Walking Radio

"Bring a brick, not a cathedral." - A chat about improv and community with Hayley

“How can we build this universe together?” | In today’s episode we chat with Hayley. It’s the evening of Monday March 16, 2026 at the Community of Hearts in Guelph’s Old Quebec Street Mall. A Second City alum and powerhouse instructor and performer from Guelph’s own The Making Box improv comedy troupe, Hayley spends her Monday evenings leading an improv club for people with developmental exceptionalities. Community of Hearts Lifelong Learning Centre fosters independence by providing a safe, secure and stimulating learning environment for adults with developmental exceptionalism while enhancing the participants’ social, emotional, physical and cognitive development by building confidence and promoting self-reliance. Please consider donating to Community of Hearts in Guelph. Through your support, gifts of time and contributions of in-kind products and services, program participants gain the opportunities to achieve the level of independence they desire. Please join us in building a community of caring, mutual respect and lifelong learning. | https://communityofhearts.ca/donate/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com [https://walkingradio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

A Fight Not to Die - A Chat with Adam at Moss Park CTS

“I want to say survival of the fittest but it’s really just a fight for the weakest not to die.” | Recorded Tuesday, March 17, 2026. In today’s episode we are on location at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service in downtown Toronto in the immediate wake of the Ford government’s announcement that they will be eliminating funding for the last remaining supervised consumption sites. We speak with Adam, a member of the Moss Park CTS community and someone whose life is directly impacted by this announcement. Walking Radio is non-commercial, volunteer-created, non-monetized, always free, and is powered by the stories that are too often ignored. Please consider adding your voice to keep desperately needed lifesaving services like the Moss Park CTS in operation. The toxic drug supply crisis has already claimed more than 53,000 lives and counting in Canada since 2016: our friends, our neighbours, our loved ones. Supervised consumption saves lives. Between March 2020 and November 2025, the Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service on its own saw 83,211 total visits from over 19,079 unique clients. The staff at just this site alone responded to 3,269 overdoses, and provided 48,489 services and referrals during that same time period. | CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topics in a forthright, strengths-focused, trauma-informed and sometimes unexpectedly lighthearted manner. These topics include but are not limited to: substance use, death, violence, disability, mental health and mental illness, suicide, homelessness, sexual assault, stigma, grief, loss, oppression, discrimination, HIV, trauma, government neglect, institutional failure, incarceration, political abandonment, depraved indifference, necropolitics, and social murder. Listener discretion is strongly advised. | Links: Opioid and Stimulant-Related Harms in Canada: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/substance-related-harms/opioids-stimulants/ Supervised Consumption Sites Dashboard: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/supervised-consumption-sites/ Opioid Mortality Report: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/Diseases-and-Conditions/Mental-Illness-Substance-Use/Opioids/Opioid-Mortality-Report Toronto Overdose Information System: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/health-inspections-monitoring/toronto-overdose-information-system/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com [https://walkingradio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Kylie Minogue Lyrics Disaster, 477 & Craigslist Hookups: Gay Kingston with Rye at the turn of the Millennium

“Can’t we all just be one again? Be a community?” | In today’s episode, we spill the tea with my old friend Rye at his kitchen table in Kingston, Ontario, as we lace up for a multi-day walking adventure through the city. We start by reminiscing about mid-90s and early-2000s gay Kingston, clearing a path for the rockier limestone trails ahead. | CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topics in a forthright, strengths-focused, trauma-informed and sometimes unexpectedly lighthearted manner. These topics include but are not limited to: substance use, death, violence, disability, mental health and mental illness, suicide, homelessness, sexual assault, stigma, grief, loss, oppression, discrimination, HIV, trauma, government neglect, institutional failure, incarceration, and political abandonment. Listener discretion is strongly advised. | Questions, comments? Reach out at: walkingradio.poach448 [at] passmail.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com [https://walkingradio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

A Huge Bag of Money, Crystal Meth, Sex Work, Government Work, Naked in Sudbury, Reba & Uno — A Heavy, Lighthearted Stroll with Eric

“You’re my bridge over troubled waters. I’m the troubled waters.” | In today’s episode we walk with Eric. It’s the night of August 29, 2025 on the shores of Lake Huron. Eric speaks boldly and bravely about his experiences starting a non-profit, working with the federal government, living on the streets, struggling with crystal meth, psychosis, and alcohol. He shares about the joy of community, the need for belonging, the ups and downs of sobriety, the support we give one another and the people who have provided friendship, mentorship, love, and care along the way. | CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topics in a forthright, strengths-focused, trauma-informed and sometimes unexpectedly lighthearted manner. These topics include but are not limited to: substance use, death, violence, disability, mental health and mental illness, suicide, homelessness, sexual assault, stigma, grief, loss, oppression, discrimination, HIV, trauma, government neglect, institutional failure, incarceration, and political abandonment. Listener discretion is advised. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com [https://walkingradio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Soft as Baby Shit, Replete with Riches - A Walk in Moss Park with Erin

“There’s a lot of material poverty in this neighbourhood, and also it is a community with tremendous wealth.” | In this episode we walk with Erin, a registered nurse at the Moss Park Overdose Prevention Site, or Consumption and Treatment Service as it’s now known. We met together on the sweltering afternoon of Saturday July 12 2025 and toured the site and the Moss Park neighbourhood in Toronto’s downtown east-side. We discussed the origins of the OPS, the current realities of supervised consumption, and our shared hopes for a more compassionate future. | CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topics in a forthright, strengths-focused, trauma-informed and sometimes unexpectedly lighthearted manner. These topics include but are not limited to: substance use, death, violence, disability, mental health and mental illness, suicide, homelessness, sexual assault, stigma, grief, loss, oppression, discrimination, HIV, trauma, government neglect, institutional failure, incarceration, and political abandonment. Listener discretion is strongly advised. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com [https://walkingradio.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]