Episodes

Canadian crooner Matt Dusk returns to talk about dining [and chit-chatting] with Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip, cutting a duet track with a pre-President Donald Trump, recording a song written by Bono & The Edge and meant for Frank Sinatra, lessons learned from his professional [and personal] relationship with the late great Tony Bennett, nervously approaching Harry Connick Jr at a meet & greet, bonding with Jason Priestley over Chet Baker, the mutual respect between him and Michael Buble, and...

Skinnamarinky dinky dink, Skinnamarinky do...I love you! Sharon Lois & Bram’s Sharon Hampson talks about their multi-generational appeal [now entertaining 5 generations!], coming up in the 1970s Toronto coffee-house scene, becoming a trio via the 'Mariposa in the Schools' program, their breakthrough 1978 debut album One Elephant-Deux Elephants, the origins of Elephant and Skinnamarink, why she so loves Steve Paikin and Bob Rae, memorable interactions with the Clintons/Colin Mochrie/Pete Seeger/A...

The City of Toronto’s two-term former Mayor David Miller talks about immigrating to Canada, his transformative experiences at Harvard, vivid memories from his campaign victories in 2003 [the BROOM!] and 2006 [the REPEAT!], his assessment of Mayor Chow’s current reign, governing in a system with 44 Councillors that have no party affiliation, why David Crombie remains a Toronto Legend [both are former Swansea boys], why they still call him Mr Mayor in the United States [although he misses wearing ...

Nextdoor Canada’s Managing Director Christopher Doyle talks about serving as a neighbourhood 'digital bulletin board' for 90 million verified users, why PROXIMITY differentiates them from other social media platforms, building upon their 'hyperlocal at scale' business model, serving as the gateway to actually putting down your phone and connecting in person, his past work experiences with Jack Dorsey and Scott Moore, why the ‘thanks’ button is utilized more in Canada than in any of their 10 othe...

'The Shopify Story' author Larry MacDonald talks about how a Canadian startup rocketed to become an e-commerce giant by empowering millions of entrepreneurs, the unexpectedly dynamic partnership of a quirky game-playing programming nerd [Tobias Lutke] and a demanding power-extrovert [Harley Finkelstein], getting ghosted by his main subjects Lutke and Finkelstein, the ‘flywheel effect’ of Shopify’s API, the cultural importance of Shopify staying based out of [and growing from] its downtown Ottawa...

Images in Vogue’s Joe Vizvary talks about coming out of Vancouver in 1981, Much Music VJ Kim Clarke Champniss serving as their Manager before KCC joined MM, opening up for Duran Duran/Depeche Mode/Roxy Music/Bryan Adams, Geddy Lee’s superfan wife hooking them up with Rush’s manager Ray Danniels, his ‘pinch me moments’ meeting Tina Turner & Kim Mitchell, how modern touring equipment is much lighter than it was back in the 80s, and why his high school music students have such a hard time believing...

Author/Journalist Shawn Micallef talks about moving from Windsor to Toronto in 2000, co-founding Spacing Magazine, morphing from writing for Eye Weekly to the Toronto Star, using psychogeography as the backbone of his first book STROLL, the immense ongoing changes in Toronto that led to his recently revising that book, his thoughts on Toronto Star colleague Edward Keenan/urbanist Richard Florida/Mayor Olivia Chow, and why he believes Toronto is like an infinite onion whose layers simply need to ...

Elevate CEO Lisa Zarzeczny talks about the upcoming Elevate Festival, curating their 200+ speakers/thought leaders, Michelle Obama’s in-person presence [and her ‘driving directly onto the stage’ security requirements], recommending that Al Gore use the UP Express as a transit alternative, the surreal experience of grooving to The Fugees ‘Killing Me Softly’ in front of Wyclef Jean, the ‘super-smartness’ of Eric Schmidt and Sam Altman, the possibility of leveraging her relationship with Martha Ste...

