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Where did you grow up?

In Halifax and I’ve loved the ocean my whole life. My dad was from Reserve Mines, Cape Breton, and my mom was from Bridgewater, N.S. They met in Halifax when Dad was at Dal and Mom was nursing. They ran off and eloped. It was a bit of a scandal — a young Muslim girl of Lebanese ancestry marrying a Christian boy from Cape Breton of Scottish descent. But they remained deeply besotted for 60 years.

What inspired you to pursue a career in journalism?

Our large Victorian home was full of books; my mother put up two walls of bookshelves in each of our bedrooms, and hosted dinner parties with fascinating guests from all backgrounds where ideas and debates flew. My father was a master at asking questions and getting people to open up so I guess it was at that table that my journalism career came about through an act of osmosis. (Albeit my brothers chose Dal law and medicine, but I lay no blame on their choices.)

How did your education prepare you for a journalism career?

I majored in Political Science at Dal. It’s incredibly beneficial for journalists to study more than just journalism to become more nuanced and informed reporters. My background helped lead to a considerable amount of my pieces exploring human rights issues, world politics, social issues and philosophy.

Why did you accept the invitation to host this year’s Stanfield Conversation at Dal?

It's vital to talk about challenges to the rule of law and the future of liberal democracy. These are serious times. What we are witnessing right now in the United States is disconcerting when it comes to the law and political interference. Lines are being crossed that once seemed unimaginable. The panelists (senior lecturer at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, Asha Rangappa, and professor emeritus in Dal’s Schulich School of Law, Wayne MacKay) are such fonts of knowledge. Asha is a leading expert on this topic and Wayne has so much insight into Canada’s legal weak spots — and whether the erosion of law that we are seeing in the U.S. could happen here. 

Also, doing a public event and is so dynamic, especially with the insightful audience questions at the end. It gave me hope that people showed up and care about the big challenges facing humanity.

What do you hope the audience took away?

That knowledge is power. Hopefully they also gained insight and felt joy in learning new ideas.

What are your favourite parts of day job hosting IDEAS at CBC?

Talking to such interesting people, learning from them and hopefully crafting pieces that engage audiences. The opportunity to improve critical thinking, knowledge and compassion — and perhaps make the world a little smaller.