Finnish directors Dome Karukoski and Iiris Härmä respectively talk about their films, "The Grump" and "Leaving Africa" in these archival interviews from the Toronto International Film Festival 2014 and Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2015. 

Music by Jonathan Nvita, a Cogolese-born Toronto-based singer.

Sharon Marley, Jamaican, mother, singer and cultural advocate joins me to talk about her album FIREBIRD. The album's sound is a personal reflection of Sharon and may surprise fans of her parents, Rita and Bob Marley.

Nadine McNulty, Artistic Director of Batuki Music Society and host and producer of CIUT's 'Karibuni' (Sundays from 3-5 pm) joins me to talk about Habari Africa Festival at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queen's Quay East in Toronto. The FREE festival is a celebration of diverse African arts and culture running August 7-9th.

Then you will hear two Anansi stories from Dr Rita Cox, storyteller, former head librarian of Parkdale Library, community activist, and Member of the Order of Canada: 'Making the Stone Smoke' and 'How the World Got Wisdom.' The stories are from her album, 'Wit and Wisdom: Anansi Tales and Other Stories.'

Today's show features music from Habari Africa Festival musicians:

• Keila (Pare)
• Zale Seck (Talibe)
• ILAM (Guilli)
• Melat Mengesha (Sememen)
• Girma Woldemichael (Nafqote)

Guest: jazz singer, Alex Bird on jazz legend Oliver Jones, musician, composer, arranger, educator (September 11, 1934 – July 22, 2026).

Guests: No Strings Theatre + Lina Rodriquez

Soprano Denise Williams, founding and artistic director of No Strings Theatre, and her team join me to talk about the company’s work supporting teens and emerging artists, along with a bevy of upcoming events and performances in their summer season.

Then, an archival TIFF 2014 interview with screenwriter and filmmaker Lina Rodriguez, talking about her film Mañana a esta hora. Lina’s films are now available on the Criterion Channel.

Guests: Larry Tayler + SATE

I chat with Larry Tayler about being a writer-in-residence at the historic Macaulay House Museum in Prince Edward County, his process as a writer of gay romance, and the people he encounters.

SATE (formerly Saida Baba Talibah) joins me to talk about 'The Listening: Music, Myth, Memory', running July 15–18 at The Vault Creation Lab in Toronto. Directed by Djanet Sears, the piece blends music, movement, and storytelling to explore SATE's relationship with her mother, Salome Bey (Canada's First Lady of the Blues) , through themes of memory, legacy, and identity.

I'm joined by 9 shows each have 5 minutes to share why you should go and see their shows at Toronto Fringe Festival. Will they convince you? Have a listen to:

1. Dads
2. Belly Button
3. He-r'tz
4. Many Happy Returns
5. Little Eden
6. Mysteries and Lies
7. Gerry's Imaginarium (Fringe KidsFest)
8. Above the Hospital
9. You, Always, Never

Link to shows: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/shows

Full details: https://fringetoronto.com/

123 shows on 27 stages around Toronto from June 30-July 12, 2026.

Jesse Wente joins me to talk about Canada-US relations in Case Joynt's new short form docuseries, How to Buy a Country. The doc will screen June 30, 2026 at the Paradise Theatre (1006 Bloor Street W, Toronto), with Jesse, the filmmakers and other stakeholders in attendance for a Question and Answer period following the film. The series then streams on YouTube, starting July 1, 2026.

"Understanding how we arrived where we are now can help orient us towards new, better pathways,” says former CBC radio host, TIFF programmer, current Chair of Canada Council of the Arts Jesse Wente who also narrates the film. “We have an opportunity to redefine this country, and create a new national identity built for this moment."

Resilience and Love: The Secret Reading Club of Kabul and Birds of War, two documentaries that I saw at Hot Docs 2026. The first takes us into the secret reading clubs that Afghan women have formed behind their enclosed doors, reading The Diary of Anne Frank and finding similarities to their own lives under the Taliban. Guests: Directors, Shakiba Abdil and Elina Hirvonen with Impact Producer Sari Väänänen.

Birds of War see love bloom from a distance between two journalists: one in the offices of the BBC, the other running into conflict zones in Syria journaling atrocities impacting those on the ground in Syria.. Guests: Janay Boulos and Abd Alkadar Habak.

June is Pride Month and Indigenous History Month. Here is a selection of audiobooks in recognition of both celebrations. The samples end abruptly as they do when you listen to them using the Libby app. You can borrow these books with your college/university student card or your local library card. Have fun and let me know if you added any of these books to your TBR or To Be Listened To list.

Guests: Johannes (Director), Wilhelmina (Writer) and Jonathan (Editor) Vang join me to talk about collaborating on their film Borderline, screening June 4 at ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival. Shifting borders and power are at the heart of this comedic short that has its characters moving to and fro in Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

imagineNATIVE runs June 2-7, 2026 (Toronto) and June 8-14, 2026 (online). ImagineNative.org

Plus, I do my part to raise money for CIUT 89.5 FM during its Spring Fundraising Campaign. www.ciut.fm

What are the lasting impacts of British colonization on Jamaican culture, sexuality, and spirituality? Dr d'bi.young anitafrika (PHD in Theatre and Performance) joins me to discuss how she balances drama and comedy in her one-woman, multi- character, immersive performance in 'shx mami wata & the pxssywitch hunt'.

