Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

The Canadian icon, Ed the Sock, talks about the lack of support for Canadian musicians since the demise of Much Music and the need for his new online platform, NewMusicNation. Determined to fill vaccine spots Sarah Mackey and Janaya Matheson explain how they're helping Albertans navigate the vaccine booking system in province with Vax Hunter AB. Encouraging Canadians to get vaccinated, This is Our...

Unpacking how politics impact the response to COVID-19 across Canada and beyond, with political pundit Supriya Dwivedi.  Why the pandemic is making the Canadian real estate rev up and what to expect in the coming months, from the Director of the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at University of British Columbia, Dr. Thomas Davidoff. 10:26 - Supriya Dwivedi 1:08:44 - Dr. Thomas Davidoff

Urban planner, Brent Toderian and University of Calgary researcher Dr. Yeonjung Lee explain how Canadian cities are built can negatively impact the aging population.  Education expert Carla Peck shares about the need for the new Alberta Curriculum Analysis. The non-partisan, research-based website provides a scholarly evaluation of the proposed Alberta’s Kindergarten to grade 12 curriculum. Funera...

Black Teachers' Association of Alberta’s Andrew Parker addresses the April 16, 2021 race-based attack on 14-year-old Black Rosslyn School student, Pazo. Andrew challenges the city, schools and whole community to push for frank discussions about racism and authentic representation of BIPOC. Moms Stop The Harm’s Petra Schulz and opioid expert Dr. Elaine Hyshka, outline the dire outcomes that may res...

Calgary-based physician, Dr. Joe Vipond calls for strong government policies and strict enforcement to address Alberta’s third COVID-19 wave. He cautions against listening to non-medical opinions on how to address the pandemic. After false claims of a Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Alliance (GSA) volunteer taking students off-campus without parental permission, Maria De Leeuw wants to set th...

Ryan rolls out the best rants of the week, as submitted to talk@ryanjespersen.com . Buckle up for another edition of Trash Talk, presented by Local Waste .

"Senior citizens represent such a large and untapped resource for all of us, but their value and input is often underestimated and they are wildly underrepresented in social media," wrote Erin Gaudet in an email to talk@ryanjespersen.com. She went on to explain what led her and her partners to create seniorsofhumanity.ca, a hub for stories about remarkable seniors that might otherwise not be told....

Industries change quickly, and skill sets can become obsolete. Add a pandemic on top, and it's fair to say employees and employers face an entirely different reality than they did a year or so ago. Deloitte's National Workforce Transformation Leader Kathy Woods joins for an informative (and hilarious) look at how people of all ages can be "future ready". Twenty or so years ago, they all collaborat...

We dig deeper into Ottawa's plan for affordable childcare with Federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development Maryam Monsef. What happens if provinces like Alberta say "No" to federal funding based on strings attached? Grain farmer Allison Ammeter, chair of the Plant Protein Alliance of Alberta explains why the provincial government's cancellation of a paltry $250k c...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his Real Talk debut the day after releasing the first federal budget in two years. Trudeau makes his first public statement on Derek Chauvin's murder conviction in the death of George Floyd, then he and Ryan get into budget talk. They cover the Liberals' national child care plan, a Universal Basic Income, business subsidies (and when to cut them off), whether or...

On the heels of the Liberals' first federal budget in two years, we get into the numbers. Is this more of an election platform than a budget? Does it strike the right balance between investing in post-pandemic recovery and plotting a path back to balance? Jason Hatcher, Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean, and Semhar Tekeste dig into the details. Plus, it's April 20th - Happy 4/20! Our "Puff Puff Panel" - Jo...

Will Erin O'Toole's climate plan be enough to push the Conservative Party of Canada into government next federal election? Will support for carbon pricing be enough to convince swing voters? Will it alienate the base on the Prairies? Conservative strategist Melissa Caouette of Canadian Strategy Group gets into it. As China gets set to move forward with its digital yuan, there are questions around...

