When the World Happiness Report first began scoring countries on their self-reported levels of happiness in 2012, Canada was consistently in the top 10. It felt right, we were pretty happy. Over the past several years, things have been changing, first slowly and now rapidly. In the recently published edition of the report, Canadians' happiness levels ranked 25th in the world, by far a new low. And that precipitous drop has been driven predominantly by one demographic...

UBC Professor Emeritus and co-creator and editor of the World Happiness Report John Helliwell joins us to discuss what's changed, who's unhappy and what we know about how to generate happiness in our own lives from two decades of scientific research.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

In any other entertainment medium, a Canadian-made product winning the equivalent of a Best Picture Oscar would be historic, headline-grabbing news. But when Canadian-made games win Game Of The Year—and they have, multiple times—the country barely bats an eye. Games are big business in Canada, and we have some of the world's premier talent, in both massive corporate studios and tiny indie development houses. Yet unless you're really, really into video games, you'd never know. Why?

Jonathan Ore of the CBC hops on the show to talk about video games in Canada, how good they are, and why nobody even knows where the games they play are made.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

One might've thought we'd learned our lesson in 2020. That being hit with waves of deeply ill patients that pushed our health care system—especially its front lines in hospitals and ERs—to the brink would have woken us up to just how close to disaster we were operating. Alas.

On this episode of Cancon, Emergency Room physician, podcaster and author Dr. Brian Goldman takes us inside the ongoing low-level crisis that happening in emergency rooms across the country. Like any good doctor, he diagnoses the root of the problem, outlines the kind of long-term treatment it requires, and gives us some take-home instructions for the next time we find ourselves with a loved one in need of emergency care.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.