Then a collection of short audio pieces ('Chocolate Orange Biscuits') by Lisa Parry courtesy of https://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/

Carly Beath, the brand new Executive Director of Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival and I chat about her new role with the festival and shares details about some of the films that caught my eye this year. 

Plus a creepy old time radio show about what happens when 'The Enormous Radio' begins to take on a life of its own. archive.org

Music: 'gendah bendah' by dr. d'bi.young anitafrika and 'Close These Doors' by LAL

The first half of the show, I chat with Amanda Cordner (CBC's 'Sort Of') about being a cast member of 'Calling on Creation' by Christina Anderson. We also talk about what creation means to her as well her character, Tami.

CALLING ON CREATION opens Thursday, April 30 and runs until May 17th at Soulpepper Theatre (50 Tank House Lane) in Toronto's distillery district. For more information please visit https://www.soulpepper.ca.

Music/Spoken Word

'Rise' by Malika Tirolien, 'Gay God' by Ebony Stewart, 'gendah bendah' by Dr d'bi young.anitafrika, Karen Williams 'White People' and 'Love Needs Expression' by Chet Singh. I finish the show with 'Celia' by Son Aché. I didn't get a chance to play the whole song in it's entirety last week. Salsa Queen, Celia Cruz was recently inducted (posthumously) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2026 coverage continues with guests: director, Kenya-Jade Pinto (The Sandbox) and filmmakers (Let the Mountains Live) multi-award winning director, Hävard Bustnes and Johannes Vang, and Sissel Holtan, a reindeer herder.

A lawyer, photographer and first-time director, Kenya-Jade and I discuss the million dollar tech industry of migrant and refugee surveillance and the activists working to provide basic human rights to people in need. What does that mean for you and me? You'll want to find out...

The #Sámi people of Norway won a supreme court decision recognizing their indigenous land rights, so why are herders in North Fosten still fighting against a major wind turbine company that has built hundreds of turbines on reindeer territory? This David and Goliath story reveals the global contractions built into Truth and Reconciliation documents.

Music by Son Aché: 'Celia' played in honour of Cuban Salsa Queen, Celia Cruz being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Contact Me: www.ciut.fm/tmtm

Director Rico King (Nekai Walks) and subject Nekai Foster and I chat about Nekai's extraordinary mental and physical journey after the teen's near-fatal shooting in the Jane and Finch area, an underserved, predominantly Black community where lack of services result in a cycle of retaliatory shootings. Screening at Hot Docs 2026 April 24 and 25 at Red Roger's Hot Docs Cinema (Bloor and Bathurst.)

Then director, Sabina Olivia Lambert and I talk wallpaper, production values and transitioning Lauren Greenwood's 2019 Toronto Fringe play 'An Atlas, A Necktie & Other Concerns', into the short film, '& Other Concerns.' The short film will commence streaming on CBC GEM's Canadian Reflections on April 16, 2026.

Calling all talented folks and those who think they're talented! Regular guest, Jade Elektra (government name, Alphonso King Jr, aka DJ Relentless) shares how you could win $100 at Top Star Live (starting April 8) with a little help from your friends, and end up with $1000 and a chance to perform on the 2026 Pride Stage! Jade also shares info on Pink Cinema the monthly 2SLGBTQ+ (and allies) movie club and what it was like for a little Black gay boy doing drag in Tampa, Florida (oh, lord she was a mess!) to the Big Apple and Toronto, Canada.

So, what was your highlight at the 98th Annual Academy Awards? Arts and Culture writer Heidy M (hyemusings.ca), and cinephiles Gordon Gingras, Anne Gallagher, and Marc S. agree and disagree on the winners/losers, the production (what went right, what went wrong?) and what we would like to see in Oscar's future.

Focus on T.O. Short Film Festival (March 18-21) with Steve Veale, festival director and filmmakers Catherine Dulude (55 Years Apart) and Jimena Ayala (Homo Plastikus). Tickets: https://paradiseonbloor.com

Music: Tanika Charles 'Parkdale', Ndidi O 'Call Me Queen's, Lynn Olagundoye 'Beautiful', Beautiful Nubia 'Mama Bendel'

Alexandra McDonald and I discuss how she went from taking to the ice when she was a five-year in PEI to landing on the stages of the Toronto International Film Festival (#TIFF50) in Academy Award Nominee, Hubert Davis' YOUNGBLOOD, a reimagining of the 1986 hockey drama.

Music: 'In my soul' by Four the Moment, 'Wade in the Water' by Tikki Mercury-Clarke and 'Move Away' by Sheila 'Lady PEARL'S Brereton Robinson

Spoken Word: Imani aka Anne-Marie Woods "Who Am I, Shahaddah Jack " (HER)STORY poem, HannahFlorestthepoet "Your black friend told me to tell you this," Jonisha Lewinson "So I Wait" which I found on the YouTube channel for the United Church of Canada