In "Playing Shylock", an actor starring in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" is interrupted and told the show has been cancelled. From there, we get a monologue about having difficult conversations through art, Jewish identity, and spending a lifetime on stage. The actor is none other than Saul Rubinek.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Egyptians and Persians to the Romans and even Alexander the Great, the island of Cyprus has been ruled by a revolving door of empires. Today, it is partitioned between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. How did we get here? What caused this island to be carved into two? And why does it remain divided? With animated maps and guest Major-General Alain Forand, this episode of Forgotten War digs into the millennia-old history of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974 that led to...

In "How to Lose a Country", Turkish political thinker Ece Temelkuran examines the rise of populism and nationalism around the world. And given the international climate of late, we thought we'd invite her on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, to discuss her book and the themes that are so resonant today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The BRICS – named after the five founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – started as a forum for the world's five largest emerging economies. Now, it's expanding into other parts of the globe and courting countries traditionally allied with the U.S. What is behind this impetus for expansion, and can it disrupt the current western-dominated global order? Steve Paikin asks: Kerry Buck, (Former Canadian Amb. to NATO), Rohinton Medhora, Professor of practice at McGill...

Star Trek has never been more popular, with five series made since 2018 and another one focused on Star Fleet around the corner. The continued popularity of the series remains rooted in its long-standing formula of strong character development, visually stunning space exploration and a quest for a better future. A look at the legacy of the franchise and why it remains relevant more than 50 years after the premier of the original series, with Robert Picardo, who played the Doctor on seven...

The first study into a high-speed rail corridor between Toronto and Montreal was released in 1970. Now, 54 years later, the federal government says that a high-speed option is being "seriously considered". In the years in between, dozens of studies, reports and surveys have evaluated different costs and business cases based on varying routes, speeds and stops. But after all this time, is there not enough information to decide whether to move ahead, or not, with such a massive project. And if...

After several decades of interviews and research, journalist and filmmaker Roxana Spicer is finally telling her mother's story. In her new book "The Traitor's Daughter: Captured by the Nazis, Pursued by the KGB, My Mother's Odyssey to Freedom from Her Secret Past," we learn what her mother kept hidden about her time in the Red Army and beyond.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The terms "competition" and "productivity" have filled the minds of policy analysts and economists in recent years. But, what does it all mean for Canadian consumers? Denise Hearn and Vass Bednar wrote about how capitalism has actually hurt consumers in their new book, "The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians." They join Steve Paikin to discuss more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jelena Begovic is the first-ever Serbian Minister of Science to visit Ontario. She joins Steve Paikin to discuss her interest in our province. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The unrelenting chase for the perfect body is on the rise in young people today, in females and now in males and non-binary youths as well. Join former ballet dancer Victoria Gracie and mental health expert Kyle Ganson as they explore the deep emotional impact of body and muscle dysmorphia disorder in young people and what we can do to start to help them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These are difficult times to be a student at one of Ontario's colleges or universities. The provincial government is contributing less, it's frozen tuition for more than six years, and the federal government has cut way back on international student visas, depriving the system of hundreds of millions of dollars it was counting on to keep the lights on. If you've got a kid in post-secondary or are a student there yourself, what are the implications of this perfect storm? David Agnew, who's...

Author James Arnett joins us in studio to discuss his latest novel, "The Monmouth Manifesto." Heading back in time to the American Revolution, Arnett flips the script and paints a picture through the eyes of Loyalists.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His colleagues described it as one of the "greatest single acts of bravery" they'd ever seen. In 2009, while deployed as part of an anti-explosives team in Kandahar, Bruno Guevremont became the only Canadian Armed Forces member to defuse a live suicide bomber. In episode two of Forgotten War, Guevremont describes the day that changed his life, the "cat-and-mouse game" between him and the Taliban during his second tour in Afghanistan, the difficulty of coming home, and how he healed from the...

After a 19-week-long hiatus that saw alcohol arrive in convenience stores and an announcement to build a tunnel under the 401, the Ontario legislature returns with no shortage of issues to deal with. We take a look at what the Ford government has been up to, and the reaction it's stirred up across the province.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Things like public transit, building codes, and snow removal are not always planned keeping in mind people with disabilities. So, what does an accessible city for all look like? Writer and disability organizer Emily Macrae has some suggestions, and they can be found in a new book of essays and interviews she's edited, called "Living Disability: Building Accessible Futures for Everybody".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you make lasting change in the world? According to Bhante Saranapala, a Buddhist Monk at the West End Buddhist Temple and Meditation Centre in Mississsauga, Ontario, it starts with one person's kindful acts toward another. And they pass it on. On a sunny fall day in Serena Gundy Park in north Toronto, he talks to Steve Paikin about his early life training to be a monk in Bhangledesh and Sri Lanka, his time in Canada, leading meditation sessions for police and other professionals, and...

Expulsions of Indian diplomats from Canada renewed concern about incursions from foreign governments into Canada. The Agenda gathers a panel to discuss this break in Indo-Canadian relations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has there ever been a more intriguing personal journey by a Canadian journalist than Michael Coren's? He's gone from conservative provocateur to staunch Catholic to Anglican priest with a giant heart. Coren has written a lot of books, but his newest is called, "Heaping Coals: From Media Firebrand to Anglican Priest." And he joins Steve Paikin to discuss his journey and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of Ontario mayors are advocating for a tougher response to homelessness and addiction in large municipalities. The Agenda invites four members of Ontario's Big City Mayors caucus to discuss a recent, unconventional proposal that calls for mandatory treatment and rehabilitation for those suffering from opioid addiction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American politics hardly needed something new to rattle it. But the advent of artificial intelligence promises – or threatens – to do just that, in an already tumultuous election year. Cory Alpert is a founding partner of South and West, an American political consulting firm, and is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Melbourne, researching the implications of artificial intelligence for democracy. He talks to Steve Paikin about AI in U.S. politics today, and into the future.See...

For nearly 60 years, the S.S. Keewatin took passengers and freight from Port McNicoll in Georgian Bay across the Great Lakes to Thunder Bay, Ontario. After being setup as a floating museum in Michigan for years, the steamship was on the move again. After months of restoration and a long journey through the Great Lakes, the Edwardian-era steamship, has a new home at the Great Lakes Museum in Kingston, Ontario. This video is brought to you through a partnership with Detroit Public TV's Great...

The Agenda invites longtime friend of the show, Frances Lankin. The former senator and former Ontario cabinet minister has been trying to make a difference in Canadian politics for over 30 years. Having recently retired early from the Senate, she joins us in studio to find out why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Agenda's week in review looked at what the record high price of gold means for Ontario, the misconceptions about ADHD, Sharon, Lois & Bram's legacy, and the nursing shortage in the province.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reports have shown that there's a nursing shortage in Ontario. Why are nurses leaving the profession and what are we going to do about it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marc Garneau has made history twice. As the first Canadian to fly to outer space and as the first astronaut elected to the House of Commons. What does this former cabinet minister and space traveler think of that journey? He tells it all in his new book: "A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream." And Marc Garneau joins Steve Paikin to discuss.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.