Matthew McManus (@MattPolProf) is a sessional instructor at the University of Calgary who discusses conservatism from a progressive standpoint. Matt and Leslie talk about seeking out those who disagree with you while being open to new arguments, evidence, and perspectives. Not everyone is willing to argue in good faith, but fortunately there are “tells” that signal this disposition before one makes a significant investment of time and energy engaging. There are pitfalls involved in such an effort, and Matt and Leslie examine ways they can be avoided.  Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblood. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

James Turk (@jameslturk) is the Director of the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University. James and Leslie discuss the importance of free expression in a democratic society, the futility and counterproductive nature of censorship, and what limits on expression are reasonable and justified. They also talk about the “marketplace of ideas” and how it informs free expression, and the surprising connection between monopolies and the stifling of speech.

Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblood. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

Dr. Mariam Mufti is an Associate Professor of political science at the University of Waterloo. She and Leslie discuss the various waves of democracy in the past century, and the backlash to them. They discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and how most democratic countries have united against it (at least so far). They also talk about what has led to the recent decrease in trust in public institutions, and why democratic voters support authoritarian leaders like Bolsonaro, Modi, Erdogan, and Duterte. Mariam provides suggestions on what citizens and countries can do to protect democracy, and discusses whether there is an inherent contradiction between Islam and democracy. Miriam does her best to convince Leslie that, despite recent setbacks, democracy is not a lost cause around the globe.

The statistics from the Economist were cited by Steve Paikin in Exporting Western Democracy on TVO’s The Agenda, and that there are three times more autocracies in the world than democracy in 1972 is from Lucan Way and Steve Levitsky’s work. Lucan Way, Bessma Momani and Martin Regg-Cohn were the inspiration for the arguments Mariam made in support of democracy in the last question.

Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblood. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

Host Leslie Rosenblood and Caroline Russell-King (https://carolinerussellking.com/) discuss the secular case for Bill 21, in the second instalment of a two-part series. Caroline describes the harms Bill 21 is intended to mitigate, and whether they justify the nontrivial limitations it places on religious expression. They discuss why Bill 21 has so split the secular community in Canada, and whether she sees any room for improvement.

Caroline is a playwright and an atheist/antitheist.

Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblood. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

Quebec's Bill 21, which prohibits most government employees from wearing religious symbols, has split Canada’s secular community. The divide is largely geographic; most secularists within Quebec support Bill 21, while a majority in the rest of Canada oppose it, calling it a political act of discrimination or racism. In this first of a two-part series, host Leslie Rosenblood speaks with Catherine Francis, a Toronto lawyer, about her opposition to Bill 21. Starting with a history of the bill, from its introduction in Quebec's National Assembly through to its eventual passage, Catherine summarizes the numerous legal challenges it has overcome to date and the likely course of future court cases. Catherine explains why she does not consider Bill 21 to be a "secularism law" and why the legislation is bad for Quebec and Canada. 

Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblood. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

Indigenous scholar Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson (@LloydHawkeye7) and host Leslie Rosenblood discuss the importance of enlightenment values and defending them from attack. Lloyd is the President of the New Enlightenment Project, a Canadian humanist initiative, dedicated to free speech and civilized debate.

Leslie and Lloyd discuss: The moral obligation to advocate for change in our culture, whether cultural change can only come from within, online misinformation, changes Lloyd would like to see within Canadian aboriginal culture and in broader Canadian society, and a defense of Steven Pinker.

Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblod. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

Host Leslie Rosenblood and Quillette editor Jonathan Kay (@jonkay) discuss the transformations Canadian media institutions have undergone over the past 20 years. Learn about the impact of the Internet, social media, divisive politics, increasing ownership concentration, legacy and current business models for the industry, and the future of journalism in Canada, especially in light of the seemingly endless cuts to newsrooms. 

Podcast for Inquiry is brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Hosted by Leslie Rosenblood. Produced by Matt Payne. Graphic design by Nikolay Nikitushkin. Music by Anthony Lazaro. Send your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

The Centre for Inquiry Canada is proud to present the Podcast for Inquiry, a series of conversations about science, secularism, critical thinking, and humanism. This teaser includes samples from our first few episodes. Subscribe now and be the first to listen to our premiere episode when it officially launches in January, 2022. https://centreforinquiry.ca/podcast-for-inquiry/ 

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