In the western Canadian province of Alberta, a political battle is playing out on people’s front lawns. Separatists are flying the royal blue Alberta flag, others the red and white maple leaf of Canada to show their support for a united Canada.

It's all because a populist right-wing political movement wants Alberta to break away from the rest of the country. On October 19, Albertans will vote in a referendum on whether to have a referendum on independence.

So how did the relatively small separatist movement gain so much political influence? Why do they want to leave Canada? And what does Donald Trump have to do with all of this?

Listen to Jared Wesley, a professor of political science at the University of Alberta, on the origins of the Alberta separatist movement.

This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Grace Jennings-Edquist. Mixing by Dan Semo and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Ashlynne McGhee is our Head of Editorial Innovation. Misha Ketchell and Stephen Khan are our editors in chief. You can sign up for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.

• What if Alberta really did vote to separate?
• Albertans disapprove of Donald Trump — and his brand is weakening separatism, too
• As Alberta separatists court the U.S., prosperity is fuelling a sovereigntist turn

Mentioned in this episode:

The Making of an Autocrat

Search "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series: The Making of an Autocrat. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

What is it that makes us conscious? How does the firing of neurons in one part of our brain make us feel aggressive, while others neurons make us hungry or anxious?

These are the questions that drove the discoveries behind the 2026 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. One of the new laureates, Karl Deisseroth, a professor in the schools of medicine and engineering at Stanford University, speaks to us this week about his pioneering research into optogenetics that led him to become a Nobel laureate.

This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Gemma Ware, Grace Jennings-Edquist and Isabella Podwinski. Mixing by Lloyd Barrett and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Ashlynne McGhee is our Head of Editorial Innovation. Misha Ketchell and Stephen Khan are our editors in chief. You can sign up for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.

• Read more coverage of the 2026 Nobel prizes on The Conversation
• How pond algae led to a Nobel prize and a new way to study the brain
• Optogenetics wins the Nobel – one neuroscience breakthrough in a line of technological innovations helping scientists map and control the brain

Israel is heading to the polls on October 27 and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing perhaps the toughest political battle of his career.

He's been accused of treason over fresh allegations he was warned of a major Hamas plot ahead of the October 7 attacks.

In this week's episode of The Conversation Weekly, wDov Waxman, a political scientist and Professor of Israeli Studies at the University of California explains why Israel's political magician might be out of tricks and how former IDF chief and political novice Gadi Eisenkot could be the one to upstage him.

Read more Israeli political analysis from Dov Waxman here.

This episode was written by Justin Bergman and Isabella Podwinski was the executive producer. Sound mixing by Dan Semo and our theme music by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is our Head of Audio and Ashlynne McGhee is our Head of Editorial Innovation. Misha Ketchell and Stephen Khan are our editors in chief. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.