Advertise on podcast: Zoomer Week in Review

It’s a first in Canada and the hope is that it will make it easier to prosecute hate crimes. Ontario has just established a specialized hate crimes prosecution unit, staffed with Crown prosecutors experienced in the legal complexities of hate speech, bias-motivated crimes, and the line between criminal conduct and protected expression. The impetus came from a private members’ motion tabled by MPP Michelle Cooper in April. Not only do private initiatives rarely succeed, this one came to fruition at lightning speed. Libby talked with Ontario PC MPP Michelle Cooper (Eglinton-Lawrence). And The idea is based on a lesson learned from the pandemic when Covid-19 tore through long-term care homes killing thousands of our most vulnerable citizens. A recent clinical trial found that using  rapid, on-site testing for respiratory viruses at nursing homes could prevent 8,000 emergency department visits every year.   Dr. Jerome Leis, is Medical director of infection prevention and control at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and co-principal investigator of the trial.

August 8 2026-"Ealamania" at the National Bank Open & The Glasses That Are a Game Changer It's being dubbed "Ealamania": the huge local support for the number 20 ranked Filipina tennis star is one of the factors putting this year’s National Bank Open on track for record attendance. Libby spoke with Tournament Director Karl Hale. And Nuance Audio glasses combine advanced sound technology into regular eyeglasses. It’s not for severe hearing loss, but these can help anyone who has trouble hearing their companions above the din and the music and the ambient noise. Libby spoke with Simon Robert, Senior Director, Corporate Affairs & Strategic Partnerships, Canada at EssilorLuxottica (parent company of Nuance Audio).

July 25 2026-A Stunning Reversal for Breakthrough Alzheimer's Drug & Do You Still Feel Safe Despite New Stats Canada Report Showing Crime Rate Drop? There’s exciting news on the Alzheimer’s treatment front: Canada’s Drug Agency is now recommending funding for a breakthrough drug called “lecanemab” after initially taking the opposite stance in February over concerns about effectiveness, cost and potential side effects. Libby spoke with Dr. Howard Chertkow, Scientific Director, Baycrest’s Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health & Wellness. And This week Statistics Canada released new numbers showing a 5% drop in both the rate and severity of crimes on our streets. But does the reality on our streets feel very different...with random shootings and attacks, public drug use and a general sense of disorder. Libby spoke with criminal defence lawyer Ari Goldkind.

It’s one of the most agonizing parts of cancer treatment: testing to see if the cancer has returned and deciding what to do to try to prevent that from happening. Now, Princess Margaret is launching a large clinical trial to test whether patients and their doctors can get that information from  a simple blood test. Libby spoke with lead investigator Dr. Lillian Siu, a Senior Scientist with Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. And Pipelines and power are dominating the national conversation these days, and that is one of the reasons behind the reexamination of Canada’s first prime minister. Sir John A. Macdonald unified our nation by building a railway “from sea to sea”. But in recent years, he has been vilified for his role in the creation of residential schools. Since 2018, many of his statues were vandalized or covered over or removed and his name was taken off multiple schools. Recently his reputation has started to be rehabilitated. Libby spoke with Patrice Dutil, Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

At a time when the United States of America is experiencing intense polarization, the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is prompting historians, scholars, and citizens to reconsider not only what happened in 1776 but also how Americans and others…remember, debate, and reinterpret the Revolution today.  The journal ‘Remembering the American Revolution at 250 was created specifically to foster that broader conversation about memory, commemoration, and historical meaning. Doctor G. Patrick O'Brien is an Assistant Professor of The University of Tampa and co-lead-editor of the journal ‘Remembering the American Revolution at 250 (two-fifty). And This month saw the city of Toronto named the Number One solo travel destination in the world according to global free tour platform "Guru Walk"  which has ranked 50 cities worldwide with the highest proportion of solo travellers in 2026.  The report found that over just over half of all free tour bookings in Toronto were made by a single traveller, the highest rate out of any other city included in the ranking, including every major European capital. Amid this a prominent archi-tourist wants you to discover a trove of Toronto treasures. Dave LeBlanc is author of Hidden Toronto: Secret Places and Forgotten Gems of Toronto and the GTA.

