Change My Mind

Ozempic arrived and suddenly the conversation around obesity changed.New medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists are transforming how many people think about weight, health and obesity. But they are also raising difficult questions about access, stigma, personal responsibility and the role of public health systems.In this episode of Change My Mind, Lynda Steele sits down with Dr. Ali Zentner, a British Columbia–based physician and advocate for evidence-based obesity care, to explore what the rise of obesity medications reveals about how society understands obesity itself.Together, they examine whether these medications are changing the definition of obesity as a medical condition, how they fit into broader conversations about body positivity and weight stigma, while also exploring why access to treatment remains deeply unequal.The discussion moves beyond the question of whether these drugs are "good" or "bad" and instead explores what happens when a new medical treatment challenges long-held beliefs about health, choice and responsibility.As always, the goal isn't to win an argument. It's to think differently.No debate. No winning. Just talking it through.

What does it mean to force someone to get better — and does it work?In this episode, host Lynda Steele sits down with Guy Felicella, a harm reduction advocate and addiction educator, whose life story resists easy categorization. Over nearly two decades, Guy cycled through addiction, homelessness, gang involvement and incarceration, surviving six overdoses before finding his way to recovery. Today, he speaks publicly and passionately about stigma, trauma and the urgent need for a full spectrum of care.The conversation centres on one of Canada's most contested policy debates: involuntary care. Should governments have the authority to compel people living with severe addiction or mental illness into treatment — even against their will? And if voluntary systems are underfunded, inaccessible or failing, does that change the calculus?Lynda opens by sharing her initial position — and invites Guy to weigh in. What follows is a meaningful exchange, shaped by lived experience and an honest discussion about the limits of any single answer.Together, they explore:How trauma underlies addiction in ways that policy often fails to address.The difference between compassion and coercion — and when one becomes the other.What the research and real-world evidence actually shows about forced treatment.Why Guy believes involuntary care is not a simple solution — and what he'd put in its place.What recovery actually looks like, and the role of love, support and dignity in getting there.At the heart of this episode is a thread Guy returns to again and again: "If you don't deal with trauma, it's going to deal with you."This is not an episode that tells you what to think. It's one that asks you to be curious, to listen and to make room for the full humanity of people caught between addiction, policy and survival.

This episode of Change My Mind with Lynda Steele explores one of the most current and complex questions in Canadian healthcare: should Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) be available when a psychiatric disorder is the sole underlying condition?Rather than debating whether MAID and mental illness belong together, this conversation with Claire Brosseau — a writer, actor and advocate living in palliative psychiatric care — focuses on what it means to hold both autonomy and caution, as well as the lived reality of psychiatric suffering.Grounded in honesty, and shaped by Claire's willingness to speak openly, the conversation also explores questions around courage, caution and whether the two can coexist. Not as a debate, but as a dialogue. No winners. No noise. Just talking it through.CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), self-harm and suicidal ideation. The views expressed are those of the guest and this content is not medical, legal or mental health advice. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, please seek support from local emergency services or a qualified medical professional.

It’s called Change My Mind — but not in the way you think.In this first episode, Lynda Steele introduces the podcast and the kind of conversations she is trying to create — thoughtful, curious and grounded in listening. Along with her producer, she explores what’s driving division and why it matters to talk things through instead of diving into polarizing noise. They share stories about how we've lost the art of respectful conversation and reveal the key to reviving it—curiosity.No debate. No pressure to win. Just conversation.