What is the future of sitting in the dark with strangers? The film industry has had to face major existential questions lately, between disruptions from COVID and the rise of streaming. Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival, joins Paul to talk about it. He also talks about how TIFF became the world-class institution that it is, his path from film critic to CEO, and casting his first ballot for the Oscars.

Andy Byford has gained a reputation as the person to call when your public transit system is in crisis. In over three decades as a public servant, he has run transit systems in Toronto, New York and London, England. He talks about what makes a good transit system, a recent wave of violent crime, and his public battle with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The Trudeau Government has made a lot of promises about reconciliation. As the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, Marc Miller’s job is to follow through on them.In this live conversation, Minister Miller talks frankly about his successes and failures in the role. He also talks about his own background, including his childhood friendship with Justin Trudeau, his time in the military and learning to speak Mohawk.

This episode was recorded live at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. 

Former finance minister Bill Morneau joins Paul to talk candidly about his life in politics, his resignation, and his vision for the future of the Canadian economy, from pension reform to green energy. His new book is called Where To From Here: A Path to Canadian Prosperity.This episode was recorded live at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Last week, German police arrested 25 members of a far-right group who were plotting a coup. What is the Reichsbürger movement? How dangerous are they? And what does this incident tell us about the nature of political extremism in Europe -- and closer to home? To answer these questions, Paul Wells is joined by Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project.

This week, Paul has two conversations about the struggle for democracy in Eastern Europe, with people who are living through it. First, Janis Kazocins, national security advisor to the president of Latvia, talks about what lessons we can draw from the Baltic states to shed light on Ukraine, NATO and Russia.

Next, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya talks about how she went from being an “ordinary housewife” to running as the pro-democracy candidate in the Belarusian election. Though there’s reason to believe she won, her opponent claimed victory and crushed dissent. Paul spoke to her onstage at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Children's hospitals across North America are seeing a major surge of sick kids as a result of the "tripledemic" of COVID, RSV and the flu. And they're struggling to keep up. Alex Munter, President and CEO of CHEO, talks candidly about how the current crisis in children’s healthcare has only exacerbated problems that began long before the pandemic.