It has been a season of extraordinary breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer. From a game-changing drug for pancreatic cancer - the most intractable of diseases -  to a major advance in lung cancer - to mounting evidence that GLP-1 drugs can prevent cancer or delay its spread. I spoke to Dr. Malcolm Moore, medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and a former head of BC Cancer, He told me about the groundbreaking research that was highlighted at the recent American Society of Clinical oncologists annual conference (ASCO). And It’s the supplement everyone’s talking about and the evidence shows that buzz around creatine is more than just hype. It targets one of the biggest problems as we age - losing muscle mass - I spoke with one of leading researchers on its benefits Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University.

MAY 30 2026-HOW CANADA'S IMMIGRATION SYSTEM LOST ITS WAY & HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO RETIRE We often talk about how Canadians are starting to turn against immigration - one of the pillars of our country - not because of bias - but because we have lost control of what used to be a model system. Globe and Mail columnist Tony Keller won the 60K Donner Prize for Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong. Here is our conversation. And High profile cabinet minister Caroline Mulroney recently announced she will step away from her high-powered job. She says that major life events like losing her father, former PM Brian Mulroney and becoming an empty nester made her re-evaluate her priorities. Those are issues that many of us face, but it can be hard to know when it's the right time to retire. I talked with Robin Chapman, CEO of RGC Executive Coaching & Consulting.

May 9 2026-The Intense, Harsh Glare of Vehicle Headlights & A Fascinating Look at a Medical Device Aimed at Reducing Stroke Risk It’s a massive shift that is putting many drivers at risk. The intense, harsh glare from the latest LED (light-emitting diode) and laser headlights is a danger to other drivers both because of the brightness and the direction of these lights. Libby talked with Automotive Lighting Consultant Daniel Stern. And Hamilton Health Sciences researchers are leading a phase 3 clinical trial for a medical device that aims to reduce risk of stroke in patients. For a fascinating look into the study, Libby speaks with Dr. Ashkan Shoamanesh, neurologist at Hamilton Health Sciences and one of the trial’s global leader

May 2 2026-Former Toronto Homicide Cop Hank Idsinga's Memoir & The Problem of "Surveillance Pricing" His new book has already received huge attention because of explosive allegations of anti-Semitism and racism at the highest levels of the Toronto Police Service after 34 years with the force, leading the homicide unit for five of them, Hank idsinga wrote: “The High Road: Confessions of a Homicide Cop” and in its first week, it topped the Canadian non-fiction list at number 4. Here is part of the long, fascinating conversation I had with him. And We’ve all heard of dynamic or surge pricing - where companies ratchet up our costs when demand is higher. Now they have figured out how to charge each of us the most we would be willing to pay - even if it’s more than the person next to us in the virtual check out line. How does it work, and what if anything can we do about it? I asked technology analyst and journalist Carmi Levy.

April 11 2026-The Challenges Facing Caregivers Today & Exploring the "Fat Thermostat" Phenomenon This week marked National Caregiver Day here in Canada—a time to recognize and honour the millions of people who provide care and support to family members, friends, and loved ones. These are people who often step into the role without training, without pay, and sometimes without even realizing they’ve become caregivers--yet their contributions are absolutely essential to our healthcare system and our communities. And while the role can be deeply meaningful, it can also come with real challenges: burnout, financial strain, and isolation just to name a few. Guest host Jeremy Logan spoke with Amy Coupal, CEO of the Ontario Caregiver Organization, a group dedicated to supporting and empowering caregivers across the province, to learn more about this growing issue. And Struggling with weight is nothing new. Fads to fight the battle of the bulge come and go, often with lackluster results.Is it really a case of counting calories or mind over matter? Dr. Jason Fung is a nephrologist and best-selling author. In his new book, The Hunger Code: Resetting Your Body's Fat Thermostat in the Age of Ultra-Processed Food, Dr. Fung argues that the real problem behind weight gain isn’t just what we eat—but why we feel hungry in the first place. He explores how ultra-processed foods, hormones like insulin, and our modern eating habits are disrupting the body’s natural appetite controls—what he calls our “fat thermostat.” The result? We’re often stuck in a cycle of constant hunger and weight gain. Dr. Fung tells guest host Jeremy Logan...The Hunger Code… offers a new framework for understanding obesity-not as a failure of willpower, but as a biological system that can be reset.

