Face 2 Face With David Peck

Michelle talks to day about her approach to solving social issues in her community. She speaks about celebrating difference, facilitating community and how we really need to learn how to say hello more often.Biography Michelle lives in Oakville with her husband Jeff. She has 4 adult children and one teenager. Michelle attended Humber College for the Community Worker program and had great placement and early career opportunities with Parkdale Legal Services, St Christopher House, LAMP Community Health Centre, Flemingdon Park Red Cross and ESL program, Community Living & Christian Horizons. She has been privileged to have been mentored by many community leaders who shared their knowledge of the importance of facilitating community. These experiences have led her to take on the challenge of being the Executive Director of Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre where she has been involved for 15 years. Michelle is passionate about the importance of nurturing neighbourhoods to be the best they can be by encouraging sup

Brett talks about empowerment, innovation and money. He asks how we can bring the villagers struggling for survival all over the developing world, inside our evolving ‘global village’?BiographyBrett Hudson Matthews is dedicated to lighting the path out of poverty for the poorest billion rural citizens of our planet. In 2012, following a fellowship at the McLuhan Program for Culture and Technology (University of Toronto), Brett launched My Oral Village, Inc. At Mathwood Consulting Company, a consulting firm he founded, Brett has conducted many evaluations of village finance projects, working in 15 of the world’s poorest countries since 2000. He was Gates Advisor at MicroSave India during 2008-09, where he advised over a dozen MFIs in 12 Indian states.My Oral Village that is re-inventing the ways in which illiterate and innumerate people manage their finances, so they can escape from the perils of saving at home and get on the path to steady asset accumulation. We are also re-inventing the ways ‘oral’ people cr

Martin speaks passionately about tacit knowledge, mentorship, the Master/Disciple relationship, the relief found in realizing that we don’t have to “prove” everything and why the thought of Michael Polanyi matters.BiographyMartin is a Jesuit priest and a Professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He teaches introduction to world religions (“Lose Your Faith 101″) and various topics in Catholic Theology in the Department of Religious Studies and Theology.He was born in 1952, Allegany, New York, which makes him a “mountain boy.” Allegany county and Cattaraugus county are the two northernmost counties of Appalachia, according to the federal government.He has written Personal Catholicism, published by The Catholic University of America Press, 2000. Michael Polanyi: Scientist and Philosopher, by Oxford University Press, 2005 and Judging Religion Justly: A Catholic Introduction to Religious Studies, published with Cognella University Readers, 2011. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 Join us today as Annie talks candidly about “why she’s not special”, her fight with a rare form of Cancer, about “we” versus “me”, why she’s so positive and why her life and philosophy has changed so radically over the past few years.BiographyANNE PARKER is a Canadian living in Toronto, Ontario.She was born in 1951 and lost her mother and her sister to cancer. Having survived both breast (1980) and ovarian (1988) cancer, in 1994 Annie and other family members were among a small group of North American families tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.After waiting almost two years, she learned that she does carry the deadly mutation. After surviving a further bout of cancer in 2005, Anne is today a 63-year-old, healthy woman living with a ticking time bomb: the BRCA1 gene mutation.Anne is now a cancer awareness and genetic testing advocate. The story of her life was the inspiration behind the film, Decoding Annie Parker (2013) starring Helen Hunt and Aaron Paul. Anne’s determination to give hope to othe

In this fun and engaging chat Brady speaks about love, thoughtful speech as action, why he doesn’t believe in the good old days and why we have to be the authors of ourselves.BiographyDr. Brayton Polka is Professor Emeritus of Humanities at York University in Toronto. He is the author of several books and numerous smaller studies in which he focuses on the issue of interpretation. He shows that the hermeneutical relationship between text and reader is based on the golden rule of interpretation: that text and reader each bear the responsibility of interpreting the other as they want to be interpreted by the other. Interpretation is, consequently, the covenantal relationship par excellence.Professor Polka argues, then, that the values that underlie, that “upbuild” or edify, all hermeneutical effort–e.g., love, freedom, justice, and the dignity of all human beings–are at once biblical and modern. He argues, additionally, that it is only on the basis of understanding that our modern values are biblical from the b

Join us for a lively chat about leadership, community wellbeing and why we should care, why democracy matters and why we need to leave the planet in a better place than how we found it.BiographyDavid Miller is President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund – Canada, Canada’s foremost conservation organization. The WWF creates solutions to the most serious conservation challenges facing our planet, helping people and nature thrive.David Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010 and Chair of the influential C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group from 2008 – 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies, and a strong and forceful champion for the next generation of jobs through sustainability.Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and university affiliations. He is currently an adjunct Professor at York University and a

Dennis talks in today’s interview about the social determinants of health, the working poor, poverty in Canada, influence, corporate power, income inequality and the power of unions and how they’re all connected.BiographyDennis Raphael is Professor of Health Policy and Management at York University, as well as the author of over 250 publications that speak to topics in public policy, poverty, and social determinants of health. Raphael’s extensive list of publications includes Poverty in Canada (2011) and Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada (2010).He is the editor of Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences (2012) and Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives (2009) and co-editor of Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care (2010).He is co-author of Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, a primer for the Canadian Public, which has been downloaded over 300,000 times.Get a free copy of Social Determinants of Health: The

Tom talks about why ghosts haunt places not people and about magic, ufology and superstition and why as a sleight of hand magician he’s still believes in the notion of mystery.BiographyTom Ogden has never seen a ghost. But as a professional magician for the past forty years, his interest in ghosts, hauntings, and all things paranormal was a given.Tom’s tours have taken him to more than a hundred countries and all seven continents. He has opened for such acts as Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and the Osmonds, and he has performed for such celebrities as Johnny Depp, Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander and even President Ronald Reagan. Tom’s television work has included appearances on NBC’s The World’s Greatest Magic and FOX’s The Great Magic of Las Vegas, as well as numerous commercials. He has twice been voted “Parlour Magician of the Year” at the famed Magic Castle in Hollywood.Mr. Ogden’s first published works included ten years of monthly columns for the magic magazines Genii, M.U.M., and The Magic Manuscript, as w

Listen in today as Ron and I discuss Gross National Happiness, full cost accounting, political will, social change and integrated ways of looking at progress.BiographyDr. Colman is founder and executive director of GPI Atlantic, a non-profit research group that, over 15 years, constructed a comprehensive index of wellbeing and sustainable development in Nova Scotia, Canada, called the Genuine Progress Index.Ron received his Ph.D from Columbia University, taught political science in universities for two decades, worked as a researcher and speech-writer at the United Nations, and has authored numerous studies on measures of population health, social wellbeing, economic security, natural resource health, and environmental quality. From 2001-2005 he served as editor-in-chief of the national magazine, Reality Check: The Canadian Review of Wellbeing.Ron worked with the Royal Government of Bhutan for more than a decade on its holistic measures of progress, on bringing its integrated Gross National Happiness (GNH) de

Photo credit: Véro BoncompagniListen in today as these filmmakers, Mina Shum and Selwyn Jacobs, talk about Canada’s hidden history, implicit and explicit racism, why we need to listen to others and why they’re confident we can overcome our fears.Check out the trailer of their new NFB film Ninth Floor making its world premiere at TIFF 2015.Synopsis of FilmIt started quietly when a group of Caribbean students, strangers in a cold new land, began to suspect their professor of racism. It ended in the most explosive student uprising Canada had ever known. Over four decades later, Ninth Floor reopens the file on the Sir George Williams Riot – a watershed moment in Canadian race relations and one of the most contested episodes in the nation’s history.It was the late 60s, change was in the air, and a restless new generation was claiming its place– but nobody at Sir George Williams University would foresee the chaos to come.On February 11, 1969, riot police stormed the occupied floors of the main building, making mult

