Aaron Devor explains the ABCs of the Trans+ community
Release Date: 06/18/2025
Two Solitudes of Secularism: Is Quebec religious symbols law secular or anti-theist legislation?
The Podcast For Inquiry
No issue has split the secular community in Canada like Quebec’s Bill 21. Several secular organizations have come out strongly in favour of the legislation, with some saying its only flaw being that it doesn’t go far enough. Many other secular groups, including CFIC, have come out strongly against Bill 21. It was challenged in court immediately after its passage in June 2019, and the Supreme Court is in the midst of hearing from a record 38 interveners as this episode is released. In January, the organized an online conversation between Michel Virard, founder of the , and...
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Sahrawis Fight for Western Sahara Rights in an Overwhelmed World, with Najla Mohamed-Lamin
The Podcast For Inquiry
In 1975, Najla Mohamed-Lamin’s grandmother fled Moroccan troops entering Western Sahara. For 50 years, Najla’s family, and 200,000 of the Saharawi people, have lived in refugee camps in western Algeria. Despite a clear legal case under international law for self-determination and a promise from Morocco to hold a referendum on the future of Western Sahara, the Saharawi people remain separated from their land, and are almost invisible to the international community. In 2023 Najla was one of the BBC’s one hundred most influential women in the world, and she is today’s guest on...
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Assistance in dying: Not what it’s MAiD out to be, with Jackie Nemni
The Podcast For Inquiry
Dr. Jackie Nemni is a physician specializing in respiratory medicine and spent decades looking after patients in the ICU. She retired from active practice in 2023 and has since been working part time as a MAiD assessor and provider. It is the most meaningful and rewarding thing she has ever done and wishes she had started sooner. Jackie is also an officiant with Humanist Canada and serves on its board of directors. Today’s episode is about MAiD in Canada - that is, Medical Assistance in Dying. Jackie and I start by discussing two Supreme Court of Canada rulings twenty years...
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Jesse Brown asks: Why are Canadian Jews targeted for hate crimes?
The Podcast For Inquiry
Jesse Brown is the founder and editor of , Canada’s largest independent podcast network. We start our conversation talking about the state of journalism in Canada, four years after Podcast for Inquiry’s inaugural episode with Jonathan Kay on the same topic. The bulk of our conversation is focused on Jesse’s latest investigative reporting series, . Jews in Canada are the targets of hate crimes radically disproportionate to their numbers in Canada, which has been the case for many years but made worse since the start of the Hamas - Israel war. Jesse talks about why he created the series,...
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Could we communicate with aliens if we found them? Daniel Whiteson wants to know.
The Podcast For Inquiry
Daniel is a professor of physics at UC Irvine, researching particle physics at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. He is the co-host of the podcast ‘Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe’ and the author of several books about physics for a general audience, including “?” And “We have no idea”. In today’s episode, Daniel explores many questions, including: Would we recognize an alien message if we received one? If aliens landed in Central Park, would we be able to communicate? How can we catch a baseball if we ignore all the interactions at the quantum level? Why is even...
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Dr. Rodney Schmaltz says Scientific Skepticism can Save Society
The Podcast For Inquiry
Dr. Rodney Schmaltz is a professor in the Department of Psychology at MacEwan University. His research focuses on the psychology of belief, with a particular interest in how people evaluate extraordinary claims. He is committed to helping people develop strong critical thinking skills and an appreciation for the value of scientific evidence in everyday life. His work aims to improve scientific literacy in both academic and public settings, using research-based strategies to help people separate good information from bad. In today’s episode, Rodney explains the importance of critical...
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Living life as a Humanist, with Steve Ghikadis
The Podcast For Inquiry
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 , , and . Leslie speaks with Steve about his book, . 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...
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Can We Have a Conversation? Exploring Polarization to Find Common Ground, with Jasmin Faulk
The Podcast For Inquiry
Leslie’s conversation with 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 . ! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood....
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The building blocks of corporate scandals: Guido Palazzo reveals the Dark Pattern
The Podcast For Inquiry
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...
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Andrew Coyne on the Crisis of Canadian Democracy
The Podcast For Inquiry
Andrew Coyne () 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...
info_outlineLeslie speaks with Aaron about many issues related to transgender people, or the Trans+ community. They discuss how the perceived binaries of sex, sexual preference, gender, and gender expression are more complicated and nuanced in reality. Aaron details how many people identify as transgender and nonbinary in Canada, and provides insights into many current controversies including pronouns, sports, puberty blockers, and incarceration.
Dr. Aaron Devor, PhD, FSSSS, FSTLHE, is an internationally recognized leader in Transgender Studies who has been studying and teaching about transgender topics since the early 1980s. He established and holds the world’s first Chair in Transgender Studies; initiated and hosts the international, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational Moving Trans History Forward conferences; and founded and is the subject matter expert for the world’s largest Transgender Archives. He has published widely on transgender topics and has received numerous awards for his research and advocacy work. His opinions are frequently sought by the media, and he has delivered more than 40 keynote and plenary addresses to audiences around the world. He is a national-award-winning teacher, a former Dean of Graduate Studies, and a professor of Sociology, at the University of Victoria.
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.