The Sunday Magazine

CBC Radio

CBC Radio’s The Sunday Magazine is a lively, wide-ranging mix of topical long-form conversations, engaging ideas and more. Each week, host Piya Chattopadhyay takes time for deep exploration, but also makes space for surprise, delight and fun.

  • 1 hour 32 minutes
    Oil shocks, Disappearing dining rooms, Youth social media bans, Planet Money
    • Guest host David Common speaks with Stanford economist Ryan Cummings and Macdonald-Laurier Institute energy expert Heather Exner-Pirot about how today's oil shock compares to past crises, and how Canada may fare as war in the Middle East continues


    • Architect and author John Ota traces the cultural history of dining rooms, and why they're disappearing


    • Business Insider's Amanda Hoover and York University's Natasha Tusikov break down the issues shaping conversations around youth social media bans


    • Planet Money contributor Alex Mayyasi helps us understand the economic forces shaping our lives.
    5 April 2026, 4:10 am
  • 21 minutes 40 seconds
    Woke up from a bad dream? Science shows you can change your sleeping mind

    At the University of Montreal's Dream Engineering Lab, scientist Michelle Carr works through the night trying to better understand why we dream – and especially why we experience nightmares. She says we too often dismiss bad dreams as "just dreams," when they're actually real experiences with real effects. Carr joins Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss the latest developments in sleep science, and how we have more control over our dreams than we may think.

    1 April 2026, 7:10 am
  • 1 hour 31 minutes
    NDP picks new leader, AI and writing, U.S. and Israel-Iran war negotiations, Nightmare science
    • Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with political strategists Jordan Leichnitz and Zain Velji, along with pollster James Valcke, about what the federal NDP needs to do to rebound as the party picks a new leader


    • The Washington Post data reporter Jeremy Merrill and linguist Naomi Baron explore how artificial intelligence is creeping into our written world


    • The Economist's Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom and the International Crisis Group's Ali Vaez unpack the latest news and state of negotiations in the United States and Israel-Iran war


    • Michelle Carr from the University of Montreal's Dream Engineering Lab shares developments in dream and nightmare science and tips on how we can influence our sleeping mind
    29 March 2026, 4:10 am
  • 27 minutes 10 seconds
    David Suzuki says we're failing to fight climate change – but he's not giving up

    As he celebrates his 90th birthday, David Suzuki is reflecting on the lessons he's learned from his decades of science communication and environmental activism. The former host of CBC's The Nature of Things joins Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about what made him the orator he is today, the current state of the environmental movement, and how he's changing his approach to climate action as science indicates we have failed to heed past warnings

    25 March 2026, 7:10 am
  • 1 hour 40 minutes
    U.S. intervention in the Middle East, Mark Haddon, David Suzuki, Canadian aid efforts in Cuba
    • Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Semafor White House reporter David Weigel and Fawaz Gerges, an international relations professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, about past and present U.S. intervention in the Middle East


    • Novelist Mark Haddon reflects on the nature of memory and narrative with his new memoir


    • David Suzuki celebrates his 90th birthday with a look back on his decades of science communication and environmental activism


    • CBC producer Julia Pagel explores Canada's long-lasting relationship with Cuba, and efforts among some Canadians to bolster aid to the country amid the humanitarian crisis
    22 March 2026, 4:10 am
  • 26 minutes 26 seconds
    'Learn to code' campaigns dominated the 2010s. Were they oversold?

    For years, governments and tech companies told students that learning to code would provide a pathway to stability and high-earning salaries. But with AI reshaping the tech industry and jobs disappearing, there are questions about whether "learn to code" campaigns were oversold as a silver bullet. University of Waterloo associate professor Troy Vasiga and New York Times technology reporter Natasha Singer join Nora Young to discuss the promise and payoff of coding, and whether today's "learn AI" message is taking a page from that old Big Tech playbook.

    18 March 2026, 7:10 am
  • 1 hour 36 minutes
    U.S. strategy and stakes for Iran, World Cup politics, Carney's first year as PM, Coding and AI
    • Guest host Nora Young speaks with Reuters national security reporter Phillip Stewart about Washington's military objectives as the United States and Israel-Iran war intensifies, and Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari discusses the situation inside Iran


    • Financial Times columnist and author Simon Kuper discusses how the World Cup reflects global politics, culture and power


    • Toronto Star national columnist Susan Delacourt and The Economist's Canada correspondent Rob Russo take stock of Mark Carney's first year as prime minister


    • University of Waterloo associate professor Troy Vasiga and New York Times technology reporter Natasha Singer look back on "learn to code" campaigns and whether they delivered on their promise as AI disrupts tech
    15 March 2026, 4:10 am
  • 29 minutes 59 seconds
    In a sea of misinformation, Wikipedia wants to shore up trust

    It used to be the source of great skepticism. But now, many consider Wikipedia a public good… and even, the last best place on the internet. As the crowdsourced encyclopedia marks its 25th anniversary, Nora Young speaks with co-founder Jimmy Wales about Wikipedia's early days, criticisms and controversies it's faced around bias, and why it continues to endure in today's digital age of misinformation, disinformation and artificial intelligence.

    11 March 2026, 7:10 am
  • 1 hour 35 minutes
    U.S. and Israel-Iran war, How wind shapes us, Economic cost of Middle East conflict, Wikipedia's past and future
    • Guest host Nora Young speaks with University of Ottawa public and international affairs professor Thomas Juneau, and Jasmine El-Gamal, a Middle East policy analyst and former Pentagon advisor, about how the latest developments in the U.S. and Israel-Iran war


    • Author and journalist Simon Winchester explores how wind carries the story of our history and future


    • The New York Times global economy reporter Peter S. Goodman explains the global cost of conflict in the Middle East


    • Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales reflects on the site's early days, criticisms and controversies it's faced, and why it continues to endure in today's digital age
    8 March 2026, 5:10 am
  • 27 minutes 58 seconds
    That's Puzzling! for March 2026

    In our monthly challenge, That's Puzzling!, Piya Chattopadhyay competes against one familiar voice and one clever listener in a battle of brain games devised by puzzle master Peter Brown. Playing this week are actor and comedian Shaun Majumder and Melfort, Sask. listener Susan Plant.

    4 March 2026, 8:10 am
  • 1 hour 39 minutes
    U.S. and Israel strike Iran, Rebecca Solnit, That's Puzzling!
    • Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom, historian Arash Azizi, foreign policy expert Barbara Slavin and international human rights lawyer Payam Akhavan about the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and what may come next


    • Writer and activist Rebecca Solnit reflects on what history can reveal about our turbulent times today, and why what looks like collapse may also be the messy birth of something new


    • Our monthly challenge That’s Puzzling! returns with actor and comedian Shaun Majumder, and Melfort, Sask. listener Susan Plant
    1 March 2026, 5:10 am
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