The Sunday Magazine for May 11, 2025
This week on The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay
Changing the church: The challenges ahead for Pope Leo XIV
The world is getting to know who Pope Leo XIV is. But how will the first American leader of the Catholic Church shape the institution and its role on the world stage? Long-time Vatican journalist Charles Collins joins Chattopadhyay to discuss the biggest challenges facing the church right now – from financial mismanagement to the ongoing abuse scandal – and why he believes the new Pope will have a different leadership style than his predecessor.
How China made Apple, and Apple made China
If you've ever owned an iPhone, iPad or Mac, you may have noticed these words printed on the back: "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." But there's a bigger story behind that simple tagline. Financial Times journalist Patrick McGee tells Chattopadhyay that few understand just how key China and Apple have been to each other's rise. His new book Apple in China explores a relationship that's central to the world as we know it, one which is facing new challenges from tariffs to tensions with Taiwan.
Canada's premiers pin their priorities onto the prime minister
Mark Carney's trip to the White House this past week cemented the Canada-U.S. relationship as a top priority for the new prime minister. But the implications of the trade war and simmering separation concerns out of Alberta are thrusting the domestic political landscape to the forefront, with a first minister's meeting now confirmed for next month. The Globe and Mail's Shannon Proudfoot, The Toronto Star's Rob Benzie and CBC's Jason Markusoff join Chattopadhyay to break down how Carney might approach competing provincial priorities, and the complicated idea of national unity.
From apps to new prenatal tests, tech culture is reshaping modern parenting
Amanda Hess has spent years writing about internet culture. But when she became pregnant, The New York Times culture critic got caught in her own digital web. In her memoir Second Life, Hess pulls back the curtain on how technology is reshaping our relationship with parenthood, while also drawing on her own experience raising a child with a disability. She joins Chattopadhyay to talk about the appification of pregnancy, ethical questions around tech-fuelled prenatal testing, and the role online communities play in raising kids today.