This Matters is broadcasting a special playoff edition of Deep Left Field, the Star's baseball podcast, hosted by Mike Wilner. He chats about the season and upcoming playoffs with Blue Jays ace, Alek Manoah, interim manager, John Schneider, and pitcher Ross Stripling, who were all chosen to win end-of-year awards by their fellow Blue Jays.

Guest: Enoch Wu, founder of Forward Alliance, a Taiwanese NGO focusing on national security.

Last month Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu, a reporter covering national and international news, visited Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy at the centre of growing global tensions. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunified, by force if necessary. It's a growing source of conflict that some observers worry could tip into full blown war. Today, Chiu brings us a special conversation with Enoch Wu, the founder of Forward Alliance, on the biggest challenges facing Taiwan. Enoch's interview is part of a larger multimedia package highlighting Taiwanese voices. You can read and watch the entirety of Chiu's series, "View from Taiwan," on thestar.com.

Audio source: NBC

This episode was produced by Joanna Chiu, Alexis Green and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Alyshah Hasham, crime and court reporter

A coalition made up of sex workers and advocates is taking the government to court to challenge a federal law from the Harper era that experts say is putting marginalized people in peril. Monday was the first of a five-day landmark Superior Court hearing that advocacy groups are hoping will be the first step in getting sex work fully decriminalized in Canada. Current laws regarding sex work have long come under fire for endangering sex workers, people who are often the most vulnerable to gender-based violence. Alyshah Hasham, crime and court reporter for the Star, explains.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Paulo Marques and Brian Bradley.

Guest: Morgan Bocknek, investigative reporter

After celebrity megachurch pastor Bruxy Cavey was arrested and charged with sexual assault in June, the Meeting House — once one of the most prominent megachurches in Canada — has been surrounded by scandal. Many other accounts have come to light and the church has acknowledged that three other former pastors have faced similar sexual misconduct allegations. We take a look at what happened.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Paulo Marques and Alexis Green

Guests: Anonymous member of 1500Tasvir and Pardis Mahdavi, author of "Passionate Uprisings: Iran's Sexual Revolution"

A protest that erupted in the wake of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death allegedly at the hands of Iran's so-called morality police is now spreading like wildfire across the country and creating a serious challenge for the Islamist government. It's being called one of the largest and most inclusive resistance movements in the country as people revolt against an oppressive regime, growing inflation, and a total lack of social and political freedom. The protesting continues as state forces intensify a crackdown against protesters, scores are dead and the internet almost totally blacked out. We deep dive into a movement that is being led by the women of a new generation with the rallying slogan "Women, life, freedom."

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Paulo Marques.

Audio sources: The Guardian

Guests: Star reporters Megan Ogilvie and Kenyon Wallace

We all know the COVID-19 pandemic started for most of the world in March 2020, but how do we decide when it is over? U.S. President Joe Biden recently declared the pandemic over, and it might be easy to agree as the world appears closer to normal. Canada is about to lift its travel requirements and, for many, masking has become a memory. But for a lot of people, like the immunocompromised and the medically vulnerable, it is just as dangerous out there and the pandemic is far from over. How do we find a way to live with the virus that captures both of these extremes?

This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar

Audio Sources: CBS News, CPAC

Guest: Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president of the Canadian Medical Association

As the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches to remember the Indigenous children who died in residential schools, the question remains: how does a country move forward with reconciliation without coming to terms with its past? Dr. Alika Lafontaine is the Canadian Medical Association's first Indigenous president in its 155-year history and joins today's episode to speak about how close or far we are from true reconciliation, and how Canada's dark colonial legacy extends beyond residential schools to virtually every institution, including health care.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Paulo Marques.

Guest: Alex Ballingall, politics reporter

Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre has sent a strongly worded message denouncing the online group Diagolon after a clip emerged of de factor leader Jeremy Mackenzie threatening to sexually assault Poilievre's wife, Anaida. It is the latest bit of news about the loose knit, online organization that espouses beliefs like white supremacy, antisemitism and conspiracy theories. The group has also been tied to some weapon-related incidents, while those involved tend to chalk up their views as a part of their humour or satire. How seriously should we take Diagolon?

This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.`

Guest: Alexander McClelland, member of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization

The ongoing criminalization of HIV non-disclosure continues to perpetuate harmful stigma against people living with HIV has advocates noting how existing laws are overly punitive. A recent court decision also takes note of that. In 2013, Jennifer Murphy was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to more than three years in prison after having unprotected sex without disclosing her HIV status. The Ontario Court of Appeal overturned her conviction last month, noting Murphy's undetectable viral load meant there was no realistic possibility of transmission of the virus. Alexander McClelland, assistant professor at the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University and a member of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization, explains the implications.

Guest: Sahar Habib Ghazi, South Asia editor for Vice World News

As Atlantic Canada deals with the fallout of Hurricane Fiona, Pakistan continues to grapple with one of the most cataclysmic floods in its history. Over 33 million people have been affected in a country that is now one-third underwater. As of Friday, more than 1,600 have been killed and millions more have been displaced. Experts say a country that contributes less than one per cent to global carbon emissions has become a case study for the worst consequences of climate change. Pakistani journalist Sahar Habib Ghazi has been on the ground covering the catastrophe, trying to find out whether Pakistan has cause and a case for climate justice.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Paulo Marques.

Audio sources: PBS, CNN, DW