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Beyond the Headlines, an in-depth, one on one conversation on the issues shaping our future.
Episodes
Thursday May 18, 2023
Thursday May 18, 2023
Ep 452 - Wrestling with Democracy
Guest: Dennis Pilon
By Stuart McNish
Justin Trudeau had promised that the 2015 federal election would be the last time a government would be chosen in Canada using the first-past-the-post voting system. That promise promptly evaporated and morphed into support for a proportional representation voting system. In the following months, the Prime Minister directed the Minister of Democratic Institutions to drop the idea.
In 2021, the Liberals set a record for the lowest vote share of a party that would go on to form government, winning 32.6 percent of the popular vote, while losing the popular vote. According to the federal Elections Canada, voter turnout numbers were just less than half of the population of the country. Only 17 million of Canada’s 35 million people voted. The Liberals only received 5.6 million votes, yet went on to form a minority government in a coalition with the NDP, which received only 2.3 percent of the popular vote.
Despite those numbers, the Liberals and the NDP signed a pact to support one another and govern as though they have a majority mandate. The results suggest that democracy is not being served and needs to be reformed. Dennis Pilon, a York University Professor in the Department of Politics, urges caution in making such an assertion. He argues, “Voting system reform has been a part of larger struggles over defining democracy itself.”
We invited Professor Dennis Pilon to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the way in which we choose our government and whether the system needs to be reformed.
Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca
Join me June 20 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: BC’s Economy - A SWOT Analysis https://www.conversationslive.ca/
Thursday May 18, 2023
Thursday May 18, 2023
Ep 451 - Cathedral Thinking
Guest: Rick Antonson
By Stuart McNish
Groucho Marx once quipped, “Why should I care about future generations? What have they ever done for me?” According to Rick Antonson, “You have a responsibility to your children’s great grandchildren.” In fact, Antonson says, “You need to wrench yourself from your phone and become a cathedral thinker about the big issues of our times.”
The concept crosses many cultures. Chief Oren Lyons, of the Onondaga Nation, a member of the Iroquois Confederacy, says, “Looking ahead is one of the first mandates given us as chiefs, to make sure every decision that we make relates to the welfare and well-being of the seventh generation to come.”
Antonson rhetorically asks, “Is cathedral thinking a relic of the past or does it still apply?” He says, “Yes. More, now than ever, we need to apply it to social policy issues, racial injustice, technological risks such as AI, public health and space to name but a few.”
We invited Rick Antonson to join us for a Conversation That Matters about why we should care about future generations.
Join me May 16 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Life Sciences - BC’s Innovation Future https://www.conversationslive.ca/
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated. Here’s the link
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
May 5, 2023
Ep 450 - Fighting Cancer with CAR-T Cells
Guest: Sarah Roth
By Stuart McNish
Cancer – there are more than 200 different types. The odds are high that you or someone you know will get cancer. It is an insidious disease; it can start almost anywhere in your body and spread. Stopping its spread is the work of cancer researchers all over the world and experts in British Columbia are developing breakthroughs.
Recently a multi-site Phase-I clinical trial, launched by BC Cancer and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, of made-in-Canada chimeric antigen receptor T-cells demonstrated positive results. CAR-T cells are powerful new tools for treating cancer that are created by genetically modifying a person’s existing T-cells. These T-cells are being used to target CD19, a protein marker found on all B-cells in patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Phase-II will allow BC Cancer to produce the CAR-T cell product and run the trial for 20 patients in BC over the next two years.
Dr. Brad Nelson, director of Deeley Research Centre, says, “Over the next several years, BC Cancer’s CAR-T cell program will expand beyond leukemia and lymphoma to create new and improved treatments for a wide spectrum of cancers.” Sarah Roth, the CEO of the BC Cancer Foundation, says, “The Deeley Research Centre in Victoria is a world pioneer in immunotherapy, harnessing the body’s own immune system to prevent, control and eliminate cancer – and has already revolutionized cancer care.”
We invited Sarah Roth to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the many research projects underway in British Columbia that will help us defeat cancer.