Canadian High Jumping legend Debbie Brill talks about developing the 'Brill Bend,' comparisons to the 'Fosbury Flop' [and her relationship with Dick Fosbury], jumping [and breaking world records] into her 50s, her positive interview experiences on the CBC with Adrienne Clarkson and Peter Gzowski, reaching that zen place of being ‘one with the jump,’ sharing a good chuckle with Queen Elizabeth, and why jumping ridiculously high was essentially “just this trick I could do for fun!”


Debbie will ...

10x National Champion/3x World Champion/3x Olympic Medalist Patrick Chan talks about retiring at 27 as Canada’s most decorated figure skater, his transition to a decade of touring the world with Stars on Ice, training for his next career as a Financial Advisor, whether Kurt Browning chews his ear off about Reverse Mortgages, thriving through ‘six minutes of pressure’ at three different Olympic Games, his ‘pinch me’ moment meeting Roger Federer, receiving courtside honours at a Raptors game, keep...

Bond Bakery Brands CEO Nicolas Mulroney talks about the influence of his late father Brian [the 18th Prime Minister of Canada], growing up at 24 Sussex Drive, speedboating with President Bush, why he lives in Toronto but still loves the Habs, the entrepreneurial mentorship of Paul Desmarais Sr, building his portfolio of family-run bakeries within the Bond Bakery Brands platform, why NAFTA is a great name for a free-trade agreement but not so much for a bakery, the ‘Ozempic trend’ overtaking the ...

Longtime Music & Entertainment Reporter Rudy Blair talks about working overnights at The Fan 590 while doing weekends at All Hits 680 CFTR, his transition from pushing buttons to getting in front of the microphone/camera, his induction into TWO Halls of Fame, his favourite interviews [Phil Collins, Barry White], his *ahem* less enjoyable interviews [Steven Seagal, Adrien Grenier, Jewel, Gene Simmons], and his exceptional interactions with Dustin Hoffman/Gordon Lightfoot/Lionel Richie/Shakira/Mic...

Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 CEO Scott Moore talks about his face time with Harry and Meghan, how the event is akin to Prince Harry’s Paralympics for Veterans, the 550 athletes from 23 countries competing in 11 sports, making use of legacy venues from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics [and the plans to leave behind their own $5MM financial legacy], the obvious reasons why they use whistles instead of starting guns, why everyone will gain inspiration from watching Heart of Invictus on ...

Sprinter and 4x100m Relay Olympic Gold Medalist Robert Esmie talks about why if you're Canadian you have to love Saturday nights in Georgia, a breakdown of that immortal 4x100m relay to win gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, his 'forever bond' with Donovan Bailey/Bruny Surin/Glenroy Gilbert/Carlton Chambers/Don Wittman, his interactions with PM Jean Chretien/Gordie Howe/Wayne Gretzky/Ron MacLean/Pinball Clemons/Carl Lewis/Michael Johnson, why HE is actually faster out of the blocks than Ben John...

Spoons’ Gord Deppe talks about doing double duty as guitarist for A Flock of Seagulls, their 1982 breakthrough at the Police Picnic at Exhibition Stadium [Police, English Beat, Joan Jett, Oingo Boingo, Talking Heads], Nile Rodgers taking a liking to them while opening for Boy George & Culture Club, catching grief for that Thrifty’s ad campaign [‘Tarnished Spoons’], working with Daniel Lanois before he was Daniel Lanois, and wondering aloud why they can’t get a major auto manufacturer to use Roma...

Ex-City of Toronto/TTC Communicator Brad Ross talks about putting out a shingle and opening up his own firm, collaborating with Seth Rogen on TTC public service announcements, the most grievous cases of poor TTC rider etiquette [fornication! toenail clippers!], his adventures working under various Mayors [Lastman/Miller/Ford/Tory] and TTC Heads [Webster/Byford/Upfold/Leary], and why we have it much better with the TTC than we think we do!


For his Substack Hot Takes and everything else Brad Ro...

