The Rundown

By TVONews News Commentary Politics

The Rundown episodes

January 22, 2024 Maria Ressa: A Journalist's Guide to Defying Dictators
Once taken by the promise of social media, journalist Maria Rassa has witnessed authoritarians in her native Philippines and around the world harness this new technology to sow hate, fear, lies, and ultimately destroy democracy. The Nobel Peace Prize-winner tells Steve Paikin why she is still speaking out, even under the looming threat of a life behind bars. Her new book is called, "How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future."
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28 min
January 22, 2024 Cory Doctorow: How Big Tech Captured Culture
Artists, musicians, and writers are getting ripped off, according to Cory Doctorow, co-author of "Chokepoint Capitalism." From Amazon and book publishing and Spotify and music to Google and Facebook and news media, big tech has "captured culture," creating modern day monopolies and "chokepoints." Doctorow explains how these chokepoints work, and the current film and TV writer's strike and their concerns over AI.
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29 min
January 19, 2024 Are Niagara's Farms at Risk of Drying Out?
For the past two decades, farmers in the Niagara Region have taken the issue of water scarcity into their own hands. Even though the region is surrounded by Lake Ontario, the Welland Canal, Niagara River and Lake Erie, getting water to tender fruit and grapes has always been a challenge and climate change is only exacerbating the problem. The Niagara Peninsula produces over 90 per cent of Ontario's tender fruit and according to local farmers and politicians, that could be at risk if investments in irrigation infrastructure are not taken seriously. Field reporter Jeyan Jeganathan takes a look at the race to irrigate Niagara.
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9 min
January 19, 2024 Is Canada Becoming Uninsurable?
In 2022 weather events accounted for $3.1 billion of insured losses in Canada. That's up from just $40 million in 2008. And in the last three years, house insurance prices in Canada have gone up 14 per cent. Is Canada becoming uninsurable? Do we need to change how we build homes and even where we build them? And what does this mean for the housing crisis? The Agenda examines the growing climate risk in this country.
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28 min
January 19, 2024 The Sewer Lady on How to Avoid Flooding
The summer season in Ontario brings with it rainstorms - and flooding. One common afterthought is the effect on our sewage systems, which can overflow and become a multi-thousand dollar problem. Steve Paikin talks to Barbara Robinson, better known as ,the sewer lady,, about how to reduce flooding and the costs associated with it.
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20 min
January 18, 2024 Is Canada Passing the Buck on Wrongful Convictions?
It's unimaginable to be found guilty in a court of law for a crime you did not commit. Or, imagine knowing you were innocent but you pled guilty anyway because that seemed like the best option. Kent Roach is a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and co-founder of the Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions. His new book catalogues the myriad ways that Canada's justice system makes such cases all too common. It's called: "Wrongfully Convicted: Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes, and What Canada Must Do to Safeguard Justice."
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24 min
January 18, 2024 Has the International Human Rights Movement Failed?
Seventy-five years ago, in the shadow of the Second World War, countries put their collective heads together to write a common international moral language. What resulted was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - fundamental moral principles each and every human being was entitled to. Since then, enforcement and guaranteeing rights has sometimes been difficult, and consensus has often been hard to find. Critics wonder if human rights complaints too often come from Western mouths, and if the definition "human right" has been expanded to its detriment. Supporters of the movement say there have been major victories and that change is incremental. The Agenda debates whether the international human rights movement has become ineffective.
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35 min
January 17, 2024 Is This the Era of the Library?
For decades the demise of the library has been predicted. But in 2023, is the library now more relevant than ever? From makerspaces to outreach programs and media literacy opportunities to podcast and video equipment, the library has evolved into a community hub. The Agenda examines the new role of the library, with:
Shamichael Hallman, Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University and co-founder of, Libraries as Bridges; Sabrina Saunders, CEO & Board Secretary at the Blue Mountains Public Library; Mary Chevreau, CEO of the Kitchener Public Library; Vickery Bowles, City Librarian at the Toronto Public Library.
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34 min
January 17, 2024 What's Going On with Teenagers?
Clinical psychologist Lisa Damour discusses her latest book "The Emotional Lives of Teenagers." In it she lays out how to support teens through this critical stage of life.
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29 min
January 16, 2024 Are We Experiencing a Teen Mental Health Crisis?
Why are so many teenagers experiencing anxiety and depression? For insight, we welcome Kathy Short, executive director, School Mental Health Ontario; Annie Kidder, executive director, People for Education; Kwame McKenzie, CEO of the Wellesley Institute and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto;
Jo Henderson, director of the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health at CAMH and executive director of Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario; and Mahalia Dixon, youth engagement specialist at CAMH.
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33 min

About The Rundown

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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…