The Sunday Magazine for June 1, 2025
This week on The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay:
The harrowing start of wildfire season highlights Canada's complicated relationship with fire
Wildfires have forced thousands of people from their homes in parts of the Prairies, including those living in remote fly-in communities. We bring you the latest on the situation in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Then, Chattopadhyay speaks with Lori Daniels, a wildfire researcher and professor at the University of British Columbia, about what this early activity signals about the wildfire season ahead.
The 'new, old' idea that's saving rivers worldwide
In his latest book, Is a River Alive? Robert Macfarlane takes us on adventures to rivers from the Côte-Nord region of Quebec to a cloud forest high in Ecuador, and well beyond, while reflecting on the title question. The acclaimed nature writer joins Chattopadhyay to make his case that only by reimagining rivers as living entities will we be able to imagine the laws and protections rivers desperately need to survive – and shares the stories of where it's already worked.
10 years after TRC's calls to action, how is Canada faring on reconciliation?
Monday marks a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its 94 calls to action. Since then, only 15 have been completed, while 17 have seen no progress. Ry Moran oversaw statement gathering for the TRC and was the first director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. He joins Chattopadhyay to discuss the advancements made and the actions still needed to bridge long-lasting divides between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.
That's Puzzling! for June 2025
In the latest edition of our monthly challenge That's Puzzling!, 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 Brent Bambury, host of CBC Radio's Day Six, and Truro, N.S. listener Katherine Reed.
From 'butch' to 'camp': How an underground queer slang went mainstream
June marks the beginning of Pride Month. And if you celebrate by going to drag shows, marches or other gatherings... you may hear some familiar terms – words like "butch", "camp" and "drag". What you may not know, though, is that they all derive from a body of underground queer slang known as Polari. In the latest installment of Word Processing, our ongoing look at language, UK-based poet and lecturer Lee Campbell explains Polari's history and enduring cultural and political significance for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.