April 4 2026-Caryma Sa'd On Anti-Israel Demonstrations & Why Canadians Have Seen a Big Drop in Happiness Unruly and often hateful demonstrations have dominated our streets since october 7. Beforehand, there was another type of aggressive protest from the convoy opposing lockdowns. Caryma Sa'd is a lawyer who has made it her mission to document these protests on video to give us a first hand look at what is actually happening on the ground. She came by our studios for a long chat. And This week, a landmark ruling in Los Angeles awarded millions of dollars in an unprecedented win for a young woman who sued Meta and YouTube over her childhood addiction to social media. This echoes the results of the 2026 Global happiness Index. The research pointed to a big drop in the happiness of Canadians -especially younger ones - and it pointed to social media as the main reason. I reached one of the report’s authors, Lord Richard Layard, in London.

March 14 2026-Who is Mojtaba Khamenei: Iran's New Supreme Leader & Canada's Technology Waste Problem In his first statement since becoming Iran’s Supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei said the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbors will continue. Before this, the 56-year-old son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has kept a low profile, and never held government office, nor given public speeches or interviews. For some insight on what to expect, I talked with Kaveh Shahrooz, a lawyer, human rights activist and Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. And How often do you get rid of older phones, laptops, tablets and other appliances? A new study finds that nearly two-thirds of the electronic devices that Canadians replace are still in working condition, and that creates a vast amount of electronic waste. Cell phones had the shortest average lifespan at around 4½ years, and part of the problem may be the surging number of scams that come through them. I talked with Carmi Levy, Technology analyst and journalist based in London, Ontario.

March 7 2026-An Israeli's Perspective on the War Against Iran & The Importance of Sleep for your Health It’s been more than a week since the start of the American-Israeli attack on Iran. Since then, the conflict has intensified and engulfed other countries in the Middle east, and there has been criticism charging a lack of clear objectives and an exit strategy from the US. For the Israeli perspective, I talked with Professor Gabriel Ben Dor, who teaches National Security and Political science at the University of Haifa. And We’ve just shifted our clocks forward to DST, and as a result we’ve lost an hour of sleep. There are consequences to losing just this one hour, which most experts agree is bad for us - it’s usually followed by an uptick in crashes and medical events. And It comes on top of what some experts call a sleep debt. The numbers show that more than 40% of Canadians are sleep deprived, while there’s more and more evidence that sleep is a key to maintaining health. I talked to Dr. Christine Palmay about why sleep is so essential and how to get as much as you need.

February 14 2026-The State of Zoomer Love & Improving Canadian Healthcare With most people focused on coupling up, this Valentine’s weekend, we thought it is a good time to look in on Zoomer singles. In 2016, approximately 1.4 million Canadians aged 65 and over lived alone, accounting for more than one-quarter (26%) of that demo. The figure that rises sharply with age. By 2021, 42% of people aged 85 and older lived alone. The vast majority are women and a lot of them like it this way. I talked with Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, about whether older Canadians are looking for love. And Dr. Danielle Martin has been chosen to run for the Liberals in the bi-election that will be held in former deputy PM Chrystia Freeland’s old riding. University Rosedale is considered a safe Liberal seat and it is a safe bet Dr. Martin will play a big role in the government healthcare strategy. So here we revisit my 2017 interview on her book "Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians".

February 7 2026-A Fascinating New Study on Longevity & Have You Heard About Men's Sheds? The latest, fascinating research on longevity is offering some answers in the nature vs nurture debate and--while we have made huge advances in longevity as a society--the prospects for each of us individually is mostly mandated by our genes according to this work and there’s a limit to how much our lifestyles and habits can change it. I spoke with Dr. Stuart Jay Olshansky, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois in Chicago. And We know how important it is to maintain strong social connections as we age. And men often find themselves more isolated after relying on the women in their lives to make that happen. Men’s Sheds is an organization dedicated to providing a place for older men to build friendships and community. I talked with Brian Sawyer, Outreach and Member Services Manager for Men’s Sheds Canada