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Piya Chattopadhyay hosts new Sunday morning show on CBC

October 15, 2020
Piya Chattopadhyay, Journalism ’97

Piya Chattopadhyay, Journalism ’97, is the host of The Sunday Magazine. Photo: CBC

If launching a brand new radio show isn't challenging enough, try doing it in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite the unexpected circumstances — a little over a month into her new gig, host Piya Chattopadhyay, Journalism ‘97, still gushes with excitement about her new CBC Radio One program The Sunday Magazine

“This show really is in the true spirit of a general interest magazine,” Chattopadhyay said. “The promise of a magazine to me is that you’ll get a cornucopia of different things within the covers — and we will deliver interesting conversations where everyone can find a way in.”

The new weekly program airs live Sunday mornings offering listeners a variety of topics, diverse voices and perspectives, engaging ideas, and music. In the month the program has been on the air, it has already tackled topics like the global pandemic, the U.S. election, Canadian foreign affairs, education and politics. 

Chattopadyay has had a successful career in radio and television spanning two decades. Before the CBC, where she hosted Out in the Open and guest hosted several other programs (The Current, q, and Metro Morning), she had stints on TVO’s The Agenda and was the Middle East Correspondent for Fox News Radio. She will draw on all these experiences to create a unique and interesting Sunday morning program for listeners — something Chattopadhyay prides herself on.

“I’m not really a traditional broadcasting host — my demographic is different, the way I speak is different, my range is immense, and I want to explore all that,” said Chattopadhyay. “I didn’t want to be boxed in by the infrastructure of tradition.”

The Sunday Magazine airs in the time slot previously occupied by The Sunday Edition which was on the air for 20 years with host Michael Enright. While this task may seem daunting for some, for Chattopadhyay, the key to succeeding is remaining authentic. 

“When you move into a new house, you make it your own,” she said. “I really looked at this like, I wasn’t going to burn down the house — but I was going to renovate it.”

Listeners can expect to hear conversations that help them try to make sense of today’s changing world from a new perspective. Much like her previous show Out in the Open sought to do, Chattopadhyay said she is “looking to carve through the cracks and find what is missing,” and cover that in this new show.

On the role her education played in her career, Chattopadhyay said she wouldn’t be where she is without Toronto Metropolitan University.

“When I went to Toronto Metropolitan University’s Journalism program, it was a very practical program when a lot of other institutions were offering a more theoretical approach,” she said. “I loved the spirit of Toronto Metropolitan University and I loved that it got me ready for the real world.”

Catch The Sunday Magazine at 9:00am (EST) on CBC Radio One.