- After George Floyd: One city’s vow to ‘end’ police
Friday, May 12th 2023
Guest: Wendy Gillis, crime reporter
When George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, protests erupted around the world. Calls to defund the police rang out and, for a moment, it seemed like change was imminent. But three years on, efforts to revolutionize public safety have varied. Star reporter Wendy Gillis recently visited Minneapolis as part of the ongoing “Beyond the Badge” series (made possible with the financial assistance of the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship) looking at what cities around the world are doing to combat violence and redesign public safety. Gillis explains what’s happened to policing since Floyd’s murder and what we can learn from Minneapolis, a city that’s become a case study in the frustratingly slow pace of systemic change.
Audio Sources: CNN, WWCO, NBC, Kare 11, MSNBC, ABC, Newsweek
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Raju Mudhar and Paulo Marques
- Ontario’s housing plan and how it could lead to sprawl
Thursday, May 11th 2023
Guest: Noor Javed, staff reporter
The Ontario government has made building more housing fast a priority and, to get that done, it wants to throw out planning rules that set guidelines for how municipalities should grow. The proposed changes could upend how Ontario has planned its cities since 2005 and some critics fear that it is a perfect recipe for sprawl.
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.
- Canada set to name foreign labs, universities that pose national security risk
Wednesday, May 10th 2023
Guest: Joanna Chiu, staff reporter
The Canadian government is creating a list of foreign universities and labs that it says pose a national security risk. The news comes at the same time several Canadian universities are reviewing their research partnerships. Last week, the University of Waterloo announced it is ending its relationship with Chinese telecom giant Huawei amid security concerns. The government list will further impact research funding and possibly, academic freedom.
This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.
- Can you have too many candidates for mayor of Toronto?
Tuesday, May 9th 2023
Guests: The Toronto Star All-Star Opinionator Panel, featuring columnists Emma Teitel, Shawn Micallef, Matt Elliott and guest host Edward Keenan
More than 70 candidates have registered to run for mayor. As the opening phase of the campaign finishes, our panel talks about housing policy, why many candidates might misunderstand the task they’ve taken on, why attacks aren’t landing and whether one candidate should brag about his current lack of pay cheques.
This episode was produced by Ed Keenan and Paulo Marques.
- WHO says COVID as global health emergency is over. Now what?
Monday, May 8th 2023
Guest: Dr. Fahad Razak, internist at St. Michael’s Hospital
After more than three years, the World Health Organization has declared that COVID-19 is over as a global health emergency. However, the organization also said the virus remains a threat and can still get people very sick. For many people, the pandemic has been “over” for a while but there are also plenty of people for whom the effects linger and that’s something to remember as we navigate this next phase.
This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.
Audio Sources: CBC and ABC
