Latest podcasts
- Beijing Olympics: sports, politics and a cocktail-making robot
Friday, February 4th 2022
The 2022 Winter Olympics are on in Beijing. It’s the first city in the world to host both a winter and summer Games (the latter of which happened back in 2008). These Games are shaping up to be much different. COVID-19 restrictions and a diplomatic boycott by a number of countries put a bit of a damper on the hype.
Asia correspondent James Griffiths is in Beijing. He tells us what it’s like inside the Olympic bubble and how politics are playing into these Games.
- Where the Conservative Party of Canada goes from here
Thursday, February 3rd 2022
The vote was 73 to 45. And with that, Erin O’Toole’s leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada is over. This dismissal comes after months of internal strife as MPs questioned the direction of the party under Mr. O’Toole.
Conservatives now have to launch a leadership race to decide the direction of their party, without tearing it apart. Political columnist and writer-at-large John Ibbitson argues that the in-fighting in the party that is Canada’s Official Opposition is not just bad for their supporters, but bad for the country as a whole.
- How Boris Johnson might survive his boozy scandal
Wednesday, February 2nd 2022
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on a whirlwind trip to Ukraine as his political fate is being fought in the country’s Parliament and in its press. A report, by senior civil servant Sue Gray, highlighted excessive alcohol consumption by staff and said that some of the gatherings at 10 Downing Street represented a failure in leadership during a time when the rest of the country was under strict lockdowns and expected to be doing their part to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
Now, Europe Correspondent Paul Waldie tells us what was in the report, what’s been left out, and why it might not be enough to oust a political survivor like Boris Johnson.
- Trudeau’s tough line, O’Toole’s ‘changing message’ on protesting truckers
Tuesday, February 1st 2022
Over the weekend, Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and downtown area saw thousands of protestors arrive as part of the “Freedom Convoy,” originally sparked by a new vaccine mandate that would impose the same restrictions on unvaccinated truckers as other travellers across the border.
A smaller number remained in the capital city on Monday, blocking roads and blaring truck horns. Parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh joins from just a few blocks away to tell us what’s happened on Monday and how federal party leaders are responding.
- Setting the stage for an arts comeback
Monday, January 31st 2022
The arts industry has been decimated by COVID-19 lockdowns. Performance arts like theatre, ballet and live music have been particularly hard hit. According to the Canadian Association for Performing Arts, one in four workers in the sector lost their job in 2020.
Then, there’s the audience. For those who love going to see plays, listening to a favourite band live or experiencing any form of art in a social setting, the pandemic has meant losing that world.
Kate Taylor is a cultural columnist and visual art critic for the Globe. She tells us how people are feeling in the industry, the hopes for a comeback and how art might one day look back and reflect on this unprecedented time.