Global Impact

As the UN turns 75, the world body is holding its first-ever virtual annual meeting of leaders. In what has become known as the 'Superbowl of diplomacy,' speeches from 193 world leaders were to be delivered via pre-recorded videos. The Covid-10 pandemic tops the agenda, followed closely by climate change - and preservation of the rules-based international world order. We re-cap Days One and Two of...

With the Covid-19 pandemic hitting  27-million cases and claiming almost 900,000 lives, we turn to Dr. Syra Madad for some answers and guidance. Featured in the Netflix series, Pandemic, she is a nationally-recognized leader and epidemiologist in public health and special pathogens preparedness and response - working in the largest healthcare delivery system in the United States - New York Ci...

On the road, we bring you this Episode 2 of Season 2 from Ottawa. Starting with the unrest in Belarus and the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Novalny. We then jump into the latest on the Covid-19 pandemic, which by now has crossed the grim milestone of 23-million cases and more than 800,000 deaths. What's the impact on the food and beverage industry? And how have autocrats...

In this season opening episode, we discuss a range of topics with the head of Rotary International, John Hewko. We touch on the organization's global efforts to eradicate polio, efforts to battle Covid-19 to the ground, Rotary's role in assisting in the Beirut tragedy, volunteerism and much more. We also take you to today's press briefing at the World Health Organization HQ in Geneva for a follow...

More on travel, as Global Impact hits the road. Also - the Covid-19 pandemic and a widening scandal involving Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his immediate family and inner circle, his government - and the charity juggernaut WE Charity. We also update on recent developments in Ukraine and Hong Kong.

From Hong Kong to China to Jordan to Ukraine and Russia. We discuss various geopolitical hotspots with the Globe and Mail's senior international correspondent, Mark MacKinnon. Also - how strongmen are manipulating Civid-19. President Putin's tightening grasp on power in Russia, the shoot-down of MH17 and the state of journalism. A special presentation of lives lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic and...

July 1, 2020 marked not only the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, it was also a day when the territory's people woke up to news that a draconian, wide-sweeping National Security Act signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping had taken effect. Passed rapidly and without consultation, it criminalizes many acts which for decades Hong Kong people had taken for granted. Within hours of its pro...

One of the first witnesses called to testify publicly in the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry was the respected career diplomat William Taylor. We managed to catch up with him this week in Washington, DC to cover a wide range of topics, including: the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, President Zelensky’s next steps, the new charges against Petro Poroshenko, the state of the world as the US...

Over the years technology has received a bad rap for everything from Silicon Valley firms selling our data to app developers deliberately hooking our kids onto screens. In this episode we feature two special guests. Author and teacher Diana Graber shares her views on how children, parents and teachers have been coping amid the lockdowns - and using technology to stay connected. And as we all look...

Celebrity chef David Hawksworth joins us at our virtual table to talk about surviving the Covid-19 pandemic, promoting a more vibrant and dynamic Canadian food scene and preparing outstanding dishes for Air Canada passengers at 33,000 feet. And keeping his thriving restaurant business fired up into the future.

This week we take the show back to Hong Kong to speak with a leading voice on technology and crypto-currency, Jennifer Zhu Scott. Her TED talk on monetizing your data has generated well over 1.3 million views. In 2018, Forbes named her one of the world’s top 50 women in tech. We discuss how to monetize your data, how AI can be helpful in the prevention of future pandemics, technology during the Co...

As the number of cases from Covid-19 surpassed the grim death toll of 5-million, new data shows how the pandemic is hitting children worldwide - through missed immunizations and closed schools. We speak to Robert Jenkins, the chief of education at UNICEF.

This week, we take the show to Hong Kong to speak with former legislator and a leading voice of the pro-democracy movement, Emily Lau. But first we review some of the recent developments with the Covid-19 outbreak in the Russian Federation.

With the global Covid-19 caseload now surpassing the grim milestone of 4-million, we head over to Russia where an uncontrolled outbreak is adding as many as 10,000 new cases-a-day. Doctors, with little in the way of protection, are being forced to treat patients in extremely dangerous conditions. We speak to a leading doctor and advocate, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva.

Three months after the WHO declared a global public health emergency, we travel to Maryland to speak to the former Acting Surgeon-General of the United States, Dr. Boris Lushniak. About the coronavirus pandemic globally - and more locally in the United States. With some very important advice at the end about coping with the lockdown.

We take a geopolitical lens to the Covid-19 outbreak and discuss developments in Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere with the former NATO Deputy Secretary General and the former US ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow

This week we took Global Impact on the road to Italy - one of the countries hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, with over 162,000 infected and more than 21,000 deaths. We invited RAI TV’s Liana Mistretta - foreign correspondent and anchor to speak about the situation in Italy, how her work as a foreign correspondent has helped her cope with the lockdown and how the crisis will change human behav...

In the midst of a global public health crisis, we are all grasping for answers - especially when it comes to financial security. And what to think of the elected leaders trying to mitigate the spread of Covid-19? The American investor and financial commentator, Jim Rogers, provides the unvarnished opinion. From someone who finds a silver lining in the midst of an unprecedented downturn, you will b...

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, when it is difficult to see the horizon, it is important to be well provisioned - and to keep our nutrition and immunity levels up. In this episode, Chef Jennifer Sebasigari talks food and how to keep the pantry well-stocked.

In this special coronavirus edition of Global Impact, I've invited renowned American psychiatrist and television commentator, Dr. Sue Varma, to walk us through some of the mental health issues and coping tactics in a world in the midst of the virus outbreak.

There's an enormous thirst for facts and more context on the disruption that the coronavirus has brought to our everyday lives. In this revised episode, I amplify some of the thoughts I had published on opinion and on-air comments this week. Have a listen!

In this launch episode of Global Impact, we present the latest update on the spread of the coronavirus - how some countries such as Israel are enacting draconian measures to limit infection. And how the relationship between WHO and UN member states complicates it’s work. Also the MH17 criminal trial and a bonus tidbit from my work on Digital Crack - my forthcoming book on smartphone and social med...