncton couple recommends a song for our Soundtrack for the Soul that made them “laugh out loud.”

Robin Wall Kimmerer is an acclaimed botanist who blends her scientific studies with her Indigenous upbringing. She says there is much to be learned about how to interact respectfully with the earth, from the behaviour of plants.

Xorje Olivares looks for solace and hope from the Catholic church. However, he's gay and the formal church continues to identify same-sex unions as a sin. Olivares shares what a different vision of the capital-C church could look like. Plus, Jane Goodall, who is this year's Templeton Prize winner.