CSI Chat

Why is the Netherlands consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world?  Have the Dutch solved the secret to happiness and what can the rest of the world learn from them?  Olga Mecking attempts to unlock this mystery in her terrific book, "Niksen:  Embracing The Dutch Art of Doing Nothing".     Olga has spent a significant amount of time living and raising her family in the Netherlands and has seen the benefits of Niksen.  We talk to Olga about the health benefits of Niksen and why it makes sense to slow things down and enjoy the finer things in life in a very fast paced world.  

Craig Stanland arrived at work on a Tuesday morning and was greeted with a chilling message from the FBI demanding that he return home and he realized that his past had caught up with him.  Craig documents his entire experience starting with this voicemail and ending with how he emerged from prison a changed man in his excellent book "Blank Canvas:   How I reinvented my life after prison".   In our "Chat", Craig takes us through this entire experience and how he emerged from prison with a completely different perspective on life.  If you want to know what it is like to go from having everything, losing it all and then rebuilding your life, you should certainly listen to this Chat. 

We are joined by Richard Gurman who was the executive producer on the ground breaking show "Married... with Children" and author of the new book, "Married... with Children vs. the World".   Richard takes us behind the scenes of the meteoric rise of Married... with Children and the FOX Network.  Richard also discusses the process of writing, casting and filming a hit TV Series. Did your favorite TV Series "Jump the shark"?  Several successful TV series had a "Jump the shark" moment and Richard explains the background on this terminology.     

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard.  On the fateful launch day, there were several engineers who expressed serious concerns surrounding the launch on one of the coldest days in Florida history.  We are joined by author Adam Higginbotham to talk about his new book, "Challenger:  A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space", which chronicles the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the missteps that were made along the way.   

In 1988 Ben Johnson ran a record breaking 9.79 in the 100m and won an Olympic gold medal.  A few days later, he tested positive for steroids and the gold medal was lost.  Is this the greatest moment in Canadian sports history or the worst?  Did Ben Johnson get a fair trial?  Do we wish Ben Johnson got away "Scott Free"?    We are joined by the incredible Mary Ormsby as she talks about her new book, "World's Fastest Man:  The Incredible Life of Ben Johnson" and attempts to answer these complicated questions.  

We are incredibly lucky to be joined by one of the top investigative journalists in Canada from the Toronto Star, Kevin Donovan.  Kevin chats about the current state of newspapers, the important role of investigative journalism and the process he undertakes when embarking on a new investigation.  We then move on to talking about the excellent investigative work he has performed over the last several years on the tragic, unsolved, double murders of Barry and Honey Sherman.  Kevin's work is documented in his book, "The Billionaire Murders:  The Mysterious Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman" which led to a 9-part podcast and a 4-part streaming series of the same name (I have read, listened to and watched all three and they are terrific).  We also ask Kevin, "How do you sleep the night before one of your stories is about to hit the headlines in the Toronto Star and rock the world"?  For that answer, you need to listen to the Chat!    

It is the week of July 4th and this episode features an American Hero, Peter Forcelli.  Pete is 9/11 first responder, former ATF agent and author of "The Deadly Path".  In our interview, Pete revisits the events of 9/11 and later, how he became a federal whistle-blower while working for the ATF detailing how federal prosecutors in Arizona did not prosecute gun traffickers.  Pete's story is incredible and documented in his book, "The Deadly Path:  How Operation Fast and Furious and Bad Lawyers Armed Mexican Cartels".     

Does "Artificial Intelligence" pose a risk to the human race?  The answer is "Yes" and Darren McKee, author of the fantastic book "Uncontrollable", explains to us why this is the case.  

Alexandra Posadzki is a business reporter for the "Globe and Mail" and author of the fantastic book "Rogers v. Rogers".  Alex tells the incredible story of how one of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs (Ted Rogers) created one of Canada's most successful companies (Rogers Communications) and how the tricky issue of succession played out.      

Becky Holmes is a world renowned romance fraud expert, queen of the Twitter/X account @deathtospinach, and author of the book "Keanu Reeves is not in love with you".  In addition, Becky is absolutely hilarious! Becky shares her expertise on the ever-growing, very serious issue of "Romance Fraud" in her own unique way of using humor.