Now that the dust has settled on the Canadian federal election, we can pause for a moment and assess where we are at as a country. What lessons can we take from the election results? Our guest on today’s program has been polling Canadians for decades — and he says that we are now a divided nation.

Darrell Bricker is the CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. He’s also the author of six bestselling books, including, with John Ibbitson, The Big Shift: The Seismic Change in Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future. His recent essay for The Hub is titled “Victory Without Unity.”

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

One of the most polarizing policies of the pandemic era was the extended school closures. Critics have now been validated, with The New York Times reporting that “a growing body of research shows that pandemic school closures came at a steep cost to students” — while doing little to stop the spread of the virus. Our guest on the program today is a journalist who’s just published a deep dive investigation into the flawed decision-making behind these controversial closures.

David Zweig is an American journalist and author. His latest book is An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

Last week, at the English-language election debate, the leaders’ press scrums were cancelled after tensions between media outlets erupted into shouting in the press room, and other confrontations. This incident is a distressing example of how polarized our press has become. But of course, we are not the first country to grapple with this dynamic. My guest on the program today lived through political polarization in Venezuela — and he has some important lessons to share.

Victor Febres is an Atlanta-based journalist and videographer. He’s also a former activist for peaceful conflict resolution.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com