The Sunday Magazine for February 14, 2021
This week on The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay:
COVID-19 surges in Newfoundland and Labrador: A sharp rise in COVID-19 cases stemming from the coronavirus variant B117 has led to widespread restrictions in Newfoundland and Labrador and a delay of its provincial election. Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC Radio's White Coat, Black Art and The Dose podcast, speaks with Chattopadhyay about the situation and whether it's a bellwether for what's to come elsewhere in Canada.
Human connection, interrupted: From our casual encounters to our deepest relationships, how we interact with others has enormous implications for our mental and physical health. So what happens when a global pandemic hits and our social networks are disrupted? When the only communication we have with family is online? When we go a year without touch? As we celebrate Valentine's Day and — in many parts of the country, Family Day — this long weekend, Chattopadhyay gets to the heart of it all. She speaks to neuroscientist Aikaterini Fotopoulou and anthropologist Robin Dunbar about what really matters when it comes to human connection, what happens when it is lost and whether what seems so broken now amid the global COVID-19 pandemic might ever be repaired.
Former NHLer Brantt Myhres on addiction, recovery and life lessons from the ice: Brantt Myhres grew up idolizing hockey players like Marty McSorley. But when the Alberta native's NHL dreams came true, he found himself squaring off with his childhood idols as an enforcer on the ice. Myhres' pro hockey career featured more penalty minutes than goals. But it was his life off the ice that ultimately derailed his dream. In 2006, he was handed a lifetime ban for multiple drug and alcohol infractions. After getting sober 13 years ago, he found his way back to the league, working with players facing the same struggles he once did. Myhres joins Chattopadhyay to discuss his story and his new book, Pain Killer: A Memoir of Big League Addiction.
William Prince and the power of gospel (reprise): It's been a difficult, tumultuous time. And for Indigenous singer-songwriter William Prince, the only music that makes sense right now is gospel. It's the music he grew up singing with his father, a preacher. And now he's returning to it on his new record "Gospel First Nation." He speaks with Chattopadhyay about gospel's ability to comfort us amid grief and provide hope for tomorrow, and why he believes there's still power in it despite the fact that Christianity and gospel were historically colonizing tools. Originally published on November 15, 2020.
