Tapestry

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The delight in what we see and what we can't

Poet Ross Gay, author of The Book of Delights, says observing small joyful moments is a social and political act in a world that prefers proficiency. And how inclusive design that gives access to people with disabilities can deepen the artistic experience for everyone.

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Headlines and Rejection

Steven Stosny is a psychologist who coined the term 'headline stress disorder' during the 2016 election in the United States. It’s a state of fear and anxiety brought on by the intense onslaught of provocative news headlines, and it’s a condition he says has only intensified in the past few years. In a conversation with Tapestry host Mary Hynes, Stosny dissects headline stress disorder and offers some concrete ways to deal with it. London-based writer Marianne Power spent one month trying to get turned down, intentionally. She asked retailers for free stuff, she asked people to let her skip ahead in line, she pitched to magazines she felt were way out of her league … all in the name of getting better at dealing with rejection. Marianne Power joins Mary Hynes, host of Tapestry, to share the hilarious stories that inevitably stemmed from the experiment, as well as what she learned from rejection therapy.

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Aging Better, Dadbot

Dr. Marc Agronin on his new book "The End of Old Age," and how to preserve the memory of a loved one with a chatbot.

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A reformed white supremacist and the YouTube star who changed his mind, the violence of low expectations

Caleb Cain went from white nationalist to progressive over the course of two years. He credits YouTube star Natalie Wynn, known as ContraPoints, who both challenges and empathizes with people on the far right. Growing up in Toronto's most notorious neighbourhood, Talisha Ramsaroop wasn't encouraged to dream big or have life goals. Now she's working to change that for young people from her community.

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Weekend Flow

Whether it’s the weekend or a holiday, the way you approach time off can say a lot about the balance of work and life in your world.

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The power of stillness

There's plenty of advice out there on how to accomplish more and more each day. But author Jenny Odell says that kind of busyness tends to be reactionary and detracts from our ability to think clearly and focus on ourselves. Instead, she argues if you want to live a better life, you should focus on doing nothing "productive".  Stratford, PEI, where a group of women from Our Lady of Assumption parish make prayer shawls for anyone seeking comfort from illness, addiction, or grief. Listen to Sarah Keaveny Vos's documentary Wrapped in Love.

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Reconnecting with those left behind

Author Irshad Manji argues adversarial behaviour towards people you disagree with holds back social progress. “When you are willing to hear, you in turn are more likely to be heard. And that is the simple, iron-clad law of human psychology.” How do you ask for forgiveness after you abandon everything? Mathieu Arsenault, a filmmaker who suffers from bipolar disorder, is trying to answer that question after a manic episode sent him from his family in Quebec to quixotic quest in California.

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Humans are 'a species in a very rare planet': cosmologist makes the case against existential dread

"We are the creatures that are able to think about who we are and (so) we are the intellect of the universe as we know it." Marcelo Gleiser is a theoretical physicist, an agnostic, and one of the most eloquent people you'll ever hear on the inherent spirituality of life. Contrary to the Copernican view of the cosmos which can lead to a sense of insignificance, Gleiser argues that the Earth and human life are extraordinary, and it follows that we have a moral responsibility to protect both. Gleiser is the winner of this year's Templeton Prize, which honours exceptional work affirming the spiritual dimension of life. Past recipients include the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rabbi David Sacks.

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Goats, houses and grandpa's stacks of cash

This week on Tapestry: homes, housing, and wealth. The self-made myth: Forbes magazine declared Kylie Jenner as the first self-made billionaire ... and the internet blew up. How could Kylie Jenner, scion of the Kardashian clan, really be considered "self-made"? Harper's Bazaar online contributor Jen Doll tells us why we need to talk about where wealth comes from and the advantages it gives people. A guilty purchase: Niki Andresen ended up with a home in Victoria she never expected to have, thanks to a surprise financial gift from her family. Andresen says while she's grateful for the apartment, she can't help but feel like she cheated - that if life were fair, she'd really have to work for that home. Home on the range: A drug overdose left Brendon Meister with a serious brain injury. Following the incident, Meister left Toronto to live with his family in Kentville, N.S. Slowly, with his family's help, his health started to recover. More difficult, however, was finding a new purpose in life. That came when he discovered goat farming. Mary-Catherine McIntosh brings us of the0 story of this 29-year-old goat farmer.

