Some artists find a sound or a look. Others find the truth. Bif Naked found both. In this moving episode of Chatter that Matters, I sit down with the iconic Juno Award-winning artist and activist Bif Naked to unpack "I am who I am."

Born in New Delhi. Adopted. Raised across oceans, finding love in words and music. At 21, Bif met her birth mother, a moment that brought her story full circle.

But identity is not formed only in comfort.

At 36, Bif was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Two years later, she suffered a stroke.

Those chapters did not silence her. They fed her poetry and clarified what mattered.

I loved every second of my time with Bif Naked. We discuss punk, poetry, feminism, and the discipline behind her philosophy: "save the rage for the stage."

There is wisdom in that line. Choose where your energy goes. Do not let the noise of the world steal your voice. Channel it. Own it.

If you have ever felt different, silenced or enraged.

If you have ever had to rebuild or renew.

If you believe identity is something you own, not something assigned.

This conversation is for you.

(And her music and passion roars throughout)

What happened to the truth? I find myself fixated on a troubling realization. It feels remarkably easy to win over an audience with a slogan, a promise without substance, or blatant mistruths, even when those are wildly disconnected from the audience's reality. And even more surprisingly, they are not only readily accepted but also often repeated and shared.

I wanted to understand why. Not from a political or media lens, but from a human one. What is it about human nature that makes us so vulnerable?

That question led me to two conversations on Chatter That Matters. What ties them together is a sobering conclusion. Our minds have not fundamentally changed, but the tools used to target them have. Unless we become more intentional about how we think as parents, citizens and individuals navigating the uncertainties and complexities of life, it will remain dangerously easy to sell comforting narratives that drift far from reality.

Gordon Pennycook, a highly regarded cognitive scientist whose journey from small-town Saskatchewan to a renowned thought leader at Cornell University gives him a rare lens on how ordinary people reason in extraordinary information environments. Gordon studies why we are so trusting, why misinformation spreads faster than truth, and why most of us are not irrational or malicious, just distracted. His research shows that people do not fail because they cannot think, but because the systems around them reward speed, emotion, and certainty over reflection and accuracy.

We discuss why falsehood often outperforms truth online, how social platforms exploit attention rather than intention, why news has become opinionated, and why there is still hope.

I then bring in Milos Stojadinovic, a cybersecurity and threat expert at RBC, who thinks like attackers, so the rest of us do not have to.

Milos explains how cybercrime has become organized, global, and industrialized, from ransomware-as-a-service to AI-powered scams and nation-state involvement. His insight makes one thing clear. Trust is still our greatest human strength, but it has also become the easiest point of entry for those who want to exploit it.

Robyne was a high school dropout who believed she wasn't worth saving.

Then her car plunged through the ice, trapping her 20 feet underwater and changing everything. This is the story of how choosing hope became a strategy for survival and healing.

I sit down with Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe, bestselling author and one of the most trusted voices on resilience. As a teenager, Robyne battled addiction, dropped out of school, and was hospitalized in an adult psychiatric ward. At 16, a near-fatal accident gave her a second chance she refused to waste.

This is not a glossy comeback story. It is an honest conversation about becoming. Robyn shares why pain does not have to make sense to be real, why recovery is never linear, how stress can be worked with rather than feared, and what everyday resilience actually looks like.

This episode is about hope, not as a feeling, but as a practice, and choosing to show up again when life feels overwhelming.

To find out more:

Discover – Pre-Order 'I Hope So: How to Choose Hope Even When It's Hard' Hope isn't just a feeling – it's the key to rewiring your brain for resiliency and well-being, even in the toughest times.

Stay Connected - Subscribe to Dr. Robyne's Newsletter Get exclusive tools, strategies, and Everyday Resiliency—straight to your inbox.

What happens when the dream you are chasing, ends in a split second? Only to find a new one awaits. At 19, Jane Roos was chasing Olympic dreams, fast, fearless, and focused. Then, in a single moment, everything changed. A devastating car accident took her best friend's life and ended the future she had trained for. What followed was pain, survivor's guilt, and a question that quietly redefined her life: Why am I still here?

From a hospital bed, with no roadmap and no safety net, Jane founded the Canadian Athletes Now Fund, an idea that would grow into one of the most important sources of support for Canada's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Today, CAN Fund has helped fund thousands of athletes seek their podium dreams, not by chance but by belief.

Jane also shares the quieter, equally powerful parts of her journey, including overcoming survivor's guilt, choosing service over fear, and creating community through initiatives like Random Acts of Magic. Her perspective on gratitude, courage, and living fully feels both hard-earned and deeply generous.

