Here and Now
with Laura Di Battista

Queen Elizabeth is one of the most famous women on the planet. But little is known about the personal life of woman who wears the crown. Now, a new book is shedding light on just who The Queen is... right down to the contents of handbag. Laura spoke to author and biographer Sally Bedell Smith about her book, "Elizabeth: The Queen, Life of a Modern Monarch". Listen (runs 6:19)

After a raucous and at times controversial debate, the winner of Canada Reads has been revealed. Laura spoke with the defender of the winning title. Listen (runs 7:05)

Beer drinkers rejoice! A new study suggests that the sudsy stuff may have led to the rise of modern civilization. Laura heard all the intoxicating details from Brian Hayden is a professor of archaeology at Simon Fraser University. Listen (runs 6:43)

The Sutton Place Hotel was once the home away from home for celebrities. Now it's set to become a home for condo dwellers. Laura heard from the hotel's former president, Hans Gehrhardt about The Sutton Place's storied history. Listen (runs 7:40)

So many questions after Monday's tragic accident that killed 10 Peruvian migrant workers. One person who's been trying to answer some of the questions from friends and family of the workers involved in the crash is Jamie Sparks. He's the Deputy Consul General with Peru's consulate in Toronto. Yesterday he visited the survivors of the crash. Listen (runs 5:35)

The online dating service Lavalife is encouraging singles to meet and greet tomorrow during rush hour. Kim Hughes is a dating and relationship expert with Lavalife. Tomorrow, she'll be on the corner outside Eglinton Station to seduce singles aboard the love train. Listen (runs 5:07)

People who stutter are uniting, thanks to the efforts of a Toronto man. Daniele Rossi has found a voice on the world wide web and helped others to do the same, through Stutter Social. Laura spoke with him. Listen (runs 7:24)

 

Daniele also has a podcast called Stuttering is Cool. You can find it here.

City Councillors are this hour deciding on how public transit users will get around this city in the future.Subways, or at-grade light rail vehicles? The Mayor, Rob Ford, has been pushing for below ground transit, so it doesn't hamper traffic. But he's facing a motion at City Hall that could scuttle that idea - and result in a network of street-level LRTs on Eglinton East, Finch West and where the current Scarborough RT is now. Hamutal Dotan has been following the debate for months now. She's at City Hall, and she joined Laura Di Battista with the latest. Listen (runs 6:06)

Canada Reads held its third debate this morning. Laura caught up with the competition's resident blogger, Terry Fallis, about how things went down, and which books are left standing with one more debate to go. Listen (runs 7:03)

New census say immigrants could solely account for Canada's population growth in the coming decade. Laura spoke with Audrey Macklin, a law professor at the University of Toronto about how this could have an impact on future public policy. Listen (runs 7:41)