- published: 27 Oct 2016
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Steve Paikin OC OOnt (born June 9, 1960) is a Canadian journalist, author, and documentary producer at TVO, Ontario's public broadcaster. He is currently anchor of TVO's flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin.
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Paikin received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto (Victoria University, Toronto 1981) and his master's degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University. He served as sports editor for the University of Toronto's independent weekly, The Newspaper, while pursuing his BA.
Paikin was previously an anchor and Queen's Park correspondent for CBLT, and host of a daily news and current affairs program on CBC Newsworld. He also held reporting jobs in private radio and print media, including the Hamilton Spectator and CHFI, where he was Toronto City Hall reporter from 1982-85.
In 1992 Paikin began work at TVO, hosting the political series Between the Lines until 1994. He also co-created the Queen's Park magazine Fourth Reading, which he hosted for 14 years. In 1994, Paikin began co-hosting duties (with Mary Hynes for two years, and then Paula Todd) on Studio 2 until 2006. In 1998 he co-created and began hosting Diplomatic Immunity, a weekly foreign affairs commentary show.
Clinton Richard Dawkins FRS FRSL (born 26 March 1941) is an Englishethologist, evolutionary biologist, and writer. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008.
Dawkins first came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centred view of evolution and introduced the term meme. In 1982, he introduced into evolutionary biology the influential concept that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment. This concept is presented in his book The Extended Phenotype. In 2006, he founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.
Dawkins is a noted atheist, and is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, he argues against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. Instead, he describes evolutionary processes as analogous to a blind watchmaker. In his most popular book, his 2006 book The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that religious faith is a delusion. He is an opponent of creationism being taught in schools. He makes regular television and radio appearances, predominantly discussing his books, his atheism and his ideas and opinions as a public intellectual.
Jordan Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, posted a YouTube video criticizing the proposed Bill C-16, which adds gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. His video caused concern and sparked conversation. The Agenda convenes a panel to ask: Is the legislation a matter of human rights or a case of legal overreach that threatens freedom of speech?
Cultural appropriation - writers, musicians and other artists using elements of a culture that isn't their own in their work - is once again a hot-button topic. Novelist Lionel Shriver sparked controversy last month in a speech at the Brisbane Writer's Festival defending the right of writers to create characters from any background, saying she hoped opposition to cultural appropriation was a passing fad. The Agenda convenes a panel to discuss the nuances of the issue.
Donald Trump has suggested that, if elected president, he would scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement, refuse to defend NATO nations that aren't paying their fair share, place tariffs on goods exported to the US and drastically reduce regulation over the energy sector. The Agenda considers what would it mean for Canada were these measures to be enacted.
Steve Paikin talks to University of Saskatchewan College of Law professor Paul Finkelman about the most bizarre presidential campaign in memory, and what happens if no candidate reaches 270 electoral college votes.
Two prominent Liberals were charged with bribery this week. The Agenda examines the significance of these charges for the future of the party and its ability to govern.
During an online video chat where viewers are invited to ask Agenda host Steve Paikin questions, Steve is asked: "What was your worst interview experience?"
The Agenda's look at political correctness continues as we examine what it means to be offended. It's not a new concept, but it's one that is having an increasingly stronger effect on conversations, both online and offline. The Agenda asks, is publicly calling someone out, and saying ,"I'm offended" shutting down conversation, or encouraging critical reflection?
Approximately four per cent of Canadians are vegetarians. An even smaller number are vegan. A growing number of people observe "meatless Mondays," or eat meat only once or twice a week. The Agenda looks at why people are turning to plant-based diets.
As the documentary "The Unbelievers" premieres at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival, two of the men featured in the film: professor Richard Dawkins and physicist Lawrence Krauss sit down with Steve Paikin to tell us why indeed, they don't believe.
Famed muckraker and investigative journalist I.F. Stone once said, "All governments are run by liars and nothing they say should be believed." His life and legacy are explored in the aptly named documentary, "All Governments Lie." Director Fred Peabody, Democracy Now's Amy Goodman and Jeff Cohen, founder of media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting join The Agenda to discuss the Stone's influence and what they see as the failure of today's media to hold governments accountable.
