Podcast
The Torontonian
Hosted by Mary Wiens & Michael Brown · EN
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.
14episodes
Episodes
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Goodbye to the Imperial Pub’s cold beer, old couches, and warm vibes
Nov 1300:30:21Tap to summarizeThe 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.
Transcribe →Baby Kintyre – the mummified baby who inspired an opera
Nov 400:43:32Tap to summarizeAlmost 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.
Transcribe →Real strength – measured by barbells, not a bathroom scale
Sep 1200:44:05Tap to summarizePersonal 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
Transcribe →Gun violence – a mother’s perspective 24 years later
Jul 11, 202500:54:11Tap to summarizeAll 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.
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