Zoomer Week in Review

October 13 2024-Marc Garneau's "A Most Extraordinary Ride" & Preventing Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery

He made history as the first Canadian to fly in outer space. Then he notched another first - becoming the first astronaut to be elected as a Member of Parliament. Marc Garneau went on to serve in cabinet through some of the biggest events of the past decade. He came to our Liberty Village studio to talk about his memoir, “A Most Extraordinary Ride.”

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It is a common but debilitating complication after breast cancer surgery. Persistent pain prevents patients from getting back to work and resuming normal life. And it is becoming a larger problem, as more and more people survive breast cancer. Local researcher and pain specialist Dr. James Khan is launching a world-wide study to test the best ways to prevent and treat it.

October 6 2024-Amir Tibon Recounts the October 7th Massacre and his Rescue

Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre. For the most part, we have been dealing with the fallout from that terrible event, the war, the fate of the hostages, the displacement and destruction and the worldwide rise in anti-Semitism. I talked with journalist Amir Tibon, author of The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope, who spent that terrible and terrifying day with his family in his border kibbutz safe room - here is his story.

September 29 2024-Donating the Brain for Research & Cooking for the Holidays

Ontario’s Minister of Sport, Neil Lumsden, has made a commitment to donate his brain to research after he dies. The 10-year CFL veteran and four-time Grey Cup champion is one of several former football players making that legacy through the Concussion Legacy Foundation. I talked with about what he hopes this will accomplish.

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How do famous chefs cook at home and can we do the same as we prepare special meals for Thanksgiving or the Jewish new year? The answer is yes and there are tips, tricks, and recipes in Zahav Home: Cooking for Friends & Family -the book celebrity chef Michael Solomonov cooked when he had to cook at home during the pandemic.

September 22 2024-Exploding Pagers in Lebanon & AI Saving Lives in Hospitals

The use of pagers and walkie talkies may seem like a relic from the 1990’s but in Lebanon, this week, they were the targets of an entirely new level of electronic sabotage. Over two days, thousands of devices carried by Hezbollah terrorists exploded. Israel is presumed to be behind the attack. We spoke with Dr. Amos Guiora, a Law Professor at the University of Utah and former legal advisor to the IDF in Gaza.

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It’s an AI early-warning system that can save lives in hospital. The technology called Chartwatch, predicts which patients are at risk of deteriorating while in hospital and a new study from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto found it was associated with a 26% decrease in unexpected deaths. We talked with lead author and internist Dr. Amol Verma.

September 15 2024- Athletic Fundraising Events vs. Traditional Galas & When Is It The Right Time To Take Your CPP?

This morning the annual Terry Fox Run is underway with 15,000 participants here in Toronto and many more across the country. Last weekend, The Princess Margaret's Walk to End Cancer raised a record 3.5M with 1500 walkers. As fundraisers recover from Covid, athletic participation events are eclipsing traditional galas more than ever. I talked with Steve Merker, Vice President Corporate and Community Partnerships, PMCF, and co-founder of Ride to Conquer Cancer.

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It’s one of the most critical financial decisions Zoomers face, and most of us don’t give it the attention it deserves. The decision about when to take CPP will affect your finances for decades and you can collect a great deal more if you defer it from the age of 65 to the age of 70. Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, is the Director of Financial Security Research of the National institute on Ageing and she looked at the reason why more people don’t do that.

September 8 2024-On the Road with The Beatles & It's Arthritis Awareness Month

It’s been 60 years since Beatlemania gripped the world. And one man..then a reporter with the London Daily Express..spent six weeks of unrestricted access to the fab four during their iconic 1964 North American tour. In his book ‘The Beatles And Me On Tour- 60th Anniversary Edition’ Ivor Davis recalls his life on the road, serving up the stories behind the stories. We reached author Ivor Davis at his home in Southern California.

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Cutting-edge research is helping the over 6 million Canadians who suffer from arthritis, find some life changing relief. But, arthritis remains the leading cause of workplace disability in Canada, impacting sleep, mental health, physical activity, and more. We speak with Dr. Megan Himmel, Rheumatologist with UHN’s Schroeder Arthritis Institute.

September 1 2024-Tips For This Wasp Season & The "Grandma Babysitting Club"

They seem to be everywhere this summer…unwanted guests at our backyard bbq’s, outdoor family gatherings forcing many of us indoors. Why so many wasps now, is there anything you can do to keep them away, and what should you do if you get stung? We posed these questions and more to Royal Ontario Museum’s entomology expert Antonia Guidotti.

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An Ontario grandmother has come up with a novel approach to help families find temporary childcare. Since launching the ‘Grandma Babysitting Club’ earlier this year, founder Maria Martin has recruited six other Grandmas to the club offering in-home child care, with the goal of expanding the program. It has the added bonus of keeping the retirees young. We reached Maria Martin at her home in Kitchener.

August 25 2024-Wait Times for Surgery in Ontario & What Are We Agreeing to When We Click “I Agree”

There is a staggering variation in wait times for elective surgery in Ontario. For cataract surgery for instance, it ranges from 15 days for some patients to 249 days for others. And it’s not just the difference from one hospital or clinic to another, but from surgeon to surgeon. I talked with Dr. David Urbach, head of surgery at Women’s College Hospital, and author of a study that tracked the time between a diagnosis and the date of surgery.

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Thankfully Disney has backed off its bid to block a wrongful death lawsuit. But the entertainment giant had been claiming that a man could not sue it over the death of his wife because of terms he signed up to in a free trial of Disney+. But the question remains: what are we agreeing to when we click “I agree.” I talked with Technology analyst Carmi Levi.

August 18 2024-Professional Grief Counselling For The Loss Of A Pet & The Rich History Of The Noble Anchovy

To take on ownership of a pet is to welcome a new, full-fledged member into your family, and there is an entire industry devoted to their care. With the strong emotional ties that bind people to pets, there is even professional help available to overcome the loss when they die. Certified pet grief counsellor Helen Goldberg helped us explore this service.

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For something so small, they get a big reaction on both sides of the spectrum. Love 'em or leave 'em, anchovies have a rich, storied history dating back thousands of years. We caught up with author Christopher Beckman, who wrote the book on them.

August 11 2024-LTC Home Offering 24/7 Medical Record Access & How Flooding Can Damage Your Vehicle

It’s believed to be a first in this country. A Toronto long-term care home is offering families direct access to their loved ones’ medical records 24 hours a day..the first not for profit to offer the service. Meighen Health Centre, run by the Canadian Salvation Army, reports that 84 percent of families are using the app regularly, cutting down on time spent calling staff about their loved ones.

We reached Varsha Chaugai, a biomedical engineer in Ottawa and co-founder and CEO of Evoke Health.

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Scenes of flooding and driver rescues on the DVP and other arteries this Summer come amid a record rainfall for July. And with climate change, comes a stark reminder of the dangers of heavy rainfall when travelling. For some tips on what to do if you’re caught in high rising water, we reached Shari Prymak, Senior Consultant with Car Help Canada.