Building 21
Building 21: McGill’s Interdisciplinary Idea Lab
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building21.ca | Building 21 is an interdisciplinary idea laboratory supporting students, staff and faculty pursuing beautiful, rigorous, and unconventional research at McGill University.
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Recent Episodes
The Distance Between Panels - MTL Cartoonist Michel Hellman's | I'm Not Sure?
Article here: www.building21.ca/podcast-articles/the-distance-between-panels-mtl-cartoonist-michel-hellman Michel Hellman, McConnell Professor of practice, is a comic book artist, illustrator and art…
Canadian VC Jim de Wilde — How History May Guide Future Innovation | I'm Not Sure?
Canadian VC veteran Jim de Wilde talks to Ollivier and special co-host, Anita Parmar, about how history may guide future innovation. Throughout his career as an educator and venture capitalist, Dr.…
'Can we truly lead without the humanities?' | Dr. Norman Sandridge at Building 21
Last month, Dr. Norman B. Sandridge gave an exquisite talk at Building 21 on the topic 'Can we truly lead without the humanities?'. The talk was so good that we decided to share it as a podcast! The…
Fiction Without Conflict? — Speculative Fiction Writer, Alexander Weinstein | I'm Not Sure?
Read the article on building21.ca here. In this episode of "I’m Not Sure?", produced at Building 21 at McGill University, science fiction writer Alexander Weinstein reimagines fiction structured by…
Provisional Certainty — Literary Historian, Frédéric Charbonneau | I’m Not Sure?
Read the article in English here. In this episode of "I’m Not Sure?", produced at Building 21 at McGill University, literary historian Frédéric Charbonneau reflects on a life shaped by curiosity and…
Meet Michael Lapsley, Founder of the Institute for Healing of Memories | RadicalFutures
Every story need a listener. Going from personal trauma healing to building a more peaceful and just society. In March, we had the pleasure of a talk from Michael Lapsley, founder of the Institute…
What Does It Mean to Grow Up? Pt. 2 with Dr. Morgan Jackson | QuestionsAlive
In part 1 of this series, we discussed what it means for a human to grow up. But we're not the only organisms who develop and grow older. And some of the others have much more extreme changes in…
What Does It Mean to Grow Up? Pt. 1 with Professor Paul Yachnin | QuestionsAlive
"All children, except one, grow up." Thus begins the book Peter Pan, the story of the only boy who never grows up. But for the rest of us, what does that term mean, exactly? At what point have you…
Why Do We Need Others? | QuestionsAlive
In many ways, our lives are entirely dependent on others, both human and non-human. We constantly interact with coworkers, friends, partners, family, and complete strangers. But how exactly do all…
What Is the Soul? with Professor John MacMaster | QuestionsAlive
The idea of a soul, of the intangible something that makes up a person, has existed for millennia. But souls aren't confined to people -- we talk about soulful food, soulful music, soulful art, and…
Le Sublime | QuestionsAlive
La question du sublime se pose depuis des milliers d'années. Nous le cherchons dans les paysages, les arts, les mathématiques. Nous le trouvons entre la beauté et la peur, le connu et l'inconnu. Mais…
MatterlessMatters | Mermaids and Zombies
Welcome to Part 1 of our new miniseries, Matterless Matters! In this series we'll be discussing matters that maybe don't matter too much, but are fun and surprisingly deep anyway. This first episode…
What is Language? | QuestionsAlive
How do we define language? What is the difference between language and other types of communication? Is music a language? How does language shape our way of thinking? Join us for this follow-up to…
What Is an Alien? with Professor Samule Collu | QuestionsAlive
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "alien"? Is it something threatening? Something unknown? Something different? Join us along with Prof. Samuele Collu and Vincent…
The Importance of Hypothetical Questions | QuestionsAlive
What if there were no cars in cities? What if we used hypothetical questions to solve real problems? What if asking these questions made us happier, more empathetic people? Join us for a thoughtful…
Awe in Learning: can we reinvent university education? | RadicalFutures
Join us for a in-depth discussion on what creates rich and beautiful learning environments.
When Animals Dream: A conversation with Dr David Peña-Guzman | RadicalFutures
David Peña-Guzman is Associate Professor at San Francisco State University. In his latest book, When Animals Dream, Dr. Peña-Guzman wonders whether humans are the only dreamers on Earth. What goes on…
Foundations for a Better World Pt. 2 | RadicalFutures
Radical Futures: Foundations for a Better World will not explore solutions, since solutions already exist. Instead, it will ask: what are the conditions we must create for humanity to change and…
Foundations for a Better World Pt. 1 | RadicalFutures
Radical Futures: Foundations for a Better World will not explore solutions, since solutions already exist. Instead, it will ask: what are the conditions we must create for humanity to change and…
Meet Angus Fletcher: The Brain and Narratives: The Limits of AI | RadicalFutures
Angus Fletcher has dual degrees in neuroscience and literature. He is a professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative. His research employs a mix of laboratory experiment, literary…
Frequently Asked Questions
Building 21 has published 38 episodes since November 2020, covering topics in Education, Science.
Building 21 is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 44m.
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