Bob McDonald

My guest on this episode is Bob McDonald. Bob has been the host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks since 1992 and is a regular science commentator on the CBC News Network and a science correspondent for The National. He is the author of multiple books, including The Earthling’s Guide to Outer Space, Canadian Spacewalkers, and The Future is Now. He has been honoured with the Michael Smith Award for science promotion from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Sandford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, and the McNeil Medal for the public awareness of science from the Royal Society of Canada. He has also been made an Officer of the Order of Canada and has an asteroid named after him. Bob’s most recent book is the memoir Just Say Yes, which was published in 2024 by Douglas & McIntyre. Astronaut and author Chris Hadfield says about Just Say Yes that “Bob takes his rare ability to explain the world to us all and applies it to himself in this delightful, often surprising and ever-insightful autobiography.”

Bob and I talk about the importance of promoting and communicating real science amid the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories (and why the closing of the Ontario Science Centre doesn’t exactly help with that goal), about his initial reluctance to include the story of his childhood sexual abuse in his memoir (but why he is proud that he did), and about his work-in-progress, a book for kids that focuses on—surprise!—science.

This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock, in partnership with The Walrus.

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.