QOL

Prescribing time in nature is something that has come of age. It isn't just a West Coast thing that requires a tie-dyed t-shirt. Dr. Melissa Lem kindly tells us some 20,000 Canadian health professionals agree that to reduce stress, and maybe even extend your quality of life, you need to see, hear, feel, the natural world. After having Meg Carney and Bill Steer on this program it was a natural...

Cornucopia... maybe that's word? Talking with Canadian author Mark Leslie ( Lefebvre ) you can't but recognize his ability to leap from concept to completion. He is a prolific writer of "speculative fiction" and that in itself is very broad topic. Listen along a find out how many books he has penned. This boy from Levack has pursued his love for storytelling. He has thoughts abou...

What a delight to have a conversation with Crystal Shawanda. This blues/rock/jazz performer has power and precision both as a singer and storyteller. Her voice shares stories of the highs and lows of life in a way no one else does. Catch her on tour from coast to coast to coast as she tours this year and into the future. I caught her just before her May 1st show in Knox Hall in Sudbury where she w...

Okay! I'll admit it: talking to Dr. Gerard Courtin is a bit like a walk down Memory Lane for me. A very personal experience perhaps? But there are so many of us who attended his classes, went to labs, did field trips... we followed him up and over blackened hills, and into snowy landscapes. His Arctic/Alpine ecology lectures challenged us to reconsider the industrial damaged environment of Sud...

It's happening this week: a book launch. Melanie Rollins and Lynne Dupuis are ready to welcome you at Place des Arts in Sudbury. Listen along for details. If you can't attend, you can still order a book. It provides a very useful framework to help non-profits with governance as well as being applicable to businesses generally.

We've been wanting to talk for some time: well, here it is. Isaac Harvey speaks about his happier 2026 and the challenges of 2025. He now has secure supportive housing and funding to ensure care. Bestowed with an MBE he may now have even more of voice when it comes to accessibility and possibilities. He takes the trains, he flies, he even has jumped out of an airplane. He is inspirational!

Lived experience can lead to launching a business. "Enable Talent" is more than a business. Amandipp Singh has built a network of people and a platform addressing the employment barriers facing people with disabilities. It empowers and solves challenges. It delivers "value over advice" says Singh. It can also help employers in the hiring journey find great people who have tradi...

Not that we were unconscious, but now we are asking questions and often pushing the travel industry to think about what it offers and the implications of the suite of services. From carbon offsets, to being aware of the potential to raise communities' opportunities, Amy is asking "Why?" when it comes to how the hospitality industry works and the products it entices us with. This conv...

It is a narrower number of passionate people who are involved in all the activities that eventually make wine for you to enjoy. Todd Anderson will install posts and training wire, drive a tractor, watch the grapes grow, harvest, encourage the magic that transforms juice into wine... all this and more. He delights in taking you on the journey that opens your mind to experiences and vocabulary that...

I think it has been a decade since Gil Penalosa and I last recorded a podcast. His work has had input and influence on over 300 cities globally so why does he make Toronto home? What makes Toronto (and Canada) great... and what are the opportunities we seem to be actively missing? Naturally, we talk about transportation, project management (and project mismanagement), tree canopy, play for childre...

In her comprehensive book on the Opioid crisis Reggie Caverson documents the origins, history, and impacts of this pain medication. Designed for end-of-life applications it got wide-spread adoption for other purposes. In a mere 5 or 6 days it could easily become addictive. More importantly she talks about the misguided prescription and misuse of Oxycontin. Caverson sounded the warning 25 years ago...

What is FerryShare? You can hear the passion in Ben's voice as he describes what he has built. He created this readily available app to make your life easier. You can reduce your cost to get to or from Vancouver Island (the Gulf Islands are being added as I write this) by using FerryShare. As a passenger you save; as a driver you too can save. One person in one vehicle is inefficient in so man...

