The Sunday Edition for June 21, 2020
Listen to this week's episode with host Michael Enright:
A COVID-19 confinement chronicle: week 13 — Michael's essay: "From the moment the COVID-19 virus began to spread, we were at war. At least that's what our political leaders told us. In early March, French president Emmanuel Macron fired the opening salvo. In fact, he said "We are at war" six times in one speech. War is a handy metaphor that politicians love. [This] bellicose metaphor [doesn't] sit well with the British philosopher Nigel Warburton. He argues that the constant war references can embolden political leaders to enact severely restrictive measures as would be appropriate in a real war."
A national childcare strategy will be a lynchpin of our economic recovery: Parents struggling to work from home with kids underfoot have realized, as never before, why childcare workers are an essential service. And economists are reminding us that affordable, accessible childcare will be essential to re-opening and reviving the economy. Martha Friendly, Canada's leading advocate for better childcare, joins Michael to discuss where daycare is failing to meet the needs of Canadian parents and why it's imperative to have a national childcare strategy.
A revolutionary artist in traditionalist garb: Working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mary Heister Reid painted small works — very traditional on the surface and almost all inspired by nature or gardens. She's been largely forgotten since her death in 1921, but in her lifetime, she was one of the rare female artists who achieved huge popular and critical success. Now The Art Gallery of Ontario, and a cadre of enthusiasts, are bringing her back to public attention. Alisa Siegel's documentary is called "Painting A Life."
'For them, it was just politics and it was a game': Anita Hill (reprise): It's been a momentous week at the U.S. Supreme Court with a landmark ruling in favour of workplace protections for LGBTQ people. And it comes after a few weeks of monumental shifts in the conversation on race in the U.S. In 1991, the world was transfixed by Anita Hill's testimony that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her when he was her boss. The convergence of race, gender and sex with politics and the law erupted into the national and global consciousness. In 2006, Michael interviewed Anita Hill about that experience and what had and had not changed since.
Richard Ford, the art of short fiction and the state of America: Richard Ford, best known for his Frank Bascome trilogy (The Sportswriter, Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land) is nothing short of an American master — which was recognized last year when he was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Library of Congress. His short fiction is renowned for its succinct style and subtle mastery of dialogue. He joins Michael to talk about the state of American politics and the Irish influence in his new collection, Sorry For Your Trouble.
The only Canadian to meet Beethoven: Lower and Upper Canada were British colonies during Ludwig van Beethoven's later years. And that's when a Quebec City musician named Theodore Molt was granted an audience with the moody maestro. Beethoven kept notes about all his meetings, but CBC Music host and raconteur Tom Allen was intrigued to discover that four pages of notes about the meeting with Molt mysteriously disappeared — a story Allen tells in a "chamber musical" called The Missing Pages, to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.
Music this week by: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Greg Amirault, Vera Lynn, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Tafelmusik, The Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Ludwig Van Beethoven
