The Sunday Magazine

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jill Lepore says the United States is out of step with its history. She discusses how the country's tendency to look back to its origins when making legal decisions today is unique – and can be detrimental – to Americans. Plus : Want a soundtrack to America 250? Spin some jazz. Musicians Christian McBride and Terri Lyne Carrington , and musicologist Tammy Kern...

He's reshaped the United States federal government, executive power and foreign policy... and that's just in his first year-and-a-half back in the White House. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan from The New York Times take us inside Donald Trump's second term through years of reporting and extraordinary access to the president and his inner circle. Plus : The Hub's Falice Chin unpacks Alberta's pi...

Most people spend their lives trying to avoid garbage, but Simon Paré-Poupart has spent the last 20 years immersed in it. The Montreal garbage collector and sociologist joins Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss his memoir, Trash!: A Garbageman's Story , and why he believes our waste reveals a lot about what we value and what we would rather throw away.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Rob Russo and The Globe and Mail's Shannon Proudfoot about the imminent CUSMA joint review, and other top stories in Canadian politics Zoologist Jo Wimpenny explores the lesser-known merits of animals we often loathe Montreal garbage collector and sociologist  Simon Paré-Poupart reflects on what his career as a garbage collector has taught h...

Every year around this time, a new crop of graduates grapples with a familiar question: "How do I find my life’s work?" But with the work world being upended by AI and mounting economic uncertainties, answering it today may be harder than ever. The New York Times investigative journalist Jodi Kantor , best known for helping expose Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's abuse of women, has been appl...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Aaron David Miller , from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and national security analyst Joseph Cirincione about the initial agreement between the United States and Iran. University of Alberta professor Crystal Gail Fraser and anthropologist Sara Komarnisky discuss the evolution of treaties and how they're playing into a range of issues today. The...

This week marks 60 years since the United States military first tested Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick. The base is an economic lifeline for the area, and the federal government is spending more than a billion dollars to modernize it. But some Canadian veterans say the chemicals sprayed there have contributed to long-lasting illnesses. The...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom about the latest in the United States and Israel-Iran war. Then, journalist and historian Linda Kinstler  explores why this war and other enduring conflicts have become so difficult to end. Journalist Katherine Dunn traces the evolution of GPS, why it's under threat today, and what lessons its adopti...

The FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America this week. And whatever happens on the field,  Darragh McGee says you can bet this tournament will shatter records as the biggest gambling event in history. The author, sociologist and former University of Toronto soccer team captain joins Piya Chattopadhyay to lay out why he believes legal online betting is "hijacking" sports, and why he thinks t...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with University of Ottawa's Michael Geist , tech critic and journalist Paris Marx and Benjamin Bergen from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association about whether Canada's new artificial intelligence strategy hits the mark. Fay Bound-Alberti , a historian and founder of King’s College London's Centre for Technology and the Body, explains how te...

You've probably heard the phrase, "There are no winners in a trade war." But that doesn’t mean we don't all have to fight one these days. That’s according to Financial Times columnist Soumaya Keynes and former White House economic advisor Chad P. Bown . They join Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about their new guidebook to the new normal of economic battle, How to Win a Trade War, and offer advice to C...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Kelley Lee , Canada Research Chair in global health governance at Simon Fraser University, about Canada's travel restrictions amid the Ebola outbreak, and what past events can tell us about how and when to use travel measures to mitigate health risks Criminologist Michael Kempa unpacks what recent shoplifting data says about who's stealing and why, and culture c...

Her brother was the captain of Iran's national soccer team. But being a woman meant she wasn't allowed to watch him play in their home country. Maryam Shojaei spent years fighting to overturn Iran's ban on women in soccer stadiums – and faced arrest and intimidation along the way. The Iranian-Canadian activist joins Piya Chattopadhyay to share her journey, and what it’s like to see Iran scheduled...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay breaks down the politics and context of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's separation referendum question with The Economist's Rob Russo and CBC's Kathleen Petty Activist Maryam Shojaei shares her fight to overturn Iran's ban on women in Iran's soccer stadiums The Guardian's Ruaridh Nicoll and Canada's former ambassador to Cuba, Mark Entwistle , discuss rising U.S.-Cuba tensi...

After more than 50 years as a scholar of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, Mary Beard is looking back on her career and considering why studying the Classics is still worthwhile today. She says they may not give us answers to modern questions, but believes they can offer crucial ways of seeing ourselves differently. She joins Piya Chattopadhyay to explore why this history still has the power to...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Hub's Falice Chin , The Globe and Mail's Marieke Walsh and Max Fawcett from Canada's National Observer about the politics of Ottawa and Alberta's energy deal Travel journalist Will Ferguson shares his favourite Canadian hidden travel gems Farmers Carl Stewart and Morgan Charlton , and agriculture economist Stuart Smyth , discuss how rising fuel and fertilize...

From grades and rankings to follower counts and performance metrics, our lives are constantly being measured, compared and optimized. But at what cost? Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with philosopher  C. Thi Nguyen  about how the systems we use to measure success can reshape our goals – and even change who we become.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Yeganeh Torbati , The New York Times' Iran correspondent, about how sentiment in Iran has changed over the course of the war in the Middle East. Then, Iranian-Canadian author and activist Marina Nemat discusses how diaspora communities view the country's future. Biologist David George Haskell  makes the case that flowering plants are critical architects of...

In our monthly challenge,  That's Puzzling! , Piya Chattopadhyay competes against one familiar voice and one clever listener in a battle of brain games devised by puzzle master  Peter Brown . Playing this week are retired Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer  Mark Tewksbury and Winnipeg listener  Nancy Voth .

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with political science professor Amy Verdun and The Economist's Canada correspondent Rob Russo about Prime Minister Mark Carney's courting of Europe, and how the federal government's spring economic update is landing at home Philosopher  Vincent Delecroix discusses his novel Small Boat , which fictionalizes a real-life migrant boat disaster in the English Channe...

Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in book form in 1926, and the fictional teddy bear has only grown more beloved in the century since. Author  Gyles Brandreth  joins Piya Chattopadhyay to explore how the "pure happiness" and childhood innocence that Pooh and his friends represent help explain the enduring appeal, and why creator A.A. Milne and his son – the real-life Christopher Robin&...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with economists  Randall Bartlett  and  Jim Stanford about Canada's financial future and how to weather the economic challenges we face Lexicographer  Kory Stamper explores the rich history of how Merriam-Webster dictionaries have defined colours, and what it reveals about the craft of definition itself Journalist Tyler Dawson breaks down the hist...

Former U.S. poet laureate  Ada Limón  says poetry can be an antidote in trying times, because it reminds us how to feel, celebrate, connect, and grieve. She joins Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about why we should embrace the form even if it feels intimidating, her mission to connect people with nature by putting poems in parks, and the message she sent to the Library of Congress in the earl...

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom  and David Sanger from The New York Times about the latest developments in the Middle East and the stakes for U.S. President Donald Trump Former U.S. poet laureate  Ada Limón reflects on the power of poetry in challenging times The National Catholic Reporter's Michael J. O'Loughlin explores what the rift between Pope Leo...

Longtime Toronto Blue Jays fans know  Hazel Mae  well. The on-field reporter for Sportsnet is beloved by the players she covers and admired by her broadcast colleagues. And when the team made its historic World Series run last year, millions more Canadians got to know her too. Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Mae about how her family's immigration to Canada shaped her, being a trailblazing...