In January, Russian authorities officially labeled the anti-Kremlin activist art group Pussy Riot an "extremist organization," a move that makes even sharing their music or images a potential crime. The group's co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova joins Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss what that designation means for dissidents both inside and outside Russia, the message she's sending with her latest work, Police State, and how art can confront authoritarian power at a moment when repression is spreading far beyond Russia.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Toronto Star's Susan Delacourt and The Economist's Rob Russo about calls for Canadian unity from former prime ministers Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien

• Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonniokva reflects on power, protest and Russia's parallels with the U.S.

• Writer Chuck Klosterman nerds out about American football and its many contradictions ahead of Super Bowl LX

• Canadian curling legend Jennifer Jones looks back on her journey both on and off the ice

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 former speed skater and the co-host of CBC's primetime coverage of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, Anastasia Bucsis, and Vancouver listener Jonathan Waller.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The New Yorker's Emily Witt and Ted Hesson of Reuters about how backlash to immigration enforcement in Minnesota is affecting the Trump administration's strategy

• Booker-Prize winning author George Saunders discusses his new novel, Vigil, and how its themes resonate with the United States' tumultuous political landscape

• Journalist Kenneth Rosen shares his experience travelling in the Arctic to explore the forces tilting the region toward conflict

• Our monthly challenge That’s Puzzling! returns with special guest Anastasia Bucsis, a former speed skater and co-host of CBC's primetime coverage of the Milan-Cortina Olympics

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

Nursing is a tough job in normal conditions. Seasonal viruses, an aging population and staff shortages only compound that stress. In their book The Handover, retired nurse Tilda Shalof and emerging nurse Lisa Mochrie share wisdom, hopes and fears about their profession amid these challenges. They join Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss their mission to foster more positive conversations in the field, in the hopes it will lead to better outcomes for patients and nurses alike.

• Guest host David Common speaks with The New York Times' David Sanger and The Economist's Rob Russo about where the world order is heading after a charged week at the World Economic Forum

• Legal scholar and former White House antitrust advisor Tim Wu charts how the open internet ideal gave way to platform power, and whether the tide can turn as the AI age dawns

• Ahead of the federal Conservative Party's national convention, strategists Regan Watts, Kate Harrison and former MP Monte Solberg explore what party needs to do to win back Canadians

• Retired nurse Tilda Shalof and emerging nurse Lisa Mochrie share their hopes, fears and prescriptions for the future of their profession

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

As multilateralism gives way to a more authoritarian world order, Mary Robinson says the fight for human rights needs to focus on the grassroots. The former Irish president and United Nations human rights commissioner joins Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss what her time as a lawyer and politician fighting for women's rights in Ireland taught her, the importance of holding on to visions for a better world, and why smaller countries need to band together to take politics out of human rights.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Globe and Mail's Stephanie Levitz and Joël-Denis Bellavance from La Presse about the politics of Canada's new trade deal with China

• Iranian-Canadian historian Arash Azizi and The Economist's Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom unpack the anti-government protests in Iran, and the deadly ensuing crackdown

• Former Irish President and United Nations human rights commissioner Mary Robinson shares her vision for preserving human rights in a fractured world

• Crossword constructor Natan Last explores the puzzle's history, and how culture and creators are pushing it forward

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 Andi Petrillo, host of CBC's daytime coverage of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, and Annapolis Royal, N.S. listener Jennifer Goddard.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Canada's former NATO ambassador Kerry Buck and international politics professor Mark Webber about the future of NATO

• Reporter Jacob Soboroff explores what last year's L.A. fires reveal about the politics of disaster

• Canadian Nobel Prize laureate Peter Howitt unpacks the economic theory of "creative destruction"

• Our monthly challenge That’s Puzzling! returns with special guest Andi Petrillo

To kick off a new year of Word Processing, our ongoing look at language, Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with lexicographer Susie Dent about the old words you didn't know you needed to sum up our modern times, and her pitch to get "recombobulation" – the opposite of discombobulation – properly in the dictionary.

So, nevermind the "snollygosters," just gather round your "copemates" and head on a "coddiwomple" with us as we ring in 2026.