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Fresh Air
with Mary Ito

Heritage Communities...and Cheap Wine

They don't really have anything in common...except that they'll both be on this coming weekend's Fresh Air. Heritage architecture expert Shannon Kyles will tell us about Ontario communities that have managed to retain their disctinctive street fronts. And wine blogger Irvin Wolkoff will prove that it IS possible to choose good wines that DON'T cost much. All this and more with guest host Jill Dempsey.

SUNDAY May 19

0700 Mark Wigmore's On The Doc column featured a new documentary about a rapper-turned reggae musician. The film is called Snoop Reincarnated and it focuses on Snoop Dog,,,who is now known as Snoop Lion.
Listen audio (runs 4:28)
Learn more about Mark at his CBC Music webpage.

0730 She was an anomaly. She was a woman journalist---with a column AND a byline---in late 19th century Toronto. She was also a mystery woman...because no one knew her real name. Author Christine Welldon has explored the life and impact of "Vic Steinberg" with a new book for younger readers. She shared her findings with guest host Karen Gordon.,
Listen audio (runs 8:47)
Reporter In Disguise: The Intrepid Vic Steinberg is published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside. There's more info on Christine's website.

0800 Gardeners are always looking for the latest trend. That's GOOD if you do your research in advance. But too many gardeners are "cultivating" the latest craze without considering all the implications...and some are regretting it. Fresh Air's favourite gardener---Marjorie Harris---joined Karen to explain.
Listen audio (runs 10:52)
There's plenty of gardening advice at Marjorie's website.

0830 Award-winning (for her previous book "Locavore") author Sarah Elton is back with a new book. It's called Consumed: Food For A Finite Planet and it looks at our ability to continue to feed ourselves in the decades to come. Sarah elaborated when she sat down with Karen.
Listen audio (runs 12:45)
Learn more about the author at Sarah's website and the book at the
HarperCollins website.

What's On for May 19

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Asian Hetitage Month
Cedar and Bamboo: The Shared History of First Nations and Chinese Canadian Communities-Ottawa
Thousand Islands Arts-Rockport
Artfest-Toronto
Toronto International Circus Festival
Victoria Day Fireworks-Toronto

Would you like us to feature YOUR event? Let us know about it!
Just click on What's On to send us the information.

SATURDAY May 18

0700 CBC Radio's The Debaters is coming to Kitchener-Waterloo and Burlington. Host Steve Patterson and a bunch of comedians will be at the University of Waterloo Theatre Centre on Monday, May 27th at 7:30 pm. And on May 29th, the show will be in Burlington at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. For ticket info, visit The Debaters' website.

0730 The latest Star Trek movie has just opened to good reviews. Toronto Star columnist Rob Salem is a Star Trek enthusiast (but don't call him a Trekkie!). He sat down with guest host Karen Gordon to talk about the enduring appeal of Gene Roddenberry's creation.
Listen audio (runs 12:19)
There's more about Mr. Salem atRob's Toronto Star website.
And you can follow Rob on Twitter: @robsalem

0800 He's the King of the Q. That's "Barbeque"...and his name is Ted Reader. Ted's latest book is called ""Gastro Grilling: Fired-up Recipes to Grill Great Everyday Meals". He joined Karen to whet her appetite. .
Listen audio (runs 10:07)
Gastro Grilling: Fired-up Recipes to Grill Great Everyday Meals is published by Penguin.
Learn more at Ted's website.

0830 Justin Hines is no quitter. He's a musician who suddenly found that an existing medical condition was making it increasingly difficult to sing. But he didn't give in---he fought back and he has a gritty new album to show for his efforts. Justin joined Karen Gordon to talk about How We Fly and the challenges that he faced in making it.
Listen audio (runs 8:51)
NOTE: Music clearance restrictions prohibit inclusion of music originally contained in this item.
Justin will officially launch How We Fly on Wednesday, May 22nd at Hugh's Room in Toronto. Full details are available on Justin's website.

What's On for May 18

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Giant Pandas Exhibit-Toronto Zoo
World Turtle Week-Toronto Zoo
Annual Spring Opener-Seeley's Bay
International Museum Day-Waterloo

Would you like us to feature YOUR event? Let us know about it!
Just click on What's On to send us the information.

The Great Gatsby...and Co.

