Zoomer Week in Review

July 5 2025-A New Sepsis-Testing Tool & Nate Leipciger Appointed to Order of Canada The World Health Organization has declared Sepsis a global health crisis and a trio of Canadian researchers has developed a new blood test that can detect the infection in hours instead of days. Dr. Claudia do Santos, a physician and scientist at Toronto’s St Mike’s hospital, says her research was spurred on by the...

June 28 2025 - When the Heat Hits Home and Trailblazing Surgeon Sees Stars This week’s punishing heat dome hospitalized scores of people and highlighted the realities of heat illness, which McGill University cardiologist Dr. Christopher Labos says can creep up on you, and needs to be taken seriously. And Libby Znaimer had a conversation with legendary cardiac surgeon Dr. Tirone David, who was just...

June 14 2025-Vacationing Caregivers and Tourism Travel Crackdowns There are 4 million family caregivers in Ontario providing support to ill or aging loved ones and while it’s meaningful work, they experience high levels of burn out, so getting away on a summer vacation is an important time to recharge. If you’re caring for a vulnerable loved one, planning your own summer vacation can feel overwhel...

June 8 2025-Remembering Marc Garneau & What's Trending in Home and Kitchen Design Tributes are pouring in for Marc Garneau who died this week at 76. He was the first Canadian to fly in space and then went on to enjoy a career in federal politics. Our Libby Znaimer spoke with Marc Garneu last October, on the 40th anniversary of his first space flight, to chat about his life as an astronaut and a po...

June 1 2025-Canadians' Attitudes Towards the Monarchy & A Major Expansion at Shaw Festival In a historic move, King Charles delivered the first throne speech in Canada by a monarch since 1977, amid tensions with the US. Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, he told Canada’s 45 th opening of Parliament, that this country is indeed strong and free. What does the latest polling show about Canadian...

May 25 2025-A Closer Look at Prostate Cancer & Travel Trends this Summer The late-stage cancer diagnosis of former U.S. president Joe Biden has some medical professionals wondering how the disease was able to go undetected. The 82-year-old has been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer, considered the most advanced, that’s now spread to his bones. In Canada, 30 thousand men will be diagnosed w...

May 18 2025 - How Our Siblings Impact Us & The Cost of For-Profit Nursing Agencies for Ontario Hospitals New research suggests siblings have a profound impact on each other's lives. In her book, The Family Dynamic: a Journey into the mystery of sibling success, author Susan Dominus explores some high-achieving kids and how their brothers and sisters helped them get there. And A new report, authore...

May 11 2025 – Sue Hincenbergs' Debut Novel "The Retirement Plan" & Alberta's Separatism Movement Many Zoomers dream of writing a novel, but making that dream a reality is no simple task. And if you’re not famous, selling the book and finding an audience is even harder. But ZoomerMedia alumnus Sue Hincenbergs is celebrating the perfect debut with her new book “The Retirement Plan.” And It’s been a...

May 4 2025-The Link Between CT Scans and Cancer & A History of Attempts to Reform English Spelling CT scans are a popular diagnostic tool but a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a link between the scans and cancer. Dr. Derek Tsang, Radiation Oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, explains the benefits and possible risks. And The English lan...

April 27 2025-How a Papal Conclave Works & What's Hot in Ontario Cottage Real Estate? More than 200 Cardinals from around the world--including five from Canada--have gathered in Rome preparing for the Conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis. We’ll take a look at what may happen behind closed doors. Guest host Kathy Hyde speaks with Father Robert O’Brien of St. Paul’s Minor Basilica in Toro...

Cancer Research in Jeopardy and the Rising Tide of Book Bans Canadian cancer researchers received over 40 million in US funding last year for their life-saving work. Now, amid Donald Trump’s tariff war, seven-in-ten Canadian cancer researchers are concerned about the impact on both this year’s funding, and the future of collaborative projects with US colleagues. So this year’s April daffodil month...

April 13 2025-Discovery of Hormone Used in Obesity Medications & The Revival of Vinyl Records It may not be a household name yet but a Toronto-based doctor has just won this year’s prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, considered the Oscars of the scientific community. Dr. Daniel Drucker, along with his colleagues, have been recognized for discovering the hormone used in diabetes and ob...

April 6 2025-Navigating The Threat of President Trump's Tariffs & Spring Cleaning Tips for Zoomers For many people, Spring is the perfect time to do a purge of all that “stuff” you’ve acquired over the last year. Kristen Wall, Owner and Lead Organizer of Miss Kris & Co gives tips for Zoomers navigating the process. And Tariffs and counter-tariffs continue to dominate the news. Guest host Kathy Hyd...

