How connected are you to family and friends? We keep talking about how important that is and how the pandemic has taken its toll. In its second ever in-depth look at social capital in the city, The Toronto Foundation found a shocking number of people who say they have no friends or family to turn to as well as a big drop in the number of people who volunteer. Libby Znaimer talked with the foundation’s CEO Sharon Avery.

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It’s Diabetes Awareness Month and every day, 640 Canadians are diagnosed with diabetes. That’s 1 person every 3 minutes. Many more are unaware they have diabetes or pre-diabetes—and that raises their risk for heart disease. Libby Znaimer reached cardiologist Dr. Shelley Zieroth at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.

Last year Canadians donated $18 billion to charity and this is the time of year when many of us plan our year-end giving. How can you know if the causes you support are actually making a difference? Charity Intelligence is out with its annual ranking of the organizations that make the biggest impact for every dollar donated. Libby Znaimer spoke with Greg Thomson.

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It’s a given that failure can lead to dramatic life changes and sometimes those changes can be very positive. Radio host and prolific author Terry O’Reilly recounts how some of the biggest breakthroughs and best-loved products originated with a mistake. Libby Znaimer talked to him about his new book, My Best Mistakes, Epic Fails, and Silver Linings.

It was a defining moment in labour negotiations in Ontario this past week. Amid growing support for CUPE education workers, and poll numbers suggesting he was to blame, did Doug Ford blink and back down by rescinding Bill 28? We reached Dr. Simon Black, associate professor of labour studies at Brock University, about these unprecedented turn of events.

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Calgary-based writer Suzette Mayr has won this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel The Sleeping Car Porter. This is Mayr’s sixth novel that tells the story of a Black man in 1929 who works as a sleeping-car porter on a train that travels across the countrywhile living a secret life as a gay man. It brings to life an important part of Black history. Mayr is a past president of the Writers' Guild of Alberta, and has been teaching creative writing at the University of Calgary since 2003. We reached her hours after her big $100,000 win.

An Alberta mother of the last Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan has been chosen as this year's Silver Cross Mother. Candy Greff will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Remembrance Day, placing it on behalf of all mothers who have lost children to the service of Canada. Her son, Master Corporal Byron Greff, was killed in a suicide bombing in October of 2011 becoming the 158th Canadian soldier to die in the country and the last before Canada's mission there ended in 2014. We reached this year’s Silver Cross Mother, Candy Greff.

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How was your sleep last night? We changed the clocks back an hour overnight, ending daylight saving time in Ontario. According to experts, some people will experience a shock to their bodies' internal clock much like the jet lag after flying across time zones. It’s a tradition that first began in Ontario in 1918 and remains controversial. We reached Dr. Patricia Lakin Thomas, professor of biology at York University, whose research includes our circadian rhythms and internal clocks.

There is always a lower turnout for municipal elections than for the higher levels of government but Monday’s races set a record low. In Toronto, voter turnout was 28.58%. In Mississauga and Brampton, it was less than 25%. Across the province, just 34%. John Beebe of The Democratic Engagement Exchange tells Libby Znaimer that’s bad news for all of us!

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Salt is essential for preserving, fermenting and transforming food. We need it to maintain health and it has been used since ancient times. "The Miracle of Salt" charts some of its history and the different ways it’s used around the world. Libby talked with author Naomi Duguid.

INFLATION

 This week was all about inflation - especially in the cost of food. Are the large grocers passing on legitimate increases in their own costs or are they using it as an excuse to price gouge? In the House of Commons politicians of all stripes voted unanimously to investigate so-called "Greedflation". Libby Znaimer asked left-wing economist Jim Stanford for his take on the evidence. 

MODERN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Modern medical technology can extend our lives in ways that would have been unimaginable just decades ago. But it can also leave patients in the grey zone between life and death robbing them of important human moments at the end. Libby Znaimer talked to ICU doctor and former paramedic Blair Bigham about his book; Death interrupted : How Modern medicine is Complicating the way We Die.

Municipal elections are less than two weeks away and a lot of people in Toronto are frustrated. There is a sense of a city that has given up trying to manage and co-ordinate and deliver the basics while we are in the midst of a tremendous growth spurt. That growth seems to be the justification for dirty streets, overflowing garbage cans, year-old potholes, abandoned construction equipment blocking traffic lanes, the stench of overflowing sewage invading a neighbourhood. Earlier this week, Libby Znaimer moderated the first of only two mayoral debates, and she asked the five candidates how they would actually improve this and get things done. You’ll hear incumbent John Tory, followed by Urbanist Gil Penalosa, analyst Chloe Brown, entrepreneur Jack Yan and activist Sarah Climenhage.

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It’s an extension of the farm to table movement and the embrace of local food. Many people are embracing an age-old pastime that takes us into the forests - foraging. A new book explores the mysteries of mycology. Libby Znaimer talked with author Dianne Borsato about Mushrooming: the Joy of the Quiet Hunt.

The now disbanded Ontario Science Advisory Table has released a final report that focuses on the response to the pandemic by family doctors and nurses. It’s recommending a team based approach would better serve patients and help address the alarming number of Ontarians without a family doctor. There are currently 1.8 million without a family physician and 1.7 million have a doctor who is 65 or older. We reached one of the authors of the brief, Dr. Kamila Premji, from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine.

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This Thanksgiving will mark the first big fall gathering for many since the pandemic began as restrictions are lifted. But Thanksgiving dinner will come with a hefty price tag for Canadians this year as dinner staples increased by as much as 26 percent. With fewer discounts out there than previous years, how will families adjust their special meal?

We reached nutritionist and author Rose Reisman

As the cold months approach, snowbirds will have a lot more to consider this coming winter as the price of accommodation, groceries and dining out have all risen. Many are opting for shorter trips south, and looking at different destinations as a result. And it’s not only travel to the U.S. that will be impacted as travellers will notice the effects of inflation wherever they go. Add into the mix, hurricanes. We reached travel expert Steven Fine, president of Snowbird Adviser.

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It’s “sweater weather” and the vibrant Fall colours are arriving with Ontario offering stunning views that are perhaps among the best in Canada. While apple picking and taking in the fall colours have always been quintessential fall activities .. if you’re looking to add a bit more adventure this fall, we reached Kevin Forget from Destination Ontario. And who better to give staycation tips. Kevin’s twitter profile reads "My job is to tell you about all of the cool things to do in Ontario"!

How many times have you heard people underestimate the seriousness of their chronic condition with a statement like, "It's just arthritis"? Arthritis is not rare, it plagues 1 in 5 Canadians and it is not an inevitable part of aging. To learn more, Libby Znaimer sat down with Trish Barbato President and CEO of The Arthritis Society.

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We often feel a deep sense of loss when someone we admire dies and many of us feel the need to pay tribute whether we knew the person or not. This week, hundreds of thousands of people lined up for hours to pay respects to the Queen and closer to home thousands turned out to honour murdered Constable Andrew Wong - although he was not a household name.

What is behind these expressions of public grief? Libby talked with Dr. Darcy Harris, a professor from the Department of Thanatology, which is the scientific study of death, at King’s University College at Western University.