Join me May 16 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Life Sciences - BC’s Innovation Future https://www.conversationslive.ca/
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Ep 449 - Eight Deaths a Day
Guest: Troy Clifford
By Stuart McNish
Eight people in British Columbia will die today from a drug overdose – eight people yesterday, eight the day before, eight the day before that, and so on. On March 22nd, BC’s Emergency Health Service responded to 205 overdose poisoning patients – “a new provincial record” says Troy Clifford, the Provincial President of the Ambulance Paramedics & Emergency Dispatchers of BC. He continues to say, “On April 2nd, BCEHS experienced the nineteenth consecutive day in a row where we attended to more than 100 overdose calls. It’s taking a toll on the system and putting paramedics at risk.”
“Every single one of those calls for assistance brings with it tremendous risks to paramedics,” he says. “We’re first responders who encounter and adapt to a wide range of on-scene hazards at every overdose call. Paramedics, in addition to being medical professionals, need to be highly attuned to apparent and hidden threats [and] employ exceptional interpersonal skills and assertiveness, when needed in order to protect themselves.”
“The working conditions are challenging,” says Clifford. “Paramedics face two types of hazards – immediate ones like uncapped needles and aggressive patients. Then there are the even more worrying ones like weapons, aggressive bystanders, and the threats associated with working in confined spaces, all of which undermine a paramedic's ability to be and feel safe.”
We invited Troy Clifford the Provincial President of the Ambulance Paramedics & Emergency Dispatchers of BC to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the relentless toll drug poisoning is having on patients, the system, and paramedics.
Join me May 16 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Life Sciences - BC’s Innovation Future https://www.conversationslive.ca/
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated. Here’s the link
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Ep 448 - Space – The Final Food Frontier
Guest: Prof. Mike Dixon
By Stuart McNish
Captain James T. Kirk starts “Star Trek” by saying, “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore new worlds; to seek out new life and civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before!” Five years is a long time and packing five years of food would be impossible.
While the writers of the series dealt with the production of food in a variety of ways – everything from coloured cubes to a protein resequencer that could replicate certain foods and an onboard hydroponic greenhouse to grow fruits and vegetables. The reality of producing food in space is extremely complex. And if we are planning three and more years in space missions, we need to learn how to grow it on the way and on whichever plant we land.
At the University of Guelph, Professor Mike Dixon and a team of researchers have been tackling this challenge for 20 plus years, and Dixon says, “We can grow food – not all of the food we grow here on earth, but we can grow food.” That, he points out, is just the beginning. “Being in space means you have no choice. You have to have a zero environmental footprint – that means zero waste. The waste you produce has to be recycled and put back to work immediately. We can’t wait for nature because nature isn’t fast enough.”
We invited Professor Michael Dixon to join us for a Conversation That Matters about growing food in space and what lessons we can apply to growing climate-smart food here.
Join me May 16 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Life Sciences - BC’s Innovation Future https://www.conversationslive.ca/
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated. Here’s the link
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Ep 447 - One Girl Can
Guest: Natasha Questel
By Stuart McNish
“Every girl should have the opportunity to rise to her full potential,” says Natasha Questel, the CEO of One Girl Can, a British Columbia-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing assistance to some of the world’s most vulnerable girls. Questel adds, “Girls with high-potential deserve a chance to rise above extreme poverty and gender inequality.”
As citizens of the world, we have a responsibility to aid others in reaching their full potential. Questel says, “One Girl Can is dedicated to educating, training and mentoring girls – to empower them to achieve their goals, earn a meaningful living and build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities.”
One Girl Can is an organization that is built on three foundational pillars: “education, training and mentoring.” Questel notes, “I am a living example of what one girl can do given a chance. I came from humble beginnings in Trinidad – I went on to graduate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business LEAD program and ultimately became the President of Happy Planet.”
We invited Natash Questel to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the mission of One Girl Can.
Join me May 16 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Life Sciences - BC’s Innovation Future https://www.conversationslive.ca/
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated.
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Ep 446 - Can data help at-risk youth?
Guest: Bill Warburton
By Stuart McNish
Can “a scientific approach to addressing social issues using administrative data” improve outcomes in education, health, social services and crime? That is the hypothesis of a new paper published by four distinguished Canadian economists. The authors say there is a “relationship between measures of secondary educational attainment and indicators of poor outcome later in life. Poor outcomes are seen to primarily manifest among high school dropouts.”
One of the authors of the paper, Bill Warburton, says that, “By using data, we can identify 2,000 students in a given year that are at extreme risk of having poor educational outcomes.” Warburton goes on to say, “The earlier we can identify these students, the earlier we can provide them with the specific resources they need to dramatically improve the likelihood of graduating from high school.”
