Discovery Channel host and professional nerd Jay Ingram

Jay Ingram was the host of CBC’s Quirks and Quarks from 1979-1992, then in ’95, he became the host of the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet. He’s written a stack of bestselling science books, most recently Theatre of the Mind: Pulling Back the Curtain on Consciousness. And, as of last year, he’s the Chair of the Banff Centre’s Science Communications program, which attracts everyone from scientists to freelance writers to videomakers. “We try to break down our preconceptions of how best to communicate science and explore really new, maybe revolutionary methods,” says Ingram.
    This week, Ingram hosts a pair of science-related chats. The first, Good Chemistry: A Science Talk Show, is exactly what it sounds like — a good old-fashioned talk show. “Science sometimes intimidates people,” says Ingram, “but when you’ve got three funny and informative guests sitting on a couch, you’re not going to be intimidated.” The guests include a scientist, a sociologist and a dancer, who will speak about the ways in which science affects their diverse fields. “The Banff Centre is an arts campus, not a science campus,” says Ingram. “It encourages this kind of thing. When you go to the dining room, surrounded by opera singers, classical musicians, visual artists and so on, you think, well, maybe there’s other ways I can get across these ideas in science.”
    The following day, Ingram will give a talk entitled Can Animals Think? “For a long time, nobody thought birds were very smart, even though parrots are clearly smart,” says Ingram. “Lately, there have been some really good observations of ravens and crows and jays that show they have great memories, they’re innovative and inventive. Does this suggest that maybe they’re conscious? If chickens raised for our consumption are conscious, then you can be pretty sure they’re miserable. What about chimps and gorillas? Dogs and cats? Snakes?”
    Good Chemistry: A Science Talk Show takes place in the Banff Centre’s Telus Studio, in the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Building, on August 20, 7:30 p.m. Then, Can Animals Think? hits the Banff Centre’s Dining Room on August 21, 7:30 p.m., for $5.
    Why should movies have the monopoly on previews? Pages on Kensington kicks off its exhilarating fall event schedule with literary previews. The Pages staff has selected some of the most exciting upcoming releases from Canadian and American publishers, and you can get an exclusive sneak peek — not to mention advance reading copies and other insider goodies. The previews take place at Pages, starting with a fiction preview on August 16, 7:30 p.m., followed up by a non-fiction preview on August 23, 7:30 p.m.
    Got some words to share? Head down to the Oolong Open Mic. Organized by Ian Glen Kinney, it’ll be an evening of tea-drinking and poetry-spinning — and, if you’re daring, you could seize the mic yourself. Join the action at the Oolong Teahouse on August 16, 7 p.m.