The Current for Oct. 20, 2021
Today on The Current:
Mass timber involves bonding strips of wood together to create stronger lumber, and some architects say it could produce wooden skyscrapers that are better for the environment. But not all environmentalists agree. Matt Galloway talks to Michael Green, an architect in Vancouver; and John Talberth, founder of the Center for Sustainable Economy.
Plus, rooming houses have long offered affordable accommodation to students, newcomers to Canada, and people who are vulnerable or living on low incomes. But they are unregulated in some parts of the country, and their affordability is being eroded by the housing crisis. We talk to Tom Ermidas, who says the rooming house he lives in now has saved his life; and discuss the housing pressures with Elizabeth McIsaac, president of the Maytree Foundation, a charitable foundation in Toronto focused on human rights and poverty; and Andy Yan, an urban planner and director of the city program at Simon Fraser University.
Then, award-winning photojournalist Jonas Bendiksen travelled to North Macedonia to capture images for The Book of Veles, about the town that made headlines in 2016 as the epicentre of the fake news industry. The portraits of the town he created won acclaim, but there was one issue: Bendiksen had faked every single one, intending to be found out. He tells us why he did it, and why he wants people to think more critically about the images they see.
And infectious disease physician Dr. Zain Chagla explains a pilot project to treat COVID-19 patients with monoclonal antibodies, underway at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, Ont.
