Tag Archives: book

John Shannon

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak with John Shannon.  Who is John Shannon: John Shannon is a Canadian sportscaster and former television producer.

John Shannon joined me to chat about his career and new book, Evolve or Die (published by Simon and Shuster). Topics we discussed: –

  • his relationship with Don Cherry
  • working with Richard Peddie and Sherali Najak
  • why he decided to write his first book
  • working with Bob McCown
  • working at Wayne Gretzky’s last NHL game
  • and so much more!

In 2009, Shannon left the NHL Network to become an on-air panelist for Rogers Sportsnet and a co-host of sports talk radio show Prime Time Sports on Fan 590 in Toronto alongside Bob McCown. In 2020, Shannon became a co-host of the sports talk podcast, “The Bob McCown Show,” alongside Bob McCown, which discusses sports topics of the day and features guests from the sports industry.

This is Episode #278 of the Welcome! podcast.

Chris St. Clair: Weather Permitting

From the long time host of The Weather Network comes a behind-the-scenes look at Canada’s biggest weather events and climate phenomena.

Chris St. Clair was a weather presenter and journalist on The Weather Network for more than twenty-five years.  He is also a popular speaker on meteorology and climate change. He lives in Kingston, Ontario. Connect with him on Twitter @CStClair1.

For more than twenty-five years, Chris St. Clair was on the frontline of Canada’s biggest weather events as a popular presenter on The Weather NetworkFor the first time, he shares his never-before-told stories covering the country’s most astounding weather events.

From the flooding of the Red River in Winnipeg to the ice storm in Montreal, the hurricanes in Newfoundland, the devastating wildfires in Fort McMurray, the hailstorm in Calgary, and the heat dome and horrifying floods in British Columbia, St. Clair recalls these extreme weather events and relays their impact on communities across the country. He also follows Canadian snowbirds south to Florida and recounts their dramatic escape from record-breaking Hurricanes Matthew and Irma.

A vivid personal narrative with accessible scientific explanations and meteorological analysis, Weather Permitting tells the story of how the weather has shaped the character and psyche of our nation, and is an homage to the strength and resilience of Canadian communities from coast to coast.

This is Episode #277 of the Welcome! podcast.

Gabriela Casineanu

Gabriela Casineanu is an award-winning author who founded the Immigrant Writers Association in 2018.

The IWA is a non profit organization that assists new Canadian immigrants find support to express themselves through creative writing.

Each year the IWA releases a new anthology featuring short stories and poetry from their members. This past Tuesday the IWA released a new anthology called Finding The Way featuring 12 new Canadian writers. https://immigrantwriters.com/finding-the-way/

Finding The Way features writing from new Canadians that have come from Ghana, Ukraine, Romania, USA, India, Cuba, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago.

This is Episode #275 of the Welcome! podcast.

Ali Hassan: Is There Bacon in Heaven? A Memoir

karim kanji with ali hassan
karim kanji with ali hassan

Ali Hassan is a stand-up comedian, actor, and professional chef. He is the host of CBC’s Canada Reads as well as Laugh Out Loud. He is also a frequent guest host of q, CBC’s premier national arts and entertainment show. His comedy has been performed at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and Toronto’s JFL42. He is a Canadian Comedy Awards nominee, and his solo show, Muslim, Interrupted, was performed at the world’s largest comedy festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has appeared in three award-winning films, BreakawayFrench Immersion, and as the memorable Lebanese Uncle Stevie in the hockey hit Goon, in addition to other film and TV roles, most recently CBC’s Run the Burbs. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his family. Follow him on Twitter @StandUpAli and find him at StandUpAli.com.

This is Episode #273 of the Welcome! podcast.

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Scott Morrison: 1972 – The Series That Changed Hockey Forever

“Cournoyer has it on that wing. Here’s a shot. Henderson made a wild stab for it and fell. Here’s another shot. Right in front…they score! Henderson has scored for Canada!” These immortal words, spoken to hockey fans around the world by the legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt, capture the historic final-seconds goal scored by Paul Henderson that won the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Hockey fans across Canada know the moment well, but the story of those amazing eight games has never been fully told—until now.
Here is my conversation with author Scott Morrison.