Listen in as Patrick and Michelle talk candidly about truth, injustice and provide important insights into the life of Omar Khadr.Synopsis of FilmOmar Khadr: child soldier or unrepentant terrorist? The 28-year-old Canadian has been a polarizing figure since he was 15. In 2002, Khadr was captured by Americans in Afghanistan and charged with war crimes. In October 2010, Khadr pleaded guilty to five war crimes, including “murder in violation of the laws of war,” in return for a plea deal that gave him an eight-year sentence and chance to return to Canada. Khadr later recanted his confession.His Guantanamo conviction is being appealed in the U.S courts. After spending nearly half his life behind bars, including a decade at Guantanamo, Khadr is suddenly released. Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr features unprecedented access and exclusive interviews with Khadr during his first few days of freedom in Edmonton, where he was released on bail on May 7, 2015.This documentary delivers an intimate portrait of how a teenage

Listen in on our chat today with director Jamie Dagg about his new film River, corruption, justice, why storytelling matters and how unintended consequences can make all the difference.Read more about the film here and it’s World premiere at TIFF and check out it’s trailer here.Synopsis – RiverAccused of murder after intervening in the sexual assault of a young woman, an American volunteer doctor in Laos is forced to go on the run. One of the most energetic thrillers produced this year; Jamie M. Dagg’s debut feature River takes us on a frantic getaway in Laos, from the shores of the Mekong River, up to the mountains in the north.John Lake (Rossif Sutherland) is an American volunteer doctor working for an NGO in a village in southern Laos. On his way home after an alcohol-soaked evening at a local bar, John intervenes in the sexual assault of a young woman, and the violence quickly escalates. The next day, the assailant’s body is pulled out of the water.All the evidence points to John, who recognizes the night

Listen in as film maker Danae talks about her new film P.S. Jerusalem, racism, exploitation, why it’s so difficult to film in Jerusalem and how she has become increasingly uncomfortable pointing the camera at other people.The new P.S. Jerusalem trailer is here and for more info about Danae’s work check out her website.Film SynopsisReturning to her hometown of Jerusalem with her young family after several years abroad, documentarian Danae Elon offers an intimate, ground’s-eye view of one of the most fiercely contested cities in the world.In 2010, filmmaker Danae Elon was living in New York City and pregnant with her third child when she felt a powerful urge to move back to her hometown of Jerusalem. Her husband Philip is a French-Algerian Jew who had never lived in Israel, but was game to try it. In P.S. Jerusalem, Elon chronicles her family’s three-year sojourn, during which time they bore witness to much of what makes the city such a fiercely debated territory.Even though Jerusalem is frequently in the headl

Listen in on today’s chat with Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra about his new film Embrace of the Serpent, mystery, the environment, the importance of indigenous cultures and why western science is still so close-minded.Film SynopsisYou can find trailer here.Tracking two parallel odysseys through the Amazon three decades apart, this visionary adventure epic from Colombian director Ciro Guerra offers a heart-rending depiction of colonialism laying waste to indigenous culture.Tracking two parallel odysseys through the Amazon, this historical epic from the fiercely talented Colombia filmmaker Ciro Guerra offers ethno-botanical adventure, mysticism, and a heart-rending depiction of colonialism laying waste to indigenous culture. In 1909, a canoe bearing ailing German explorer Theodor Koch-Grünberg (Jan Bijvoet) arrives at river’s edge, where the young shaman Karamakate (Nilbio Torres), ostensibly the last member of a decimated tribe, waits warily. Theodor is searching for an exceedingly rare flower that he believe

Listen in as Geeta talks about why she wanted to make a “kick ass” story about women, gender justice and how little things make a big difference.Film SynopsisDocumentarians Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (the Academy Award-winning Saving Face) and Geeta Gandbhirfollow the stories of three Bangladeshi policewomen who served with the UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.The role of United Nations peacekeepers is a true “mission impossible,” dropping soldiers who literally don’t speak each other’s languages into foreign countries rife with chaos and violence. Anything that goes wrong can become an international incident. Good luck.A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers acquaints us with the personal side of such a mission, focusing on five Muslim policewomen from Dhaka, Bangladesh who are part of a unit sent to maintain peace in the wake of Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake. Their training is inadequate, to say the least. Adding to the volatile situation are the loca

