The Torontonian

Mary Wiens & Michael Brown
  • 4.6 (10)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

What is a Torontonian? Someone who loves the city. Sometimes hates it too. Someone who’s here because it’s the right time and place for them. Lots of warm, wise, funny, thoughtful people. Also stubborn and bruised people with a story to tell. Meet them all with Mary Wiens and Michael Brown.

  1. 2025-12-31

    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 of the most prestigious TCM schools in North America.  Looking back over the past 30 years, Dr. Wu says she was made for this – bringing the ancient wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine to Canadians

    37 min

  2. 2025-12-16

    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 spoke to Steve Munro and Steve Wickens — two of Toronto’s toughest transit watchdogs.

    29 min

  3. 2025-11-18

    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 building owners ready to give up on the dream that office workers are coming back?

    31 min

  4. 2025-11-13

    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 this pub closes, it will take a bit of Toronto’s heart and soul with it. Mary Wiens asked owner Fred Newman what it means to him.

    30 min

  5. 2025-11-04

    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 became a radio documentary and then an opera. The opera is being performed at the Mazzoleni Concert Hall Friday November 7 at 7:30pm. For more information, click here.

    44 min

  6. 2025-09-12

    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 CBC article we mention in the episode: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/personal-trainer-real-1.3961023 Link to a group photo of Jenna (back row, 3rd from right) with some of her trainers: https://torontonianpodcast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/jenna-with-trainers.jpeg Link to a group photo of Jenna (middle row, right) with some of her clients: https://torontonianpodcast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/jenna-with-clients.jpeg

    44 min

  7. 2025-07-11

    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 Farquharson tells Mary Wiens about her son, Segun, a promising young hockey player. Some people will still remember his death 24 years later because it was captured on a cellphone recording—a rarity in 2001. Julia told Mary she still feels his presence every day and her faith gives her an extraordinary peace of mind. Note: Please excuse some of the slight audio distortion in the final segment with Julia.

    54 min

  8. 2025-06-27

    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 episode about one of the most high-profile targets of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. For bourbon expert Lucas Twyman, the drama hits close to home. Growing up in Kentucky, bourbon was the drink of choice – and as a budding connoisseur, collecting rare bourbons became a kind of sport. Today, Lucas is a Canadian citizen. He tells us why bourbon, with its strict rules and new oak barrels, is the perfect metaphor for the cooling relationship between the two countries he considers home.

    33 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

What is a Torontonian? Someone who loves the city. Sometimes hates it too. Someone who’s here because it’s the right time and place for them. Lots of warm, wise, funny, thoughtful people. Also stubborn and bruised people with a story to tell. Meet them all with Mary Wiens and Michael Brown.

Information

  • Creator
    Mary Wiens & Michael Brown
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Torontonian Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Torontonian