As tech giants end the year by cozying up to Donald Trump, and TikTok faces the possibility of demise - 2024's biggest tech stories expose growing power alliances and global rivals in our digital and geopolitical landscapes. Tech journalists Louise Matsakis, Paris Marx and Nitasha Tiku join Piya Chattopadhyay to explore how the year's top tech developments are transforming relationships between Silicon Valley, elected officials and society.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with tech journalists Louise Matsakis, Paris Marx and Nitasha Tiku about the top tech stories of 2024, linguist Adam Aleksic breaks down what the words of the year reveal about us, veteran broadcaster Connie Chung looks back on her trailblazing career, and Richard Powers talks about his latest novel Playground, which ruminates on climate change, technological instability and the power of awe.

Do you have a type, when it comes to fonts? This year marks the 30th anniversary of what’s widely seen as both the most recognizable and most reviled typeface: Comic Sans. In the latest instalment of Word Processing, our ongoing look at language, Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with author Simon Garfield about how Comic Sans evolved from a playful, curved diversion from stern-looking serifs, to a laughing stock font... and why we just can't write off the sometimes off-putting form of expression.

Host Piya Chattopadhay speaks with the Toronto Star's Susan Delacourt and former Liberal strategist David Herle about the wild week in Canadian politics, "star guy" Wilfred Buck shares his mission to reclaim Indigenous perspectives in science, journalist Catherine Tsalikis talks about her new biography of Chrystia Freeland, author Simon Garfield traces the curved legacy of Comic Sans, and we hear about true crime's real world impacts.

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It's a time of year when many of us try to recapture some of the wonder at the world we felt as kids... and Katherine Rundell has a special gift for doing just that. The British author and Oxford University fellow has drawn comparisons to J.R.R. Tolkein for her fantasy books beloved by younger and older readers alike. She joins Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about two of her latest – Impossible Creatures, which brings unicorns, dragons and griffins to life for children; and Vanishing Treasures, which reflects on animals threatened with extinction for adults – and why she thinks cultivating wonder in worlds both imagined and real is vital.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Rob Russo, Stephanie Levitz and David Staples about the highlights and lowlights of the year in Canadian politics, researcher Rachel Plotnick explores what the rise, fall and return of buttons can teach us about the human-machine relationship, Bessma Momani and Kareem Shaheen discuss Syria's future after the Assad regime, and author Katherine Rundell makes her case for cultivating wonder in our chaotic world.

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Whether your holiday book wish list includes classics like The Nutcracker or works by contemporary authors like Jon Fosse and Elena Ferrante... if you want to read them in English, then you’ll have to thank a translator. But Damion Searls says that the work of translating is more complicated than simply converting words from one language to another. In the latest instalment of Word Processing – our ongoing look at language – David Common speaks with the noted author and translator about his book The Philosophy of Translation, the nuance needed to make a faithful translation and what gets lost when authors outsource that work to technology.

Guest host David Common speaks with The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom about the latest developments in Syria following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, law professor Kent Roach offers his take on police reform after 10 First Nations people died following officer encounters since August, president of the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris charity Michel Picaud outlines the efforts made to restore the iconic monument, writer and translator Damion Searls explores what makes a great translation, and humourist and public speaker Fran Lebowitz opines on the art of conversation.

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In the latest edition of 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 along this month are Mark Connolly, the host of CBC Radio's Edmonton AM, and Winnipeg listener Debbie Hamlin.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Rob Russo and The Globe and Mail's Stephanie Levitz about how Canadian politicians are responding to Donald Trump's tariff threat, historian Evan Friss explores why bookstores endure against the odds, researcher Carolyn Whitzman shares approaches to solving Canada's housing crisis, and our monthly challenge That's Puzzling! returns.

Discover more at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

2024 has been dubbed the "year of elections," and it comes as democratic backsliding is on the rise. Now that Donald Trump is returning to the White House, what does that spell for the fate of democracy worldwide? Piya Chattopadhyay moderates the 2024 Stanfield Conversation – a series focusing on critical challenges to democracy and imaginative and inspiring responses to them – at Dalhousie University in Halifax. This year's featured guests are The Globe and Mail's international affairs columnist Doug Saunders and McGill University political scientist and Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies, Debra Thompson.