No one likes the thought of dying.  But once we’re dead – what then?  What happens to our bodies when we “shuffle off this mortal coil” as Shakespeare said?

Shari Forbes is an expert on what happens to our physical selves after we die.  She’s a forensic scientist and the creator of Canada’s first “body farm” – a unique outdoor lab whose volunteers never leave.  Listen to the interview to find out more!

*A warning that some of the content is graphic and may not be suitable for some listeners.  

Info on Guest:

Shari Forbes is a forensic scientist and Canada 150 Research Chair in Forensic Thanatology at the University of Quebec in Trois Rivieres.  

For more on Shari and her work:  https://shariforbes.com/

We’d really appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 
And check out our literary podcast, Passage to Wonderland.  Compelling passages from books, old and new, about discovery, insight and revelation. To give you a sense of completion at the end of your busy day.

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

It’s the final frontier of imagination – space.

The possibilities are mind boggling and Sarah Gallagher is thinking about them.  Sarah is an astrophysicist and advisor to the Canadian Space Agency.  

While we’re thinking hard about what to order at Starbucks, Sarah is thinking hard about the universe.   What goes on in the mind of an astrophysicist?  How does she look at our world and the world beyond?  A captivating conversation with one of this country’s BIG thinkers.  

Info on Guest:

Sarah Gallagher is an astrophysicist, a professor of physics and astronomy with Western University and Science Advisor to the Canadian Space Agency.  

Info on Sarah:  https://physics.uwo.ca/people/faculty_web_pages/gallagher.html

Article in Western News:  https://news.westernu.ca/2021/10/sarah-gallagher-leads-western-space/

Canadian Space Agency:  https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/Default.asp

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

You will NEVER look at an ant the same way again after hearing this interview!

You may think of them as pests but they’re far from that.

Ants have an astounding ability to adapt to changing environments.  They are farmers, architects, queens, babysitters, soldiers, slave owners – the list goes on.  

And what’s really intriguing is how they handle war – and sex.  We could learn a few things.

Info on Guest:

Aaron Fairweather is an entomologist and Ph.D candidate in the Dept. of Environmental Sciences at the Univ. of Guelph.

For more info on Aaron:  https://ca.linkedin.com/in/aaron-fairweather-97206b45

An interview on CBC’s As It Happens:  https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-thursday-edition-1.5676573/this-scientist-is-living-with-thousands-of-ants-because-of-covid-19-campus-restrictions-1.5676580

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 
And check out our literary podcast, Passage to Wonderland.  Compelling passages from books, old and new, about discovery, insight and revelation. To give you a sense of completion at the end of your busy day.

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

Puzzles have existed since the dawn of humankind.  And they’ve evolved and thrived in every culture around the world.  According to linguist Marcel Danesi it’s all because of our puzzle instinct.  From the first known “life or death” riddle to logic and math puzzles to jigsaws and crosswords, it’s a fascinating history.   A puzzle can challenge, vex and confound us as we attempt find an answer to it – and life.  

Info on Guest:

Marcel Danesi is a linguist, semiotician and professor emeritus with the Dept. of Anthropology at the University of Toronto.  He’s the author of many books including The Puzzle Instinct and An Anthropology of Puzzles.  For more info on Marcel:   https://www.anthropology.utoronto.ca/people/directories/all-faculty/marcel-danesi

Article on puzzle popularity during the pandemic:  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-chaos-jigsaw-puzzles-popular-pandemic.html

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 
And check out our literary podcast, Passage to Wonderland.  Compelling passages from books, old and new, about discovery, insight and revelation. To give you a sense of completion at the end of your busy day.

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

“Fake news” is a term we hear all the time – whether in mainstream media, social media or day to day conversations.  

But what is it really?  How do we determine what is “fake news?” And what can we do about it?  
Ahmed Al-Rawi is a researcher who uncovers fake news in the media and studies its impact.  He believes fake news is more pervasive and dangerous today, and that we all need to be more critically aware of it.

Info on Guest:

Ahmed Al-Rawi is an ass’t professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University and Director of the Disinformation Project.  For more info on Prof. Al-Rawi:  https://www.sfu.ca/communication/team/faculty/ahmed-alrawi.html

The Disinformation Project: https://www.sfu.ca/communication/research/projects/the-disinformation-project.html

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

What can nurses learn from dancers? That's not a trick question but it may sound like one.  Hard to believe the two have anything in common. But ask Coralee McLaren.  

