Global Impact

In this special episode of Global Impact, co-hosts Michael Bociurkiw and Melissa Ricci speak to multi award-winning journalist, war correspondent and author Janine di Giovanni. Her new book, The Vanishing, anchors a discussion on the shocking decline in numbers of Christians in the Middle East. Why she became a journalist, the dangers of the profession, the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on humanity and much more!
Closing music: Psalm 121 - Ambrosian Choir, conducted by John McCarthy

Janine's website: https://www.janinedigiovanni.com/

The Vanishing: https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/janine-di-giovanni/the-vanishing/9781541756717/

Mark Henick's TEDx talk, "WHY WE CHOSE SUICIDE", is among the most watched in the world with over 6 million views. His story of searching for “THE MAN IN THE LIGHT BROWN JACKET” who saved his life from a teenage suicide attempt went viral around world. Informed by his direct experience with stigma and the mental health care system, Mark dedicated his life from an early age to opening minds and creating change. Mark has previously served as the youngest president of a provincial Canadian Mental Health Association division in history, the youngest member of the board of directors for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and a national spokesperson for the Faces of Mental Illness campaign. Mark has also worked as a front line mental health counsellor, and the manager of a national workplace mental health training program. Today, MARK is sought after public speaker and active media commentator on issues related to mental illness and mental health and appeared in hundred television segments, and countless more radio, print, and online features about mental health. His work has frequently appeared across Canada by media such as CTV National News, Entertainment Tonight, and The Globe and Mail; in the United States by CNN, the Chicago Tribune, and The New York Daily News; and in the UK by The Independent, The Daily Mail, and The Sun. Mark's first book "SO-CALLED NORMAL: A MEMOIR OF FAMILY, DEPRESSION AND RESILIENCE" depicts his story about growing up in a broken home and the events that led to that fateful night on the bridge.   MARK HENICK websites ( book, podcast, TEDx Talk): https://markhenick.com https://www.instagram.com/markhenick/

Known best for the bold and abrupt way she parted ways with Fox News, American journalist Ivory Hecker discusses her career, the changing media business, censorship, the Covid-19 pandemic and more. Ivory's website: https://ivoryhecker.com/

From Los Angeles and New York City, co-hosts Michael Bociurkiw and Melissa Ricci speak to top US infectious diseases expert Dr. Nahid Bhadelia - starting with the question of whether we have seen the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic. They also talk about the release of Michael's new book - Digital Pandemic - Covid-19: How Tech Went From Bad to Good.

The street kid who made it. Victor Malarek is one of the most-renowned journalists in Canada, having broken many stories on corruption, police incompetence, and government ineptitude. His writing has shone a light into the dark corners of humanity where many dare not tread. He has taken up issues faced by human trafficking victims, those caught in the sex trade, orphans and refugees. Co-hosts Michael Bociurkiw and Melissa Ricci conduct a no-holds-barred conversation with Victor.

**for more information or to support the charity working with orphans mentioned by Victor Malarek, click here: www.nashi.ca

Co-hosts Michael Bociurkiw and Melissa Ricci look towards the future as they discuss the direction of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially as it has affected travel. Their special guest this episode is Jason Middleton, the CEO of Silver Air Private Jets.

A conversation with prominent French commentator, Philippe Moreau Chevrolet. Joining host Michael Bociurkiw is the French-Italian actress (and Global Impact alumnu) Melissa Ricci. A host of topics are covered, including: the draconian coronavirus lockdowns in France, the governance style of President Macron, French foreign policy and a set of rapid fire questions to help you become better acquainted with the agenda-setter Philippe! 

Cutting-edge journalism has taken a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, with news outlets worldwide impacted by a decline in ad and subscription revenues, mobility restrictions and other stresses. And yet there are entities which have managed to shine a spotlight on the many inequities that have arisen from the pandemic and have spurred action. The Fuller Project is one of them, dedicated to reporting on women worldwide to raise awareness, exposure injustice and spur accountability. We speak to its CEO and co-founder Xanthe Scharff.

Welcome to the second episode of season three of Global Impact, co-hosted with Rasha Goel. We present a conversation with the French-Italian actress Melissa Ricci, where we discuss her work, the impact of the economic downturn on the film industry, the importance of story telling during these times -and much more! We also present two songs by a jazz vocal sextet we've discovered, ManSound, from Kyiv, Ukraine.

In this first episode of Season 3, we present highlights from the past year and look at trends to watch out for in 2021. An update on the global coronavirus situation.  Excerpts from my mini power panel on the year ahead with Farzana Baduel of London's Curzon. Audio clips from previous guests include: Emily Lau (Hong Kong),  Peter Maurer (ICRC), Ambassadors William Taylor and Alexander Vershbow (USA), Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva (Russia), Liana Mistretta (Italy),  Dr. Boris Lushniak (USA), Dr. Sue Verma (USA), Diana Graber (USA), Dr. Michael Osterholm (USA), Dr. Syra Madad (USA), Mary Jean Tully (Canada), Jim Rogers (Singapore).

