There’s enough DNA in all your cells to stretch from Earth to Saturn 9 whole times! But what can all that genetic information really tell us? Apparently – at least according to popular personalized genomics kits being sold online – everything from your health risks to your ideal music playlist or romantic partner… And while your DNA is rich and full of instructions for building and maintaining our bodies, the latest genetics research suggests we’re putting the cart way ahead of the horse, with potentially dangerous consequences. Let’s get up to date on the latest research, and discuss future ethical concerns we need to be considering in policy and health discussions today in this friendly but informative session.

From Tokyo to Canberra, from Warsaw to Westminster, prime ministers are more often removed from power by their own backbenchers than by voters in general elections. In Canada, the idea of MPs wielding that kind of power shocks experts and the public alike. Today the parliamentary system thrives all over the world, but every country's parliamentary system has its unique quirks and conventions. Historian Christopher Moore, author of 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal invites us to consider Canada's parliamentary culture in world context.

Almost no sporting event captures the imagination like an Olympic Games. Unlike Soccer's World Cup or the NFL's Super Bowl, there's a whole smorgasbord of different sports and disciplines on display. And you get to cheer for your own country to do well. What's not to love? But not all is gold medals and glory. The Olympics has morphed from an idealistic 19th century idea to a 21st century corporate juggernaut. Along the way it has picked up elements of fascist spectacle, capitalist ideology and unrestrained nationalism. Within those problematic realities, there still exist the moments of inspiration, joy and tragedy. How to watch and enjoy the good stuff while not forgetting the bad stuff?

What’s it like being a comedy writer? Are you always laughing? Are there snacks? In brief: challenging, no and occasionally. Join Kevin White as he shares what goes into making successful and unsuccessful TV comedies because he’s done both. Having written and show-run comedies such as THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES, CORNER GAS, SCHITT’S CREEK and KIM’S CONVENIENCE, Kevin will take us behind the scenes to describe how an idea is developed into a half hour of award-winning TV comedy. Or more often, a half hour of comedy most people have never heard of. Come share some laughs, some awkward pauses and if we’re lucky, snacks.

Anti-Black systemic racism is defined as the policies and practices rooted in Canadian institutions including education, health care, and justice that mirror and reinforce beliefs, attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping and/or discrimination towards people of Black-African descent. The term ‘Anti-Black Racism' was first introduced by Dr. Akua Benjamin, a Ryerson Social Work Professor as part of her PhD thesis. This moderated panel discussion will focus on illuminating the ongoing reality and impact of anti-Black systemic racism on Black/African/Caribbean Canadians with focus on understanding the intersectionality of the church and faith. The discussion will be candid and aspires to not only inform but also to serve as a catalyst for further dialogue and action to dismantle all forms of anti-Black systemic racism.

During COVID, the number of Toronto citizens who are affected by homelessness grew greatly. Currently, twenty percent of visits to the St. Michael’s Hospital Emergency Department are by those experiencing homelessness and many more are part of a growing number of vulnerably housed individuals. People who live in shelters were more likely to be affected by COVID – both the virus and by the decreased support services in the community. In addition to lack of permanent housing, many have medically and socially complex concerns, such as food insecurity, complex mental health conditions, addictions, and poverty. Dr. Snider will discuss the various ways that the department has had to adapt during COVID for all patients and how they are working with their community partners to change and improve the care that they provide.

Your heart is a marvelously complex organ responsible for pumping blood to the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to all tissues, and removing carbon dioxide and other wastes. Cardiovascular disease, which can lead to heart attack, heart failure, sudden death, stroke, and acute limb ischemia, affects millions each year and involves a huge cost to society. Staying alive means protecting yourself from the risk of having either a first time or subsequent event. This session will be a simplified state-of-the-art review of the cardiovascular system in health and disease, and the management of risk factors. Diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease will be discussed, as well as future developments in personalized medicine through genetics and biomarkers, and advances in imaging, devices, and artificial intelligence.

So which belief is true: ‘accidents happen’ or ‘everything happens for a reason’? Behavioural sciences show that in the world of interpretation, human judgement is powerfully affected by how problems are initially framed. As humans, we are prone to subconsciously anchor on preconceived notions and then tend to find what we are looking for during an investigation.

The function of an engineered artifact is to deliver the desired fit, form and function to society. It is the purpose of engineering to postpone failure of an artifact for a safe design lifetime. The lecture will highlight the practice of forensic engineering investigation and illustrate methods to assess potential sources, causes and solutions for prevention of failure of engineered products, and of the investigation itself.

The Tulsa Race Massacre is believed to be the single worst discrete incident of racial violence in American history. During the course of eighteen bloody hours on May 31 and June 1, 1921, more than one thousand homes and businesses were destroyed, and as many as three hundred people killed. By the time the violence ended, Oklahoma’s second-largest African American community had been burned to the ground. As the Oklahoma Historical Society summarized: “The outbreak occurred during an era of acute racial tensions, characterized by the birth and rapid growth of the so-called second Ku Klux Klan and by the determined efforts of African Americans to resist attacks upon their communities, particularly in the matter of lynching.” So, what does a 1921 state-sponsored white massacre of a relatively wealthy Black community in America’s 48th state have to tell us about our own here and now? Join Amos Jones in a lecture that grapples with this and related questions and promises to offer what, to many, might seem to be some surprising answers.

One of the side-effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario over the past year has been an increased interest in nature, spending time in parks and watching birds. The sale of birdseed and bird feeders increased last winter, attendance in parks grew significantly and people paid more attention to the birdlife in Toronto’s ravines, our waterfront and in our own backyards. In this lecture, David Lindsay, a lifelong birdwatcher and member of the Board of Ontario Parks and the Greenbelt Foundation will offer some tips and suggestions for birdwatching in Southern Ontario. Using his own photographs, he will introduce us to some of the common and not-so-common species to be found in our area. He will offer suggestions for where to go and what to look for during the different seasons of the year.

It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that British foreign policy in the 1930s, commonly described as ‘appeasement’, was a disaster that produced the second world war. Winston Churchill was one of the few who insisted that not standing up to Nazi Germany by threatening armed force would lead to war. But was appeasement simply a policy of weakness and fear? Why was it so supported by so many leaders in Britain, the dominions and elsewhere, including Mackenzie King, the prime minister of Canada? What exactly was Churchill arguing and why was it rejected for so long? Professor Thompson will continue the presentation into the war, when Churchill himself had to deal with the threats of Italy and Japan entering the war and the territorial claims of the allied Soviet Union, and will conclude with some reflections on appeasement and diplomacy.

“Not everyone is as lucky as I am,” says writer and hiker Nicola Ross. “Not only was I born in a spectacularly beautiful place: the Forks of the Credit, but I still live there!” In this lecture Ross invites you to join her on a hike along sections of the Bruce Trail that are filled with stories, memories and fabulous flora and fauna. She will take you back in time, catapult you into the future and then spend a moment admiring what the trail has to offer right now – today. From the legend of the Devil’s Pulpit to Canada Dry’s first bottling plant to killer cataract falls. From the mighty Niagara Escarpment to the hummocky Oak Ridges Moraine. From kettle lakes to rare walking ferns. Childhood picnics to red tinted limestone. A gold rush to a salt mine. Using great photos and a lifetime of getting to know her own back yard, Nicola Ross will take you along on a short adventure and invite you to come to know and love your back yard as well as she knows hers.