The Conversation Piece

This will be our second Olympic Games held during the pandemic, and it promises to be a very interesting, and isolating experience for our athletes. As focused as Olympic athletes are this may be an opportunity to widen their gazes - like former Olympian Karina LeBlanc has. LeBlanc is an Olympian, and former professional soccer goalkeeper and current GM of the Portland Thorns FC, and she spoke at...

It is surprising the kind of people who confess to suffering from imposter syndrome. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, singer David Bowie, pro-athlete Serena Williams, and actress Tina Fey have all at one time or another, expressed this kind of doubt about themselves in public. But what if feeling like you’re faking it (and worrying that someone is going to figure it out) is not an individual problem, b...

As Canadian children and their parents are once again confronted with the uncertainty of lockdowns and school closures, the mental health of our youngest community members is of concern. How will this affect them in the short-term? In the long-term? And will this contribute to a new intergenerational trauma? These questions become even more fraught when you add the lens of diversity and Black yout...

According to Statistics Canada, being a person of faith, or at least admitting to being a person of faith is becoming less popular. That might just be about the ebb and flow of our culture, and history may cycle again to make religion popular again, but in the meantime, the places that were built at the height of “worship culture” sit in disrepair and worse. And according to Natalie Bull, that is...

Immersing yourself in your subject is not a new concept. Actors do it. Engineers do it. Writers do it. But why is it important? According to wildlife photographer Kerri Martin , sometimes in pursuit of accurate representation, you can discover a deeper meaning in why you do what you do. And doing it in a conscious way has all kinds of benefits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

There are days when it may seem like we have solved the diversity issue in the arts here in Canada. When you look around and you finally see Indigenous books winning the biggest awards, and Black poets sharing the stage with their literary peers it starts to feel like hope. But according to Devyani Saltzman, who has led programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Banff Centre, while we are g...

Many of us have experienced isolation over the past 18 months, which has taken a toll on our collective mental health. During these restless times, it’s natural to fight the feelings of loneliness, grief, and sadness. But as mental health advocate Mark Henick has learned, these feelings can be an excellent teacher if we’re willing to just … sit with them. Henick is an author and mental health advo...

When you think of the natural world, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? To some, it might be National Park forests, the Great Lakes, or the Rocky Mountains. Carly Ziter spoke about the ecosphere that often receives less attention: the one living within our cities. Carly Ziter is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Concordia University and member of the Smart, Sustainable...

Canada has a lot of work to do to improve relationships with Indigenous communities. But how will we get there as a country? According to Roberta Jamieson, the solution goes beyond charity. It requires philanthropy based on Indigenous reciprocity. Roberta Jamieson is a Mohawk woman from Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario. She is the former president and CEO of Indspire and is on the board of...

In the midst of a pandemic, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in Canada, so it makes sense that we have large laboratories for conducting cancer research. But according to Steve Shih, when it comes to building research facilities, bigger is not always better. This might be a moment (strategically) to think small. Shih is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering...

Caring for a sick loved one is one of the hardest things a person can go through. But as Damian Rogers found out, it can also be an opportunity to learn how to live a more meaningful life. Damian Rogers is a poet, author, and teacher. She spoke at The Walrus Talks: Living Better in 2019. A transcript of this episode is available on our website . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Nationalism has become a bad word for many on the political spectrum, but according to Prerna Singh, it is a word people who believe in democracy should fight to take back from those who would use it to divide. It can be empowering. It can build nations and activate citizens. And most of all, it can motivate social change. Singh is a Mahatma Gandhi Associate Professor of Political Science and Inte...

Indigenous women are among the most marginalized in Canada. In her talk, Vanessa Tait speaks about how the sacred roles they previously held in their communities have been dismantled through colonialism and how all Canadians need to work together to support them. Vanessa Tait is a Two-Spirit Cree woman from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba. She is a Queen Elizabeth Scholar an...

Most of the decisions about Canada’s future are being made by the current leaders in government. To Sara Abdessamie, there’s another voice that needs to be included in the conversation: Canada’s youth. Abdessamie is an alumna of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council and a graduate of the medical sciences program at Dalhousie University. She spoke at The Walrus Talks National Tour: We Desire a Be...

Have you ever been referred to as “resilient?” To some, resilience means survival, and calling someone resilient is meant as a compliment to their ability to survive. But to Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika, that label is not one she seeks for herself or for other Canadians. Okeke-Ihejirika is a professor of women’s and gender studies and director of the Pan African Collaboration for Excellence (PAC...

Resilience is often a celebrated state of being. But is it useful to use resilience as a policy? Resilience might be the watch word if you’re fighting a zombie apocalypse or evading a meteor that threatens all life on earth, but if we zoom out, celebrating resilience doesn’t solve or change issues that plague society, like inequality. Vinita Srivastava spoke about the need for structural change to...

Welcome back to The Conversation Piece. The first episode of season three drops next week, but here's a teaser to whet your appetite: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Many have been forced to drop out of the workforce over the past year, with some people calling the COVID-19 economic downturn a she-cession. This downturn impacts racialised women even more. Journalist and author Ann Hui travelled across Canada, visiting Chinese restaurants in small towns from coast to coast to explore this issue,...

Female leadership has been front and centre during the pandemic. From New Zealand where COVID-19 infections have been managed under the leadership of a female Prime Minister, to Canada where the country’s top doctor is a woman of colour. How are women leading differently during the pandemic and how is it redefining what leadership is? Lauren McKeon is an author and journalist and she spoke at&nbsp...

It’s probably not surprising that so many of our speakers over this past year have focused on the loneliness of lockdown. Part of the reason it’s important to keep having this conversation is to fight the stigma against talking about loneliness and mental health issues. The physical and mental effects of loneliness are as serious as any other health issue. Health reporter Wency Leung imm...

The idea that we as immigrants who were colonised can move to Canada and become settlers is an unsettling thought. But to the Indigenous peoples of Canada, that is who we are. We are all immigrants, and we participate in some way in a colonial system inflicted on the Indigenous people. In her talk, Anubha Momin is a writer and performer in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and she talks about her Southern privile...

Personal storytelling has historically provided a new lens of experiences that challenge oppressive systems and introduced thousands of readers to the hardships of marginalised communities. Author and journalist Eternity Martis believes that these stories inspire future generations to create real change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The words we choose to share, write, and speak can influence and change the narrative of stereotypes we see in Canada, encouraging for more accurate depictions and stories of marginalized communities and characters. With World Book Day just around the corner, we wanted to acknowledge storytelling’s influential force on culture in Canada. For Annishinaabe author and journalist Waubgeshig...

Simple routines can suck up an incredible amount of time and energy for disabled people. Dianna Hu is a software engineer at Google, and she describes this energy as a limited number of spoons you start your day with and are destined to run out of. During the pandemic, Hu has begun to reclaim her spoons and find accessibility through working at home. With more spoons, comes more freedom; a new mor...

When we think of black holes, we think of a dark and terrifying unknown that distorts everything it touches. But, have we ever considered black holes to be polite? Daryl Haggard is a Canadian Research Chair in Multi-messenger Astrophysics and associate professor of Physics at McGill University and she spoke at CIFAR Presents The Walrus Talks Exploration in March 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...