The Public Discourse

We talk with Taban Behin, Brian Dijkema and Hoda Farahmandpour about how we should think about the nature of technology and its relationship to the education of young people. Behin is a PhD student at the University of Victoria, Dijkema is Vice-President of Cardus, and Farahmandpour is a PhD student at the University of Toronto.

We talk with Jessica Prince and Thea Symonds about the implications of the principle of gender equality for how we think about work, childcare, education, and family life after COVID-19. Prince is a lawyer and board member of the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, and Symonds is Coordinator for the Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee in Perth County.

We talk with Cyril Cromwell and Kyle Schmalenberg about the current conversation on race and identity, and consider how principles of justice, oneness and equality can help us to overcome the divisions between “us” and “them”. Cromwell is the Learning and Development Manager at YouthREX, and Schmalenberg is a freelance filmmaker.

We talk with Dr. Shahrzad Sabet and Akaash Maharaj about how principles and concepts - like oneness, love, justice, and equality - can help to guide our thinking about how to rebuild after COVID-19. Dr. Sabet is a Research Fellow at New York University, and Maharaj is the CEO of the Mosaic Institute.

We talk with Prof. Thomas Homer-Dixon and Paul Hanley about the civilizational change humanity needs to make in order to build a just and sustainable world. Prof. Homer-Dixon is Founder and Director of the Cascade Institute, and Hanley is an author and writer on environmental subjects.

We talk with Elizabeth May about how to do politics differently, and consider whether the coronavirus could be a hinge moment in history for how we think about our relationship with the environment. May is the Member of Parliament for Saanich—Gulf Islands and Parliamentary Leader of the Green Party.

We talk with Rabbi Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan and Peter Noteboom about the ways in which religious communities in Canada are fostering hope and solidarity in a time of coronavirus. Noteboom is the General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, and Rabbi Dr. Duhan-Kaplan is Director of Inter-religious Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology.

We talk with Karim Bardeesy and Akaash Maharaj about the qualities of leadership during a time of crisis, and how to build a unifying vision around public policy that serves the common good. Bardeesy is the Executive Director of the Ryerson Leadership Lab and Maharaj is the CEO of the Mosaic Institute.

On this episode, we talk with Ana Serrano and Shabnam Tashakor about the role of the community in responding to coronavirus, and the values they hope will characterize our future society. Serrano holds leadership positions with the Canadian Film Centre and Open Democracy Project, and Tashakor is a member of the Bahá'í Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas.

On this episode, we talk with Hannah Marazzi, Esther Maloney and Eric Farr about the ways in which religion and spirituality are shaping responses to the coronavirus health crisis, and how we can emerge from the crisis with a new consciousness. Marazzi works with Cardus, Maloney leads the Illumine Media Project, and Farr is a PhD student in religion.