Chatter that Matters

Sylvia Earle explains why the future of oceans matters. She joins the podcast this week to remind us of our collective power to use technology to change the depressing realities of the climate crisis.   TIME named Sylvia Earle as their first Hero of the Planet, and she has been National Geographic's Explorer in Residence since 1998. Sylvia is called 'Her Deepness' and the 'Sturgeon General' by The...

"The Accidental Gangster", Ori Spado, tells the story of how he was sucked into a life of crime, dedicated his life to making a change, and emerged with a newfound purpose to prevent others from joining crime organizations. I have always been attracted to characters, how they look, what they say, even their moral qualities. They make you smile or look with astonishment, and they are scene stealers...

'I went to them and said I am not a number. I am a human being. Just one week before and I was in Syria and I had dreams.' Tareq Hadhad is a Syrian refugee who is passionate about his family's chocolate business, and about creating jobs in communities across Nova Scotia and Canada. He speaks with Tony Chapman about the benefits of accepting immigrants, personal resiliency, and entrepreneurship. Ta...

Dwayne Matthews shares his mission to revamp global education to better serve children who are growing up during a novel era of social and digital revolution. Are we preparing our children for the future of work, where they compete for jobs in the clouds and must march in step with rapidly changing technology? Does school inspire and motivate them, and create a lifetime appetite for learning and i...

Guy Kawasaki is a bestselling author, accomplished executive, and outspoken entrepreneur. In this episode, Guy shares his powerful approach to business which will help entrepreneurs who are searching for ways to elevate their game. How do you say no to a job offer from Steve Jobs?    Guy Kawasaki is one of the most respected minds in Silicon Valley, an evangelist for Canva, a prolific author (of 1...

In this episode, Forbes Senior Editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg discusses music, media, and money. Listen for insights into building a career around what you love, as well as how to spot your 'big break'. What did Jay-Z say to Zack Greenburg, about Empire State of Mind, the book Zack wrote about his life? What was the response to another of Zack's books- The A-List Angels, how a band of Actors, Arti...

  ' This med student was given his last rites before he found a treatment that saved his life. His method could help millions more.' David Fajgenbaum, MD, is a groundbreaking physician-scientist, disease hunter, and speaker. His memoir, Chasing My Cure, is bringing awareness to how common drugs can be repurposed to cure rare diseases.  Today, Dr. David Fajgenbaum is my guest, but he should not be...

This week, Dr. Nyong'o speaks on the future of farming, the power of nature, and the importance of our everyday choices. Listen to her thoughts on how we can improve personal and collective sustainability by making considerate choices about what we eat, and where we source it from. I find myself thinking more about how and where my food is grown and sourced, and whether we are sustaining the soil...

Gillian Stein battles a changing retail landscape while battling Bipolar Disorder. Her mission is to change the stigma of mental illness.   (Full disclosure, my Dad was also bipolar, and I share a personal story as part of this show.)   Gillian Stein was eighteen and convinced she was in Arizona. She was, in fact, at the airport in Montreal. As Gillian says in this interview, 'my mind betrayed me,...

Actress Jennifer Irwin joins her father Bryan Irwin - of the Irwin Toy company - to talk about entrepreneurship, old stories, and how Bryan's cancer diagnosis has changed the way they spend time together.   When I heard about this story of Bryan Irwin and the news he received last fall that he was dying from pancreatic cancer, I wasn't sure how to handle the subject matter. When his daughter asked...

Cameron Bailey is a film 'maker. He rocks a tuxedo-like Daniel Craig in a Bond Film, a boardroom with vision and purpose, and society and culture with openness and understanding. As the Toronto International Film Festival CEO, one of the most important and publicly attended festivals globally, Cameron Bailey leads their mission to transform the way people see the world through film. Cameron Bailey...

'A heart-wrenching to a heartwarming story that proves that regardless of circumstances, you can have a better life if people believe in you and teach you to believe in yourself.' Edward Henry and his siblings wanted and deserved what every child should have. A happy and stable home. Instead, they had a raging alcoholic for a father, and when Edward was seven, his mother brought a new man into the...

