Guest host Syd Smith is joined by John Davies (senior wildland fire specialist, Forsite) to talk about How do we prepare better for more wildfires in Canada? We learn what its like to be a contestant on Jeopardy with Kyle Marshall (branch manager, Edmonton Public Library). Adam Shoalts (professional explorer, best-selling author of books such as Where the Falcon Flies and The Whisper on the Night Wind) tells us all about exploring Canada, the Arctic, and beyond and how do people practice meditation? We get a guide so you can start this weekend with Marvin Belzer (an associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA, associate director of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center).

June 1, 2023: guest host Syd Smyth in for Ben O'Hara-Byrne

What does “El Nino” mean, and is climate change creating more potential for weather disasters?

Guest: Simon Donner, climate scientist and professor at the University of British Columbia

Social media influencers - how do they make money?

Guest: Casie Stewart, content creator and expert in digital media

A woman near Halifax loses her house and daycare to the wildfires

Guest: Terri Kottwitz, owner/director, ForestKids Early Learning in Yankeetown, which burnt down in the fires

Could AI lead us to extinction or is that an exaggeration?

Guest: Jeremie Harris, co-founder, Gladstone AI, and author of “Quantum Physics Made Me Do It”

What’s it like being a photographer in 2023?

Guest: Tim Osborne, a wildlife photographer based in Alberta

The community impact in Vanderhoof after the discovery of Madison Scott’s remains

Guest: Chris Mushumanski, a search and rescue volunteer who helped lead the efforts to find Scott 12 years ago

Foreign Interference

Dan Stanton, instructor in national security at the University of Ottawa's Professional Development Institute and former executive officer, operations, CSIS

Journo Corner: Foreign Interference

Joanna Chiu, national and international journalist for the Toronto Star, author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder

What jobs are most under threat by advances in AI? 

Anil Verma, Professor Emeritus of Industrial Relations and HR Management, Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto 

Closer by Sea

Perry Chafe, television writer and co-creator of Republic of Doyle, author of Closer by Sea

An attempt to save 25,000 movies from the garbage bin

Emrys Damon Miller, director, Victoria graphic design studio Rocketday Arts, customer at Pic-A-Flic Video for 30 years

Should you take your shoes off in the house?

Mark Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria.

What do the election results mean for Alberta’s future?

Guest: Leah Ward, Vice President at Wellington Advocacy and former Director of Communications to Rachel Notley and the NDP Caucus

What does the UCP’s victory mean for the energy sector?

Guest: David Yager, author, energy policy analyst, chair of the Alberta Premier’s advisory council on Alberta’s Energy Future

Nova Scotia’s premier on the wildfires near Halifax

Guest: Tim Houston, premier of Nova Scotia

Why are Canada’s wildfires getting worse?

Guest: John Vaillant, author, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast

What to do about the crumbling 24 Sussex

Guest: David Flemming, Chair, Heritage Ottawa Advocacy Committee

Are killer whales teaching each other to sink boats?

Guest: Monika Wieland Shields, co-founder and director, Orca Behavior Institute  

 A look at the most interesting storylines of the Alberta election

Guest: Feodor Snagovsky, assistant professor of political science at the University of Alberta

A former spy on the Johnston report fallout

Guest: Phil Gurski, president/CEO, Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting

Alberta Election update

Guest: Dave Breakenridge, editor of Edmonton Journal/Sun, host of the 10/3 podcast

Stephanie Catudal’s journey through love and grief during her father and husband’s battles against lung cancer

Guest: Stephanie Catudal is the author of Everything All At Once, a professor in Media and Peacebuilding, and a trained interpersonal mediator.

Alberta Election update

Guest: Nick Koolsbergen, former campaign manager for the UCP in 2019 & CEO of Wellington Advocacy

Can a plane door open during a flight? 

Guest: Doug Moss, retired airline pilot, founder of AeroPacific Consulting, aviation safety and security program instructor, University of Southern California,

High rents force Halifax grandmother and nurse to live in a van

Guest: Terri Smith-Fraser, Halifax nurse and grandmother who lives in a van

More seniors find themselves homeless - why is that happening and why might it get worse?

Guest: Dennis Culhane, professor of social policy, University of Pennsylvania

A preview of the Alberta election on Monday

Guest: Janet Brown, pollster, political commentator in Alberta

The New Reality preview - what is fashion greenwashing?