I then welcome Jacquie Ryan, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation. We explore what it truly takes to get athletes to the starting line and beyond, and why long-term commitment matters. Jacquie reflects on the enduring role of partners like RBC and how investing in athletes is about more than medals; it is about identity, pride, and belief in what Canada can be.

If you have ever questioned your path, your purpose, or what is possible after life takes an unexpected turn, Jane's story is a powerful reminder that the worst day can become the greatest gift, and that sometimes the most meaningful victories happen far from the podium.

To learn more about the CAN Fund: https://canadianathletesnow.ca

Ben Mulroney has spent his life carrying a famous last name while choosing a different path on his own terms. That is why I wanted to share his story.

We recorded the show in front of a sold-out room at The Toronto Hunt. Ben takes you behind his public persona and into the moments that shaped him, tested him, and surprised him. He shares wonderful stories that are funny, candid, and genuinely human, including what it really feels like to work on a red carpet and suddenly find yourself face-to-face with someone like George Clooney.

Over the past year, I had the chance to join Ben on his national radio show, on Corus, and I have watched his rare ability to take complex, sometimes controversial issues, synthesize competing viewpoints, then land on a perspective with clarity, confidence, and courage. In this conversation, that same clarity turns inward, toward family, fatherhood, identity, reinvention, and what it takes to build a life in your own voice.

If you like interviews that move fast, go deep, and leave you thinking, press play.

And as always a big thank you to RBC and RBC Wealth for all you do to allow me to share weekly stories of people who overcome circumstances to chase dreams and change their world and ours for the better.

One of the greatest lessons I've been gifted as host of Chatter That Matters is seeing how much impact one individual can have when they choose purpose over comfort. This episode is a powerful reminder of that truth.

At the centre is Tim Cormode, whose life changed during a moment of stillness alone on a glacier. That clarity led him to build Power to Be, using nature as a pathway to dignity, confidence, and possibility for people told their limits were fixed. Tim shares what two decades in the charitable sector taught him, not just about impact but about what is broken in how we give, from fear of risk to a scarcity mindset that holds good organizations back.

That experience sparked his next chapter, Power to Give, a bold rethinking of philanthropy rooted in trust, shared resources, and treating generosity as the investment it truly is. From a kayak on the water to a small-town skate park that drew an unexpected visit from Tony Hawk, Tim's story shows what becomes possible when imagination meets action.

The conversation then widens with Andrea Barrack, Senior Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and ESG at RBC. Andrea shares how RBC's new Purpose Framework is turning values into action. With a $2 billion commitment by 2035, RBC is focused on skills for a changing world and more equitable prosperity.

If you believe impact is built by people, not slogans, and that purpose is found by doing, not saying, you will love this episode as much as I did making it.

I open my 2026 season with fireworks of positivity. One of the best Chatter that Matters yet. A human journey marked with humility, humour and extraordinary. Someone knuckles decided to knock on the door of opportunity.

What does a Dragon, Best Selling Author, a McDonald's drive-through, a beat-up pickup truck, and a simple multi-million-dollar question have in common? 1-800-GOT-JUNK? The one and only Brian Scudamore.

Brian turned hauling junk into a $700 million empire by embracing a mindset he calls "WTF, willing to fail". His story is more than a business case study; it is a profoundly human one, marked by courage, doubt, family pressure, leadership missteps, and the power of seeing possibility where others see nothing.

Brian shares how firing his entire team saved his company, why culture is the ultimate competitive moat, and how systems, not people, fail. He opens about the moment his accomplished father said, "I'm proud of you,".

If you are an entrepreneur, a leader, a parent, someone young searching for their ladder to climb, or quietly wondering whether there is another path to follow, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends.

A special thanks and love to RBC for continuing to support the sharing of human stories that matter. Stories of ordinary becoming extraordinary.

As you listen, and if you have young adults around, listen together and then ask yourself two questions that changed everything for Brian Scudamore.

What if?

and

Are you Willing to Fail?

Happy New Year's, Everyone. Thanks for listening, and here's to a fabulous 2026.

Dear Canada. It is now or never. In this fifteen-minute podcast, I state that we stand at a crossroads. A century ago, the world emerged from the trenches of war and the shadow of a brutal pandemic. The optimism of the Roaring Twenties gave way to recklessness. We gambled our destiny, left it to chance, and crashed in 1929. Prosperity built on illusion never lasts.

Today, we face another critical time. The first quarter-century of this millennium has not been gentle, from the shock of 9/11, to the 2008 financial collapse, to pandemics, October 7, Ukraine, and a steady erosion of our freedoms.

While other nations seized their decade, Canada lost theirs. This is not partisan politics. It is our lived reality. Look around at food insecurity, job uncertainty, unaffordability, unchecked crime, and antisemitism spilling into schools, malls, streets, and places of worship, often met with a shrug by those in power. A feeling of impossibility, massive cracks in our confederation, and the Western Provinces squeezed, yet abandoned.

A decade of scathing Auditor General reports, with most buried in the shadows, without a flashlight in sight.

I end my podcast by saying our story is not over. I read a letter to Mark Carney. Why? There is no doubt in my mind that our footloose and party-free style of democracy will give the Liberals a majority.

The pen remains in his and our hands. Canadians can still choose destiny over chance, but only with courage, unity, and conviction.

Mark Carney has to make a choice. Continue more of the same and risk the fracture of this country, or earn his place among our greatest Prime Ministers by changing our course.

In my letter, I offer my thoughts on how.

Champion ideas over ideology. Restore critical thinking, law and order, and stand firmly against antisemitism and all forms of hate. Pursue smart immigration that welcomes those who will enrich our nation while sharing our values and respect for one another. Recommit to true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and rebuild bridges with the West so all feel part of a united Canada. And practice fiscal stewardship, because we cannot borrow our way to greatness.

I even derail a $100 billion plan to connect Montreal and Ottawa with high-speed rail in favour of connecting Canadian IP and our resources to the world. R&D, Patents, Refurbished ports, Pipelines and more.

Mark Carney, don't chase the comfort of ideology or the safety of a base. Choose Canada, all of Canada. If you do, history will remember your name.

Canada, it's now or never.

Tony Chapman

Our global food system is feeding more people than ever, yet some argue it is also making more people sick, more unequal, and more vulnerable. How did we get here, and more importantly, how do we change course?

In this timely and deeply human conversation, global nutrition expert Dr. Stuart Gillespie joins Chatter that Matters to unpack the forces shaping what we eat, who profits, and who pays the price. Drawing on decades of frontline experience across India, Africa, and within the United Nations, Gillespie blends memoir and manifesto to expose the structural realities behind ultra-processed foods, corporate power, broken policy, and the growing tension between undernutrition and obesity worldwide.

This is not a theoretical discussion. It is a grounded exploration of food justice, political will, activism, and the difficult trade-offs facing governments, industry, and consumers alike. Gillespie challenges the idea that individual choice alone can fix systemic problems, and makes a compelling case for coordinated, courageous action.

The conversation expands to Canada's role in shaping the future of food, with insights from Lisa Ashton, Agricultural Policy Lead at RBC. She shares how Canada's agricultural strength, innovation capacity, and collaborative ecosystems can help drive healthier, more equitable food systems at home and globally.

If you care about health, sustainability, equity, or the future we are building through the food we produce and consume, this episode will change how you see your plate.

Listen now, and join the conversation about what comes next.

To purchase Dr. Gillespie's Book Food Fight: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/food-fight-from-plunder-and-profit-to-people-and-planet/9781443475297.html

In this profoundly moving episode of Chatter That Matters, I sit down with Pierre Mousseau to talk about loss, grief, faith, and the long road back to meaning after tragedy. During the height of the pandemic, Pierre lost his 20-year-old son, Parker, after weeks of surgeries, setbacks, and moments that felt like miracles, followed by an impossible decision no parent should ever have to make. To say there is no more, to say goodbye to their child.

Pierre speaks openly about watching his son fight, signing the papers to let him go, the guilt that followed, and the silence that filled every corner of his life afterward. He shares how grief became both his armour and his prison, how depression nearly claimed him too, and how a moment on a dark country road forced him to choose between ending his life and continuing it for those who still needed him.

From the Ashes is not just a story of loss. It is a story of what can rise from it. Pierre reflects on rebuilding faith after anger and doubt, on unexpected moments of spiritual connection, and on how love, purpose, and responsibility reshaped his marriage, his leadership, and his view of what truly matters. He also speaks candidly about masculinity, vulnerability, and why men, especially, need permission to talk about grief instead of carrying it alone.

This episode is for anyone searching for light after darkness. It is a reminder that while grief may never leave us, it need not define the end of our story. Sometimes, from the ashes, something meaningful can still grow.

To purchase the book: From the Ashes: A Father's Journey Through Grief, Grace and Faith https://a.co/d/a82HrgI