Ryan rolls out the best rants of the week, as submitted to talk@ryanjespersen.com . Buckle up for another edition of Trash Talk, presented by Local Waste .

With Grace Life churchgoers continuing to gather in "underground" fashion following the closure of their building by Alberta Health Services, Knox United Rev. Dr. Greg Glatz joins to explain why he called out the church in a scathing, open letter. As Albertans continue to demand their provincial government hit pause on problematic draft K-6 curriculum, University of Calgary's Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pr...

"The West wants in" when it comes to meaningful investment from the federal government. With the Liberals' budget coming out on Monday, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Western Economic Solutions Taskforce (WEST) is honing in on specifics. Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark, Yorkton Councillor Randy Goulden, and Rural Municipalities of Alberta president Paul McLaughlin discuss the potential i...

With Ottawa sending $6B to Air Canada (and other airlines looking for the same), what does this mean for the country's airline industry...and the millions of Canadians that endeavour to start travelling again ASAP? Are the federal Liberals really "nationalizing" Air Canada, and does this qualify as a "bailout"? Former Air Canada executive and business professor at McGill University, John Gradek, t...

Professor Timothy Caulfield and Dr. Shazma Mithani fact check a viral video from "mental wealth coach" Kaylor Betts. Ryan debates "platforming," "de-platforming," and the premise behind what qualifies as "Real Talk". We get into your emails to talk@ryanjespersen.com, including commentary on Grace Life Church continuing to gather en masse in defiance of public health orders. With the price of Bitco...

Ryan starts the show with commentary on Sunday's debacle at Grace Life Church. As demonstrators tore down fences erected by Alberta Health Services, where was the "rule of law" Premier Jason Kenney's called for in past? We open the show with another Real Talk Round Table: why are landowners forced to fund their own environmental studies on coal mining in the Rocky Mountains? What are researchers d...

Ryan rolls out the best rants of the week, as submitted to talk@ryanjespersen.com . Buckle up for another edition of Trash Talk, presented by Local Waste .

How does a "social justice church" differ from other houses of worship? Shouldn't social justice be the driving force behind any religious community? Rev. Tyler Ho-Yin Sit's New City Church in Minneapolis has been featured in the New York Times and The Atlantic. He joins Ryan to discuss the intersection of Christianity and politics, Derek Chauvin standing trial for murdering George Floyd, and rece...

Through this pandemic, Canadians have become more familiar with their Chief Medical Officers of Health than ever before. How well do we understand their mandate? Where does their authority begin and end? What happens if elected officials ignore evidence-based advice? Former Alberta CMoH Dr. James Talbot pulls back the curtain, and evaluates the performance of Alberta's current CMoH Dr. Deena Hinsh...

With a third wave of the pandemic (and another lockdown) upon us, how do we ensure this is the last time it happens? Toronto ER Dr. Kashif Pirzada lays out what it'll take to eliminate COVID-19 completely. As Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health faces fire for withholding details relating to a "concerning outbreak," Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara explains why information sharing is so important. Su...

Ryan rolls out the best rants of the week, as submitted to talk@ryanjespersen.com . Buckle up for another edition of Trash Talk, presented by Local Waste .

Not every Real Talk guest can segue effortlessly between Ramona Quimby, QAnon, and history's greatest TV shows...but Scaachi Koul can. The senior culture writer for Buzzfeed News joins from NYC, kicking off Friday's show. Research and innovation at the University of Alberta is on display, as we feature the winners from the annual "Three Minute Thesis (3MT)" competition. Real Talk about affordable...

April 1st means most of Alberta's $25/day child care subsidies are done. Glengarry Child Care executive director Brad West explains what that means for the families at his facility, his staff, and his business. With Alberta headed toward a "third wave" of variant-heavy cases of COVID-19, Dr. Lynora Saxinger and Dr. Gosia Gasperowicz guide us through the stats, trends, and headlines we need to unde...