For the full version of the discussion with Farzana Baduel: https://youtu.be/4Eui3wGstUU

In this special episode, we discuss the many aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccines with US infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm. He is also a member of President-elect Joe Biden's transition coronavirus task force. In a grim forecast, he predicts the coronavirus 'forest fire' has yet to infect well over 65-75% of the world's population.

We've long said that the Covid-19 pandemic provided an inflection point for technology. No less so than in the area of "wearables" and tracking apps. We speak to the founder of a start-up providing safe PPE to people on the frontlines. We hear from Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai who was charged last week for breaching the draconian National Security Law. How the US election results were received by America's northern neighbour. And the latest on Covid-19.

Still on the road, from South Florida we discuss the aftermath of the US election: what will the outgoing president attempt to accomplish in his final days in office and what's on the agenda for incoming President Joe Biden. We also talk travel - to an expert in "transformational travel" - Jake Haupert.

Global Impact is on the road again - on the eve of one of the most consequential elections in modern times, in one of the most crucial states, Florida. With 29 electoral votes at stake, the importance of Florida for either presidential candidates cannot be under-estimated. Also - a look ahead to what to expect in Asia-Pacific in 2021, the latest on the Covid-19 pandemic and travel and how the pandemic has impacted journalism.

With the Covid-19 pandemic hitting  27-million cases and claiming almost 900,000 lives, we turn to Dr. Syra Madad for some answers and guidance. Featured in the Netflix series, Pandemic, she is a nationally-recognized leader and epidemiologist in public health and special pathogens preparedness and response - working in the largest healthcare delivery system in the United States - New York City. We cover testing, vaccines, and discuss whether it safe during the pandemic to engage in sex and in travel?

In this season opening episode, we discuss a range of topics with the head of Rotary International, John Hewko. We touch on the organization's global efforts to eradicate polio, efforts to battle Covid-19 to the ground, Rotary's role in assisting in the Beirut tragedy, volunteerism and much more. We also take you to today's press briefing at the World Health Organization HQ in Geneva for a follow up question on hesitancy towards the expected Covid-19 vaccine. And finally a beautiful piece of music introduced by Alvira Misbakhova called Ajde Jano.

From Hong Kong to China to Jordan to Ukraine and Russia. We discuss various geopolitical hotspots with the Globe and Mail's senior international correspondent, Mark MacKinnon. Also - how strongmen are manipulating Civid-19. President Putin's tightening grasp on power in Russia, the shoot-down of MH17 and the state of journalism.

A special presentation of lives lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a spotlight on the Eurovision song contest popularized by Netflix.

One of the first witnesses called to testify publicly in the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry was the respected career diplomat William Taylor. We managed to catch up with him this week in Washington, DC to cover a wide range of topics, including: the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, President Zelensky’s next steps, the new charges against Petro Poroshenko, the state of the world as the US disengages, the brain drain from the US State Department and much more.

Celebrity chef David Hawksworth joins us at our virtual table to talk about surviving the Covid-19 pandemic, promoting a more vibrant and dynamic Canadian food scene and preparing outstanding dishes for Air Canada passengers at 33,000 feet. And keeping his thriving restaurant business fired up into the future.

This week we take the show back to Hong Kong to speak with a leading voice on technology and crypto-currency, Jennifer Zhu Scott. Her TED talk on monetizing your data has generated well over 1.3 million views. In 2018, Forbes named her one of the world’s top 50 women in tech. We discuss how to monetize your data, how AI can be helpful in the prevention of future pandemics, technology during the Covid-19 lockdowns - and more!

This week, we take the show to Hong Kong to speak with former legislator and a leading voice of the pro-democracy movement, Emily Lau. But first we review some of the recent developments with the Covid-19 outbreak in the Russian Federation.

With the global Covid-19 caseload now surpassing the grim milestone of 4-million, we head over to Russia where an uncontrolled outbreak is adding as many as 10,000 new cases-a-day. Doctors, with little in the way of protection, are being forced to treat patients in extremely dangerous conditions. We speak to a leading doctor and advocate, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva.

Three months after the WHO declared a global public health emergency, we travel to Maryland to speak to the former Acting Surgeon-General of the United States, Dr. Boris Lushniak. About the coronavirus pandemic globally - and more locally in the United States. With some very important advice at the end about coping with the lockdown.

We take a geopolitical lens to the Covid-19 outbreak and discuss developments in Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere with the former NATO Deputy Secretary General and the former US ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, when it is difficult to see the horizon, it is important to be well provisioned - and to keep our nutrition and immunity levels up. In this episode, Chef Jennifer Sebasigari talks food and how to keep the pantry well-stocked.

There's an enormous thirst for facts and more context on the disruption that the coronavirus has brought to our everyday lives. In this revised episode, I amplify some of the thoughts I had published on opinion and on-air comments this week. Have a listen!