What's the Big Idea

What's the Big Idea

"What's the Big Idea" is a new podcast featuring University of Manitoba President and Vice-Chancellor Michael Benarroch in conversation with some of today's big thinkers. Together, they’ll unpack “the big idea” their work explores. A series featuring an exciting and diverse array of voices from the UM community contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of the people of Manitoba, Canada, and the world.

Episodes

March 18, 2024 32 mins

Michael Benarroch is joined by Dr. Meghan Azad, Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba with cross appointments in immunology and food and human nutritional sciences. Dr. Azad studies the science of breast milk and is one of the world's foremost experts on the wonderful substance. 


In this episode, they explore why breast milk matters to all of us, and explain how The Manitoba Interdiscipl...

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Michael Benarroch sits down with Dr. Joss Reimer, Chief Medical Officer for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and someone who not only led Manitoba's COVID-19 vaccine implementation task force but has worked tirelessly to end the stigma around mental illness. Together, they explore how Dr. Reimer’s personal experiences have affected her work around mental health, and why we all need to create more supportive environme...

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Show notes:


How can you become a better leader? In this episode, Michael Benarroch explores this question with Dr. Suzanne Gagnon, the Associate Dean of Professional graduate programs at I.H. Asper School of Business, the inaugural director of the Burns Leadership Institute and the Canada Life Chair in Leadership Education.

At the start of this episode, you hear clips from the following:
Roselinde Torres' Ted Talk: ...

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In this episode, Michael Benarroch speaks to Dr. Nazim Cicek whose big ideas are proving that it doesn't have to cost the earth to feed the world. He's a professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science. Michael and Nazim explore how research is advancing sustainable agriculture to address food shortages and the climate crisis.


About the hos...

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Michael Benarroch sits down with Professor Niigaan Sinclair, one of the most sought after national voices on education, politics and Reconciliation. Sinclair is the former head of the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, an indigenous content consultant and columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press.


Their conversation explores whether the university is doing enough to attract and support indigenou...

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In this episode, guest host University of Manitoba's Chancellor Anne Mahon speaks to UM alum and New York Times best-selling author of the Vagina Bible and the Menopause Manifesto, Dr. Jen Gunter. As a board certified OB/GYN in both Canada and the United States, Dr. Gunter is a candid advocate for women and science.


In this powerful conversation, she shares her mission to correct the masses of misinformation on everythi...

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Why Guaranteed Income is affordable, effective and just with economist Evelyn Forget. University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch in conversation with economist and academic director of Manitoba Research Data Centre Evelyn Forget. Together they’ll discuss how a basic income guarantee is not only possible and affordable, but an effective and just way to reduce poverty in Canada.

About the guest:


Evelyn Forget is a...

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University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch in conversation with Dr. Nicole Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance. Together they’ll discuss how Canada can better understand, govern, and enhance Indigenous self-determination over water rights.

About the guest:

Dr. Nicole Wilson is a scholar of settler origin whose research focuses on Indigenous peoples, environmental governance, an...

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University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch in conversation with Executive Director of the University of Manitoba’s Institute for Global Public Health, Dr. James Blanchard. Together they’ll discuss how the University of Manitoba can be at the center of engaging the academic sector in global public health and how Canada can become a world leader in this field.  

 

About the guest:

Dr. Blanchard is an epidemiologist and ...

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University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch in conversation with Executive Director of the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, Stephanie Scott. Together they discuss the lasting effects of Canada’s residential school system and the forced separation of Indigenous families. They explore how we as a university can help heal these wounds and plot a path forward to true reconciliation.

About the host:
Micha...

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November 16, 2022 25 mins

University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch in conversation with Canada Research Chair in Queer, Community, and Diversity Education and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Robert Mizzi. Together, they’ll discuss Dr. Mizzi’s ideas around “deep inclusion,” and how the University of Manitoba can continue to make strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

 

About the host:<...

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University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch in conversation with Vice-Dean of Indigenous Health, Social Justice and Anti-Racism at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and Doctors Manitoba 2022 “Physician of the Year” Dr. Marcia Anderson. Together, they’ll discuss how the University of Manitoba can further ground medical education in anti-racist practices and provide greater health equity for Canada’s Indigenous, Bl...

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September 21, 2022 24 mins

University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch live in conversation with Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist, UM alum, and the Albert Einstein Professor Emeritus at Princeton Dr. James Peebles. Together, they'll unpack some of Dr. Peebles's groundbreaking work that has been vital to our understanding of the universe, including topics like the Big Bang Theory and dark matter. 

 

We'll also hear from a UM sophomore and aspi...

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September 16, 2022 1 min

University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch live in conversation with Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist, UM alum, and the Albert Einstein Professor Emeritus at Princeton Dr. James Peebles. Together, they'll unpack some of Dr. Peebles's groundbreaking work that has been vital to our understanding of the universe, including topics like the Big Bang Theory and dark matter. 

 

We'll also hear from a UM sophomore and aspi...

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