The Conversation Piece

By The WalrusSociety & Culture News Technology

The Conversation Piece episodes

April 14, 2021 Dianna Hu: Spoon Suckers
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 more accessible normal.
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7 min
April 07, 2021 Daryl Haggard: Why Black Holes Have Excellent Manners
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.
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10 min
March 31, 2021 Krista Byers-Heinlein: The Value of Linguistic Diversity
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 Psychology at Concordia University who spoke at The Walrus Talks Living Better in 2019.
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9 min
March 24, 2021 Anand Giridharadas: Giving, Getting, and Glorification
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 writer of three bestselling novels.
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10 min
March 17, 2021 Kim Samuel: One Year of Social Isolation
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 impose such hardship on other people and how do we create a society where everyone belongs? Kim Samuel has some ideas. She taught the first-ever university course on social isolation and social connectedness.
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11 min
March 10, 2021 Sally Armstrong: The Power of Inclusivity
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 the table when they aren’t even in the room? This is journalist, author and human rights activist Sally Armstrong.
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10 min
March 03, 2021 Graham Greene: Better Living through Kindness
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.
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8 min
February 24, 2021 Irwin Adam: Your Mouth is Transforming the World
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 Data? We need to reimagine the way we taste and consume. Irwin Adam is a Creative Scientist and Food Futurist and he spoke at The Walrus Talks Disruption in 2017.
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8 min
February 17, 2021 Aimee Louw: What Would Life be like Without Ableism?
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 living wage, where taking care of yourself is prioritised, and where ableism is abolished.
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9 min
February 10, 2021 Siri Agrell: How to Get Laid Without your Phone
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.
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16 min

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