Guest: Megan Robinson, a producer of The New Reality and a national news producer at Global News

How to navigate misleading advertising when buying new clothing?

Guest: Kelly Drennan, Founding Executive Director, Fashion Takes Action

WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight loss or health - why not?

Guest: Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia

Reflecting on the life and passing of Tina Turner - her impact on performers today

Guest: Jully Black, Canadian singer/songwriter

Canada's household debt is highest in the G7, how can it be tamed?

Guest: Don Drummond, the Stauffer-Dunning Fellow at Queen’s University and a former chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank

The RCMP at 150: how the force became woven into Canada’s story

Guest: Steve Hewitt, Senior Lecturer in American and Canadian Studies at the University of Birmingham, author of several books on the RCMP

The RCMP at 150: can the force keep up with the times?

Guest: Eli Sopow, Associate Professor, MBA Faculty of Leadership & People Management, University Canada West, former RCMP civilian employee and former RCMP director of change management

Many countries are becoming increasingly cashless, at what cost?

Guest: Bruce Sellery, CEO, Credit Canada Debt Solutions

Revitalizing North America’s Chinatowns

Guest: Carol Lee, chair, Vancouver Chinatown Foundation

What does Canada’s restaurant landscape look like in 2023?

Cooking for the great outdoors and how to make a real meal of it

Guest: Chris Nuttall-Smith, food writer, restaurant critic, author of Cook It Wild

How advancements in DNA testing led to the solving of a 48-year-old cold case in Montreal

Guest: Nicolas Tremblay, forensic biologist, spokesperson for Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale du Québec (LSJML)

Journo Corner: The response to David Johnston’s critiques of media coverage of foreign interference

Guest: Steven Chase, parliamentary bureau reporter, The Globe and Mail

Reflecting on the life and passing of Tina Turner - her impact on the music industry

Guest: Serona Elton, a former recording executive, professor of music industry at the University of Miami Frost School of Music

Reflecting on the life and passing of Tina Turner - her impact on performers today

Guest: Jully Black, Canadian singer/songwriter

Why we should appreciate the good in very bad movies

Guest: Katharine Coldiron, author of Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter

David Johnston rules out public inquiry into China’s interference in Canadian politics, is it the right decision?

Guest: Christian Leuprecht, professor at the Royal Military College and Queen’s University, senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute

Former Conservative MP allegedly targeted by Beijing on David Johnston’s recommendations

Guest: Kenny Chiu, former Conservative MP

Why a public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference would have been tough to carry out

Guest: Ed Ratushny, emeritus professor of law, University of Ottawa and author of and author of The Conduct of Public Inquiries: Law, Policy, and Practice

How broken is the flow of intelligence and information in Ottawa?

Guest: Artur Wilczynski, a retired Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General of Intelligence Operations from the Communications Security Establishment; and former Ambassador and Director General of Security and Intelligence at Global Affairs Canada

Ukraine latest after Zelenskiyy’s visit to the G7

Guest: Michael Bociurkiw, Global affairs analyst. Sr. Fellow - Atlantic Council

author of Digital Pandemic

Sorry seems to be the hardest word, why it shouldn’t be

Guest: Marjorie Ingall, co-author of Sorry, Sorry, Sorry: The Case for Good Apologies

An ode to cabbage becomes a cookbook sensation 

Guest: Ann Thurlow, author, My PEI Cabbage Cookbook

Alberta parks closed over wildfire risk, Crown land campers urged to be smart May long weekend

Guest: Jen Baron, PhD student focusing on wildfires and forest ecology, University of British Columbia

Have you forgotten a fortune? B.C. team wants to return millions to rightful owners

Guest: Sherry MacLennan, Executive Director, BC Unclaimed Property Society

Disney scraps billion dollar Florida plan amid Ron DeSantis feud

Guest: Aubrey Jewitt, professor at University of Central Florida and Assistant Director of School of Politics, Security and International Affairs

Passport redesign latest battle in the culture war over Canadian identity

Guest: Jason Hannon, Professor, Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications, University of Winnipeg

The removal of AM radios from vehicles - and why some have “road rage” over the idea

Guest: Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a trade journal covering the talk radio industry

One of country music’s biggest stars gets set for Canadian tour

Guest: Lainey Wilson, singer, songwriter, actor