Veteran interviewer Steve Paikin grills author Steve Paikin about his latest book. Steve Paikin is the anchor and senior editor of TVO's flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin. His recent book, Paikin and the Premiers: Personal Reflections on a Half Century of Ontario Leaders debuted on The Globe and Mail's Canadian non-fiction bestsellers list. Paikin and the Premiers offers a rare perspective on every Premier from John Robarts to Kathleen Wynne —from the vantage point of one of Canada's most astute and respected journalists. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book support TVO.
Former Premier Bob Rae Interviews Steve Paikin for the International Festival of Authors at Habourfront Centre
One of Canada's most persistent conservative gadflies talks about why he believes the country is still headed in the wrong direction.
Veteran Canadian journalist Steve Paikin discusses the techniques for preparing questions for a media interview. Paikin shares the lessons he has learned from the master of the journalism interview, John Sawatsky.
Steve Paikin, veteran Canadian journalist, describes arrest and beating of Guardian newspaper journalist
Since Patrick Brown was elected Ontario PC leader in May, he has tried to reshape the party's image. Are the Ontario PCs headed in a new direction or is this just more of the same from the Tories?
In 1999, TVO's Steve Paikin sat down with Elmore Leonard to talk Chili Palmer, "the evilness of the record industry," why so many of his books have been turned into films, and more.
He's been called the 'calm after Ford,' but what is Toronto mayor John Tory's roadmap for the city? He talks with Steve Paikin to discuss his tenure, along with his thoughts on carding, the Gardiner expressway, and affordable housing.
Steve Paikin, host of TVO's "The Agenda" sits down with Brampton Focus to discuss his new book, "Bill Davis: Nation Builder, and Not So Bland After All", an authorized biography of Bill Davis, the enigmatic Ontario premier from Brampton who was one of the most important premiers in Canadian history. Brampton Focus is a 100% volunteer group dedicated to discussing the issues that matter to Bramptonians.
Cultural appropriation, the history of burial rituals, author Joseph Boyden on Chanie Wenjack and columnist Sue-Ann Levy; The Agenda reviews its week of programming.
The phrase "American culture" is a bit of a misnomer; as this year's presidential election has shown, the United States has many cultures. And some of them really seem not to like each other. For the past 35 years, San Francisco writer and journalist Richard Rodriguez has been a keen observer of how various American cultures seek power and affirmation through the political process. The Agenda welcomes Rodriquez for his take on what's behind the astonishing election, the outcome of which Americans will finally decide next week.
The Agenda welcomes Glenn Loury to discuss whether the last half-century offered good reason for African-American to rethink their political alliances.
The Niagara West-Glanbrook nomination race shows that many people are interested in running for the Progressive Conservatives - but with that interest comes many unknowns. The Agenda discusses whether the Ontario PCs are building a party that can win the next election.
If you read Sue-Ann Levy in the Toronto Sun, you know she writes with a particularly sharp pen, skewering left-wing politicians and government spending on a regular basis. But there's a lot more to her life that has been unrevealed, until now. The Agenda welcomes Levy to discuss her story, as chronicled in her book, "Underdog: Confessions of a Right-Wing Gay Jewish Muckraker."
Fifty years ago this month, 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack ran away from a residential school. He died alone, frozen by the side of northern Ontario train tracks, hundreds of kilometres away from home, his body bruised by repeated falls. He was found with no jacket, no food and only a couple of matchsticks. Author Joseph Boyden tells Nam Kiwanuka Chanie's story, the subject of his novella, "Wenjack".
From churchyard burials to cemeteries and cremations, what do different methods of treating human remains say about a society? The Agenda welcomes Thomas Laqueur, author of "The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains", to discuss the historical evolution of and cultural shifts in how mortal remains are handled.
An international conference organized in Toronto by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship has brought together thinkers and activists to discuss opposition to multiculturalism, which has grown in the last few years on both sides of the Atlantic. The Agenda presents a panel of speakers from the conference to explore why something once viewed positively is seen by an increasing number of citizens as a threat.
The European Union is in a moment of crisis. As its economic woes continue to pile up, the 28-member bloc of nations is facing mass refugee arrivals, terrorism, and the looming threat of one of its key members, Britain, leaving the group. The Agenda dissects the issues facing the EU and discusses what its future may look like.