As tipping creeps into more and more of our transactions, some restaurants have bucked the trend and ended the practice all together. It means higher prices on the menus and more costs for the restaurants' owners, but they say it is a better and more fair way to treat their employees. How are these eateries faring in a time when the industry is alr…

Ontario's minimum wage rose to $17.20 from $16.55 on October 1, an increase of almost 4 percent based on the province's consumer price index. But advocates argue that the wage is still too low in places with a higher cost of living. There's even a movement to introduce a living wage, one that is indexed to local costs. Minimum wage workers in Toron…

In an era of growing geopolitical tensions paralleled by deepening digitalization of economies and societies, has technology become the new battleground in the geopolitical quest for power? Host Steve Paikin asks: George Takach (author, "Cold War 2.0: Artificial Intelligence in the New Battle Between China, Russia and America"), Rachel Ziemba (Cent…

Pakistani-Canadian journalist Sadiya Ansari investigates the life of her mysterious grandmother Tahira, who leaves her children to follow a lover in post-Partition Pakistan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Af TVO | Steve Paikin

From the trenches of Korea to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, "Forgotten War" has detailed these post-World War II conflicts through the eyes of Canadian veterans who were there. But do Canadians know much if anything about this history? Has our peacekeeping past become more myth than reality? And from the d…

The Battle of Britain was one of the hardest fought in the Second World War. In "Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour," historian Ted Barris details how Canadian flyers were vital in the battle and helped win it alongside their British counterparts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

The Agenda's week in review looks at the evolution of Holocaust education, the return of Donald Trump to the presidency, one woman's crusade against intimate partner violence, and the complicated meaning behind the term "Black Excellence". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Af TVO | Steve Paikin

With hashtags or even school programs called Black Excellence, a term that praises Black individuals for their accomplishments, is it time to have more conversation about the constructed and racialized societal expectations of what it means to be an exceptional Black person? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

After the Second World War Yugoslavia and its six republics were unified under the communist rule of Josip Broz Tito. But by the early 1990s it all came undone. More than 100,000 people were killed in the Yugoslav wars for independence, many through deliberate campaigns of ethnic cleansing. What happened? Why did Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and Croats …

The Haliburton Sculpture Forest, the largest sculpture forest in Ontario, is home to kilometres of paths bordered by artworks of all kinds. Visitors of all ages are welcome to engage with the works by touching, climbing, and enjoying nature and art free of charge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Leading up to election day, the race for the next president of the United States of America has been closely tied. Now, a day after the most important night of the year for Americans, what can we expect for the future of American democracy? The Agenda invites top experts in political and election science to discuss a Trump presidency. See omnystudi…

This year's annual Golden Rescue Picnic, in Peterborough Ontario, is competing for two Guiness World Book Records: The Most Golden Retrievers Married and The Biggest Dog Cake. Find out if they win and why the heck a cuddly Golden Retriever needs a rescue organization in the first place. And wait... is that Lloyd Robertson in a gold robe officiating…

Lawyer and activist Pamela Cross has been at the forefront of helping survivors of intimate partner violence for 30 years. She shares her insights on the problems and solutions to addressing IPV in her new book. It's called: "And Sometimes They Kill You: Confronting the Epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence." Pamela Cross joins Steve Paikin to disc…

Do we have an addiction to fame in Canada, is it even possible? TVO joins the hilarious Connie Wang on the red carpet at TO Webfest, where our up-and-coming stars and creators of tomorrow go to support each other. We ask filmmakers why fame in Canada feels so elusive and what really drives them to create. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf…

Despite the challenges facing theatres in the streaming age, Toronto's Revue Cinema was thriving with sold-out shows and a devoted audience. But when their lease renewal fell through, the future of Canada's oldest operating cinema was suddenly in doubt. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Military historian Tim Cook takes readers through key moments for Canadians during the Second World War as prime minister Mackenzie King and president Franklin D. Roosevelt forged a new relationship to help Britain and the allies. His book is called "The Good Allies: How Canada and the United States Fought Together to Defeat Fascism During the Seco…

In a time where Jews are the most represented group in reported hate crimes in Canada, learning about the history of the Holocaust is essential. How do we ensure that people have an accurate understanding of this dark period of history, and what will educators do differently when there are no survivors left to tell their stories firsthand? See omny…

In "Playing Shylock", an actor starring in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" is interrupted and told the show has been cancelled. From there, we get a monologue about having difficult conversations through art, Jewish identity, and spending a lifetime on stage. The actor is none other than Saul Rubinek. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy …

The BRICS – named after the five founding nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – started as a forum for the world's five largest emerging economies. Now, it's expanding into other parts of the globe and courting countries traditionally allied with the U.S. What is behind this impetus for expansion, and can it disrupt the current…

In "How to Lose a Country", Turkish political thinker Ece Temelkuran examines the rise of populism and nationalism around the world. And given the international climate of late, we thought we'd invite her on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, to discuss her book and the themes that are so resonant today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati…

From the Egyptians and Persians to the Romans and even Alexander the Great, the island of Cyprus has been ruled by a revolving door of empires. Today, it is partitioned between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. How did we get here? What caused this island to be carved into two? And why does it remain divided? With animated maps and guest Major-General Al…

Star Trek has never been more popular, with five series made since 2018 and another one focused on Star Fleet around the corner. The continued popularity of the series remains rooted in its long-standing formula of strong character development, visually stunning space exploration and a quest for a better future. A look at the legacy of the franchis…

The first study into a high-speed rail corridor between Toronto and Montreal was released in 1970. Now, 54 years later, the federal government says that a high-speed option is being "seriously considered". In the years in between, dozens of studies, reports and surveys have evaluated different costs and business cases based on varying routes, speed…

The terms "competition" and "productivity" have filled the minds of policy analysts and economists in recent years. But, what does it all mean for Canadian consumers? Denise Hearn and Vass Bednar wrote about how capitalism has actually hurt consumers in their new book, "The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians." They join Steve…

After several decades of interviews and research, journalist and filmmaker Roxana Spicer is finally telling her mother's story. In her new book "The Traitor's Daughter: Captured by the Nazis, Pursued by the KGB, My Mother's Odyssey to Freedom from Her Secret Past," we learn what her mother kept hidden about her time in the Red Army and beyond. See …