The Sunday Magazine for November 17, 2024
This week on The Sunday Magazine with host Piya Chattopadhyay:
The latest on the Canada Post strike and the future of our postal service
After a year of labour negotiations, Canada Post workers went on strike Friday, halting most mail delivery for millions just ahead of the busy holiday season. Carleton University business associate professor Ian Lee has long studied our country's postal service. He joins Chattopadhyay to walk through the latest on the strike, and explore what Canada Post's future may hold after years of declining revenue and stiff competition.
Georges Erasmus has had enough of Indigenous rights not being recognized
Georges Erasmus has been called many things: a native rights crusader, radical and the "Eleventh Premier" of Canada. For over five decades, the Dene leader has been on the front lines in the battle for Indigenous rights, including as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations during some of the most dramatic moments in Canadian history. Erasmus joins Chattopadhyay to reflect on his political life, the tumultuous relationship between First Nations and Canada, and why he finds it tragic that Ottawa has not fully recognised the rights or self-governance of Indigenous people in our country.
UN's top meteorologist issues 'red alert' amid COP talks
This year is on track to be the hottest on record, capping off the hottest decade officially documented. Retreating glaciers, rising sea levels and ocean heating are all intensifying. And communities around the world are paying the price. These are among the alarm bells rung by the World Meteorological Organization in its latest State of Climate Update. The United Nations' global weather agency issued it on the opening day of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan this past week. The WMO's secretary-general Celeste Saulo joins Chattopadhyay from Baku to talk climate, cash and the role of meteorology in charting a path forward in our warming world.
How Trump's victory is also a win for 'grievance politics'
Among the factors that propelled Donald Trump's political comeback was the power of "grievance politics." At rally after rally, the United States president-elect gave voice to his grievances, and tapped into those of millions of Americans. Similar campaigns have gained traction in the United Kingdom, France and Brazil… and may be emerging in Canada too. The Sunday Magazine's Pete Mitton explores what's so powerful about this style of politics and what impacts it can have on democracy.
Death lessons from the animal kingdom
After a beloved gorilla at the Toronto Zoo named Charles died last month, hundreds of people visited his enclosure to mourn and lay flowers. But did his fellow apes understand that he had died? Did Charles ever contemplate his own mortality? Susana Monsó has long contemplated questions like these as she seeks to understand how animals understand death. The philosopher joins Chattopadhyay to talk about how all kinds of animals relate to mortality... and what we humans might learn from them.