Something Different This Way Comes

July 28 a new weekly season starts exploring two themes: Food & Money. What does Food have to do with being a Good Ancestor? So much!

Every Monday at 6 pm I broadcast a news show on CILU in Thunder Bay 102.7 FM. Truth be told, I record it on Sunday and send it to the staff to upload into the broadcast system. But this Monday they uploaded the wrong show - so no-one will hear this unless you choose to hear the news from here according to me!   So here it is (I'd be so glad if even one person can hear it!)

Sufficiency: not too much, not too little but just right. A conversation with author, activist and educator Lloyd Alter before his visit to Thunder Bay to be the Keynote Speaker at the third annual Northwest Climate Gathering October 17-18, 2025.

The John St. Extension Community Park and Gardens started guerrilla twenty years ago, one of the successful neighbourhood initiatives that informed Thunder Bay getting pro-active in supporting community gardening. This Spring Scott Pound is leading an initiative to add a community garden to the space, and grow food to be served at the Abbey's free meal program. Building community through gardening...

This was pre-recorded to be broadcast on CILU Radio Victoria Day, Monday May 19 at 6 pm here in Thunder Bay. But I messed up, didn't get the tape in on time to be cued, and they replayed last week episode instead. I hate for no-one to ever hear this! So here you go - all news referenced is detailed in the related blog post at SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca - Enjoy!

A conversation with Provincial Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner held on April 23 touches on care and community, expensive current provincial legislature discouraging renewable energy production,  the need & opportunity to build local food systems - and more.   Details at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca

Why I'm in love with 17% - that's all it takes to tip Impactful Climate Action in our community from outlier to mainstream. And why I hope to see  Native Plant Gardening get trendy here this growing season. With a new song - and lots of nerdy facts to back me up.

The Season Finale features development lawyer Richard Wong with his thoughts after talking about engaging successfully with Corporations, and financing the big changes you want to see - at the Northwest Climate Gathering in Thunder Bay last month. The new song that conversation inspired is called: It’s Time To Dance. Lyrics and more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca   Referencing: www. NWC...

Ken is the worker bee behind Just Bike TBay, the Memorial Link and Thunder Bay’s E.V. shows. And he was right at the heart of the Northwest Climate Gathering. We talk about the power of positivity and persistence, we celebrate being nerds and building community with fellow kind and courageous nerds. Ken explains why his volunteering and problem-solving is totally worth it. Song & podcast by He...

A season wrap before the season’s done - and a teaser for the episodes to come. With many songs, and an insider’s tour of the Northwest Climate Gathering 2023: Hope & Action. Good company as COP28 unfolds.   Referencing: https://www.katharinehayhoe.com/ www. NWClimateGathering.ca Lyrics & more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca

A rebroadcast of an episode first shared May 17, 2022. What it would take to achieve food security in Thunder Bay, and what blows Brendan’s mind in every teaspoon of soil. Brendan Grant is leading discussion of this topic at https://www.nwclimategathering.ca/ November 25 & 26 2024. Referencing http://www.sleepygfarm.ca/

Talking gardening, city wilderness, the satisfaction of a well-stocked garage & peace with Lucie Lavoie. Lucie is a founding member of both Superior Seed Producers and EcoSuperior, where she was a program coordinator for over twenty years. She and her partner Ken Deacon have been trying to minimize their impact on the planet for decades, including growing and keeping much of the food they eat....

Keira Essex is is an environmental studies student at Lakehead University, an activist, and a novice photographer of mixed settler-Anishinaabe heritage. She is one of the people pulling together the Northwest Climate Gathering this month. Original music by Heather McLeod. Lyrics and more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca

Kevin Brooks teaches and researches Social Justice as a Program Advisor at Lakehead University. He is one of the people shaping and leading the Northwest Climate Gathering November 25 & 26. Our conversation circled back to housing more than once, but what stuck with me most was his soliloquy on composting as a metaphor for life. Lyrics & more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca   Ref...

A visit and new song with award-winning singer-songwriter and humanitarian Shy-Anne Hovorka, from her home near Nipigon. A fitting kick-off to season four. Lyrics, links and more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca

Dave Spies is the Thunder Bay Chapter Lead of Protect Our Winters Canada and  a third year law student at Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law. His research focus is on the intersection of environmental law, Indigenous rights, public lands defense and international law. He will be coming to the Northwest Climate Gathering 2023: Hope & Action. Lyrics & more at www. SomethingDiff...

From gathering a harvest, to gathering momentum and attention. Considering how fear hunts us, and hope needs to be reached for. Proposing the power of community.  Hoping for utopia and savouring joy. Lyrics & more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca Referencing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_for_Realists https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-0-make-the-good-times-last/ https://www...

Just the songs composed and recorded for seasons two and three. No words, no theme, just the songs. Raw, unpolished and recorded the day they were composed. All but one by Heather McLeod - that one co-composed and co-performed with Shy-Anne Hovorka for a yet-to-be published episode. Find Lyrics, chords and context at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca

Two dozen gather to toast the podcast so far and seed the coming seasons envisioning what change they most want to see happen. With a detour to explore humbleness and hard conversations, cows as a cure, smoke as a trigger, and the power of frames. By Heather McLeod Transcript, full list of references & more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca   References include: How are Indigenous yout...

Summarizing Season three's seven episodes imagining the Kindness Economy with the songs each episode inspired, and a bit about how the rant or conversation fed the composition. By Heather McLeod in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Season Four planned for October & November 2023 with one or two specials to watch for in the meantime.

City as home, where you can breath, slow down, connect, relax. The importance of difficult conversations. Many hands make for light work. Budget to support your priorities. Choices must be made. Set boundaries,  speak up. Lyrics and more at www. SomethingDifferentThisWayComes.ca By Heather McLeod Referencing: https://icleicanada.org/#:~:text=Canadian%20ICLEI%20members%20are%20part,equitable%2C%20r...

Conversation with Judi Vinni of https://willowspringscreativecentre.ca/ Care of our Elders; mixed ages & hands-on learning; therapeutic gardening; needs-inclusive employment; trust and relationships; Lappe Nordic Ski Centre collaborating with social & community circles; embracing immigration; community gardens & multicultural feasting. By Heather McLeod in Thunder Bay, Ontario Lyrics, references a...

Considering the psychology of change - honour vs. dignity cultures, the kindness paradox; how to unlock capital, human and $: universal basic income, justice systems, no skin in the game loans & truly supporting micro-businesses, multigenerational planned densification, raising corporate expectations; Ireland’s Citizen’s Assemblies; Youth Climate Action Corp. By Heather McLeod. References, lyrics...

Stewarding the land, honouring our ecosystems: imagine, intercept, invest, integrate, innovate, infrastructure. Conversation with city planner Thora Cartlidge. Revitalize the East End - the opportunity and economy of investing in historic neighbourhoods; Sustainable development necessities in Parkdale, abutting the William Bog; local urban food - the opportunity and urgency on building on good fou...

Cindy Crowe of Blue Sky Community Healing Centre & Cindy Crowe Consulting with a conversation for those who feel overwhelmed and just want something do-able; protecting and witnessing the wild; the healing power of kindness, of circles, and of focusing on the gifts we bring one another; people and the planet need respect, love and time. Call out the bullies. Lend a hand. Lead by example. Cherish t...