From grades and rankings to follower counts and performance metrics, our lives are constantly being measured, compared and optimized. But at what cost? Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with philosopher C. Thi Nguyen about how the systems we use to measure success can reshape our goals – and even change who we become.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with Yeganeh Torbati, The New York Times' Iran correspondent, about how sentiment in Iran has changed over the course of the war in the Middle East. Then, Iranian-Canadian author and activist Marina Nemat discusses how diaspora communities view the country's future.

• Biologist David George Haskell makes the case that flowering plants are critical architects of life on Earth.

• NPR's Emily Feng and The Economist's Simon Rabinovitch set up U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and explore how China is positioning itself on the world stage.

• Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen reflects on how the systems we use to measure success can reshape our goals – and even change who we become.

In our monthly challenge, That's Puzzling!, Piya Chattopadhyay competes against one familiar voice and one clever listener in a battle of brain games devised by puzzle master Peter Brown. Playing this week are retired Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Mark Tewksbury and Winnipeg listener Nancy Voth.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with political science professor Amy Verdun and The Economist's Canada correspondent Rob Russo about Prime Minister Mark Carney's courting of Europe, and how the federal government's spring economic update is landing at home

• Philosopher Vincent Delecroix discusses his novel Small Boat, which fictionalizes a real-life migrant boat disaster in the English Channel to probe questions of apathy and complicity in tragedy

• The Atlantic's David A. Graham surveys the state of American democracy and the fight over the integrity of the U.S. midterm elections

• Our monthly challenge That’s Puzzling! returns with Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Mark Tewksbury and Winnipeg listener Nancy Voth

Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in book form in 1926, and the fictional teddy bear has only grown more beloved in the century since. Author Gyles Brandreth joins Piya Chattopadhyay to explore how the "pure happiness" and childhood innocence that Pooh and his friends represent help explain the enduring appeal, and why creator A.A. Milne and his son – the real-life Christopher Robin – had a love-hate relationship with Winnie-the-Pooh.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with economists Randall Bartlett and Jim Stanford about Canada's financial future and how to weather the economic challenges we face

• Lexicographer Kory Stamper explores the rich history of how Merriam-Webster dictionaries have defined colours, and what it reveals about the craft of definition itself

• Journalist Tyler Dawson breaks down the history of Alberta's separatist sentiments, and why they're different today

• Author Gyles Brandreth reflects on why Winnie-the-Pooh endures, 100 years after the fictional teddy bear made his book debut

Former U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón says poetry can be an antidote in trying times, because it reminds us how to feel, celebrate, connect, and grieve.

She joins Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about why we should embrace the form even if it feels intimidating, her mission to connect people with nature by putting poems in parks, and the message she sent to the Library of Congress in the early days of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term.

• Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with The Economist's Gregg Carlstrom and David Sanger from The New York Times about the latest developments in the Middle East and the stakes for U.S. President Donald Trump

• Former U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón reflects on the power of poetry in challenging times

• The National Catholic Reporter's Michael J. O'Loughlin explores what the rift between Pope Leo and Donald Trump reveals about the changing Catholic Church

• 404 Media's Matthew Gault unpacks how memes are shaping the narrative of war

• Former CBC reporter Whit Fraser looks back on his career covering Canada's North