A&S scholars sharing their expertise in the media

From the papal conclave to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with U.S President Donald Trump, experts from a range of disciplines across the Faculty of Arts & Science are sharing their expertise on a variety of issues in the media.

Here’s some of what they had to say this week.

May 2, 2025

• Department of Political Science professor and Citizen Lab director Ron Deibert talks to CBC Radio: The Current about heightened risks for device security when crossing borders.
• Department of Political Science assistant professor Eric Merkley comments for CBC News online on the People’s Party of Canada’s performance in the federal election.
• Incoming Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy professor Jason Stanley explains to Le Monde (paywall) why he left the U.S. for Toronto.
• Department of Computer Science professor Daniel Wigdor comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on Canada’s entrepreneurial culture.
• John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy’s Citizen Lab, confirms spyware use in Italy with The Guardian.
• Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy sessional lecturer Alejandro Garcia Magos discusses on TVO: The Agenda Canada’s relationship with Mexico.
• Department of Political Science professor emeritus Nelson Wiseman discusses in The Globe and Mail (paywall) Pierre Poilievre’s access to the official residence of the leader of the opposition.
• Department of Political Science professor emeritus Nelson Wiseman tells the Canadian Press that health care received minimal attention in the federal election due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats overshadowing other issues.
• Department of Political Science assistant professor Eric Merkley tells CBC News online that the People’s Party of Canada’s performance has depended on specific economic and social conditions that weren’t present in this election.

May 3, 2025

• Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy professor Drew Fagan talks to CHCH about Mark Carney’s priorities as prime minister.
• University College sessional lecturer Shawn Micallef critiques in the Toronto Star (paywall) the societal acceptance of vehicular danger in urban spaces.
• Department of Geography & Planning professor and associate chair Paul Hess discusses in the Toronto Star (paywall) how Toronto could build vertical communities.
• Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology associate professor Doug Currie discusses in the Toronto Star (paywall) why Torontonians may see more midges right now.

May 4, 2025

• Department of Computer Science associate professor and Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society co-director David Duvenaud writes in The Guardian about the evolution of AI.
• Department of Anthropology Professor David Begun and Department of Sociology PhD candidate Jillian Sunderland weigh in Toronto Star (paywall) on the outcome of a hypothetical battle between 100 humans and one gorilla.

May 5, 2025

• School of Cities adjunct professor Carolyn Whitzman shares with The Globe and Mail (paywall) her expertise on prefabricated housing.
• Department of History professor emeritus Robert Bothwell talks to TIME and France 24 about Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump meeting.
• Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy professor Drew Fagan explains to CBC Radio how MPs and their teams engage with their community.
• Department of English professor and provostial advisor on civil discourse Randy Boyagoda writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) about the upcoming papal conclave.
• Department of History and Celtic Studies professor emeritus Mark McGowan talks to iHeartRadio about the process of choosing the next Pope.
• Department of Geography & Planning professor and School of Cities Infrastructure Institute director Matti Siemiatycki, Department of Psychology assistant professor Taryn Grieder, School of Cities urbanist-in-residence Lanrick Bennett Jr., senior research associate Jeff Allen and research assistant Muhammad Khalis Bin Samion discuss with Spacing Toronto’s traffic congestion.
• Human Biology Program sessional lecturer Kerry Bowman says to CBC News online that forcing people to undergo addiction treatment goes against a core tenet of the Canada Health Act, which states consent is required for all medical treatment.
• Department of History professor Dimitry Anastakis discusses in the Financial Times (paywall) the meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump.

May 6, 2025

• Department of English professor and provostial advisor on civil discourse Randy Boyagoda and St. Michael’s College distinguished fellow Michael W. Higgins explain to CTV News online and CBC Radio: The Current the process of choosing the next pope.
• Department of Political Science and School of the Environment professor Jessica Green talks to CBC online about Canada’s tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
• Department of Earth Sciences and School of the Environment professor Miriam L. Diamond shares with Forbes (paywall) her research on chemicals in children’s mattresses.
• Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy senior fellow Jon Allen discusses on Citynews: The Big Story podcast the meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump.
• Department of Political Science assistant professor (teaching stream) Ryan Hurl talks to The Guardian about the meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump.
• Department of History professor emeritus Robert Bothwell comments for the Associated Press on the meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump.
• Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources professor and director Rafael Gomez comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on the possibility of a renewed strike if Canada Post does not reach a deal with the union.
• John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy’s Citizen Lab, is noted in The New York Times (paywall) for helping WhatsApp inform people about an NSO Group’s spyware attack on them.

May 7, 2025

• Department of English professor and provostial advisor on civil discourse Randy Boyagoda discusses on CBC Radio: Metro Morning the conclave from Vatican City.
• Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology professor Donald Jackson shares talks to CBC News online, CTV News online and CP24 online about why large groups of fish are dying in the Great Lakes.
• John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy’s Citizen Lab, is noted in the Financial Times (paywall) for helping WhatsApp investigate a spyware hack.
• Department of Political Science professor emeritus Larry Leduc weighs in for Sky News on Mark Carney’s meeting with Donald Trump.
• Department of Political Science professor emeritus Nelson Wiseman comments for FOX News online on Mark Carney’s meeting with Donald Trump.
• St. Michael’s College and Department for the Study of Religion associate professor Reid Locklin explains to CHCH the process of choosing the next pope.
• Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and Department of Political Science University Professor Dan Breznitz writes for Hill Times (paywall) about how Canada needs net-zero industrial policy to address tariffs.
• Citizen Lab researchers report in BBC News online that Pegasus spyware has infected devices belonging to Downing Street and Foreign Office officials.

May 8, 2025

• Department of Philosophy professor Mark Kingwell shares in the Toronto Star (paywall) advice on inheritances and news fatigue.
• Cinema Studies Institute and Department of History professor and Innis College principal Charlie Keil talks to Hamilton Spectator (paywall), Radio-Canada National Post (paywall), Global News, Canadian Press, Toronto Star and CBC News online (paywall) about how theatres might add surcharges to movies facing tariffs.