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The moral dilemmas of Game of Thrones and online recommendations

Politics and religion in Game of Thrones: Game of Thrones wraps as a secular fantasy epic that questions and subverts the genre's typically dominant theological narratives, argues Robert Joustra, a Canadian political scientist. And, Algorithms and the self: Mike Rugnetta wanted to know what recommendations YouTube would give him if he searched for "How to run a 5K," and the results were... tempting. He tells Tapestry how recommendation algorithms can have an impact on the people we become.

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Climate and psyche

When it comes to climate change, New York magazine deputy editor David Wallace-Wells, says we are far into panic territory. He tells Tapesty's Mary Hynes why he believes that, despite what should be dread-inducing data, so many of us continue to live in "complacency and denial." People who adhere to scientific data despair when they hear opinions from the climate-sceptic movement. But sociologist Kari Norgaard says climate sceptics are a negligible problem in the face of a much more common form of denial ? what scientists call "implicatory denial." Implicatory denial is when we know about a problem, but divert our attention elsewhere ? the proverbial elephant in the room. Kari Norgaard deconstructs this type of denial of which so many of us are guilty. Crystal Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree First Nation says while many Canadians are just waking up to the frightening realities of climate change her people have been acutely aware of its consequences for decades. She explores what climate change -- and Alberta's oil sands development-- has done to her traditional territory and culture and how her community is fighting back.

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Jean Vanier reflects on a life devoted to people with disabilities

Jean Vanier, the Canadian who created the L'Arche network of communities for intellectually disabled people, has died. Tapestry revisits a 2005 interview in which Jean Vanier told Mary Hynes about the genesis of his beliefs, the founding of L'Arche and what it brought him.

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What should parents know?

Parents today are facing more pressure and scrutiny than ever before. But Ann Douglas wants to celebrate the fact that parents don't have to be perfect, rather than spread the narrative that parenting is an exercise in misery. Erica Lenti's traditional Italian nonna doesn't know she's gay, and if Lenti has her way, she'll never find out. She said it gives her freedom within her family she might not have otherwise.

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Love In The Lab

Researcher Arthur Aron has some surprising ideas on how to make love work. One romance tip? Increase your likelihood of falling in love by having someone threaten you with electric shock. It may sound absurd, but the science indicates that love is never straightforward. Renae Franiuk, a psychology professor at Aurora University, developed a test on whether or not you believe in soulmates. It might appear fanciful, but that belief can determine a lot about how you enter a relationship, and how long you might stay - even if it gets dangerous. Michelle Parise, creator of Alone: A Love Story, takes the test to find out where she lands

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Around the dinner table: struggles and rewards in family life

Carrah Quigley was 19 when she learned her father was a school shooter. Quigley explains how her father's story changed the way she understands violent crimes and the people who commit them. UBC sociologist Sinikka Elliott was curious about the current wisdom which says if you care about your family's well-being, take the time to cook them home-made meals. She found that the moral pressure placed on mealtime might be as damaging as it is helpful.

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Spirituality and survival

Twenty-five years ago this month, the Rwandan genocide began. Genocide survivor Eloge Butera was dealing with deep psychological trauma when he came to Canada several years after the atrocities. Not long after arriving in Winnipeg, Butera encountered a group of people specially equipped to help him learn to cope: elderly survivors of the Holocaust. Butera joins Mary Hynes to talk about his friendship with the Holocaust survivors, his eventual conversion to Judaism and his journey to find renewed meaning in life. Philip Clayton says a spiritual worldview -- which links humanity intrinsically to nature -- is needed before we can ever hope to create sustainable societies. Clayton says the lack of such a worldview explains why we know so much about the dangers of climate change, but are seemingly unable to do anything about it. Clayton teaches at the Claremont School of Theology in California and specializes in the link between science, philosophy and religion.

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