The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Video)

What do ancestry, birding, and opera enthusiasts have in common? More than you'd think. Memoirist Alison Wearing ties them together in her funny and poignant book, "Moments of Glad Grace." It depicts her journey to Ireland with her father as he obsessively searches for the reasons his ancestors came to Canada. In the process, she comes to terms with her father's aging and declining health due to Parkinson's.

The City of Toronto's bylaws do not allow backyard chickens, except in two wards that have pilot projects. As the popularity of raising chickens for eggs grows, and rent-a-chicken opportunities become available, TVO explores all aspects of the issue. Then, northwestern Ontario Hub journalist Charnel Anderson updates us on how the pandemic has affected the backyard-chicken movement.

What gets lost when city councils must meet online? Hamilton-Niagara Hub journalist Justin Chandler explores how some municipalities are handling the business of governing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Ontario, as in several American states, the Great Lakes Region is a massive economic engine. It generates trillions in gross domestic product and millions of jobs. But with the border mostly closed, during this COVID-19 pandemic, the region is looking for help to bounce back. We discuss how that can be achieved.

As the Association of Municipalities of Ontario signs a landmark agreement with the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, The Agenda explores how cities and towns can work together with Indigenous communities, both on reserve and in urban settings - whether it's jointly tackling resource development, preventing brain drain to the south, or recovering from the financial blow of COVID-19.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic altered approaches to city leadership? Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed, Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson, and LaSalle Mayor Marc Bondy discuss what has gone well, what areas need improvement, and how their cities can plan for a strong future as we move through the various stages of the pandemic.

Norman Lee, the Peel Region's director of Waste Management, discusses how changes to the province's recycling strategy will affect municipalities.

Barbara Swartzentruber, executive director of the City of Guelph's Smart Cities office, describes an initiative to create Canada's first circular food economy. Our Food Future aims to reimagine the food system, eliminate food waste, and lessen environmental impact.

Just when it looked as though local ginger ale Temagami Dry wouldn't survive, the town's council came forward with a bid to save it. Northeastern Ontario Hub journalist Nick Dunne talks about the importance of reviving this iconic brand.

In the summer of 2016, a shooting in an Orlando LGBTQ nightclub made terrifying headlines. We invited two Toronto drag performers, Juice Boxx and Scarlett BoBo, to discuss their careers, the influence of drag culture and how its performance could be a political act of resistance. Tonight, Juice Boxx returns to update us on her career, including her participation in the inaugural season of "Canada's Drag Race."

Some argue that abandoning capitalism entirely could save the planet. Others, that we can preserve the status quo and tinker around the edges. Environmentalist Tom Rand thinks both are wrong - that we need to harness markets to avert climate catastrophe. And further, he believes a radical change is needed in how markets operate. He talks to Nam Kiwanuka about his new book, "The Case for Climate Capitalism: Economic Solutions for a Planet in Crisis."

How do you balance privacy rights while trying to use digital technology to aid in the massive work of contact tracing during a pandemic? There are many questions to ask as the provincial government is hoping Ontarians will download and use the new app. Nam Kiwanuka asks David Lie, a University of Toronto tech professor, for insights into the safety and effectiveness of the app.

Raymond Moriyama is one of the Canada's greatest treasures in architecture and design. To highlight TVO's premiere of "Magical Imperfection: The Life and Architecture of Raymond Moriyama," Nam Kiwanuka talks to filmmaker Scott Calbeck about why he thought the acclaimed designer of such iconic buildings as the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Reference Library would make such a compelling story.

Better broadband has been promised by both the federal and the Ontario government, but it is still a long way away from being equitable and available across the province. The Agenda looks at the challenges and the path forward.

"The Cuban" is director Sergio Navarretta's film about an Afghan pre-med student's relationship with an Alzheimer's patient. It stars Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. and both director and star join Nam Kiwanuka to discuss the film's themes and how it highlights the way elderly people are treated in society.