This is Episode #270 of the Welcome! podcast.

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Perdita Felicien | My Mother’s Daughter

Perdita Felicien is a third time guest. And third time’s a charm! Perdita is officially now an author. I’m so excited for her. In this episode we talk about her car, her book, Catherine – her mom, her daughter Nova, her relationship with her dad and some advice for a young first time book author to be, Morgan!

This is Episode #257 of the Welcome! podcast.

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Frederick Kaufman

Frederick Kaufman and Karim Kanji
Frederick Kaufman and Karim Kanji

Half fable, half manifesto, this brilliant new take on the ancient concept of cash lays bare its unparalleled capacity to empower and enthrall us.

The Money Plot: A HISTORY OF CURRENCY’S POWER TO ENCHANT, CONTROL, AND MANIPULATE

Frederick Kaufman tackles the complex history of money, beginning with the earliest myths and wrapping up with Wall Street’s byzantine present-day doings. Along the way, he exposes a set of allegorical plots, stock characters, and stereotypical metaphors that have long been linked with money and commercial culture, from Melanesian trading rituals to the dogma of Medieval churchmen faced with global commerce, the rationales of Mercantilism and colonial expansion, and the U.S. dollar’s 1971 unpinning from gold.

This is Episode #253 of the Welcome! podcast.

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Harnarayan Singh

Harnarayan Singh is the author of the brand new book, ONE GAME AT A TIME.

Bonino Bonino Bonino!

Video clips of the Hockey Night in Punjabi broadcast of Nick Bonino’s goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins immediately went viral, amplifying the profile of Harnarayan Singh, the voice behind the call.

In this conversation with Harnarayan we talk about his love of hockey and Canada while also challenging both to be better. We talked about his relationship with Ron MacLean and his sister Gurdeep. Of course we talked about his journey from calling games with a toy microphone as a kid to calling Hockey Night in Canada games across the country and everything in between.

We also discover the one thing most people don’t know about Harnarayan Singh. You will be surprised!

This is Episode #241 of the Welcome! podcast.

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Award-winning author Tanya Talaga

Tanya Talaga is an award wining Anishinaabe author and former investigative reporter for the Toronto Star. Her 2017 book Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death and Hard Truths in a Northern City, won the 2018 RBC Taylor Prize for non-fiction and the 2017 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Her latest book, All Our Relations served as the focus for her recent Massey Lectures across Canada.

This is Episode #221 of the Welcome! podcast.

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Tom Stephen

Tom Stephen spent the better part of two decades playing drums in and co-managing one of Canada’s top musical trios, The Jeff Healey Band. Tom recently wrote the book, “Best Seat In The House. My Life In The Jeff Healey Band” published by ECW Press.

I sat down with Tom Stephen for almost 90 minutes in a downtown Toronto lobby to talk about his life as a musician and to find out more about one of Canada’s, if not the world’s, best guitarists, Jeff Healey.

This is Episode #153 of the Welcome! podcast. Tom Stephen and I discussed:

  • How Tom was introduced to drums and the first time he met Jeff Healey
  • The reasons Tom effectively became the lead business negotiator for The Jeff Healey Band
  • Tom shared some stories of Jeff Healey with people such as Keith Richards, President Bill Clinton, Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits, George Harrison from The Beatles and BB King
  • Tom described going to New York City to get Paul Shaffer’s (David Letterman’s long time band leader) help in breaking The Jeff Healey Band stateside
  • The Jeff Healey Band’s hit songs as well as Tom’s favourite songs
  • Working with the band and Patrick Swayze on the movie, Roadhouse.
  • Why Jeff Healey always stuck up for Jeff and Joe (bass guitarist) as the band’s rhythm section
  • The straw that finally broke the camel’s back and saw The Jeff Healey Band break up for good
  • Why Tom was told to not show up to Jeff Healey’s funeral
  • Tom’s current health
  • And do much more!

Listen below: