...with the new novel, Seven by Farzana Doctor (Ep. 101)
What on Earth is Going on?
Farzana Doctor's new novel, Seven, juggles family, history, culture, and the incredible weight of those forces on women today. It's a detective story and travel novel, and a powerful insight into a woman struggling with sex, identity, her past, and her vast network of relatives. But the overarching issue throughout the book is female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice still common around the world.
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...after 99 Episodes (Ep. 100)
What on Earth is Going on?
It's been over two years since host Ben Charland kicked off this podcast in a basement in Kingston, Ontario. After nearly 100 fascinating conversations about everything from the mafia to the water supply, from science to philosophy, we're revisiting some of the best moments.
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...with Changing Cities (Ep. 99)
What on Earth is Going on?
The one thing that doesn't change about cities is the fact that they are constantly changing. Most people now live in cities, transforming them with their consumer behaviour, their culture, their ideas and their advocacy. City planners have to balance the natural development of these vast social organisms with complex, long-term plans. How do they do it?
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...with Creativity, Music and Politics during COVID-19 (Ep. 98)
What on Earth is Going on?
The coronavirus pandemic is altering our lives in ways we cannot yet comprehend, and in decades we will marvel at this transformative time. COVID-19 is not just accelerating trends that were in place beforehand, but it is creating new realities. How are artists coping? How about our politics and ideologies?
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...with Kingston WritersFest (Ep. 97)
What on Earth is Going on?
What makes a book interesting? Beautiful? Provocative? Necessary? Is reading still the best way to get a message across and tell a good story, and how is it changing in our world today?
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...with Disability (Ep. 96)
What on Earth is Going on?
We will all encounter disability in our lives, either ourselves or someone we know and love. What is our responsibility when that happens? What role should the greater community play to provide care and support? What about government, public policy, and spending? What's changing when it comes to disability and how we care for those who truly need it, and why is this important?
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...with Rebuilding Democracy (Ep. 95)
What on Earth is Going on?
What if being a Member of Parliament or Congress had nothing to do with an election, but rather worked like jury duty? What if our officials were seated randomly in a legislature? What if we innovated the very idea of government itself?
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...with Writing Biography (Ep. 94)
What on Earth is Going on?
Rosemary Sullivan is an acclaimed Canadian poet and biographer. She has written definitive biographies about Elizabeth Smart and Gwendolyn MacEwen as well as a book about the early life of Margaret Atwood. In 2015, Rosemary published "Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva" to widespread praise.
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...with Politics and its Future (Ep. 93)
What on Earth is Going on?
Kent Hehr is a former federal Liberal cabinet minister and member of parliament for Calgary Centre. As a so-called "recovering politician" with careers on both the federal and provincial levels, Kent has a lot to say about what on earth is going on -- but he’s also got an incredible story. In October 1991 he was with some friends in Calgary when someone in another car opened fire. The bullet went into Kent’s spine, and just like that, he was paralyzed from the chest down as a C5 quadriplegic.
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...with Acting, Gaming and Creativity (Ep. 92)
What on Earth is Going on?
Aurora Browne is one of Canada's national treasures. Best known as one of the cast members of the Baroness von Sketch Show and as co-host of the Great Canadian Baking Show, Aurora has been creating daring, funny and original work for theatre, television and film for many years.
info_outlineWhat makes a book interesting? Beautiful? Provocative? Necessary? Is reading still the best way to get a message across and tell a good story, and how is it changing in our world today?
The Kingston WritersFest is one of Canada's premiere literary events, drawing headline international authors as well as big crowds from the bookish Ontario city. Ben chats with the festival's artistic director and alumnus of the podcast, Barbara Bell, about writing, reading, and what goes on in between.
About the Guest
Barbara Bell is the Artistic Director of Kingston WritersFest. She has extensive experience in programming, management, and event planning and production, including several years as Events Coordinator with Chapters Bookstore. She has produced numerous stage plays, several independent short films, including the award-winning Digging Up Plato, and a feature film. Barbara is also an award-winning actor and playwright and a freelance editor, and for two seasons programmed, produced, and hosted a monthly television book club – Page Turners – for TVCogeco in Kingston. Barbara sits on the Community Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Kingston, as well as on the Arts Advocacy Committee of Kingston Arts Council.
Mentioned in this Episode
- A quote from William Clifford, 19th century English mathematician and philosopher: "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. ... Inquiry into the evidence of a doctrine is not to be made once for all, and then taken as finally settled."
- The Protestant Reformation and the Thirty Years War (1618-48)
- A quote usually attributed to Thomas Edison: "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
- Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, a novel by Megan Gail Coles
- The Difference, a novel by Marina Endicott
- The Tragedy of the Commons, a concept that describes how shared resources are depleted due to deep-seated self-interest
- Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist
- The Lymond Chronicles, a book series by Dorothy Dunnett
- A Song of Ice and Fire, a book series by George RR Martin on which the HBO series Game of Thrones is based
- My Year of Living Spiritually: One Woman’s Secular Search for a More Soulful Life, a book by Anne Bokma
- Ender's Game, a novel by Orson Scott Card
- Europe: A History, a book by Norman Davies
- Barbara's top books from childhood:
- The Borrowers series by Mary Norton
- The Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis
- The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
- Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
- The books of Enid Blyton
The Quote of the Week
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin