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The journalists Peter Edwards and Luis Nájera discuss their new book The Wolfpack: The Millennial Mobsters Who Brought Chaos and the Cartels to the Canadian Underworld (Random House Canada, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Wolfpack

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

A new book looks at the current state of organised crime in Canada. In The Wolfpack: The Millennial Mobsters Who Brought Chaos and the Cartels to the Canadian Underworld, the journalists Peter Edwards and Luis Nájera illustrate the groups who now import drugs into Canada, mainly cocaine from some of the most dangerous criminal groups, the drug cartels of Mexico. Luis and Peter join me now, and I’ll ask them about the Wolfpack Alliance, and who makes up this group. I’ll ask about what their trade is, and how they’re connecting together here in Canada and with groups in Mexico using the internet. Luis Nájera is a journalist and crime analyst from Mexico, who’s lived in exile in Canada since 2008. He was a reporter for Grupo Reforma based in Ciudad Juárez. He received a Master’s of Global Affairs from the University of Toronto. He was the PEN Canada-George Brown Writer in Residence, and the recipient of the 2010 CJFE International Press Freedom Award. Peter Edwards is the bestselling author of 15 nonfiction books, and one young adult novel. He appears regularly in the Toronto Star reporting on organised crime. He is executive producer of the City TV series Bad Blood. This new book is published by Random House Canada. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Peter Edwards, and Luis Nájera.

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The acclaimed star of stage and screen Karen Mason talks to Joseph Planta about her new album Let the Music Play (Zevely Records, 2021).

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Karen Mason joins me now. The acclaimed stage, screen, and concert star has a new album out, Let the Music Play. It’s out Friday, 12 November 2021 digitally and on CD from Zevely Records. It showcases the wide breadth of Ms. Mason’s vocal talents from the showstopping and subdued, to the poignant and powerful. Some of the tracks on the album include “On Broadway,” “He Touched Me,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “In My Life,” “When You Wish Upon a Star,” as well as “For Good,” featuring its composer Stephen Schwartz on piano, and “We Can Be Kind,” featuring its composer David Friedman on piano. Karen’s husband Paul Rolnick, who produced the album, also contributes four songs. I’ll ask Karen about “Jerusalem,” as well as “We Never Ran Out of Love (We Just Ran Out of Time)” which is a bonus track, songs Mr. Rolnick wrote. The album’s title track is also a collaboration between Rolnick and David Friedman, “Let the Music Play.” It’s an anthem, opening the album reflecting the reopening of live performances in New York, where Karen joined me from a couple of weeks ago. Here’s a bit of that song now. Karen Mason has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, in concert, and in the recording studio. She is a 13-time MAC, Manhattan Association of Cabaret, Award winner, including the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. A regular in the New York cabaret scene, she originated the role of Tanya in Mamma Mia, for which she received a Drama Desk nomination, and was recently seen as Madame Giry in the North American premiere of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. For three years, she played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and on Broadway. She was most recently seen in the Netflix series Halston, starring Ewan McGregor. Visit www.karenmason.com for more. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Karen Mason; Ms. Mason, good morning.

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The distinguished historian Daniel Francis discusses his new book Becoming Vancouver: A History (Harbour Publishing, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Becoming Vancouver

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Daniel Francis joins me again. The distinguished historian has just published a new book, Becoming Vancouver: A History. It traces Vancouver’s story from early habitation by the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, all the way through today’s contemporary geography, economy, and politics. It’s a brisk look at Vancouver, but it’s often thoughtful, persuasive, and insightful. A number of the characters Dan writes about are colourful and fascinating. He looks at the idea of Vancouver, and the tensions between those that might want Vancouver to stay as it is, while others who see its growth and densification as inevitable. He looks at real estate, then and now, and how then as now, it’s been the driving force of Vancouver’s narrative. Mr. Francis looks at race, whether it’s discrimination and violence towards the Chinese, or Japanese, or Indian. There’s the tensions between labour and capital, as well as outbreaks of smallpox and influenza one hundred years apart that are of particular interest as we live through the COVID pandemic. We’ll also talk about morality in Vancouver through the early part of the twentieth century. Daniel Francis has written over thirty books, primarily on Canadian and British Columbia history. He received an Award of Merit from the Vancouver Historical Society, as well as the prestigious Pierre Berton Award, also known as the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media. Visit www.danielfrancis.ca for more, as well as his blog. This new book is from Harbour Publishing. This is his fourth appearance on the show. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Daniel Francis; Mr. Francis, good morning.

