Toxic political polarization is on the rise around the world – and it’s making a mess of things. Ordinary people who might otherwise disagree, even strongly, and yet get on with one another, are at each other’s throats over just about everything. 

Too many political and economic elites reap short-term benefits from this divide, but the long term consequences for democracy – and society – are devastating. So, where does toxic political polarization come from and what can we do about it?

On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Kurt Gray, University of North Carolina psychologist and neuroscientist and author of Outrage: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground.

This is the final episode of Open to Debate. We’re winding down after five years and 112 conversations. We’ve run our course. And we’ve run it well. Thanks so much for listening.

Women’s hockey has surged in popularity in recent years. That growth has been a long time coming. The history of the women’s game stretches back more than one hundred years, and includes the rise and fall of teams, leagues, and legends. 

With the arrival of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, however, the game has entered a new era, and is set to be bigger than ever before. So, how did women’s hockey become so popular?

On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks once more again with Ian Kennedy, women’s hockey writer for the Hockey News and author of Ice in Their Veins: Women’s Relentless Pursuit of the Puck.

Everybody loves a pentalogy. In March of 2020, host David Moscrop and guest Amanda Watson discussed how we were managing early pandemic life. In the months and years that followed, the two rejoined to talk about anxiety and late-pandemic life. Twice. In early 2024, they covered what the new year might have in store for us. Now, for a record-shattering fifth time on the pod, Watson is back to talk culture wars, elections, affordability, academia, censorship, and to ask: Is anything getting better?

This episode was recorded before the U.S election. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory and return to the White House, the themes we discuss are, alas, even more relevant – and reason for grim concern.

On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks once more again with Amanda Watson, feminist theorist, Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University and author of The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety.

In the last of our series of highlight sessions from the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit, Antti Lindtman (Leader, Social Democratic Party of Finland), Kati Piri (Member of Parliament, Netherlands), and Gerald Butts (Vice Chairman, Eurasia Group, Canada) have an essential and timely discussion with Tarek Ghani (Professor, Washington University, US) on human rights, peace and security, and building solidarity in a more divided world.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

In the next of our series of highlight sessions from the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit,  Daniel Sachs (Chair, Daniel Sachs Foundation), Tonje Brenna (Minister, MP, and Deputy Party Leader, Norway), Alejandra Parra (Strategy Director, Instituto Update, Mexico), Muthouni Wambu Kraal (Founder & Principal Dunia, US), Gregor Robertson (Special Envoy for Cities in CHAMP, Global Covenant of Mayors, Canada), and Ari Rabin-Havt (Chair, WPC) share their thoughts with moderator Amy Dacey (Executive Director SINE Institute, American University) about creeping authoritarianism around the world and the work of defending democracy without losing your base.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

In the next of our series of highlight sessions from the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit, Patrick Gaspard (CEO of the Center for American Action Fund) has an inspirational conversation with Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland about securing inclusive prosperity, fundamental rights, and stronger democracies in an a time of enormous global transformation.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

In the next of our series of highlight sessions from the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit, we hear from Mark Carney (former Governor of the Bank of Canada & Bank of England,

UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, and Chair of Canada 2020 Advisory Board) and Frances Colón (Senior Fellow International Climate, CAP Action) on our changing economic landscape and turning several enormous global transformations into generational opportunities for progress.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

In the next of our series of highlight sessions from the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner and co-founder and CEO of Rappler Maria Ressa joins MP Anna Gainey (NDG-Westmount) on stage to talk about the nuance and policy challenges of navigating new frontiers in AI, social media, and democracy.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

“We’re fighting for our institutions, and for ourselves.” Canada has worked to be a North Star for the global progressive movement over the years, and like so many democracies, is now reflecting on how it adapts to the tumult and transformations of the coming decade on the world stage. 

In this featured session of the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Patrick Gaspard, CEO of the Centre for American Progress Action Fund about shaping a just future and what it will take.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

In the next of our series of highlight sessions from the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and CEO of Center for American Progress Action Fund Patrick Gaspard are joined in conversation by Field Fellows from four countries: Effie Achtsioglou (Member of Parliament and former Minister, Greece), Klara Dobrev (Member of European Parliament, Hungary), Romina Kuko (Deputy Minister of Interior, Albania), and Kati Piri (Member of Parliament and former Member of European Parliament, Netherlands) on strength in today’s divided politics, connecting with voters, and human-centred leadership.

This conversation took place on September 21, 2024, at the 2024 Global Progress Action Summit in Montréal hosted by Canada 2020 and CAP Action. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

Democratic life is increasingly marked by toxic polarisation and partisan hostility. Public institutions are overrun by the few, leaving the many on the sidelines. Many of us are left to assume there’s only one way to self-govern, to let others do it; or else we are so turned off by what we see that we want nothing to do with politics. 

But what if things didn’t have to be this way? What if there were some hope that we could do better? What if there were a better way to do democracy? Well, is there?

On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Diana Smith, an author with a career that has included community organizing, journalism, consulting and more. Her latest book is Remaking the Space Between Us: How Citizens Can Work Together To Build A Better Future For All.