The art of cultural survival: Julian Brave NoiseCat
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
Release Date: 10/15/2025
Is it possible to bond with AI?: Caia Hagel
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
AI is making its way into our emotional relationships. Writer and digital anthropologist Caia Hagel agreed to bond with an experimental AI companion designed to learn her, mirror her and respond to her emotions. What began as an experiment quickly became something more personal. We discuss why more people are turning to AI for connection and why everyone should get familiar with what these new technologies have to offer.
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Hope is a skill you can learn: Robyne Hanley-Dafoe
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
Hope is about finding a way forward, even when life feels uncertain. Psychology and education behaviorist expert Robyne Hanley-Dafoe explains how hope is a skill we can build. We discuss why so many people feel low on hope right now and how that impacts our mental health. Robyne shares practical ways to reconnect with hope in our everyday life and how we can share that positivity with others.
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Your brain never sleeps: Karen van Kampen
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
When you fall asleep, your brain gets to work. Dreams are a tool for your mind to process emotions, store memories and make sense of your day. But what happens when we don’t dream enough? Journalist Karen van Kampen says we’re not just sleep-deprived, we’re dream-deprived.
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An insider’s look at IVF: Kathryn Blaze Baum
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
Behind every fertility journey is a story of persistence, uncertainty and emotional resilience. Journalist Kathryn Blaze Baum shares her personal experience through miscarriage and fertility treatment, alongside deep reporting on the growing fertility industry. We discuss how IVF works and the emotional and physical toll it can take.
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Why we suffer and how to heal: Suzan Song
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
If you keep repeating the same patterns, it’s probably more than a willpower issue. Psychiatrist Suzan Song says we get often stuck in narratives formed by our family, culture and life experience. These patterns can show up in our relationships and how we see ourselves. We explore why it’s so hard to break these emotional cycles and how we can rewrite our narratives by defining what we really want out of life.
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Why are some patients more likely to have a hysterectomy?: Andréa Becker
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
A hysterectomy is often presented as a clear solution to ongoing health issues. But patients aren’t always given the full picture. Andréa Becker is a medical sociologist and she has explored how this common surgery became so widely used. While a hysterectomy can be positively life-changing for some, Andréa says others do not have the same access to the surgery. We discuss what can get overlooked in medical conversations, how inequalities can shape care and what informed consent should involve.
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Protecting kids from anxiety can backfire: Meredith Elkins
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
Many parents worry that every anxious moment will shape their child’s future. Clinical psychologist Dr. Meredith Elkins says anxiety itself is a normal human emotion and the real issue is avoidance. When parents rush to remove discomfort, they may unintentionally make anxiety stronger. We explore why kids need manageable challenges to build confidence and resilience.
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Concussion myths we’re leaving behind: Dr. Shelina Babul
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
For years, concussion recovery advice was: rest in a dark room and wait. Science is now telling a very different story. Concussion researcher Dr. Shelina Babul explains what actually happens in the brain after a head injury and why recovery guidelines have changed. We talk about why gradual activity can help healing, why symptoms can appear days later and what parents, coaches and teachers should know to help prevent long-term problems.
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Community building is our path forward: David Suzuki
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
Before he became a household name, David Suzuki was a scientist chasing questions. He joins us to reflect on his journey from geneticist to one of Canada’s most trusted science communicators. David shares the moments that shaped him and why curiosity has guided every chapter of his story. From the laboratory to television screens across the country, David explains why making science accessible matters.
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The affordability crisis is costing us community: Jessica Barrett
TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart
Canada’s housing crisis is about more than rising home prices and affordability. Journalist Jessica Barrett says the real issue may be our definition of home itself. From Vancouver’s soaring housing market to innovative housing models in cities like Vienna and Harare, we explore how community shapes our wellbeing. Jessica explains why building more homes hasn’t solved affordability and what happens when we design housing around people.
info_outlineWhat does it mean to survive the night and look toward dawn? Writer and filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat joins us to talk about his new book We Survived the Night and his Oscar-nominated documentary Sugarcane. Julian shares how storytelling and art become acts of survival amid colonial violence and displacement. He reflects on his family’s history, the legacy of residential schools and how Indigenous Nations continue to resist and heal together. Through myth, memory, and truth-telling, Julian shows that survival is the only way forward.