Walking Radio

“I have an address book of people who didn’t” | In this, episode we take a drive around Guelph on January 5, 2026, to check back in with our friend Rone from Episode 2. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“How can we build this universe together?” | In today’s episode we chat with Hayley. It’s the evening of Monday March 16, 2026 at the Community of Hearts in Guelph’s Old Quebec Street Mall. A Second City alum and powerhouse instructor and performer from Guelph’s own The Making Box improv comedy troupe, Hayley spends her Monday evenings leading an improv club for people with developmental exception...

“I want to say survival of the fittest but it’s really just a fight for the weakest not to die.” | Recorded Tuesday, March 17, 2026. In today’s episode we are on location at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in downtown Toronto in the immediate wake of the Ford government’s announcement that they will be eliminating funding for the last remaining supervised consumption sites. We speak wi...

“Can’t we all just be one again? Be a community?” | In today’s episode, we spill the tea with my old friend Rye at his kitchen table in Kingston, Ontario, as we lace up for a multi-day walking adventure through the city. We start by reminiscing about mid-90s and early-2000s gay Kingston, clearing a path for the rockier limestone trails ahead. | CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topic...

“You’re my bridge over troubled waters. I’m the troubled waters.” | In today’s episode we walk with Eric. It’s the night of August 29, 2025 on the shores of Lake Huron. Eric speaks boldly and bravely about his experiences starting a non-profit, working with the federal government, living on the streets, struggling with crystal meth, psychosis, and alcohol. He shares about the joy of community, the...

“There’s a lot of material poverty in this neighbourhood, and also it is a community with tremendous wealth.” | In this episode we walk with Erin, a registered nurse at the Moss Park Overdose Prevention Site, or Consumption and Treatment Service as it’s now known. We met together on the sweltering afternoon of Saturday July 12 2025 and toured the site and the Moss Park neighbourhood in Toronto’s d...

Today’s episode begins with a phrase that sounds harmless—even wholesome—until you dig a little deeper. “Canada First” appears in 1868 as the name and slogan of a movement meant to promote Canadian nationalist sentiment. Slogans are not static, and they often get repurposed over time. In the late 20th century, “Canada First” reappears in explicitly far-right organizing under Paul Fromm, who is ide...

In this, the fifth and final episode of our special series, we continue and complete our walk with beautiful Camp Wendake.  For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community. In this episode we join Norm, an extraordinary nurse who has been...

In this, the fourth episode of our special series, we continue our walk inside beautiful Camp Wendake.  For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community. In this episode we walk alongside even more of the campers and volunteers as they refl...

“Kindness comes down from the sky without force.” In this, the third episode of our special series, we continue our walk within beautiful Camp Wendake. For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community. In this episode we get a chance to cha...

“We are horrified.” Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines. This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion. In this, episode we join Sandra: the co-executive director of the HIV Legal Network on a walk through Dufferin Grove...

“We are one.” Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines. This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion. In this special series, Walking Radio takes you to summer camp! In the final days of August 2025, I spent the week voluntee...

“We have the opportunity to give good medicine.” Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines. This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion. For the next few episodes, Walking Radio takes you to summer camp! In the final days of...

“Everyone has value.” Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines. This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion. Today we explore a new part of our shared trail. It's Sunday June 1st, 2025 in Guelph, Ontario. The local Avalokite...

"Magic always comes at a price." Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines. This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion. In this second of a two part episode, I chat with Yasir—a harm reduction and HIV activist from Pakistan...

"Denial is not a solution." Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines. This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion. In this episode, I chat with Yasir—a harm reduction and HIV activist from Pakistan whose work to combat stigm...

"The general public is going to be more upset with seeing more needles on the road than they are going to be seeing the bodies." In this episode of Walking Radio, we walk through Toronto’s Sherwood Park with Lee — a nurse whose career spans intensive care, psychotherapy, and substance use care across urban and northern Ontario. Together, we unpack the heartbreak, confusion, and urgency surrounding...

"They chuck lavender in it." On March 22, I was walking through downtown Guelph when I met someone I’ll never forget. Rone is a butch-presenting trans woman with sharp wit, layered strength, and a quiet vulnerability that invites real conversation. She’s also someone who, like thousands of others across Ontario, depends on supervised consumption services—not just for safety, but as a vital access...

"You don't get treatment if you're dead." On March 19, 2025, I had the honour of attending the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) Summit on Mental Health and Substance Use in Toronto — less than two weeks before the Ontario government's planned shuttering of supervised consumption and treatment services across the province. In this inaugural episode of Walking Radio , I speak with th...