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The broadcaster and ordained Spiritual Director Ralph Benmergui discusses his new memoir I Thought He Was Dead: A Spiritual Memoir (Wolsak & Wynn, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: I Thought I Was Dead

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Ralph Benmergui joins me again. The acclaimed broadcaster has written a new book, I Thought He Was Dead: A Spiritual Memoir. The book opens as Mr. Benmergui, on his way to radio station Jazz FM, where he hosted the morning dive program, discovers he’s not well and hours away from a deadly heart attack. Almost in an instant his life changes, physically and spiritually. He narrates his health journey from stents being installed in his arteries to two bouts of cancer. He realises how our society imposes stereotypes on aging, and the elderly, and in the course of this book, he demonstrates the value in growing older, and the benefit of having elders in our midst who have purpose. The book is also a look at Ralph’s own remarkable life, the son of Moroccan immigrants, early years in music and in comedy, to his storied career on CBC Radio and Television. Today, he is an ordained Spiritual Director. I’ll ask him about what he calls soul-work, life, death, spirituality, as well as forgiveness. @ralphbenmergui is the Twitter handle. This new book is published by Wolsak & Wynn. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Ralph Benmergui; Mr. Benmergui, good morning.

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The broadcaster, host of Under the Influence, and bestselling author Terry O’Reilly talks about his new book My Biggest Mistake: Epic Falls and Silver Linings (Collins, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: My Biggest Mistake

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Terry O’Reilly joins me again. The broadcaster, and the winner of hundreds of international advertising awards has a new book out, My Biggest Mistake: Epic Fails and Silver Linings. It’s got a lot of stories in it, told in Mr. O’Reilly’s inimitable style. They highlight the power in screwing up, whether by accident or carelessness. Mistakes may cost one’s job or one’s credibility, but they can be overcome by confronting them. That’s the lesson derived from people who’ve fallen from grace, like Rob Lowe or the American anchor Brian Williams. Sometimes famous brands or bands can come about because of a mistake. Another story in the book is about Serge Savard, whose hockey career nearly ended prematurely because of an oversight. Fiberglass is pink, and done quite well as a product because of it, due to an error. And Seth MacFarlane slept in and missed a flight on September 11th, 2001. I’ll talk to Terry about the lessons in his book, as well as share some of the incredible stories therein. Terry O’Reilly’s two previous books The Age of Persuasion, and This I Know were bestsellers. He appeared on this program with both in 2009 and 2017. His popular and award-winning radio programs, O’Reilly on Advertising, The Age of Persuasion, and Under the Influence have been broadcast on CBC Radio since 2005, and podcasts have been downloaded over forty million times. Visit www.terryoreilly.ca for more. This new book is published by Collins, which is an imprint of HarperCollins. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Terry O’Reilly; Mr. O’Reilly, good morning.

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The journalist Ethan Lou discusses his new book Once a Bitcoin Miner: Scandal and Turmoil in the Cryptocurrency Wild West (ECW Press, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Once a Bitcoin Miner

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Ethan Lou joins me again. His new book is Once a Bitcoin Miner: Scandal and Turmoil in the Cryptocurrency Wild West. It’s an adventure, exciting, often funny, always fascinating look at Bitcoin and other digital assets. It’s something that Mr. Lou followed through university and his career in journalism, eventually as we read in the book, leaving Reuters to go into mining himself. He meets fascinating characters along the way, people like Gerald Cotton, Virgil Griffith, and many others. It’s a book that is of the time, as cryptocurrency intersects with money and banking, technology, and geopolitics. I’ll get Ethan to tell us about his book, and more. Ethan Lou was first on the program last year when his book Field Notes from a Pandemic was published. It was one of the first books about the COVID pandemic. In fact, as he said last year, this book had already been written, but had been delayed. Other than reporting for Reuters, his writing has appeared in The Guardian, and the Washington Post. He appears regularly in the Financial Post. The Twitter handle for more is @Ethan_Lou, and his website is at www.ethanlou.com. This new book is from ECW Press. He joined me from Toronto. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Ethan Lou; Mr. Lou, good morning.