Join in today as my guest talks about non-GDP metrics for development, ideological tool kits, policy development and why the “weight of ideas” matters a great deal.BiographyLauchlan Munro is the Director, School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa and a socio-economist and manager. Before joining the University of Ottawa, Lauchlan served as Vice-President at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from 2008 to 2012. From 2004 to 2009, he was Director of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to the President of IDRC. From 2000 to 2003, Lauchlan was Chief of Strategic Planning with UNICEF.Lauchlan also worked for UNICEF in DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. From 1985 to 1987, he was a member of the Royal Bhutanese Civil Service. Lauchlan is a two-time graduate of the University of Toronto, and he earned his Ph.D. from the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informati

Photo: Getty Images Listen in today as Hermon and Max Conil talk about their film The Price of Love, about film making in Ethiopia, relationships and what makes us better human beings.TrailerFilm Synopsis A cab driver and a beautiful young prostitute fall in love while struggling to survive on the mean streets of Addis Ababa, in this frank, gritty drama from Ethiopian writer-director Hermon Hailay. One of the leading female filmmakers in Ethiopia, Hermon Hailay has never shied away from hard-hitting social issues. In her third feature, Price of Love, she offers a frank, gritty look at the sinister underworld of Addis Ababa’s commerce in flesh, and the toll it takes on those trapped within it. Outside a fancy nightclub, the alluring young Fere (Fereweni Gebregergs) frantically jumps into a taxi after freeing herself from the grip of a middle-aged man. Examining Fere in his rearview mirror, cab driver Teddy (Eskindir Tameru) can guess that she, like thousands of young Ethiopian women — including his own mother

Paul talks passionately today about Grace, gender, and inclusion. He’s also has plenty to say about his new book Eve and how The Shack is being made into a major motion picture.BiographyPaul is the 20 million-bestselling author of The Shack.Paul was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, but the majority of his first decade was lived with his missionary parents in the highlands of Netherlands New Guinea (West Papua), among the Dani, a technologically stone age tribal people.He’s a writer, husband, father and lover of life.The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P. Young, a former office manager and hotel night clerk, published in 2007.The novel was self-published but became a USA Today bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This conversation was a real pleasure for me. Listen to Avi chat about neo-liberalism, why movements are essential, a future of radical change, why he has hope and why his film this film is really about finding meaning through story, relationships and validating others.Film SynopsisDirected by Avi Lewis and produced in conjunction with Naomi Klein’s best-selling book of the same name, This Changes Everything is an urgent dispatch on climate change that explores how our violent disregard for our planet has endangered both it and ourselves, and how resisting this abuse and opposing the forces that propagate it can have a profound — even revolutionary — impact upon the makeup of our society.With Klein serving as narrator and guide, the film examines several individual cases worldwide — from ranchers in Montana dealing with floods and an oil spill to grandmothers in Greece protesting the arrival of a Canadian gold-processing complex, from fishermen in India rejecting a coal-fired power plant to migrant workers in

Kelly has a great story to tell and is a woman with a cause. Listen in as she proves that little things do indeed make a big difference and that moving the needle from a social change perspective requires commitment, passion and focus.BiographyInspired by her Uncle, Canadian astronaut Cmdr (Ret’d) Chris Hadfield, Kelly Hadfield was raised recognizing that a person has no limits to what they can accomplish. In 2007, Kelly co-founded a local non-profit organization in Ontario called the Prom Blitz, which enables marginalized graduating high school girls to proudly attend their prom with their peers and celebrate their achievements.During her B.Sc. Honours with a Major in Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph, Kelly gained experience in a diverse array of health improvement fields, including physiotherapy, peer counseling, global health, and research.While completing her undergraduate degree, Kelly founded Ghana Medical Help, an international charity aimed to alleviate suffering and improve health outco