I stole millions - Jonathan Todd Schwartz
Chatter that Matters
Jonathan Todd Schwartz was once entrusted with the fortunes and futures of some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Beyoncé, Linkin Park, and Alanis Morissette. Behind the image of the disciplined CPA and trusted Hollywood business manager, however, Jonathan was living a secret life. Childhood trauma, cocaine use, and an out-of-control gambling addiction consumed him. He lost millions gambling and, as his addictions spiralled, embezzled over $7 million from the clients who trusted him most. What began in his mind as money he would “borrow” and quickly repay became an...
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Daughter Dies, Mother Lives on. Pamela Shainhouse
Chatter that Matters
A heart-moving episode about the unimaginable courage it takes to live after loss. When Pamela Shainhouse’s daughter, Alli, died at 26 after seven years of fighting Hodgkin lymphoma, Pamela felt that the person she had been died with her. In the silence that followed came a life-altering question: Who would she become now? In this deeply personal conversation, Pamela shares how Alli taught her to live fully, to refuse the limits others place on us, and to understand the profound difference between moving on and moving forward. Pamela also speaks candidly about growing...
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Ready to Listen - Leslie Lee Sanders
Chatter that Matters
Every so often, a guest comes along who challenges us to think differently. Not necessarily to agree, but to wonder. What if intuition is more than instinct? What if the coincidences that shape our lives aren't coincidences at all? What if the moments we dismiss are actually messages, gently nudging us toward the life we were meant to live? What if there are Earth Angels? Leslie Lee Sanders believes we're all born with an inner knowing, that signs, synchronicities, intuition, and even spiritual guidance are available to us if we're willing to slow down and listen. Whether you embrace...
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Extraordinary Outcomes - Kim Mason
Chatter that Matters
Some conversations stay with you long after they are over. This is one of them. Kim Mason is someone I deeply admire for her intelligence, her humanity and the way she makes everyone in her presence feel heard and seen. She dreamed of becoming an anthropologist and journalist, but a summer job at RBC changed everything. Almost four decades later, she holds one of Canada’s most senior banking positions. But our conversation isn’t really about her career. It’s about the paths we walk in life—some we choose and others that seem to choose us. Kim opens up about saying yes to the...
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Caring for the Caregiver - Amy Coupal
Chatter that Matters
When my 90-year-old mother-in-law moved into our home earlier this year, caregiving became deeply personal. Seeing the stairs, stubborn jar lids, fear of falling and loss of independence through her eyes changed how I understood aging, dignity and love—and inspired this conversation. Millions of people in the middle of their own lives suddenly become caregivers. Most arrive untrained, unprepared and too often unsupported, yet they keep showing up because love asks them to. Few understand that journey more deeply than Amy Coupal, CEO of the Ontario Caregiver Organization. As a child, Amy...
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The many lives of Aaron Bethune
Chatter that Matters
Aaron Bethune lives his life. Musician. Writer. Strategist. Mountaineer. Seeker. Philosopher. Promoter and Publisher. His approach is one we can all learn from. So many words of wisdom to take away: 'I like to get to the corner to see what's next before deciding to go forward or change lanes.' Or Success is not always the award, the applause, or even the destination. Sometimes success is freedom. Sometimes it is presence, being in the present. I hope you take away as much as I did from Aaron Bethune.
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A tribute to Canada - J.D.M. Stewart
Chatter that Matters
Canada Day is more than flags and fireworks. It is a reminder that this country was not inevitable. It was imagined into being by people who chose union over drift and compromise over collapse. My guest is JDM Stewart, author of The Prime Ministers: Canada’s Leaders and the Nation They Shaped. James brings history to life by showing us Canada’s prime ministers not as saints or villains, but as flawed, ambitious, and consequential leaders who shaped the country we inherited. We talk about Macdonald, Laurier, Borden, Mackenzie King, Pearson, Louis St. Laurent, the two Trudeaus,...
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Self-Made - Tim Moore
Chatter that Matters
My guest today is Tim Moore, a serial entrepreneur with immense character. Tim's upbringing included failing a few grades, studying to become a priest, then becoming a teacher and eventually a truck driver. His life changed when he bought a secondhand pickup truck, covered it with a tarp, placed a newspaper ad, and started a moving business charging seven dollars an hour. From there, he built AMJ Campbell into Canada’s largest moving company, then Premier Executive Suites and many more ventures across real estate, storage, mortgages, hospitality, and more. But that is his resume. This...
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Dreamers Daughter - Lori Thicke
Chatter that Matters
Happy Father’s Day. Did your father ever try to bottle liquid manure, only to watch it explode in the sunlight while sitting in a store window display? Did he ever bet the family’s fortune on a machine he believed could extract gold from sand? Did he buy horses before figuring out where to keep them, then decide the house would do? Did he lose the rent, the car, the business, and occasionally the plot, but somehow never lose his love for his children? Welcome to the unforgettable world of Dacker. In my Father’s Day special, I sit down with Lori Thicke, author of Dreamer’s Daughter:...
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Outspoken - The Betty Baxter Story
Chatter that Matters
Not long ago in Canada, who you loved could cost you everything. Betty Baxter knows this because it happened to her. Betty was an elite athlete, an Olympic captain, a pioneering coach, and one of the rare women leading at the highest levels of international sport. Her athletes trusted her. Her program was working. Her future was bright. Then, on a cold November night in 1981, Betty was told to drive to a roadside motel between Ottawa and Montreal. Inside, three of the most powerful men in Canadian volleyball were waiting. They did not ask about her athletes, her results, or her vision....
info_outlineOn 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 thoughts.
Thanks for listening to Chatter That Matters.
Let's chat soon.