Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

Dr. Stephen Duckett, Director of the Health program at Grattan Institute, explains why Australians are already back to hosting dinner parties, their masks packed away in their sock drawers. Dr. Duckett also looks back on the famous "cookie incident" that led to his dismissal as CEO of Alberta Health Services in 2010.

Why should Canada roll out a universal child care, and what would it take to make it happen? Journalist Anne Casselman dives into her feature in The Walrus, "The Case for Affordable Childcare". Heidi Bergstrom's an accountant, a mom, and the engaged citizen behind a petition calling for national childcare. She gets into the dollars and cents of national childcare. And, after a sexist Wall Street Journal op/ed called Dr. Jill Biden "kiddo" and urged her to "drop the 'Dr'" before her name, we get the straight goods from Dr. Muna Saleh, an author and educator from Concordia University.

New York Times best-selling author and "Gaslit Nation" podcaster Sarah Kendzior joins us to talk about her book, "Hiding in Plain Sight - The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America." Fourth-generation Millwright and teacher Stephen Anderson, a Real Talk audience member, shares why he's so concerned about cuts to Alberta's education funding. Sportsnet NHL reporter Gene Principe looks ahead to the league's COVID-shortened season, including how he'll approach his bread and butter - the art of the pun. And palliative care physician Dr. Amy Tan tells her remarkable survival story, and how she and her loved ones approached and learned from a very "different" holiday season nearly twenty years ago.

Ryan rolls out the best rants of the week, as submitted to talk@ryanjespersen.com. Buckle up for another edition of Trash Talk, presented by Local Waste.

We take a twitter tiff and put it on the air, as Dr. Peter Silverstone, chair of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta takes on Postmedia columnist David Staples over the mental health impacts of a lockdown. Plus, perhaps our best segment yet, as Professor Joni Avram and Dr. Jody Carrington discuss finding middle ground, and the human need for connection. Buckle up and enjoy!

Former UCP staffer Natasha Kornak talks about navigating the landscape as a young woman pursuing a career in politics. Garth Mullins, host and producer of Crackdown Pod, gets into the nitty gritty of a safe supply, and legalized drugs in Canada.

Deputy PM and federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland joins Ryan to discuss Ottawa's ongoing response to COVID-19. She addresses Opposition allegations the Liberal government is eyeing personal savings accounts, and touches on The Great Reset. She answers audience inquiries around emergency wage and rent subsidies, and concerns around a lack of transparency. And, she explains how her Alberta roots influence her response to the grim economic outlook faced by Canada's prairie provinces.

Health researcher Dr. Sajjad Fazel assesses Alberta's updated pandemic measures, and takes on vaccine hesitancy. Vancouver public health nurse Jaclyn Robinson updates us on her recovery from COVID-19, seven months after she was in a medically-induced coma. Journalist Tristin Hopper chimes in from Victoria, touching on pandemic protocols, 2020 news headlines buried by COVID-19, and his storytelling project with 99-year-old Grandma Hopper.

Principal Ted Hutchings gives us an inside look at pandemic preparedness (and stress) in schools. Journalist Max Fawcett evaluates government responses to COVID-19, and maps out what Canada's middle class might look like post-pandemic. Conservative strategist Melissa Caouette outlines her research into the history (and future) of conservativism in Canada, the US, and the UK. And memorabilia expert Wayne Wagner explains why a 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card is expected to sell for $1M this week.

Jenny Adams pops in for a quick "Hey neighbour" chat about Santa visits during a pandemic. Artist Erin Ross details her recent fight with COVID-19. Former federal minister Amarjeet Sohi outlines the emotional toll of losing a loved one during a pandemic. And former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk provides an inside perspective on government standing in the way of an investigation into the 2017 UCP leadership race.