Glass Tiger founder/original drummer Michael Hanson talks about how two bands merged into Glass Tiger, opening up for Culture Club/Journey/Tina Turner/Moody Blues, why Tiger Beat magazine compared him to pinup pretty boy David Cassidy, the ‘Boy George Incident,’ his celebrity interactions at the Juno and Grammy Awards [Roger Daltry! Paul Simon! Celine Dion! Peter Cetera! Don Johnson! Peter Gabriel! Stevie Wonder!], being too busy to play Wayne Gretzky’s Royal Wedding, how he got Bobby Orr to aut...

HOVER founder Cameron Rowe talks about autonomous drone deliveries, his pitch on Dragons’ Den [turning DOWN an investment offer!], piggybacking on the investment injected into drone deliveries by Amazon and Google, his experiences in the Techstars startup network, acquiring his drone pilot’s license, the challenges behind landing in ‘unsecured delivery areas,’ and why he is counting on his drones to support his upcoming swim across Lake Ontario for SickKids!


For everything Cameron and HOVER, ...

Three-time Olympic Medalist/Eight-time World Championship Medalist/Canadian Hockey icon Vicky Sunohara talks about jumping on the backyard rink at two years old, getting BANNED from the boys leagues due to gender, earning a scholarship to play at Northeastern University, donning PINK jerseys at the inaugural IIHF Women’s World Championships, her Olympic experiences at Nagano/Salt Lake City/Turin, returning to the University of Toronto to earn her degree and become the first full-time coach of th...

Canadian tennis legend Daniel Nestor talks about his 12 Grand Slam doubles titles, his coming out party as a 19 year old defeating world #1 Stefan Edberg at the 1992 Davis Cup, winning his 2000 Olympic Gold Medal with Sebastien Leroux at the Sydney Games, winning [and loving the atmosphere--one million pounds spent just on FLOWERS!] at Wimbledon, playing a Pro-Am tournament where he was the ‘Pro’ and The Great One Wayne Gretzky was the ‘Am,’ his interactions with David Beckham/Donovan Bailey/Car...

Television PxP voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning Dave Randorf talks about his time at TSN, Saturday nights at Hockey Night in Canada, finishing his 4th season calling Lightning games with Brian Engblom, heading to the arena in flip-flops & then being back in his swimming pool 30min after the game ends, catching up with the Hulkster while sunbathing on Clearwater Beach, Jon Cooper remembering him from Vancouver’s Sports Page, the amazing-ness of HHOFer Phil Esposito, and the PTSD he still suffers ...

Love bowling? Love the music of the 80s? Ed Sousa talks about his love for BOTH, his signature trilby hat, turning a one-night charity concert with Honeymoon Suite & the Spoons into the largest indoor music festival in North America, growing up 5 minutes away from radio station CFNY, Curtis Joseph’s wife’s adoration of When In Rome, learning the value of intimate artist/fan interaction from Randy Bachman, why his dream show would be booking Simple Minds, spending time with Midge Ure/Martin Fry/G...

Retired Police Superintendent and now Author Keith Merith talks about his 31 years of service for the York Regional Police, the messages of truth/pain/optimism/perseverance delivered in his new memoir, his six principles of success, his fantastic experiences with Bernice and the late Herb Carnegie, and why his retirement has been so fabulous that it can only be best described as DELICIOUS!


A Darker Shade of Blue: A Police Officer’s Memoir is available from ECW Press at https://ecwpress.com/pr...

Media Triple Threat/Author Bruce Dowbiggin talks about co-writing with his son Evan [he’s like a sports ‘Rain Man’], the imminent integration of fellow sports journalist Eric Duhatschek into his own family, shuttling between Calgary and the 'Winter White House' in Florida, why newspaper columnists used to be the ‘Princes of the Pressbox,’ his career-changing investigative journalism into disbarred lawyer/former head of hockey players' union/convicted felon Alan Eagleson, why he doesn’t trade hol...