Richard Clune has been playing professional hockey for sixteen years. He skates like the wind and has the body strength to hit like a locomotive. Today Richard Clune, whose nickname is Dickie, is the Captain of the Toronto Marlies , the AHL affiliate team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sixteen years playing professional hockey is a feat, given the average tenure of an NHL player is 4.5 years, but wha...

Imagine walking into a heavily armed Hells Angels compound as an informer, and you are wearing a wire. If discovered, these steps will be your last. If successful, your actions will be paramount in trying 'Nasty' Neil Smith, a dangerous and fully patched Hells Angel, for murder. How did you end up there?  Paul Derry  shares the story of his life as a career criminal and informant, what it is like...

A magical story of turning impossibility into possibility. At 13, Mike Fata drops out of school to help his Mom, balloons to 300 pounds on a junk food diet and self-pity. At age 18, he says: 'I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.' On his journey to regaining his mental and physical health, Mike Fata discovers Hemp, an excellent source of essential fats. Still, it's a banned crop because of i...

'A coming of age story about how impossibility can become a possibility through human spirit and will.'  By the time Curtis Carmichael was 11, ten people he knew died. He grew up in a Block where parents worked several jobs to survive, everyone was profiled, and crime seemed to be the only path to prosperity. Schools were at best a parking lot where students were yelled at by teachers who said the...

Candice Faktor is a game-changer, an attribute I admire as it involves vision, strategy, and resilience. In this episode, you will get inside the mind of someone who has positively impacted the status quo by bringing a higher level of passion and pursuit to every enterprise she has worked. You will learn how Candice creates value and, in turn, monetizes it. You will also learn about Candice's firs...

Let your spirits soar through the spirit of Mohamad Fakih, who sees humanity as a race to be cherished, versus defined by tribes, and confined and contested by their ethnicity, religious beliefs, language, income or sexual preference. When I told Mohamad that I was airing the radio show on Christmas Eve, he smiled and said, 'I love Christmas.'   Mohamed has spent the last two weeks working tireles...

This is a story of a woman's twenty-year battle with an eating disorder, and I even have her Mom join me on the show, as mental illness also impacts all who are close to the individual. Bring your tears, and then tears of joy. Riding a horse is where Laura Hearn found her peace and happiness from a world that denied her both. Bullied at school, alone more than with friends, and devasted by her par...

You could argue that the internet matters to most, but to Avi Arya, it mattered most. As a teenager growing up in Delhi, India, Avi had two dreams. To race cars and to then go on to Oxford University. Both crashed when his Dad was in danger of losing their family business, a small hotel and Avi had to step in to help. An international tourist who stayed longer and paid more for the room was where...

Are the #GreatResignation and the #greatreset also the greatest opportunity ever for both the employee and employer? Jacob Morgan thinks so, and his thinking attracts over 75,000 people to follow him on LinkedIn and 300,000 people to subscribe to his daily newsletter. Jacob is world-renowned for his thinking on the Future of Work. Yes, your work.   Jacob Morgan talks about why The Great Resignatio...

Bryan and Sarah Baeumler are parents to four children, international television stars and they own 14 businesses.  One of these businesses is renovating Emerald Palms, a beachfront resort on Andros Island, the largest and least developed of the Bahamas Islands. They turned their life upside down, and financially are risking everything. What they never planned for was both a hurricane and pandemic...

The great reset or resignation, employee or life dissatisfaction, and general malaise. So many people want to make a change, try something different, but they feel it's too big of a stretch, or a dream they aren't capable of racing towards. Andre De Grasse's dream was to play professional basketball but in his final year, the program was cancelled at his high school.  On a dare from a friend, and...

How do you feel? I find myself feeling anxious at times, thinking more about my state of mind and body, my immune system and my mortality. I guess it's part of growing older but it's been fuelled by this barrage of pandemic news, and after being trapped, I realize there is so much more I need and want to do. Shaun Francis joins me on Chatter that Matters to chat about his book Eat, Move, Think, th...

John Stackhouse says there is a way but with a price tag of $2 trillion. I ask if there is a will? I begin my podcast by sharing my near-death experience as a child, and then my observations from interviewing others who have knocked at death's doorstep, but through some combination of intervention, science or will have fought their way back. In doing so they return with a stronger appreciation of...