The Torontonian
Mary Wiens & Michael Brown
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S2E11 Why do municipalities keep taking natural gardeners to court?
In this episode, Mary Wiens asks landscape gardener Sean James whether the courts are the best place to settle complaints from neighbours about natural gardens. Or whether this question will really…
S2E10 A running reading marathon
In 1984, Silvia Ruegger became the first Canadian woman to run an Olympic marathon. Her Canadian record wouldn’t be beaten for an impressive 28 years. After a career-ending accident, Silvia would…
S2E9 Gen Z goes back to church
A new generation’s search for spiritual meaning takes them in a very different direction than their parents. For Adam Adachi and Francis Lamonica, both in their early 20s, a low point in their lives…
S2E8 After 27 years in prison, a chance at freedom
Nathanael Williams killed a man when he was barely 16. He spent most of his life growing and maturing in Canada’s tough and sometimes unfair prison system, where he’s always been held accountable. At…
S2E7 A brother’s search for justice in Syria
Bashir Harba is one of thousands of Syrians who came to Toronto to escape a brutal civil war. But one thing still haunts him: his brother’s death in a notorious Syrian prison. On the latest edition…
S2E6 Traditional Chinese Medicine – celebrating 30 years in Toronto
Growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution, Mary Wu was trained to become a ‘barefoot doctor’. Here in Toronto, she led the campaign to have acupuncture regulated in Ontario. She also founded one…
S2E5 Meet the two Steves
A lot of Torontonians love subway trains, streetcars and buses as kids. But not all of them grow up to be passionate advocates for moving Torontonians around. Mary Wiens and guest host Emmett Shane…
S2E4 Turning offices into homes
Lots of Toronto office buildings in the downtown core are sitting vacant. A Toronto entrepreneur wants to convert them into co-living units for young adults stuck at home with their parents. But are…
S2E3 Goodbye to the Imperial Pub’s cold beer, old couches, and warm vibes
The Imperial Pub – one of Toronto’s oldest pubs – closes this week. The pub opened in 1944 in the middle of WWII – but saying how old it is doesn’t capture why so many Torontonians feel that when…
S2E2 Baby Kintyre – the mummified baby who inspired an opera
Almost twenty years ago, the city was gripped by the story of a baby’s body discovered in the floorboards of an attic on Kintyre Street, wrapped in a newspaper from 1925. A story so compelling, it…
S2E1 Real strength – measured by barbells, not a bathroom scale
Personal trainer Jenna Doak says the body positive movement helped her accept her own body shape. Now she’s transforming how her clients see themselves and what it means to be fit. Show Notes: The…
S1E7 Gun violence – a mother’s perspective 24 years later
All of us are familiar with the headlines – another young man shot and killed in Toronto. But we don’t often hear what comes next – let alone the impact decades later. In this episode, Julia…
S1E6 Pouring out the last bourbon
The other day, the people who put The Torontonian together met at their favourite bar – just as the bartender took down a blackboard listing about a dozen kinds of bourbon. It inspired this week’s…
S1E5 The Big Growth in Breast Reduction
The big growth area in cosmetic surgery? Breast reduction. For many women, the surgery is life-changing. And they’re getting it done at a much younger age. In this episode Chanese Ila tells us why…
S1E4 Constructing A New Future
For many teenagers who struggle at school, the classroom has been a place of failure and trauma, since they were kids. But what if you put them into a different kind of classroom? Say a construction…
S1E3 Life Recipes
We return to the food we loved as children throughout our lives. For Mother’s Day, two women from Eritrea tell us about the recipes they learned from their mothers – and how it’s fueling their lives…
S1E2 Reflections on the Death of Pope Francis
The lineup to bid farewell to Pope Francis, stretched to the thousands but every one of them had their personal reason for being there. In this episode of The Torontonian, we’ll meet Mauricio, a…
S1E1 Hockey’s Holiest Shrine Opens Up
The Maple Leaf Gardens – home to some of Toronto’s most joyful victories and agonizing defeats. There are new players now at the Gardens including the Toronto Gay Hockey Association. Shane Hobson and…
Frequently Asked Questions
The Torontonian has published 18 episodes since April 2025, covering topics in Documentary, Personal Journals.
The Torontonian is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 41m.
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