The Public Discourse Podcast: Exploring the Challenges of COVID-19

The Public Discourse is a podcast produced by the Office of Public Affairs for the Baha’i Community of Canada and it’s been inaugurated with a seven episode mini-series related to the challenges of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In these episodes, we hear from people across Canada about the values and principles that inform the way they are thinking about society, and how we can create a better public discourse. Staff of the Office of Public Affairs bring together guests who are contributing to the national conversation, and explore with them how insights from religion, science, and practice can help to foster new approaches to challenges facing Canadian society.

Geoffrey Cameron of the Office of Public Affairs shared the following with us:

“The goal of the podcast is to convene conversations that are centered on the concepts and principles that build resilience at this time, and which help us to think about the kind of society we want to create. We have been pleased so far with the response to the podcast. About 3000 people have listened, and hundreds more have visited our website to read transcripts of the recordings. The podcast has also been shared by the universities, hospitals, and organizations with which our guests are affiliated.”

He also shared that they are currently working on plans for another mini-series which will examine how we think about recovery and rebuilding society after the pandemic.

You can find more information about this podcast, including transcripts of every episode, by visiting the website for the Canadian Baha’i Office of Public Affairs: https://opa.bahai.ca/podcast/

You can also read about it in this Baha’i World News Service (BWNS) article: Canadian podcast series explores essential principles in wake of pandemic

You can find all episodes of The Public Discourse on these platforms and others:

• iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-public-discourse/id1512807550
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1cpOne0jWAXurFbxLeLOcf
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thepublicdiscourse

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.