First...it was a book. Then came the film adaptations...the most famous starring starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. However, it's worth remembering that F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" isn't alone in evoking that heady period that was the United States in the early 1920s. Fresh Air's book panel---Becky Toyne and Erin Balser---joined Karen to offer a guide to OTHER books that reflect that era.
Listen audio (runs 10:09)

Becky and Erin's recommendations:

Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (2012)
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (2011)
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler (2013)
Beautiful Fools: The Last Affair of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald by R. Clifton Spargo (2013)

There's always good "reading" at the CBC Books website.
And for more on Becky's literary activities, visit HER website

SUNDAY May 12

0730 Melody Johnson's one-woman play Miss Caledonia is drawn from the experiences of her mother who entered various pageants while a teenager in rural Ontario in the 1950s. Melody talked about what she learned about her mother while researching the play when she sat down with Karen Gordon.
Listen audio (runs 12:18)
Melody will perform Miss Caledonia at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from May 14 to 25. The details are at the NAC website.
For more Ontario dates for Miss Caledonia in 2013, visit Melody's manager,
The Collection Agency website.

0800 There are road trips and, then, there are ROAD trips. Mark Richardson took one of the latter in the summer of 2012. He's turned it into a book called Canada's Road: A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria. Mark came by to tell Karen why he spent 6 weeks behind the steering wheel.
Listen audio (runs 10:31)
Canada's Road: A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria is published by Dundurn.
All the info you'll ever need about the book is on Mark's website.

0830 First...it was a book. Then came the film adaptations...the most famous starring starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. However, it's worth remembering that F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" isn't alone in evoking that heady period that was the United States in the early 1920s. Fresh Air's book panel---Becky Toyne and Erin Balser---joined Karen to offer a guide to OTHER books that reflect that era.
Listen audio (runs 10:09)
Becky and Erin's recommendations:

Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (2012)
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (2011)
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (2013)
Beautiful Fools: The Last Affair of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald (2013)

There's always good "reading" at the CBC Books website.
For more on Becky's literary activities, visit her website

What's On for May 12

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

PAL Mother's Day fundraising concert - Ottawa
SUDBURYROCKS!!! Foot Race
Spring Works 2013 - Stratford
ROMwalks: The Grange - Toronto

Would you like us to feature YOUR event? Let us know about it!
Just click on What's On to send us the information.

SATURDAY May 11

0700 Guest host Karen Gordon played an excerpt from The Debaters which airs later today on CBC Radio One. You can hear the show just after the one o'clock news. And you can SEE and hear The Debaters when the show comes to Toronto on May the 25th. It's part of the first CBC Music Festival and host Steve Patterson and his guest comedians will appear on stage between (approximately) 4 and 4:30 p.m. Learn more about the Festival and how to buy tickets by visiting the CBC Music website.

0730 Mother's Day is tomorrow (May 12). And the film world has presented mothers in many ways through the years. Thom Ernst from Saturday Night At the Movies dropped by to talk about some of those portrayals and to share his Top 5 movies about moms with Karen.
Listen audio (runs 14:11)

Thom's Mom Movies:
1. Mildred Pierce (1945)
2. What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
3. Imitation of Life (1959)
4. Mother (1996)
5. Psycho (1960)
If you're a film fan, pay a visit to Thom's new website.

0800 Feeling tired? We all experience weariness. But when does tiredness become fatigue...and a cause for concern? Dr. Mike Evans joined Karen to explain. You'll find that conversation at Dr. Mike's Your Health column.

0830 Jadea Kelly has a new album---her second. It's a big musical step forward from her 2010 debut. Jadea joined Karen to play some of the songs on "Clover" and talk about her reasons for writing them.
Listen audio (runs 6:61)
NOTE: Music clearance restrictions prohibit inclusion of music originally contained in this item.
Jadea will launch "Clover" with a concert at The Great Hall in Toronto on May 22. All the details are on Jadea's website.

Dr. Mike's Rx for Fatigue

Dr, Mike joined guest host Karen Gordon to talk about how to diagnose and treat cases of fatigue.
Listen audio (runs 10:07)

Watch all of Mike's whiteboard videos on his Doc Mike You Tube channel.

And check out Dr. Mike's My Favourite Medicine website for more information on this and other health-related topics.

What's On for May 11

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Migratory Bird Day-Toronto Pt 1
Migratory Bird Day-Toronto Pt 2
Migratory Bird Day-Point Pelee
Migratory Bird Day-Prince Edward point
International Migratory Bird Day
Ultimate Frisbee-Thunder Bay
SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival
SingToronto
Lulaworld 2013 - Toronto

Would you like us to feature YOUR event? Let us know about it!
Just click on What's On to send us the information.