Podcast for Inquiry continues to be my pride and passion, and I am delighted every day that I get to have probing conversations with fascinating people, brought to you every two weeks by the team at CFIC.

This year featured four hard-hitting episodes focused on Canadian politics, a diatribe from Leslie on AI, and a couple more about corporations and the concentration of markets into an ever-shrinking number of firms. But the bulk of the year was spent inquiring about science, philosophy, religion, and the environment. There are many challenging issues (and a few controversial ones) to explore in 2025’s Podcast for Inquiry’s archive.

Dive in and enjoy! We are all looking forward to bringing you more in-depth conversations on topics that cover the breadth of the human experience in 2026.

Please feel free to share your feedback about the Podcast for Inquiry at podcast@centreforinquiry.ca. Leslie reads every message.

Politics:

• Canada has not reconciled with its Indigenous peoples
• Trials and tribulations trying to bring a refugee to Canada
• Justin Ling on the right wing media ecosystem
• Andrew Coyne on the Crisis of Canadian Democracy

Science and Environment:

• Gaia Vince identifies the four horsemen of the Anthropocene
• Everything you always wanted to know about the solar system* (*but were afraid to ask)
• Jargon or gobbledygook? Dr. Jonathan Stea on evidence-based medicine over wellness misinformation
• A little less livestock, a lot more action – with Mark Lynas
• New clear nuclear news (Part I)
• Is nuclear energy low carbon, cost efficient, and sustainable? (Part II)
• Aaron Devor explains the ABCs of the Trans+ community

Philosophy and Religion:

• Burkas, beatings and bicycles – The life of Yasmine Mohammed
• Nigerian Nightmare: The personal toll of being a Humanist
• The Examined Run
• Modern Stoicism for modern life, with modern Stoic Donald Robertson
• Once Upon a Prime
• Can We Have a Conversation? Exploring Polarization to Find Common Ground
• Living life as a Humanist, with Steve Ghikadis 

Business and Economy:

• Cell phones, Cinemas, and Comestibles: Canada’s Conundrum with Monopolies
• Leslie’s Diatribes #4: AI: Show Me the Money!
• The building blocks of corporate scandals: Guido Palazzo reveals the Dark Pattern

Steve Ghikadis is a Humanist Officiant, who conducts secular marriages, memorials, and other life affirming celebrations. Raised as a freethinker, Steve has been married to a Christian for over a decade. Steve serves as an Ambassador for Humanist Canada, Recovering from Religion, and Sunday Assembly.

Leslie speaks with Steve about his book, Humanism from the Heart. They discuss the many themes and ideas in Steve’s book, including:

– Why Steve tried to become a believer many times throughout his life

– Purpose, meaning, and destiny

– What “soft determinism” means

– The dynamics of a family with one Christian and one Humanist parent

– The value of the answer, “I don’t know”.

Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

Leslie’s conversation with Jasmin Faulk begins with what Saudi Arabia was like when she was growing up, and what has and hasn’t changed since then. Jasmin talks about the fire of youth, the wisdom that comes from age, and how society needs both activists and advocates to move forward. She also shares her desire to have genuine and difficult conversations with people with very different worldviews in an attempt to find, or create common ground.

Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

Corporate scandals are depressingly common, and it’s all too easy to chalk them up to individual bad apples. Unfortunately, this simple explanation is not accurate. Guido’s research led him to write The Dark Pattern: The hidden dynamics of corporate scandals, which details the nine building blocks that lead otherwise good people to do bad things. He explains the importance of context, why psychopaths are wildly overrepresented in corporate boardrooms, and the societal structures that too often lead to egregious behaviour from companies across the globe.

Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) is a columnist for The Globe and Mail and author of The Crisis of Canadian Democracy. In today’s episode, Andrew makes the case that Canadian democracy is headed for a crisis. He talks about the problems of Canada’s first past the post or “winner takes all” election system. The conversation includes an analysis of a wide range of issues: the diminishing contributions that MPs are allowed to make; how candidates, cabinet members, and even party leaders are selected; and the ever increasing concentration of power within the Prime Minister’s Office. Andrew outlines steps that can be taken to increase democratic representation in Canada that may avert a potential looming crisis of legitimacy.

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Society of Freethinkers is hosting Humanism in Action II on Sunday, November 22 2025 in Kitchener Ontario. More details and registration information are available at: https://sofree.ca/2025-humanist-conference/

Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

Leslie’s conversation with Sarah starts with the connections between mathematics and literature, including references to Shakespeare, Herman Melville, George Eliot, Lewis Carroll, Douglas Adams, and more. Good writing has structure, and structure can be understood in mathematical terms, and Sarah explains how mathematics can greatly enrich one’s enjoyment of literature. Sarah also describes how mathematics can be used to obfuscate rather than clarify, and how being a female mathematician today is different – and similar! – as in the 19th century.

Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.