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Canadian scientist and broadcaster David Suzuki in the '80s. Source: https://x.com/cbcgem/status/1358803622482608129 (May be subject to copyright) |
David Suzuki is another one of those unique Canadian personalities who is neither actor nor singer, but beamed into televisions across the nation every week.
His name came across my e-mail the other day. It just reminded me of a time when you tuned in and the person on the screen had a credibility and authority that was, for better or worse, unquestioned.
The voice
What always comes to mind when I hear the name David Suzuki is that voice. It was authoritative and definitive. I think for me, part of that comes from the fact that, from an early age, my various science teachers would play clips from Suzuki’s various shows to enhance whatever concept we were learning.
What always comes to mind when I hear the name David Suzuki is that voice. It was authoritative and definitive. I think for me, part of that comes from the fact that, from an early age, my various science teachers would play clips from Suzuki’s various shows to enhance whatever concept we were learning.
Most notably, he was the host of “The Nature of Things” on CBC throughout the ‘80s and beyond. I recall finding some old issues of “TV Guide”. Among them was one of the fall preview editions. In that particular edition, it described how David Suzuki’s “Science Magazine” and “The Nature of Things” had merged into one program. It would go on to have some major lasting power. In fact, his time hosting the show went from 1979 to 2023.
Wikipedia reveals his goal in “The Nature of Things” was to stimulate interest in the natural world, point out threats to human well-being and wildlife habitat, and present alternatives to humanity for achieving a more sustainable society.
It also revealed Suzuki started his foray into television in 1971 with a weekly children’s show called “Suzuki on Science”. In 1974, he founded the weekly radio program “Quirks and Quarks” on CBC AM Radio, and hosted it from 1975 to 1979. Throughout the ‘70s he hosted “Science Magazine” until it merged with “The Nature of Things”.
The other show I will always remember was “A Planet for the Taking”, which came out in 1985. It was heavily promoted and each episode was watched by 1.8 million viewers. It was eight parts, took three years of research and travel to make, and looks at the relationship of man to his planet.
Life story – up to 1987
A few years ago I read an autobiography called “Metamorphisis: Stages in Life”, which was originally published in 1987. It was interesting because, before I read it, I knew little about David Suzuki the person. To that point, he was a person interested in bringing science to the masses, which I always respected.
A few years ago I read an autobiography called “Metamorphisis: Stages in Life”, which was originally published in 1987. It was interesting because, before I read it, I knew little about David Suzuki the person. To that point, he was a person interested in bringing science to the masses, which I always respected.
“Metamorphisis” talks about his early years which were hard. His family was one of the hundreds of Japanese-Canadian families that were unjustly and wrongly interned in camps during the Second World War. He was just a kid when his family was relocated to a camp at Slocan in the interior of British Columbia. In fact, one of his sisters was born in the camp.
After the war, with all their possessions sold off by the federal government, the Suzuki family ended up in Ontario, where Suzuki ultimately finished high school before going to university at Amherst College in Massachusetts. He later earned a Phd at the University of Chicago. He returned to Canada where he was an assistant professor at my alma mater the University of Alberta from 1962 to 1963, before becoming a professor at the University of British Columbia from 1963 until 2001.
The book makes two interesting points that shaped Suzuki’s career. One was that his father Carr Suzuki, stimulated his son’s curiosity and interest in science. I recall David Suzuki sharing a story about how his dad had told him about this particular insect that had like armour or plating or horns on it. Suzuki said, in the arrogance of youth, he just dismissed his dad. Years later, he came across that insect in his studies and his dad was exactly right. David Suzuki talked about not giving his dad the respect he deserved early on, and credited him with stimulating his interest in the natural world.
Besides, Carr Suzuki must have been a tough and resilient man to survive the internment and prosper when he and his family had to start all over again. Every person I have met who was interned is resilient.
The other point is that, as David Suzuki learned more about genetics and its applications, the more he realized that knowledge could be used in ways that did not benefit the planet. Unlike scientists who pursue the truth no matter what it is, he had an eye on how science could be used for evil as well as good.
That has informed much of the advocacy he has done over the past few decades, and some of his broadcast work.
Parting thoughts
David Suzuki is a week short of 88 years old now. When he started out, he was viewed as young and kind of a hippie. He had long hair, wore jeans and sandals with no socks, and sometimes slept in a hammock in his lab.
David Suzuki is a week short of 88 years old now. When he started out, he was viewed as young and kind of a hippie. He had long hair, wore jeans and sandals with no socks, and sometimes slept in a hammock in his lab.
Yet, he realized the knowledge he was accumulating, as he unearthed the mysteries of science, could be abused if put in the wrong hands.
So, he turned to teaching and broadcasting. There, he shared the magic and mystery of science with the public, and began to advocate for a more sustainable way of life.
It is interesting that he has become so polarizing, because David Suzuki’s message really hasn’t changed since the 1980s, and before that. How else could you take the title “A Planet for the Taking”?
Maybe now, with more people tuned in to his wave length, the discussions we should have had 40 years ago, we are starting to have now.
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