Journalist Jon Ronson has made a career out of challenging orthodoxies and examining the fringes of society, from people who've been publicly shamed, to the American military’s exploration of paranormal tools, and the porn industry. In the newest season of his BBC podcast Things Fell Apart, he tackles the culture wars and how they exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Ronson joins David Common to talk about his journalistic approach, and why he thinks curiosity should trump ideology in storytelling.

Jon Ronson explores how pandemic lockdowns fuelled culture wars

CBC Radio’s The Sunday Magazine is a lively, wide-ranging mix of topical long-form conversations, engaging ideas and more. Each week, host Piya Chattopadhyay takes time for deep exploration, but also makes space for surprise, delight and fun.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

In the latest edition of 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 along this month are The Fifth Estate co-host Steven D'Souza and listener Jo Mather from Sydenham, Ont.

That’s Puzzling! For May 2024

Host Piya Chattopadhyay breaks down the week in politics with columnists Susan Delacourt and Matt Gurney, writer A.J. Jacobs shares what he learned living by an originalist reading of the U.S. Constitution for a year, ex-White House press secretary Jen Psaki reflects on media and politics, and we play another round of our monthly brain game That's Puzzling! 
 Find more at at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

Week in politics, A.J. Jacobs, Jen Psaki, That's Puzzling!

If you bought anything online recently, there's a good chance you shopped on Amazon. The tech giant's success has made it synonymous with e-commerce. But it's also long faced scrutiny over its business practices. Now, Amazon is facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, accusing it of illegally protecting a monopoly over online retail. The company denies the allegations. Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli has been covering Amazon for years. Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with her about how Amazon became the behemoth it is today, as explored in her book The Everything War: Amazon's Ruthless Quest to Own Everything and Remake Corporate Power.

How big is too big? Amazon's omnipresence earns success – and scrutiny

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The New York Times national education reporter Alan Blinder about the Israel-Hamas war protests roiling school campuses, Craig Desson from CBC's Audio Doc Unit unpacks the powers and perils of AI in elections, Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli traces Amazon's rise to dominance, and Dalhousie University historian Afua Cooper discusses her mission to fill gaps in Black history education in Canada. 
 Find more at at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

Campus protests, AI in elections, Amazon's rise, Black history education

This month marks 30 years since the genocide in Rwanda led to the deaths of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in one of the worst massacres of the 20th century. But even though Rwanda has largely recovered, retired Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire says the world hasn't learned the lessons from that time to prevent future wars and mass atrocities. The former commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda tells Chattopadhyay about his own mental health journey over the last three decades and why he's so disappointed in the international community – including Canada – for letting conflicts around the world spiral out of control.

Jon Ronson explores how pandemic lockdowns fuelled culture wars

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