Special Guests

  • Mark Hebscher — Legendary Sportscaster, The Man Behind “The Hebsy's!”
    Mark stands out from the crowd with his provocative, no-nonsense broadcast style. He has interviewed some of the world's greats -- Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Donovan Bailey, Larry Bird, Joe Montana and many, many more. Working with such broadcasting legends as Pierre Berton, Charles Templeton, and Jim Hunt, Mark learned what it took to make listeners sit up and take notice. In 1984, he moved to Global TV as co-host of the groundbreaking show Sportsline. He was with the show for eleven years as it went from a cult following in the mid-80's to a big moneymaker for Global in the 90's. In 1995, Mark moved to AM640 and Q107 where he mixed morning radio with Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Argonauts play-by-play. However, after two years of spending more time away from his family than he wanted, Mark decided to get back into TV, and worked on the desk for both Sportsnet and "The Score". The infamous "Hebsy Awards", a collection of sports bloopers, helped earn him two Gemini Award nominations as Canada's best sportscaster. Mark joined CHCH TV in 2003 to co-host the current affairs show "Live@530" along with Donna Skelly. The program can be seen at 5:30 p.m. each weekday, with an encore presentation every night at 11:30 p.m. Mark joins us to talk about his Jewish background and personal spiritual journey.

  • Max Lucado — Author of Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine
    Grace. We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and pre-meal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means. But do we really understand it? Have we settled for wimpy grace? It politely occupies a phrase in a hymn, fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked,“Do you believe in grace?” who could say no? Max Lucado asks a deeper question: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace? God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly. According to Max, grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.

  • Ken Whiteley — Canadian Roots Master
    One of our favorites is back, AGAIN, performing LIVE and ready to tell us all about his popular Sunday afternoon gospel music series at Hugh's Room. Mark your calendars for the last Sunday in November (25th) when Ken will release his newest CD, The Light of Christmas. Joining him for the afternoon will be The Levy Sisters (Amoy & Ciceal), David Wall, Ben Whiteley and Bucky Berger, all of whom performed on the recording. This concert will be in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank; 10% of all CD sales will go to support their important work in Toronto and across the GTA. You are also welcome to bring non-perishable food items for the donation bin.
    www.kenwhiteley.com

  • TWO RABBIS WALK INTO A BAR — Starring Rabbi Jerry Steinberg & Rabbi Stephen Wise!
    Rabbi Jerry Steinberg - Psychotherapist, Poet & Author of Rogue Rabbi: A Spiritual Quest: From Seminary to Ashram and Beyond
    After a significant change of heart while he was studying to become a doctor, Rabbi Steinberg redirected his intense desire to heal others and made the decision to become a rabbi. Eschewing the orthodox practices that he grew up with, Steinberg embraced Reform Judaism, a more modern version of his faith. He still found that something was missing in his spiritual life, however, and he was determined to discover what it was. Over the course of many decades, Steinberg’s spiritual journey lead him to explore other faiths and psychic phenomena that exist outside of the conventional wisdom of mainstream Judaism, including hypnosis, past-­‐life regression therapy, celibacy, yoga, and meditation. He worked as a rabbi, taught courses at universities, and was even hired by the Trudeau administration as the “Government’s Yogi”. A compelling story of the personal and professional ups and downs that Steinberg faced while on his path to enlightenment, ROGUE RABBI is also a fascinating look at the Canadian Jewish experience, as well as the evolution of social and religious mores in Canada over the past eight decades.
    www.ecwpress.com/books/rogue-rabbi

    Rabbi Stephen Wise - Author of ISRAEL: Repairing The World Rabbi Stephen Wise is not quite what many might visualize when they think of a ‘typical’ Rabbi. Rabbi Wise is a youthful, energetic and clean-shaven father of three, author of the enlightening new book ISRAEL: Repairing the World, and an avid hockey player who’s even been profiled by the NHL’s LeafsTV, no less! Educated at the top institutions in Canada, the United States and Israel, at 38 years old, Rabbi Wise sits on the council of the Reform Rabbis of Greater Toronto, is the chair of the Interfaith Council of Halton, part of the Conference of North American Rabbis prayer book committee, and a member of the Halton Police Service multi-faith taskforce. Now, having long specialized in and enjoyed working with Jewish youth, Rabbi Wise aims to inspire today’s young people – Jewish and otherwise – to take pride in their selves, communities, cultures and futures by presenting them with the true story of how one of the world’s smallest countries – Israel – became a formidable global benefactor in virtually every domain. ISRAEL – Repairing the World is an introduction to Israel's achievements and their role in making this world a better place. The text of the book is accessible for younger readers with bolded words either explained in the text or defined in the glossary. Captioned illustrations add to the information in the text. The book provides a good starting point for students to do further research in this area.
    www.ma-tovu.ca

God Blogger

  • Joining us today: Kathy Escobar — Pastor, Writer, Advocate, Mommy, Rule-Breaker, Dreamer!
    A few of the things Kathy writes about: It’s easy to be against health care reform when you have insurance / 10 ways churches jack people up /"The kingdom of God isn’t going to just drop out of the sky” / Jesus school: not the most inspiring in town / Yep, i guess i’m a heretic / Pro-life, pro-choice: a painful paradox

Talkback, etc.

  • The Counsel Of Many!
    Need Help or Advice On An Issue In Your Life?
    Tell us your situation and Drew will ask the listeners of TDMS!

    This week on The Counsel Of Many: A woman overheard her father talking about ending his own life when his Alzheimer’s starts to get bad and she wants to know if she should try and talk him out of assisted suicide?

    The other night there was a television special on about assisted suicide, especially in the case of those diagnosed with a terminal illness. I know this because I overheard my father tell his closest friend that he watched it and is going to order the book they were talking about on the program. The book is called 'Final Exit' and helps those wanting to end their life before life becomes unbearable, by providing helpful information and tips on various life-ending options. Part of me totally understands why my father has decided to choose to end his life before he has to endure what his sister had to endure. The hell of alzheimer's is just that – HELL! But I'm worried that God will see this as a sin. And since this sin will end his life, he won't have an opportunity to repent from it and ask for forgiveness. Therefore, I'm actually concerned that my father will end up in Hell because he killed himself. So I'm wondering if I should talk with my father about this and try and talk him out of it?

  • God & Stuff
    Join Drew & Tim The Tool as they catch up on current events and the week's happenings in the world of Religion & Faith & Cults – Oh My! Religion & Faith & Cults - Oh my!
    Today's God & Stuff guest: Niraj Warikoo – Religion Reporter at the Detroit Free Press