Podcast
The Conversation Piece
Hosted by The Walrus · EN
Need something new to talk about? Subscribe to the podcast that challenges the way you see everything in ten minutes or less. The Walrus Talks is a national event series that sparks conversations on the issues that matter most to Canadians. *The music in this podcast has been licensed and is called Intelligent Molecule by LexPremium.
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18episodes
Episodes
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Jeff Gray: Cities Are Asked to Do More with Less
2w ago00:09:02Tap to summarizeCities are being asked to solve some of society’s biggest crises with limited resources and shrinking political authority. As pressure continues to mount on municipal governments, so do questions about who really shapes the communities we live in.Jeff Gray, Queen’s Park reporter for the Globe and Mail, offers an inside look at the machinery of local democracy, and breaks down what it will take to alleviate the strain it's under.Gray spoke at The Walrus Talks A New City in Toronto on April 26, 2023.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements, at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Chief Ken McMullen: Why Canada Needs a National Fire Strategy
4w ago00:10:22Tap to summarizeWildfires expose how responsibility for public safety is shared—and sometimes fragmented—across systems that are not always designed to work together.Chief Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, makes the case for stronger coordination as fires increasingly move from remote landscapes into the communities where people live.Chief McMullen spoke at The Walrus Talks Wildfires in Saskatoon on April 1, 2026.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements, at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Suzanne Obiorah: Public Safety Should Include Everyone
Apr 2300:10:37Tap to summarizeDiscussions around public safety tend to focus on questions of order and enforcement. In practice, however, public safety is also informed by our capacity to hold space for people in crisis instead of pushing them through it.Suzanne Obiorah, chief executive officer of Somerset West Community Health Centre, reflects on a growing fracture in Canada’s response to addiction and underscores the importance of building holistic support systems as provinces turn toward new models of care.Obiorah spoke at The Walrus Talks Opioids on March 24, 2026.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements, at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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André Picard: Aging in the Right Place
Apr 900:08:27Tap to summarizeFor older adults, belonging is dependent on dignity, choice, and the ability to “age in the right place.”André Picard is a health columnist at the Globe and Mail and the author of the bestselling book Neglected No More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada’s Elders. This special episode of The Conversation Piece features content from his presentation at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging, supported by The Belonging Forum, an initiative of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness.Picard spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging on December 2, 2025.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr. Nel Wieman: Elders, Belonging, and Public Health in First Nations Communities
Apr 200:09:21Tap to summarizeFirst Nations elders play a vital role in their communities. Forcing them to relocate in the pursuit of adequate health care doesn’t just undermine their dignity—it severs key familial and cultural connections.Dr. Nel Wieman is the chief medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia. This special episode of The Conversation Piece features content from her presentation at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging, supported by The Belonging Forum, an initiative of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness.Dr. Wieman spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging on December 2, 2025.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr. Olive Bryanton: The Lifelong Need for Connection
Mar 2600:10:38Tap to summarizeRural communities thrive when older adults are invited to remain visible within them.Dr. Olive Bryanton is a researcher, advocate for older people, and lifelong learner who completed her PhD at the age of eighty-two. This special episode of The Conversation Piece features content from her presentation at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging, supported by The Belonging Forum, an initiative of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness.Dr. Bryanton spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging on December 2, 2025.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr. Rose Joudi: The Power of Purpose in Later Life
Mar 1900:09:41Tap to summarizeHow can we reframe aging as a lifelong process grounded in joy, rather than a fixed state of decline?Dr. Rose Joudi is the senior adviser for gender equity, diversity, and inclusion at HelpAge Canada. This special episode of The Conversation Piece features content from her presentation at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging, supported by The Belonging Forum, an initiative of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness.Dr. Joudi spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Aging and Belonging on December 2, 2025.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr. Emma Duerden: Teenage Digital Consumption
Mar 600:07:46Tap to summarizeSocial media is built around rewards—a digital feedback loop of likes, shares, and comments. For teenagers, whose brains are still developing, the risks associated with those rewards may not be immediately apparent.Dr. Emma Duerden, Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders at Western University, explains how the adolescent brain’s reward system develops earlier than its cognitive control centre—and what that means for how young people experience both online and offline spaces.Dr. Duerden spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Teens and Screens on October 10, 2024.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements, at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jeff Adams: Resilience in Sport
Feb 1900:06:13Tap to summarizeAs the 2026 Winter Olympics continue and the Paralympics approach, a familiar narrative emerges, one of triumph through determination. But resilience isn’t forged by determination alone—it is shaped and sustained by the people around us.Three-time Paralympic gold medalist Jeff Adams reflects on a wheelchair racing event where a chorus of support gave him the strength he needed to persevere through adversity, reminding us that none of us get to our finish lines alone.Adams spoke at The Walrus Talks at Home: Resilience on May 16, 2021.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements, at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Dr. Daniel Munro: Challenging Technology that Enforces Bias
Feb 500:08:46Tap to summarizeWe’re often told that improving our digital skills will help keep us safe online. Yet managing the risks we face has less to do with our own know-how than with the way technology is designed.Philosopher and public policy analyst Dr. Daniel Munro stresses the importance of reexamining digital infrastructures and challenging tech makers to create a safer, fairer digital world by confronting harmful content and algorithmic bias.Dr. Munro spoke at The Walrus Talks Digital Skills in Toronto on June 6, 2023.To register for upcoming events happening online or in a city near you, and to catch up on our archive of The Walrus Talks, visit thewalrus.ca/events.And subscribe to The Walrus Events newsletter for updates and announcements, at thewalrus.ca/newsletters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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