March 30 2025-How, Where and When to Vote this Federal Election & Michael Kovrig on Execution of Canadians by China It will cost $570 million and create 200,000 short-term jobs. We will head to the polls on April 28 after the shortest federal campaign allowed under Canadian law. And there are more options on when, where and how to vote this time. I talked with Natalie de Montigny of Elections Cana...

March 23 2025-Amb. John Bolton on US President Trump's Tariffs & Fighting Noise Pollution in Toronto Libby speaks with John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the UN and National Security Adviser during President Donald Trump’s first term. Bolton offers some words of advice to Prime Minister Carney on dealing with President Trump. He also reacts to the US trade war with Canada and the state of nation...

March 16 2025-The History Of America Wanting To Annex Canada & Be Aware of These Scams Most Canadians are shocked about US President Donald Trump’s designs on annexing Canada. But there is a long history of those expansionist ideas and a record of both political and military failures in that effort. I reached Dr. Patrick O’brien, an expert in early US-Canada relations at the University of Tampa. A...

March 9 2025-How US Tariffs Made The Great Depression Worse & Defining and Diagnosing Obesity Is the Trump trade war deja vu all over again? Economists and experts agree that tariffs made the Great Depression of the 1930’s a lot worse and a lot longer. Libby is joined by Dr. Patrice Dutil, Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University for an e...

March 2 2025-Does Ontario Need A Seniors’ Advocate & Have You Had Your Shingles Shot? What is the role of a Seniors’ Advocate and does Ontario need one? Those questions were at the heart of CARP’s AGM this past weekend and I chatted with BC Seniors’ Advocate Dan Levitt after he delivered a keynote speech. Have you had your shingles shots? Over 90,000 Canadians aged 50 and older develop this painfu...

February 23 2025-Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert on the Return of Hostages & Retro Cooking with Chef Cori Doern Will the latest horrific revelations around the release of the bodies of four Israeli hostages affect the ceasefire? Or is the release of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas terrorists imminent and would it mark the end of the war in gaza? I asked Ehud Olmert, Israel's 12th Prime mini...

February 16 2025-60th Anniversary of Canada’s Flag & Rethinking Cancer Drug Trials Were you flying our flag this weekend? February 15th marked the 60th anniversary of the red and white Maple Leaf and with Donald Trump’s continuing threats against our sovereignty and economy, Flag Day took on a special meaning. I talked with Historica Canada’s Anthony Wilson-Smith about the history of the flag that...

February 9 2025-Buying Canadian Amid Tariff Tensions With US & The Pivotal Role Zoomers Play In the Music Industry Canadians are united in their response to the threat of tariffs from Donald Trump and the “buy Canadian” movement is growing. Retail analyst Bruce Winder joined us to explain what “buy Canadian” actually means and what you should look for on labels. And Rock and roll may seem like a y...

February 2 2025-How, Where, When to Vote in the Ontario Election & Troubling New Statistics About Poverty Among Older Adults February 27 is election day in Ontario. With more than 10.8 million eligible voters, the team at Elections Ontario is busy behind the scenes, with just weeks to organize this rare winter campaign. Voting is already underway, and there are a number of ways to cast your ballot...

January 26 2025- Cataract Procedures in Ontario & Bonny Reichert's "How to Share an Egg" Having cataract surgery is stressful but even before it happens you can be faced with a number of options and fees. Dr. Tamara Daly, Professor of Health Policy and Equity at York University, spoke with Libby Znaimer about how to navigate your way through. And, First time author Bonny Reichert says she always k...

January 19 2025-A New Book About Chrystia Freeland & Tim Caulfield's "The Certainty Illusion" When Catherine Tsalikis started writing her biography of Chrystia Freeland four years ago, she worried that her subject could fade from public view before the book came out. Instead, publishers had to rush it onto the shelves ahead of schedule after Freeland’s dramatic resignation and break with Justin Tr...

January 12 2025-Selina Robinson's "Truth Be Told" & The Case for a "Damp January" It was officially launched as a campaign in the UK in 2013. Since then, the challenge of going alcohol-free has become popular around the world. Now, a new alternative of a "Damp January" is gaining traction. I spoke with Public Health physician Dr. Barry Pakes who is with the Dalla Lana School of Public health at th...