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The poet and translator Matsuki Masutani discusses his debut poetry collection I Will Be More Myself in the Next World (Mother Tongue Publishing, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Mother Tongue: I Will Be More Myself in the Next World

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Matsuki Masutani joins me now. This past summer, he published his debut poetry collection I Will Be More Myself in the Next World. It’s a personal, intimate, and often funny and moving collection that covers his life, family, as well as aging and getting diagnosed with cancer and Parkinson’s. The book is charming. It’s wise, and it’s sentimental. Matsuki Masutani is a poet and translator living on Denman Island. He moved from Tokyo to Vancouver in 1976. In 1986, he moved to Denman Island. I’ll ask him about island life, and meeting his wife and their marriage. His poems have appeared in Geist, Capilano Review, and the anthology Love of the Salish Sea Islands. This book is from Mother Tongue Publishing. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Matsuki Masutani; Mr. Masutani, good morning.

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The author and translator Aimee Wall discusses her novel We, Jane (Book*hug Press, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: We, Jane

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

A recent novel that’s gotten great notices and critical acclaim, it was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize this year, is We, Jane. It’s the debut novel of Aimee Wall that follows Marthe, a woman from Newfoundland who finds herself in Montreal. She meets an older woman, also from her home province. They travel back to Newfoundland to continue the work of an underground movement that started in 1960s Chicago, where women provided abortion services. These women were referred to as Jane. What happens in the novel is a look at intergenerational female relationships, as well as small town life, and home. I’ll ask Ms. Wall about these various themes, the place she evokes in her work, as well as writing. Aimee Wall is a writer and translator. Her writing has appeared in Maisonneuve, Matrix Magazine, the Montreal Review of Books, and Lemon Hound. Her translations have included Vickie Gendreau’s Testament, and Drama Queens, as well as Sports and Pastimes by Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard. This book is published by Book*hug Press. She joined me from her home in Montreal. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Aimee Wall; Ms. Wall, good morning.

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The New Yorker’s Joe Dator discusses his new collection Inked: Cartoons, Confessions, Rejected Ideas and Secret Sketches from The New Yorker’s Joe Dator (Goose Lane Editions, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Inked

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Joe Dator joins me now. He has just published a new collection of his work, Inked: Cartoons, Confessions, Rejected Ideas and Secret Sketches from The New Yorker’s Joe Dator. It provides marvelous insight as to his work, how he evokes humour in his art, and how it inevitably connects with readers of the magazine. He is one of the New Yorker’s most beloved cartoonists. I’ll ask him about how he goes about his work, what makes him laugh, and what inspires him. Joe Dator has been a cartoonist with The New Yorker since 2006. He received the National Cartoonists Society’s 2018 Silver Reuben Award. He was featured in documentaries for HBO and The Atlantic. He also contributes to MAD Magazine and Esquire. Visit www.joedator.com for more information. This new book is published by Goose Lane Editions. We taped this in late August, with Mr. Dator joining me from his home in New York City. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Joe Dator; Mr. Dator, good morning.

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The journalist Arno Kopecky discusses his new book The Environmentalist’s Dilemma: Promise and Peril in an Age of Climate Crisis (ECW Press, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Half Brothers and Other Stories

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Arno Kopecky joins me again. His new book, The Environmentalist’s Dilemma: Promise and Peril in an Age of Climate Crisis is out today. He looks at how humanity seems to be doing better than ever, yet the planet may be dying. It’s a paradox that he explores looking at how our reaction to climate change has evolved in recent years. It’s dire but there’s also room for optimism. It also looks at how the media frames stories on the climate crisis. Another fascinating area of the book is when Mr. Kopecky looks at the historic relationship between the Indigenous and the environmental movement. The environmental movement has roots in white supremacy, and Arno explores that, as well as the path forward. The book is engaging when he relates personal experiences, for example his family’s 2019 trip to Disneyland and all the thoughtful questions that arose out of a vacation; all things to think about as travel starts happening shortly. Arno Kopecky is an environmental journalist and author whose dispatches from around the world have appeared in the Globe and Mail, The Walrus, the Literary Review of Canada, and Reader’s Digest, among other publications. His was first on the program in 2014 for his book The Oil Man and the Sea. It was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General’s Award. His Twitter handle is @arno_kopecky. He will be part of a Vancouver Writers Fest event this Friday afternoon, along with J.B. MacKinnon, hosted by Laura Lynch. The event is at 2.30pm and is at Performance Works. Visit www.writersfest.bc.ca for tickets. This new book is published by ECW. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Arno Kopecky; Mr. Kopecky, good morning.

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