NOW and NEXT

Today on NOW and NEXT: Ritesh Kotak, tech and cyber strategist joins the show to talk about the head spinning palace intrigue at OpenAI. In less than a week, Sam Altman went from being CEO, to out of work, to hired by Microsoft, to being re-hired by OpenAI and a whole new board being appointed to lead the company! REMINDER: You can now leave us a RECORDED or TEXT message about anything you hear on...

NEW: You can now leave us a RECORDED or TEXT message about anything you hear on the show. It's EASY. Click RECORD YOUR MESSAGE. Hit the RECORD button. Enter your name and email address so we can respond to your comment! Today on NOW and NEXT: We're joined by Ujwal Arkalgud, a cultural anthropologist and EVP at Lux Research. He's also the host and producer of two Story Studio Network podcast series...

NEW: You can now leave us a RECORDED or TEXT message about anything you hear on the show. It's EASY. Click here. Hit the RECORD button. Leave your message. Enter your name and email address so we can respond to your comment! Today on NOW and NEXT: David Schultz, professor of political science and US constitutional law at Hamiline University, is back with us to offer his analysis on the Xi/Biden Su...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington joins the show to talk about the latest "Who's Hungry Report". Spoiler Alert: The news is grim. 1 in 10 Torontonians rely on a food bank and the numbers are only to get worse until and unless three levels of government take real action to eliminate poverty. Neil tells says, "I was pleased that the mayor (Olivia Chow) committed to 6...

Today on NOW and NEXT: It's a robust and wide-ranging Roundtable discussion with vetern broadcasters Barb DiGiulio and Bob Reid. Are we getting to complacent about the COVID boosters? Bad Boy's bankruptcy leaves customers holding bag. What does it say about the sports networks that they continue to be obsessed the Hallmark romcom that is the Taylor Swift - Travis Kelce relationship? Why is it so c...

Join us for Part 3 of our Special Series this week - Pathway to the Stars. Over the course of November 7th-November 10th, 2022, we are exploring four stories of Canadian aviation innovation and history in partnership with the Royal Canadian Air Force Foundation. Today, we turn our storytelling lens on Women in Aviation. Brianna Ricketts holds Canada’s record for youngest solo flight by a female pi...

Join us for Part 2 in our Special Series this week - Pathway to the Stars. In this limited series, we explore some of the stories that are uniquely rooted in the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian aviation. Welcome to Pathway to the Stars in partnership with the RCAF Foundation. Amelia Earhart is one of the best known women in aviation in the world, but most have no idea she has...

As we approach Remembrance Day, November 11th, here in Canada, we are called upon to acknowledge and honour the years of service our veterans have afforded this country and the sacrifices they made, often with their lives, to fulfill their mission of securing our borders and safety around the world. But it’s also an opportunity to celebrate the rich history of this country that has informed and sh...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Sure glad we didn't name this show NOW and THEN because the Beatle's "final" song,(released today) would have been bad for our brand! In this episode we bounce from the latest production from the "Get Back" sessions with the Beatles to the "Walk Back" sessions that are the tune of the day in Canadian politics. We're joined by David Coletto, founder and CEO at Abacus Data to...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Canada has just experienced one of the most intense forest and wild fire seasons on record. By some counts, wildfires were the number one source of carbon emissions in Canada. Today, we feature - The Force of Fire - an episode from our Story Studio Network podcast, Canadian Forestry Can Save the World , originally published January 31, 2023. You’ve heard of fighting fire wit...

Today on NOW and NEXT: We're joined by the RCAF Foundation's founding CEO Jeremy Diamond. This week, the foundation launched its new coffee table book called Pathway to the Stars. It includes 100 stories about Canadian aviation and the RCAF to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Foll...

Today on NOW and NEXT: We introduce you to our newest Story Studio Network production - The Fourth Draft, hosted by our CEO Erin Trafford. If Canadian media has a transparency problem, then this episode of The Fourth Draft is an attempt at solving it. Listen in to our first EAVESDROP episode, where you get to be a fly on the wall at one of our team meetings at Story Studio Network. Together we unp...

