Ideas

Sally Gregory Colstead, Professor Emerita in history of science who helped expand Rossiter’s work. Donna Dingwall, producer and storyteller who crafted the narrative. They trace Margaret Rossiter’s archival discoveries and the creation of the Matilda effect. Short scenes cover overlooked scientists, archival detective work, naming Matilda Gage, and efforts to restore women into scientific history.

In this engaging talk, human rights lawyer Alex Neve explores the idea that our inherent rights are yours from birth, not a privilege to be earned. He shares eye-opening stories from his visits to camps in Syria and highlights the struggles of Canadians caught in geopolitical crossfires. Neve critiques how power creates a 'club' of rights based on race and wealth, while discussing the importance of grassroots activism. His passionate discourse challenges listeners to reflect on the universality of human rights and the collective action needed to uphold them.

Tahereh Falahati, a Tehran-trained traditional Persian singer now in North Vancouver. Kaveh Mirhosseini, composer/conductor and researcher of Iranian folk music. Iman Habibi, award-winning composer and pianist blending Persian poetry with Western classical forms. They discuss music as cultural force, banned singing and protest songs, composing after tragedy, cross-cultural bridges, and the diaspora’s ties to Iran.

Kinch Hoekstra, a political science professor at UC Berkeley, specializes in Hobbes and political theory, while Shana Guderian, an associate dean at Syracuse's Maxwell School, studies public reactions to political events. They explore how Thomas Hobbes' notions of anxiety relate to today’s democratic landscape. The conversation highlights anxiety as a driving force in political behavior, linking emotions to the fragility of liberal democracy. They also discuss how political conflicts can be navigated through mutual respect, advocating for personal well-being over divisive politics.

Sarah Hart, Professor Emerita of Mathematics and author of Once Upon a Prime, explores links between mathematics and literature. She discusses pattern, structure and memory in storytelling. She traces numeric motifs from Dante to nursery rhymes. She examines constraints, poetic proofs, and how mathematical imagination shapes novel forms and fictional worlds.

Lenore Newman, culinary geographer and director of the Food and Agricultural Institute, explores taste extinction and the rise of lab-grown foods. She traces how the passenger pigeon disappeared and was replaced by industrial proteins. She explains the idea of an agricultural singularity and discusses cellular agriculture, precision fermentation, fungal proteins, and the cultural questions around synthetic seafood.

Alex Neve, a human rights lawyer and former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, explores the pivotal years following WWII that reshaped human rights. He discusses the origins of these rights and highlights the importance of historical context. Neve examines how concepts like dignity and reciprocity connect diverse cultures and impact current crises. He reflects on the breakthrough of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its contradictions with colonial legacies. The conversation urges a renewed commitment to uphold these universal ideals in today’s world.

Shaheen Nawai, activist who co-founded the National Union of Women; Haidet Aragahi, former literature professor who organised March 8 protests; Minou Jalali, lawyer and activist from the 1978–79 protests. They recount mass street demonstrations, clashes with counter‑protesters, the hijacking of revolutionary hopes by clerical forces, brief openings for independent organizing, and the turn to underground resistance and exile.

Salome Jashi, a Tbilisi-based documentary filmmaker known for films about power and society, discusses Georgia's political turmoil. She reflects on mass pro-EU demonstrations, nationalist Family Purity parades, police violence and legal repression, the oligarchic influence linked to Russia, and how her film uses uprooted trees as a metaphor for social upheaval.

Hannah Pickard, philosopher of addiction who sees it as a behavioural disorder; Jovita Bydlowska, memoirist writing about relapse and long-term recovery; Dr. I. Michael Kaufman, retired physician and addiction memoirist. They probe whether addiction is driven by social circumstance and psychology, revisit famous rat experiments, discuss motives like self-medication and identity, and weigh diverse paths and supports for recovery.