The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Video)

On Friday, December 14, 2012, an unfathomable tragedy befell Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. It could have been any school, in any town. The Agenda examines the tragic events at Newtown.

It's the holiday season. A time for celebration. The Agenda examines why family plays such a central role in holiday celebrations.

Author Joel Kotkin says that the notion of family, as we know it, is no longer a central tenet of society. People are choosing not to have children, or to delay marriage - if they marry at all. Does this spell the end of family, or is it just a re-imagining of what we've come to know?

Rotating strikes, extra-curriculars cut: in The Agenda's Story of the Week, Ontario Minister of Education Laurel Broten defends her government's stance on Bill 115.

From a Canadian business leader's quest for power in Austria to the endgame of Bill 115, The Agenda brings you the Week in Review.

Both Colorado and Washington states legalized the recreational use of marijuana on November 6th. A recent poll suggests 65% of Canadians support the legalization or decriminalization of pot. While the jury of public opinion seems to be shifting on the issue, a recent study in New Zealand found adolescents who used marijuana at least four days a week lost an average of eight IQ points between the ages of 13 and 38. Just how safe is pot? The Agenda examines the psychological and physical effects of marijuana.

Marijuana is estimated to be a $19-21 billion dollar industry in Canada, but no one knows for sure. It just may be Canada's most valuable agricultural product - bigger than cattle, wheat or timber. Journalist and "Bud Inc." author Ian Mulgrew joins Steve Paikin to discuss the marijuana industry in Canada and its loss of two big markets, Colorado and Washington.

The federal government's proposed changes to the criminal code will make it more difficult for mentally ill offenders found not criminally responsible for their actions to be released from custody. The Agenda asks: What is best for these prisoners, and how do you balance their rights and the right to public safety?

Some of Ontario's mentally ill are homeless. As winter approaches, the need for safe shelter becomes more pertinent. Steve Lurie of the Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto tells Steve Paikin about possible solutions to this problem.

A German exchange student, studying in Waterloo, was killed in a traffic accident a few months ago. University of Waterloo professor Jeff Casello and University of Applied Sciences professor Christoph Hupfer discuss the tragic death and consider whether changes in transportation policy might avert future deaths.

Ontario teachers are poised to up the ante in the ongoing fight against Bill 115. As strike action gets underway, The Agenda examines what happens next in the current political climate.

Anne Applebaum is perhaps best known as a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist who has written extensively about Russia and Eastern Europe. She joins Steve Paikin to discuss her two new books, "Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956" and "From a Polish Country House Kitchen: 90 Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food".

He built one of the world's largest auto parts manufacturers. Now he's trying to build a new political party in Austria. Author and former Magna CEO Frank Stronach on how his business success has made him well-suited to political success.

As clashes intensify between Mohamed Morsi's supporters and opponents, The Agenda examines the risk that the North African nation is falling into civil war. And Syria, a country under siege, but possibly reaching its endgame, as the opposition gains ground and NATO leans closer to intervention. The Agenda's Story of the Week.

From the poaching of the Bank of Canada governor to the next Liberal Party of Ontario leader, The Agenda brings you the Week in Review.