ImitaTED Radio Hour Rapid Fire Theatre

Life is a puzzle, and your calling is the missing piece.
But what if your calling is puzzles…

Today’s guest set out on a quest, against all odds, to become the world's best puzzler. From rubix cubes to jig-saw puzzles, from crosswords to riddles, he has navigated the maze of competition and connected the dots to not just fit in - but stand out, as the top of the world of competitive puzzling.

Colin Mochrie is the writer of Piece by Piece - Sitting Atop a Throne of Games.
Today he helps us put the pieces together and search for solutions for life's most perplexing circumstances.

Technology savant turned nature-nut Leon Anderson takes us out into the wilderness and speaks to us about his self-published memoir Mega Bytes to Bug Bites - Finding oneself offline and outside in the great outdoors.
Today we explore nature - and how spending time in the wilderness gets us closer to the wild inside each of us.

It’s been said that diamonds are forever. But so is a life sentence.
In 2010, the Antwerp Diamond Center was robbed; it's been called the greatest diamond theft of all time.
The vault held millions of dollars of precious stones and was protected by ten layers of security, including infrared heat detectors, Doppler radar, a magnetic field, a seismic sensor, guard cats, and a lock with 100 million possible combinations.

Yet the diamonds are gone - And in their place… only questions.

Today's guest is a Professional Diamond Thief turned advisor to forensic investigators and security technology companies aiming to keep their valuable goods away from prying eyes.
Today, she teaches us how to strive for the unobtainable while protecting our most prized possessions.
In this uncut interview, we speak to Amber Nash about what stealing diamonds can teach us about life, love, and the pursuit of all that is shiny.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines …”The Dictionary” as a book that lists the words of a language and gives their meaning.
With over a million words in the english language, and about 7000 new words created every year, who decides which of these words get into the dictionary and which are tossed aside? How can we trust that the words we’re using are truly the best words for the moment?
Our guest today is an amateur lexicographer who has pushed back against the deep-seated dictionary industry to promote what he says is a new way forward for words.
Mark Meer has established his own dictionary and has filled it with his own words. In doing so, he is reshaping the way that we, as a people, interact. Much to the chagrin of the dictionary establishment.

“Jogo Bonito” as Brazillian professional footballer Pélé said in 1977. Soccer. A beautiful game.
The sport that brings nations together in a celebration of all that is good.
But what is hiding underneath the brilliant, unmarked porcelain veneer of capable coaches, perfect passes, and terrific teamwork?
If soccer is 'just a game' why are so many involved "not playing around"?
With us today is Caitlin Howden, she has been kicking away at the shins of soccer to reveal the nasty truths of extreme training, hyper-competitiveness and problem parents.
She recently released her acclaimed paper - “The Social Dynamics of Players and Coaches in Hyper-competitive U-12 Soccer Leagues in Northern Ontario”, and it has unmasked the ugly side of the beautiful game.

We keep them as pets in aquariums. We catch them with worms on a string. We sauté them in garlic infused butter. But, surprisingly the life of a fish exists for far more than human enjoyment. Our guest today is an Ichthyologist who has devoted his life to the study of fish. This hour, Tom Rittenhouse unspools the line about an astounding discovery he has made about fish and their behaviour.