The Rundown

The Rundown

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The Rundown episodes

February 05, 2024 How Did Blackface Take Root in Canada?
It may come as a surprise to some, but Canada has a long and deep history with blackface. To take us through that history, we welcome Cheryl Thompson, associate professor of Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University.
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22 min
February 02, 2024 Is the Social Safety Net Being Outsourced to Food Banks?
As high inflation sends record numbers of Ontarians to food banks, we look at the history of charitable organizations in Canada and their purpose today. How did places originally intended for temporary aid in the 1980s become permanent staples for those in need and increasingly the working poor? Experts examine where the responsibility for tackling food poverty should lie, when it comes to governments, charities, corporations, and citizens.
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35 min
February 02, 2024 How to Make No-Regret Decisions During a Crisis
Ignoring problems, as we all know, does not make them go away. That's painfully true when it comes to money matters, where making bad choices can be very costly. Shannon Lee Simmons is a certified financial planner. She founded the New School of Finance and writes books that tackle the everyday challenges people face managing their money. Her new book is: "No-Regret Decisions: Making Good Choices During Difficult Times."
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25 min
February 01, 2024 How a Black Baseball Team from Chatham Broke Barriers
In the depths of the Depression, nearly 100 years ago, a remarkable thing happened in Chatham, Ontario. A baseball team, comprised solely of Black players, won the provincial championship. In the process - more than a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in Major League Baseball - they did what might have once seemed impossible. Heidi LM Jacobs documents that story in her new book, "1934: The Chatham Coloured All-Stars' Barrier-Breaking Year." Jacobs, along with Deirdre McCorkindale. board member of the Chatham Kent Black Historical Society and an assistant professor of History at the University of Guelph, discuss this momentous event.
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25 min
February 01, 2024 Why Are Ontario Schools Inflating Grades?
Recent data shows the average scores of Grade 12 students have risen significantly in the past 15 years. Universities in Ontario have seen an increase in applicants with averages over 90 per cent. Experts have speculated that such a spike could be resulting from educational changes like de-streaming and the growth of online learning, a shifting perceived value of post-secondary education, or a new generation of tech-savvy students. Are students just smarter, or working harder? Is grade inflation damaging? If grades no longer distinguish students, what will?
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32 min
January 31, 2024 Can Finfluencers Be Trusted?
What is an "finfluencer," and why are they gaining popularity? We look at the increasing prevalence of content creators sharing personal finance advice on social media. Can they be trusted? While some creators are supporting financial literacy and accessibility, others are providing a false sense of expertise and gaining reach by spreading dubious advice. How can Ontarians spot the difference? And should the province crack down with legislation?
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31 min
January 31, 2024 Are We Becoming Plastic People?
Microplastics. They are in our beer, salt, fresh fruit and vegetables, and drinking water. We eat, according to one estimate, a credit card's worth every week. They can also rain down upon us, and we can breathe them in. They have been found in our blood and embedded in our lungs. How dangerous are they? Do we enough to say they are harmful to us? The Agenda examines the microplastics inside us.
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27 min
January 30, 2024 Why Silicon Valley Can't Fix Our Transportation Woes
There's a version of the future where self-driving electric cars carry people around in an emission-free, but car-friendly world. Paris Marx, host of the podcast "Tech Won't Save Us," writes about why they don't buy that vision in their new book, "Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation."
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19 min
January 30, 2024 What's Drawing Young People to Authoritarianism?
The idea that young people are the most liberal and progressive people you'll ever meet is being challenged as new studies show youth are detaching from democracy across the Anglosphere. Instead, they are finding forms of authoritarianism appealing. Fed up with the challenging generational hand they've been dealt, some are denouncing democratic institutions and looking towards strong leaders to quickly fix their problems. Is Canada immune to this trend?
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38 min
January 29, 2024 Is Ontario Doing Enough to Protect Zoo Animals?
Most of us will never see a lion or leopard or giraffe in their natural habitat. But many of us, have seen them up close in a zoo. Sometimes that's in a big facility, such as the almost 300 hectares that's home to 5,000 animals in Toronto. Or, it's in a roadside location with a smaller or specialty assortment of wildlife. Either way, ensuring that the animals are well cared for is a concern for all. For insight, we welcome Dolf DeJong, president and CEO of the Toronto Zoo; Melissa Matlow, campaign director for World Animal Protection, Canada; and Kendra Coulter, professor in management and organizational studies at Western University and author of "Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection."
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29 min

About The Rundown

From the publisher's feed

Hosted by Jeyan Jeganathan, The Rundown delivers original journalism and in-depth analysis of the social, political, cultural, and economic issues that shape life in Ontario. Each episode focuses…