Today on NOW and NEXT: October if Cyber Security Month, so we're taking the opportunity to feature a recent episode of 1 Click 2 Cyber Chaos . Host Kym Geddes asks whether we should be concerned to know the global financial sector is run on a legacy language that fewer and fewer coders can understand or write. What would happen if there were no coders left who knew how to keep your banking service...

Today on NOW and NEXT: It's FEED DROP WEEK and today we feature a new limited series from The 2030 Project . After three years of consultations, legislative crafting, committee reviews, and political pushing and pulling in the House of Commons and in the Senate in Ottawa, the Canada Disability Benefit Act finally received royal assent on June 21st, 2023. It's intended to raise those living with di...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is our guest and WE DON'T talk about the Greenbelt. But we do get her insights into how the premier stick handles scandals, and the fallout in the caucus. Wynne also talks about the need for all governments to pursue a workable national guaranteed income program. The former premier offered testimony before a Senate committee in Ottawa th...

Today on NOW and NEXT: New research, admittedly paid for by a podcast company, finds podcasters and YouTubers are trusted most by audiences in the US. Check it out here . And we meet cyber security and IT specialist MarHubbard who will tell you catastrophic weather events pose a majoyr cyber security risk for you and your business. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Reverend Michael Coren joins the show to offer his analysis on the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, the political pressures on the Israeli government and the unmitigated evil behind the Hamas terror attacks. Michael draws on his experience as a journalist and author who has covered and written extensively about the history and politics of the middle east. You can watch OR...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Laura Babcock, President of POWERGROUP Communications joins us to offer analysis on the latest developments in the Greenbelt scandal at Queen's Park. The RCMP has officially launched a criminal investigation into what the Auditor General called a "corrupt" process that led to the province's decision to remove protected lands from the Greenbelt. Will that investigation extend...

Today on NOW and NEXT: We're joined by Phil Gurski, President and CEO Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting. He brings his 30-plus years of strategic analysis and international intelligence gathering to our discussion of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel and the likely quagmire of war that is escalating in the region. How much of the initial Hamas attack was an "intelligence failure"? Did the inter...

Today on NOW and NEXT: I was deeply saddened this week to hear about the death of Caron Shepley. Caron was life partner and business partner to Barrie Shepley. Caron had been living with cancer for the past five years or so and, on this past Sunday, it got the best of her. Caron, Barrie and partner Sheldon Persad founded Personal Best in 1991 and that's about the time we first met. They coached an...

Today on NOW and NEXT: It's been a busy couple of days as we welcomed the newest member of the Trafford clan to the world. Elliot David Trafford joined humanity Monday evening and was the centre of all of our attention Tuesday, (so, I'm late posting this episode!) Our first visit was wonderful and fun to see Elliot meet his big brother James. Also in this episode, we talk to Susan Larkin, COO at L...

Today on NOW and NEXT: On The Ledge, you Ontario politics podcast is here for your listening enjoyment! Today, There's the Greenbelt. Then there's the Greenbelt. And, oh ya, the Greenbelt. Ford Nation might have wished it was a mere typo, but no! It seems the premier's team has messsaging issues and massaging issues - all laid bare this week as the Legislature got back to business at Queen's Park....

Today on NOW and NEXT: Premier Doug Ford sort of resembles the Pig Pen character in the Peanuts cartoon. No matter how hard he tries to shake it, he's got this cloud hanging around him. In the premier's case, it's the political smog being spewed out by the Greenbelt scandal. That's not going away anytime soon. Word at Queen's Park is Ford's more than mad about the way this mess has splashed on his...

Today on NOW and NEXT: Anthony Rota represents the community of North Bay in the House of Commons. He's been forced to resign as Speaker of the House because he not only invited, he honoured a Second World War Ukrainian veteran who served in a Nazi SS Division. But he story barely gets any local coverage. Why? Because there's barely any local media to do that job. We sit down with Erin Trafford, C...

Today on NOW and NEXT: We're back in the saddle after some time off to celebrate my wife's retirement! We managed to extend our summer with some great weather, great food and great friends in Europe - all the while the Greenbelt lit a poltical fire around the Ford government, the federal Liberals appear to be in free fall in the polls, and our House of Commons unanimously applauded a Ukrainian Sec...