“Democracy really does require that we have a shared truth, it really doesn’t work if you get to a point where you have two different groups that have completely different sets of realities.”
Host Alex Paterson chats with Executive Director of Evidence For Democracy, Katie Gibbs about the prevalence of misinformation, how to spot it, where Canada stands in relation to other countries, and the importance of evidence-based policy.
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Host Sarah Turnbull is joined by /Thread panelists Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s and David Reevely of The Canadian Press. Topics include: key takeaways from former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould’s testimony to the House of Common’s Justice Committee about the ongoing SNC-Lavalin affair, Michael Cohen’s revelations about his time representing U.S. President Donald Trump, and Canada’s plans to journey to the moon.
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“We see people willing and interested in hearing stories about groups other than their own, which might not have been the case 20 or 25 years ago.”
Host Alex Paterson sits down with Anthony Wilson-Smith, the president and CEO of Historica Canada, the company behind the beloved Heritage Minutes. The two chat about the function of the organization, its production arm, and what goes into the making of their 60 second videos – including the latest on the Vancouver Asahi.
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“It goes back to this confirmation bias idea; because someone isn’t feeding the narrative you want to hear doesn’t mean they’re partisan. I think we all need to remind ourselves of that.”
Host Sarah Turnbull is joined by /Thread panelists Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s and David Reevely of The Canadian Press. Topics include: the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s right hand man Gerry Butts, unpacking the House of Commons justice committee hearings, including testimony from the Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick, the messages delivered by the United We Roll convoy on Parliament Hill, and the bizarre investigation of actor Jussie Smollett.
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“It’s a pretty bald thing to say, it’s hard to interpret the meaning of what she said in any way other than some sort of strong-arming to get a quote.”
Host Sarah Turnbull is joined by /Thread panelists Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s and David Reevely of The Canadian Press. The trio discuss: former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s resignation from the Trudeau cabinet following the SNC-Lavalin controversy, Ontario Social Services Minister Lisa Macleod’s apology to a behavioural analyst group claiming she threatened them to support the Tories’ new autism plan, and saying farewell to NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover.
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“It’s not all going to be big data, and it’s not all going to be public opinion the way it was in the past. We’re going to be mixing those things in order to have a very complex understanding of what citizens think.”
Host Aaron Reynolds gets a behind the scenes look at what goes into a poll from veteran Canadian pollster and Chair of Nanos Research, Nik Nanos. The two discuss how polling data is gathered, its accuracy, how it’s changing in a tech-based world, and predictions for 2019.
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“Should an animal or human change to adapt to better fit in or should others accept you for who you are? We wanted to toy with that question and not necessarily come up with a definitive answer.”
Host Alex Paterson chats with Oscar-winning filmmakers, and husband and wife duo, Alison Snowden and David Fine about their new animated short, Animal Behaviour, which profiles five animals who undertake group therapy session to discuss their inner angsts. The film questions whether animals, like humans, should adapt to social norms. It’s been nominated for a 2019 Academy Award and a Canadian Screen Award. Alex reached them in their Vancouver home.
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“There is a distinction between what is allowed, what is proper, and what is desirable for politicians…people aren’t behaving like obviously innocent people.”
Host Sarah Turnbull is joined by /Thread panelists David Reevely of The Canadian Press and Shannon Proudfoot of Maclean’s. Topics include: The Globe and Mail’s scathing report that puts the PMO in the spotlight for allegedly pressuring the former AG to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin case, the main themes out of the State of the Union address, and the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof’s latest op-ed ‘Thank God For Canada.’
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“Populism fundamentally is more about rhetoric than ideology. Put it another way, populism is a thin ideology.”
On Wednesday, January 30th, Canada 2020, alongside the Ryerson Leadership Lab, welcomed former senior speech writer to President Barack Obama, Sarada Peri to Ottawa for a discussion about today’s current political climate both in the U.S. and Canada, how to respond to the rise of populism, and her experiences working alongside the former commander in chief.
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