She was a professional dancer.  Then she became a pediatric nurse.  Now she's a scientist and points to the unlikely intersection of nursing and dancing.  As well as the exciting possibilities involving children and the relationship between movement and learning. 

Info on Guest:

Coralee McLaren is an Assistant Professor in the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Ryerson University in Toronto.  https://www.ryerson.ca/nursing/about/people/faculty/coralee-mclaren/  And watch this video to learn more about Coralee’s exciting research: 

https://www.ryerson.ca/fcs-news-events/news/2021/08/dancing-and-nursing-come-together-to-understand-spaces-how-we-move-in-them-and-how-we-learn/ 

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

If those dire warnings on climate change and the future of our planet has got you feeling down – STOP!  Listen to what Kai Chan has to say.  He has a positive message of hope and meaningful action based not on what the individual can do, but a powerful collective.  And imagine bringing back species that have long been extinct to help ecosystems thrive.  It’s a process called “rewilding” which plays an important role in our sustainable future.  Did someone say woolly mammoths?!! 

Info on Guest:

Kai Chan is a professor and Canada Research Chair at the Institute for Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia.   For more info on Kai and his work:  https://chanslab.ires.ubc.ca/

He’s also the cofounder of CoSphere: a community that takes collective action towards sustainability https://www.cosphere.net/

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 
And check out our literary podcast, Passage to Wonderland.  Compelling passages from books, old and new, about discovery, insight and revelation. To give you a sense of completion at the end of your busy day.

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

How does war begin? And what are the rules surrounding its onset and conduct?  These are questions we may never have contemplated until now. 

From Mesopotamia 4000 years ago, to the present war in Ukraine, political scientist Catherine Frost will take a sweeping look at how wars have started, how declarations have been used and abused, the concept of a “just war,”  and wars that have no beginning or end.  A fascinating history lesson that gives context to the wars and conflicts in the world today.  

Info on Guest:

Catherine Frost is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Political Science at McMaster University in Hamilton.  For more info on her research:  https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/people/frost-catherine

Her article on declarations of war:  https://theconversation.com/putins-ukraine-invasion-do-declarations-of-war-still-exist-177880

We appreciate your support!  Please rate our podcast.  And subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.   Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

What can we learn from people in prison?  A lot according to students who are part of a special program called Walls to Bridges. They attend class in prison with people who’ve been incarcerated.  And the idea is that each student, whether from the outside or living in prison - is a learner AND a teacher.  Simone Davis is cofounder of the Walls to Bridges program and talks about how the experience can be life changing.

Info on Guest:

Simone Davis began her prison education work with the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, and went on to co-found the Walls to Bridges program. She teaches Ethics, Society and Law at Trinity College at the University of Toronto.

We appreciate your support!  Please rate, subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.  Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 

And check out our literary podcast, Passage to Wonderland.  Compelling passages from books, old and new, about discovery, insight and revelation. To give you a sense of completion at the end of your busy day!

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993

The story of pain is a complicated one.  We need pain as part of our alarm system to tell us if something is wrong with us.  But when we’re in constant pain, we can barely think of anything else and we just want it to go away.  Why do we feel pain long after an injury has healed?  Do I feel pain differently than you?  How does culture affect our perception of pain?  And what’s the most effective way to treat the pain that doesn’t stop? A fascinating conversation with Andrea Furlan, a leading expert on pain.

Info on Guest:

Andrea Furlan is a physician, and senior scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute; scientist at the Inst. For Work & Health; and senior scientist at the KITE Research Inst., University Health Network. 

Check out Andrea’s videos on pain on her youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnFys9ZXBE0uyDhKHUi-dA

Book recommendation for chronic pain:  The Way Out by Alan Gordon and Alon Ziv

We appreciate your support!  Please rate, subscribe and follow us on social!  @CRAMideas.  Our thanks to the Temerty Foundation for their generous support. 

And check out our literary podcast, Passage to Wonderland.  Compelling passages from books, old and new, about discovery, insight and revelation. To give you a sense of completion at the end of your busy day!

We’d really appreciate your support! Please rate our podcast and subscribe and follow us on social @CRAMideas.

Support the CRAM Podcast!
Research shapes our lives, yet so much of it doesn’t reach the public. CRAM bridges the gap, bringing groundbreaking Canadian research to everyone. To keep this important work going, we need your support.

CRAM is a registered charity, and Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt. Help us share the research that matters and donate using the link below. Thank you!

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/124993