Live a Little Better - John Beyer
Chatter that Matters
John Beyer grew up amidst chaos. His parents were alcoholics. By his mid-twenties, both parents had passed away, grief weighed heavily, and alcohol took over his life. In this episode, I speak with John about the moment he finally confronted that truth and the long journey that ensued. The conversation covers addiction, recovery, family, and the quiet strength of rebuilding a life step by step. John shares how he found sobriety, started a business, became a husband and father, supported a son with autism, and kept moving forward through profound personal and health challenges. What makes...
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Breaking Barriers, Building Scale. Jaffer, Menard-Shand, Zinaty
Chatter that Matters
To mark the end of International Women’s Month, I host a conversation with three remarkable women. Shamira Jaffer, recipient of the 2023 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Innovation Award; Jennifer Menard-Shand, a three-time nominee for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards; and Dr. Georgette Zinaty, President of WBE Canada and a passionate advocate for women-owned businesses. Together, we discuss the challenges women still face, the achievements they are making, and what Canada needs to do to support more women entrepreneurs in not only starting out but also scaling up. Because...
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Surviving the Silence - Audrey Hyams Romoff
Chatter that Matters
Audrey Hyams Romoff spent over 30 years in the glossy world of public relations, building OverCat Communications and shaping the images of A-list celebrities. Her professional life was marked by polish, access, and control. But behind that world was a much more private story, shaped by inherited trauma, silence, and profound loss. Audrey’s Grandmother and Mother were survivors of Auschwitz. The Holocaust was rarely discussed in their home, yet its shadow influenced everything. That silence became even more painful when Audrey’s mother died by suicide, forcing her to confront not...
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Rock to Recovery - Wes Geer
Chatter that Matters
Wes Geer chased rock and roll the way some people chase salvation, all in, full volume, no brakes. Wes Geer went from a kid with a guitar and a dream to co-founding Head P.E., tearing through the chaos of the '90s rock scene, then playing with Korn, and living the kind of life that looks electrifying from the outside and destructive from within. Fame, excess, addiction, collapse, Wes lived every mile of that road. But this episode is not just about the rise and the wreckage. It is about what happens when someone survives the fire and comes back carrying a torch, or in this case, a guitar....
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Follow Your Passion - Elysia Racanelli and Jonathan Roy
Chatter that Matters
My advice to anyone is this. If you can, follow your passion. Follow it to where it brings you intellectual and emotional rewards, a sense of purpose and place, and in this volatile world, always have a Plan B. This is why I am so excited to introduce my two guests this week. Elysia Racanelli is a family doctor by day and avant-garde singer by night, whose haunting voice and commanding stage presence will stop you in your tracks. Jonathan Roy is the son of Patrick Roy, one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. Jonathan worked hard to follow in his father's 'skates', but when the NHL was...
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Is Sports Fixed? Declan Hill
Chatter that Matters
Have you ever considered that the sports you are watching are fixed? This episode ois appointment listening for Sports fans, sports gamblers and concerned parents, and an eye-opening story for anyone interested in how pervasive organized crime has woven into our society. My guest this week is Declan Hill, Oxford-educated and author of The Fix. Declan is world-renowned as an investigative journalist who has infiltrated organized crime fixing rings to understand how the world of sports fixing actually works and why the extensive marketing efforts to encourage more people to gamble on sports...
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Mansions to the left of Me, Tents to My Right.
Chatter that Matters
On occasion, I break format, step out of interview mode, and speak directly to you about what I believe matters to you, to me, and to our country. In this episode, I talk about Canada’s K economy and the growing, dangerous divide between those who have and those who have very little. I look at the human cost, the impact on our psychology and our society, and five things we can do to rebuild our economy. To grow our way forward, versus borrowing on the backs of future generations just to cover today's bills. I hope you can find ten minutes over the next few days to listen, and to share your...
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Do it Yourself, But Do It. The k3 Sisters Band
Chatter that Matters
This week's podcast is for all who are dealing with the reality that their future will not look like the past. There will be no neatly paved road. No ladder with perfectly placed rungs. Instead, there will be relentless headwinds, industries reshaped by technology and marketplaces rendered by global forces. Jobs will collapse, and new ones will emerge. Which is why I invited The k3 Sisters Band to join me this week. Three sisters who chose to make their destiny a matter of choice, rather than leave it to chance. Homeschooled. Fourth-generation musicians. As children, on a flight home from...
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From Darkness Came Light - Carol Lee
Chatter that Matters
Vancouver’s Chinatown was never built to be trendy. It was built because people had nowhere else to belong. Shut out of opportunity. Pushed to the margins. Told where they could and could not live. So they built anyway. Store by store. Family by family. A place that began to pulse and then became magnetic to all who lived in and visited Vancouver. And then slowly, the pulse weakened. Rising costs. Aging buildings. Poverty. Then the pandemic. The streets emptied. Businesses struggled to survive. Anti-Asian racism surged. Fear replaced foot traffic. Absence replaced community. ...
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Save the Rage for the Stage - Bif Naked
Chatter that Matters
Some artists find a sound or a look. Others find the truth. Bif Naked found both. In this moving episode of Chatter that Matters, I sit down with the iconic Juno Award-winning artist and activist Bif Naked to unpack “I am who I am.” Born in New Delhi. Adopted. Raised across oceans, finding love in words and music. At 21, Bif met her birth mother, a moment that brought her story full circle. But identity is not formed only in comfort. At 36, Bif was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two years later, she suffered a stroke. Those chapters did not silence her. They fed her poetry and clarified...
info_outlineOur global food system is feeding more people than ever, yet some argue it is also making more people sick, more unequal, and more vulnerable. How did we get here, and more importantly, how do we change course?
In this timely and deeply human conversation, global nutrition expert Dr. Stuart Gillespie joins Chatter that Matters to unpack the forces shaping what we eat, who profits, and who pays the price. Drawing on decades of frontline experience across India, Africa, and within the United Nations, Gillespie blends memoir and manifesto to expose the structural realities behind ultra-processed foods, corporate power, broken policy, and the growing tension between undernutrition and obesity worldwide.
This is not a theoretical discussion. It is a grounded exploration of food justice, political will, activism, and the difficult trade-offs facing governments, industry, and consumers alike. Gillespie challenges the idea that individual choice alone can fix systemic problems, and makes a compelling case for coordinated, courageous action.
The conversation expands to Canada’s role in shaping the future of food, with insights from Lisa Ashton, Agricultural Policy Lead at RBC. She shares how Canada’s agricultural strength, innovation capacity, and collaborative ecosystems can help drive healthier, more equitable food systems at home and globally.
If you care about health, sustainability, equity, or the future we are building through the food we produce and consume, this episode will change how you see your plate.
Listen now, and join the conversation about what comes next.
To purchase Dr. Gillespie's Book Food Fight: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/food-fight-from-plunder-and-profit-to-people-and-planet/9781443475297.html