Picking the brain of Indigenous rights expert Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot on the rights of Indigenous People, UNDRIP and the responsibilities of Canada and its residents.

Dr. Lightfoot spoke at the Peter Lougheed Leadership College Public Lectures

Picking the brain of Edmonton historian Ron Byers on why it's vital to keep queer legacies alive and build on them in Edmonton and beyond.

*He spoke at a 2026 Pride Month event at the University of Alberta, organized by the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA).

Picking the brain of Canadian-Danish urban designer, Mikael Colville-Andersen on how natural disasters, recession, war and even pandemics alter how we build cities.

Picking the brain of Western University History professor, Alan MacEachern in the first decades of the Meteorological Service of Canada—when what seemed like science fiction became reality.

Picking the brains of Member of the Order of Canada, visual artist Christi Belcourt and architect, Tiffany Shaw about how their Métis heritage and culture inform their work.

Picking the brains of U of A Psychology department associate professor, Peggy St. Jacques on how we form memories and recall them.

Picking the brains of MacEwan University sessional instructor Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson on what she’s doing instead of policing and punishing the use of AI in her classroom. Plus, Swedish Defence University’s Arita Holmberg and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Tanya Richardson explain how animals are impacted by armed conflict .

Picking the brains of University of British Columbia law professor and member of the Canadian-Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, Emma Cunliffe. Listen as she works through fundamental questions about the role, oversight and education of police in a democratic society and what this could mean for Alberta.

Her talk is the 2026 Merv Leitch QC Memorial Lecture at the U of A’s Faculty of Law.