The Conversation Piece

Children’s learning begins in the home - and the language spoken in the home is fundamental to a young child’s education. So, should parents be raising children with more than one language? And what are the benefits of children being bilingual? On International Mother Language Day, we celebrate linguistic diversity with Krista Byers-Heinlein, a developmental psychologist and associate professor of...

Are we equal in our praise for philanthropic acts? When you read news about support for something you believe in, how often do you read about the small acts of kindness? The contributions that may seem tiny when compared to what a sports star or a soft drink company CEO can give, but are significant to the person who gives. Anand Giridharadas is a former columnist for The New York Times and w...

For many of us, this week marks a full year of social isolation. Urged to stay home and keep our in-person interactions to a minimum we continue to rely on technology to stay connected. Some research even shows that isolation is just as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Now that we have all experienced 365 days of isolation and the loneliness that comes with it, why would we ever purposely imp...

With the majority of research  conducted  by men, it’s no surprise that most research  favours  men. So much that even the original crash test dummy was modelled after a man and a study, originally for the menstrual cycle, was cancelled when Viagra was discovered through it. On this International women’s day, it seems like a good time to ask: how can women gain a seat at t...

While Canada is far from a Utopia, we are trying to be peaceful and green and right our wrongs. We are trying to offer safety and clean water and homes. We are trying to be a better country, but first, we must be kind. In his talk from 2017, award-winning Canadian actor Graham Greene discusses how we can live better through kindness.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

What do you eat? Your choices can transform the world. This applies to everything from the news you take in to the stores you shop at. But this is particularly true when it comes to the food you eat. Irwin Adam urges us to look at what happens before our meals are on our plates. The process is rather inefficient. What can we do to change this? Flour made from insects? Edible packaging? Tasting Dat...

Accessibility often doesn’t take into account different needs — if it is accessible for one person it might not be for another. Accessibility is not universal, but according to Aimee Louw it can be harmonised across our country. In her talk, Louw advocates for a future where accessibility isn’t treated as a favour or charity but as justice and equality. Where people are paid a livin...

In 2018, Siri Agrell spoke at The Walrus Talks Humanity about the important steps in human connection that can be lost in the virtual world. That Talk lead to a new book by Agrell, that is out in February 2021, and deserved an update from the author about how this pandemic and isolation influenced her writing. How to get Laid Without your Phone is available to order at www.withoutyourphone.com . H...

It feels like branding and marketing goes in cycles of themes, from earnest to snarky to authentic to sarcastic. At the beginning of the pandemic it all felt very earnest: that banding together, we’re all one human race, let’s get through this together. But as often happens, the cycle … cycled, and we started to get the juicy sarcastic stuff again. A few years ago, Terry O’Reilly, gave his Walrus...

It’s hard, separated from each other, living under the threat of a pandemic, witnessing unrest and argument, to feel empowered. But the truth of us is that each of us has power. Over ourselves for sure. Over our situations, often more than we think. If you’re feeling at the low-end in terms of empowerment, Sandy Hudson - organizer, writer, and the founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto - is about t...

Most of the discussion when it comes to education these days is whether students should be in classrooms or learning virtually, but who they are learning from is an ongoing issue, one that needs to be fixed at the root level. Or it will continue to effect both learners and teachers post-pandemic. Who is teaching? Who gets to go to University? Who gets tenure? And who is leading academia? Deb Sauci...

We all decide how we want to show ourselves to the world. But who gets to define who you are? In her talk, Samra Habib wants us to own our identities--even if it means not always being accepted by the greater community we belong to. As a queer Muslim woman, she’s reimagined her community to go beyond geographical borders. And at a time where we’re online more than ever, community connections...

Everybody has their own origin story. Whether that was crossing a sea, or moving around Turtle Island, we each have our own beginning that brought us here. So why we do we make anyone feel like an outsider? In her Talk, Carol Off urges us to take a step back and look at where we came from. In this time when we can’t get on a plane, travel to see loved ones, or start our next adventure, we can stay...

In a world obsessed with instant gratification, Teva Harrison reminds us that there is potential in the quiet moments, the ones without goals or deadlines. She urges us to look at nature and appreciate the small successes of each day: the kindness of a stranger, a chance to do a good deed, a laugh shared with a friend—these are all achievements. Harrison compares the realization of our potential t...

Is there a straight line between healthcare and housing in Canada? Andrew Boozary is a primary care physician who has an on the ground perspective on healthcare in Canada as we navigate this pandemic. In his Talk, he has a lot to say about that line, where we fall short and the magnification of these failures when faced with a pandemic. Boozary is also the Executive Director for social medicine an...

As the weather outside becomes snowier and the holidays approach, it gets easier to recognize privilege - right in front of our eyes. The warm home, family gatherings (no more than 10), the ability to give gifts. But, what's not so easy to see are the full shelters, the nursing homes that can’t have visitors, and long lines for the food bank. At a time when we’re all suffering at different levels,...

Canadians represent 0.48% of the global population, and we’re on track to get even smaller on the world’s stage. In her talk, Shari Austin proposes that Canada’s population needs to triple in less than 100 years. If it doesn’t the country could be facing an onslaught of economic problems. So what do we do? Shari Austin is a consultant and former CEO of Century Initiative, she spoke at The Walrus T...

It wasn’t that long ago that cannabis was illegal in Canada. To many detractors, it was seen as a drug that promotes laziness and was more popular among youth rather than a legitimate medicine that can reduce suffering. But tens of thousands of Canadians have regained their ability to function because of medical marijuana. People who were once bedridden are now going outside, playing with their ki...

Canadians sometimes congratulate themselves on being “better” in comparison to other countries - more democratic, less violent, more open to new ideas. But when topics like racism, violence against women, and sexual abuse get brought up, the room - and the Zoom, goes silent. Julie S. Lalonde is a women’s rights advocate and public educator. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

Our thinking about where people live and why has been entirely flipped by this pandemic, but it could just as easily flip right back if a vaccine becomes readily available. In 2015, people were rushing to the city, giving up big houses and spacious yards for small condos and convenience. The cost of their time spent commuting to and from the city outweighed the benefits of living in the suburbs. N...

LIVING ROOMS is our new digital series looking at the transformation in where and how we live. Read, listen, and watch at thewalrus.ca/livingrooms. You can’t talk about homes and housing without talking about homelessness. It’s a problem that has plagued Canada for too long. Short term solutions cannot eradicate a problem so deeply rooted in our society. In her talk, Kaite Burkholder Harris says t...

We train machines for a particular task but you modify the task just a little bit and they fail. Intelligence, it turns out, is hard to recreate. Yann LeCun is a CIFAR fellow, an AI Engineer and a VP at Facebook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season Two of The Conversation Piece launches next week, and with The Walrus Talks at Home in full swing, we have even more ideas (in under 10 minutes) to treat your ears to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's hard not lose ourselves in our own thoughts, especially in an extended state of isolation with no end in sight. How many friends have you lost touch with since this all started? How are you keeping hope alive until we’re be able to feel those connections again? This is CIFAR fellow and UWO professor Adrian Owen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People from all over the world call Canada home, weaving together cultures from across the globe to create the Canadian identity. But, with this blended cultural identity that we are so proud of, what does it mean to understand your own cultural history? Is it time to redefine multiculturalism? Filmmaker Atom Egoyan spoke at The Walrus Talks National Tour: We Desire a Better Country in May of 2017...