The paper boldly states the challenge: “At first blush, the solution seems clear: governments should invest in proven interventions early in children’s lives.” But Warburton says, “The political will needs to be there because, as a BC cabinet member pointed out, there is a deficiency in public trust, noting the very long time between investment and payoff.”
We invited economist Bill Warburton to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the data and how we can use it to improve students' lives.
Join me April 6 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall with Premier David Eby. https://www.conversationslive.ca/
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated.
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Ep 445 - Purpose and how it works
Guest: Jade Simmons
By Stuart McNish
The world as you knew it has been upended. First, by the pandemic; and now emerging from lockdown, what you thought was going to be a return to your old life isn’t happening – and it's not going to. Jade Simmons knows all too well that life does not unfold the way you hope it will. She says, “You have to know what you want and where to find it.”
Simmons says, “Finding purpose in life isn’t easy. It’s not a formula that you pick up on the internet and suddenly realize this is what my life is about. It takes work and it takes the right kind of work.” Simmons knows this – she is a highly-regarded concert pianist and sought-after professional speaker who, one day, said: "I need to shift my focus, I need to shake it up and find my true calling.”
“People are leaving their jobs, changing careers, starting businesses and ministries, often taking bold leaps,” says Simmons. She continues, “I remixed my careers in classical music and professional speaking and I want to empower others to do the same.”
We invited Jade Simmons, the number-one maverick in classical music, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about how to find freedom through finding purpose.
Join me April 6 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall with Premier David Eby.
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated.
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Ep 444 - Grey Zone Warfare
Guest: Calvin Chrustie
By Stuart McNish
According to “On Track,'' the magazine published by the CDA (Conference of Defence Associations) Institute, “hybrid warfare,” also known as grey zone conflict or unrestricted warfare, is a real and present danger.
“On Track” states that “these are just three terms used to describe the same phenomenon – multi-faceted attacks against a country that have serious implications for its national security and defence institutions. They may include military elements, but may also be mounted using cyber tools, public and commercial corruption, weaponization of legal systems, transnational organized crime, and disinformation campaigns, along with a host of other methods. Effective responses will demand an unprecedented level of cooperation between military, intelligence, cyber and other security experts in partnership with experts in the management of conflict in business, legal and public settings.”
Critical risk expert Calvin Chrustie points out that FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, “The Chinese government is a serious threat to Western business. The Chinese government sees cyber as the pathway to cheat and steal. In addition to traditional and cyber enabled thievery, there are even more insidious tactics they use to essentially walk through your front door and rob you… by making investments and creating partnerships that position their proxies… They use elaborate shell games to disguise these efforts from foreign companies… including shutting off data that used to enable effective due diligence… A 2017 law allowed them to force Chinese employees in China to assist in Chinese intelligence operations.”
We invited Calvin Chrustie, a critical risk consultant with a depth of experience in anti-terrorism and complex international investigations and intelligence operations, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the nefarious activities of countries that do not have Canada’s best interests at heart.
Join me Mar 28 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Climate Smart Ag - Raising Better Food?
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated.
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Ep 443 - Monitoring the Ocean in Real-Time
Guest: Dr. Scott Beatty
By Stuart McNish
The odds are good that you live on the coast. In Canada, according to Natural Resources Canada, 38.3 percent of us live within 20 kilometres of the coast. In the US, more than 52 percent live within miles of the coast. What happens on the waters that lap against our shores matters. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, “we rely on our oceans for food, jobs, [and] clean air. Our social fabric is woven into the vast history of maritime and indigenous traditions.”
What happens at sea is, however, a mystery. Key to understanding what is happening along the vast coastline is data – real-time data. Not just modelling or satellite imagery – real data gathered from the ocean and beamed up in real-time. Enter Victoria-based MarineLabs’ “CoastAware” ocean buoys that are now providing critical information to ships’ captains, coastal communities, port authorities and governments.
Data that helps to ensure safe passage, data that helps ports react to changing weather, and data that ensures coastal communities have time to batten down the hatches in advance of storms and rogue waves.
We invited Dr. Scott Beatty of MarineLabs to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the importance of real-time wind and wave data and the long-term insights it provides to coastal communities and the plan for changing climatic conditions.
Join me Mar 28 for Conversations Live - A Vancouver Sun Town Hall: Climate Smart Ag - Raising Better Food?
If you love communications and speech writing you'll gain valuable insights from Presidential SpeechWriting which I narrated.