Podcast For Inquiry – Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC)

A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry.

You’ve got answers? We’ve got questions.

A podcast for scientific, skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic inquiry.

You’ve got answers? We’ve got questions.

Two Solitudes of Secularism: Is Quebec religious symbols law secular or anti-theist legislation?

No issue has split the secular community in Canada like Quebec’s Bill 21. Several secular organizations have come out strongly in favour of the legislation, with some saying its only flaw being that it doesn’t go far enough. Many other secular groups, including CFIC, have come out strongly against Bill 21. It was challenged in court immediately after its passage in June 2019, and the Supreme Court is in the midst of hearing from a record 38 interveners as this episode is released.

In January, the New Enlightenment Project organized an online conversation between Michel Virard, founder of the Association humaniste du Québec, and Leslie Rosenblood, Secular Chair of CFIC. The conversation was moderated by Robert Hamilton.

This was an informed discussion between committed secular activists with a similar worldview and many shared values, yet who vehemently but respectfully disagree about the merits of Quebec’s Bill 21. I hope you learn from and enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Join today! Produced by Zack Dumont, Martin Zielinski, and Leslie Rosenblood. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.

March 25, 2026

Sahrawis Fight for Western Sahara Rights in an Overwhelmed World, with Najla Mohamed-Lamin

In 1975, Najla Mohamed-Lamin’s grandmother fled Moroccan troops entering Western Sahara. For 50 years, Najla’s family, and 200,000 of the Saharawi people, have lived in refugee camps in western Algeria.

Despite a clear legal case under international law for self-determination and a promise from Morocco to hold a referendum on the future of Western Sahara, the Saharawi people remain separated from their land, and are almost invisible to the international community.

In 2023 Najla was one of the BBC’s one hundred most influential women in the world, and she is today’s guest on Podcast for Inquiry.

March 11, 2026

Assistance in dying: Not what it’s MAiD out to be, with Jackie Nemni

Dr. Jackie Nemni is a physician specializing in respiratory medicine and spent decades looking after patients in the ICU. She retired from active practice in 2023 and has since been working part time as a MAiD assessor and provider. It is the most meaningful and rewarding thing she has ever done and wishes she had started sooner. Jackie is also an officiant with Humanist Canada and serves on its board of directors.

Today’s episode is about MAiD in Canada – that is, Medical Assistance in Dying. Jackie and I start by discussing two Supreme Court of Canada rulings twenty years apart, and how the latter one opened the door to MAiD. Since MAiD was legalized in 2016, the criteria have expanded so that more people are eligible. Jackie describes the difference between Track 1 and Track 2 MAiD, and the safeguards in place to prevent coercion and abuse. She also addresses several of the arguments employed against MAiD, and a current court case that might forbid health institutions from preventing its patients from accessing MAiD services.

February 25, 2026

Jesse Brown asks: Why are Canadian Jews targeted for hate crimes?

Jesse Brown is the founder and editor of Canadaland, Canada’s largest independent podcast network. We start our conversation talking about the state of journalism in Canada, four years after Podcast for Inquiry’s inaugural episode with Jonathan Kay on the same topic. The bulk of our conversation is focused on Jesse’s latest investigative reporting series, What Is Happening Here. Jews in Canada are the targets of hate crimes radically disproportionate to their numbers in Canada, which has been the case for many years but made worse since the start of the Hamas – Israel war. Jesse talks about why he created the series, analyzes some possible reasons why hatred against Jews is so much more pronounced in Canada than other countries, and suggests that open and honest conversations are a necessary step toward living together in peace and harmony.

Leslie also recommends Canadaland’s investigative series on WE Charity, called The White Saviors.

February 11, 2026

Could we communicate with aliens if we found them? Daniel Whiteson wants to know.

Daniel is a professor of physics at UC Irvine, researching particle physics at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. He is the co-host of the podcast ‘Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe’ and the author of several books about physics for a general audience, including “Do Aliens Speak Physics?” And “We have no idea”.

In today’s episode, Daniel explores many questions, including:

Would we recognize an alien message if we received one?
If aliens landed in Central Park, would we be able to communicate?
How can we catch a baseball if we ignore all the interactions at the quantum level?
Why is even our best physics only an approximation?

January 28, 2026

Dr. Rodney Schmaltz says Scientific Skepticism can Save Society

Dr. Rodney Schmaltz is a professor in the Department of Psychology at MacEwan University. His research focuses on the psychology of belief, with a particular interest in how people evaluate extraordinary claims. He is committed to helping people develop strong critical thinking skills and an appreciation for the value of scientific evidence in everyday life. His work aims to improve scientific literacy in both academic and public settings, using research-based strategies to help people separate good information from bad.

In today’s episode, Rodney explains the importance of critical thinking – though he prefers the term scientific skepticism – and why we should expand science education to include how we know what is true, and not just the facts and frameworks of scientific knowledge. We talk about how being intelligent and educated is not related to belief in pseudoscience, and how it’s dangerous to dismiss someone you disagree with as a “conspiracy theorist” in a world where some conspiracies are real.

If you learn half as much as Leslie did from this conversation, you’re going to love today’s episode of Podcast for Inquiry with Rodney Schmaltz.

Email: rodney.schmaltz@macewan.ca

Website: https://www.rodneyschmaltz.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneyschmaltz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rodney.schmaltz.9/

January 14, 2026