The Sunday Edition for December 8, 2019
Listen to this week's episode with guest host Gillian Findlay:
Why Trump will survive impeachment: The U.S. House of Representatives has been on a fast-track to impeachment, but David Frum believes it could be a road to ruin for the Democratic Party and the health of American politics. The senior editor for The Atlantic and former speechwriter for George W. Bush thinks impeachment is an imperfect instrument for putting a check on his power — and will likely leave Trump and his base feeling vindicated and energized going into next year's election.
These students are making hospital intensive care units less intense for patients and their families: ICUs can be terrifying places, where patients are desperately ill, the medical staff is under pressure and families feel overwhelmed. In Montreal, a group of university students won an award for a new initiative that is designed to help. The Intensive Care Bridge Program is growing and it's making a difference. David Gutnick's documentary is "The Human Agenda."
George Monbiot says we have to give up capitalism to save the planet: One of the most influential columnists at The Guardian, George Monbiot says we have to find a new economic system because our survival depends on it. In this conversation with Michael Enright, he explains why it's not enough to reform capitalism and make it fairer — the whole doctrine of economic growth is pushing the planet past its capacity to sustain us. But, he says, there's a glimmer of hope in new alternatives like "doughnut economics."
One writer follows her dream, then wonders whether it was the right one: From a young age, when she picked up her first Nancy Drew book, Deryn Collier of Nelson, B.C., knew she wanted to be a mystery writer. She stepped into that role — saw both success and failure — and, in this essay, muses about the wisdom of the path she chose.
Why a Nobel Peace Prize winner is defending her country in court, against a charge of genocide: She received many honours around the world for standing up for human rights and democracy. Now, Myanmar's foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi is defending her country against a charge of genocide in the International Court of Justice in The Hague — the genocide of the Rohingya people. Bob Rae, Canada's Special Envoy to Myanmar talks about this apparent paradox and about Canada's role in making Myanmar accountable for its treatment of the Rohingya.
'Out of thin air': In praise of the theremin: This electronic instrument emits a sound that is beautiful, haunting, a bit unsettling and utterly unmistakable. As theremin enthusiasts around the world are celebrating its centenary, we rebroadcast Lindsay Michael's documentary "Out of Thin Air."
Music this week by: Portishead, John Coltrane, Mario Bernardi and The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Ramsey Lewis Trio, Calum Graham, the Caliban Quartet, Nils Frahm, and Clara Rockmore on the theremin.