From layoffs to lack of trust, the main narrative about the news media for years now has been one of doom and gloom. But Ira Glass has bucked the trend. The host and creator of This American Life hasn't just thrived on public radio – he's also helped kick off a profit-turning age of podcasting. With his venerable show approaching its 30th anniversary, Glass speaks with Piya Chattopadhyay about his audio legacy, the key to good storytelling, and what he would tell aspiring journalists looking to enter the fray in these turbulent times.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Susan Delacourt and Matt Gurney about what awaits MPs as they return to Parliament, This American Life host Ira Glass reflects on his audio legacy, CBC News foreign correspondent Chris Brown brings us the latest on the Israel-Hamas war, law professor Richard Moon outlines the legal landscape of protest in Canada, and journalist Vincent Bevins talks about what makes street movements succeed and fail.

Find more at at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

About a month after Russia's war in Ukraine began, artist Sasha Skochilenko walked into a St. Petersburg grocery store and began sticking anti-war messages on the shelves. The act of protest landed her in Russian detention and charged with spreading "false information" about the Russian military. Julia Pagel has followed her journey through the justice system during wartime with Skochilenko's loved ones, who've been advocating for the artist throughout. She shares that story in Sasha's Message, a documentary produced by CBC's Audio Doc Unit.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with John Ibbitson, Brad Lavigne and Raisa Patel about the challenges and chances marking the road ahead for the NDP, international relations expert Guy Ziv breaks down the relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's security community, global politics expert Yascha Mounk talks about the risks democracies will face in the coming year, and our Sunday Documentary explores crackdowns on anti-war protest in Russia.

For more, visit https://cbc.ca/sunday.

Fei Fei Li is known in scientific circles as the "Godmother of AI." The Stanford University computer science professor's groundbreaking work teaching computers to "see" and recognize vast data sets laid the groundwork for generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT that are taking the world by storm now. She joins Piya Chattopadhyay to mull over the philosophy and wonder of AI, as well as the growing concerns around it... and to reflect on her journey – from growing up in tough economic circumstances in the United States after emigrating from China, to being at the forefront of a scientific revolution.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with the University of Ottawa's Thomas Juneau about the U.S.-U.K. strikes on Houthis in Yemen, we break down the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, 'Godmother of AI' Fei Fei Li reflects on her groundbreaking work, and investigative journalist Hilke Schellmann unearths how AI is being used to help guide hiring decisions.

For more, visit https://cbc.ca/sunday.

In the latest edition of our monthly challenge That's Puzzling!, Piya Chattopadhyay competes against one familiar voice and one clever listener in a battle of brain games devised by puzzle master Peter Brown. Kicking off the new year with a brand new challenge are Bonita Moore, from Shediac, N.B., and the newly-retired host of CBC Radio's Tapestry, Mary Hynes.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom about rising tensions in the region, our monthly brain game That's Puzzling! returns, economist Jim Stanford forecasts Canada's economic prospects for 2024, and cognitive scientist Maya Shankar explores how we can all weather change better.

For more, visit https://cbc.ca/sunday.

One of the biggest entertainment stories of 2023 was one the world's biggest entertainment companies turning 100. Disney has endured through the decades with its beloved characters, theme parks and technological innovations. As it caps off its centennial, The Sunday Magazine producer Pete Mitton explores how the humble animation studio came to dominate the world’s imagination… and whether the figurative castle it’s built can withstand the changing world around it for another 100 years.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with political scientist Bessma Momani and former Canadian diplomat Arif Lalani about the global events that shaped 2023, The Sunday Magazine producer Pete Mitton explores Disney's hold on the world's imagination as the company turns 100, The New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean talks about what animals can teach us about being human, and Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Ed Yong reveals the wild world of animal senses.