Speaking from Milan Francesco (PhD in Urban Design & Master Planning) tells me it is already +30C in this spring day. Heat crises, non-permeable surfaces, the love of the automobile and so much more are going to have to be replaced by more livable environments. Bringing his learnings and practice in Asia he speaks about a favourite topic: "A Tree is Not a Pin". The landscape should s...

May be "demand" is too strong a word, but I've just had a wonderful conversation with Urban Designer/Architect and mobility advocate Reena Mahajan. Her views are circulating and projects she has collaborated on are examining how we use the city. We discuss how different genders may be traversing areas, the impact of their agendas, and whether cars are even needed. There is a section...

What a treat! A chance not only to visit the Vancouver Art Gallery but to tour it with Diana Freundl. Diana is more than the Senior Curator at VAG. Working collaboratively she is preparing for a new exhibition. You will hear equipment and people working away to ready the space to accept the art and artifacts. Also school groups are actively engaging with the contents of this wonderful space. We st...

Come along to Tel Aviv today to listen to Naama Nicotra's brain wave. She looked at her recycling and garbage and realized much of it was food packaging; plastic everywhere. It was likely some of this - because it was in contact with the food - was also being ingested. She said we are wanting the contents of the package but not the packaging itself. But what if the packaging could dissolve......

I've been wanting to have a conversation with Blaine Smith for years. A new opportunity created yet another reason to talk. Blaine is involved in a passion project called 363 York . This new venue not only features some amazing stages in automotive history, but also is a social club and opens the potential for an incredibly different meeting space. Come along an learn about this new and innova...

Okay, I'll admit to being early on this; but here is my special for New Year's 2026. My guest is David Shaw and we are having a dialogue about wellness. As a herbalist he builds custom blends "to each person's specific needs and health goals" and what better time to reset your life and find a path to wellness than NYE. Actually why wait? You could start even today. Listen along as we have a conver...

Stephen Hale kindly offered to continue our tour of the BC Aviation Museum. So here is Part Two. When you go do plan of 90 minutes or far more. There is so much to see, and yes accept a guide. They bring so much depth to the experience. From the earliest powered machines, to float planes for a new country that had no runways, this collection also has aircraft used for training in the Canadian Air...

The BC Aviation Museum is a real gem. There are so many planes all Tetris-ed into the current space. From float planes to rocket ships. Models too are part of the collection. But really it is the spirit of volunteerism that really gives the place life. President of the organization Stephen Hale was my host on this visit. The static displays come alive as he shares his passion for the artifacts. Th...

Is it possible? Did I meet Rob Straughan 13 years ago? Rob is the GM of radio station 96.7FM... it goes by the call sign CKLU. This station has hosted the original "Eat This! Drink That!" which morphed in the current program. QOL now deals with all the many things that fall under the umbrella of Quality of Life. In this episode Rob and I reminisce on the early days of the radio station;...

I met Shelley Raymond almost 2 decades ago. She brought a presentation on the benefits of co-housing to an AGM of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) and outlined how it works in other countries. She had already rolled out successful projects as a response to living in a house not an institution. It worked for her Dad and she felt it should be more widely adopted. Listen along as sh...

Coming from a variety of situations some dogs are in search of a place to call home... maybe even find their forever home. Alexa Marko and I met at a mining conference and renewed our contact when I was researching this topic. She has fostered 7 dogs for 6 or 7 weeks each and then Blue came along. They are now best friends. He contributes to Alexa's quality of life and vice versa. Listen along...

I believe too often we blindly believe we will get between home and destination without incident. Hopefully, without a collision, with injury or death. Should we be willing to tolerate any loss of life? How we design our roads and how we can improve the existing network is what concerns specialist Kenn Beer. We have a conversation on what elements can be considered, how they can be implemented, an...

The pleasure of having Lisa Lounsbury as a guest on this program over the years has been immeasurable. Known for her dynamic and sensitive delivery of material on Workplace Mental Health - and so many other topics - in this episode she talks about menopause. It is something all women will experience, and as women are 51% of the population, it is surprising how silent the world has been on what it...