The Conversation Lab  -  Curiosity. Conversation. Connection.

What happens when we stop trying to win an argument and start trying to understand one another?

At a time when our conversations seem increasingly divided by politics, identity, culture, and competing versions of the truth, The Conversation Lab begins with a simple proposition: perhaps the most important thing we can do is keep talking.

Hosted by veteran broadcaster, journalist, and social justice researcher Don Shafer, The Conversation Lab creates space for conversations that matter—with community advocates, authors, researchers, artists, activists, changemakers, and people whose voices too often go unheard.

We explore the issues shaping our communities and our world. But we're just as interested in the human stories behind those issues, the experiences that shape our beliefs, and the possibilities that emerge when we listen with curiosity rather than judgment.

Drawing on more than fifty years in broadcasting and doctoral research at the University of British Columbia into the power of words in a polarized world, Don approaches each conversation with a conviction that dialogue is more than an exchange of opinions. It can be a way of building understanding, challenging assumptions, repairing relationships, and imagining a more just and compassionate world.

The Conversation Lab broadcasts on Vancouver's CFRO 100.5 FM, on the last Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. Pacific. Also available through community and campus radio stations across Canada and on your favourite podcast platform.

CFRO FM (Co-op Radio) is located in Vancouver's downtown eastside on the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) Nations where we are grateful to be able to do this work.