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The celebrated pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa discusses the new short film Klavierklang (directed by Nettie Wild, and written by Hildegard Westerkamp) having its debut as part of Music on Main’s Modulus Festival, 07 November 2025, with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Music on Main’s Modulus Festival is on later this week, 07-10 November 2025. The biennial celebration of new and experimental music has many highlights including Klavierklang, a film directed by Nettie Wild, of a cinematic tone poem written by Hildegard Westerkamp, and performed by Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa. Rachel joins me now to talk about this piece that blends piano performance, spoken text, and environmental soundscapes that illustrate the piano, and the complex relationships that its players have. A lot of Westerkamp’s experiences, as well as Iwaasa’s contribute to the piece, as you’ll hear Rachel shortly describe the process that went into the writing of the text she performs in the film. For example, learning music at a high level can be difficult, and the structure around learning it can often be rigid. It’s a visually stunning piece, and the craftsmanship of piano, the wood, the wires, and the sounds that emanate from it are presented reverentially as well as in admiration of the instrument itself. Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa is recognised as one of Canada’s foremost contemporary pianists. She is also an interdisciplinary artist. Visit www.iwaasa.com for more. Unfortunately, tickets to the opening night concert of Modulus Festival on Friday night, November 7th are already sold out. However, check with the Music on Main office in case there are cancellations. Their website is at www.musiconmain.ca. I recorded this interview with Rachel a couple of weeks ago. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa; Ms. Iwaasa, good morning. The post Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The co-artistic director of Glitch Theatre Adam Grant Warren discusses the new company and their first production, and first since the pandemic Alex K. Masse’s Faye’s Room, at the Vancity Culture Lab (1895 Venables Street, 07-23 November 2025), with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Glitch Theatre: Different By Design is a new theatre company, formerly known as Realwheels Theatre, and they’ve got their first show and the first mainstage production since the pandemic opening later this week, Faye’s Room by the playwright Alex K. Masse. Joining me now is Adam Grant Warren, co-artistic director of Glitch, who’ll tell us about the play, and what’s next for this new company. Faye’s Room previews Friday night, 07 November 2025, and opens the next night, Saturday, 08 November 2025 through to 23 November 2025 at the Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables Street. The show is the story of Faye Murphy, an autistic lesbian who works at a queer cafe. Faye has the power to summon and hide in a magical sensory room at will, but in the course of the play gets trapped with her least favourite co-worker, the son of the founder, and the token heterosexual. I’ll ask Adam about the Masse play, the neurodivergent experience depicted therein, and what’s next for Glitch. Faye’s Room stars Hailey Conner, Mason Temple, Sabrina Symington, and Marlee Michael Pearl. The show is directed by Mily Mumford and Angelica Schwartz. Visit www.glitchtheatre.ca for tickets and more information. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Adam Grant Warren; Mr. Warren, good morning.  The post Adam Grant Warren first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins talks about touring Western Canada with Paula Cole (Vancouver, 29 October 2025, and Victoria, 30 October 2025), her new album Whaler: Re-Emerging, and writing music, with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Sophie B. Hawkins joins me now. The singer-songwriter is on tour through Western Canada with Paula Cole. They’re due into Vancouver Wednesday night, 29 October 2025 at the Playhouse, and Thursday, 30 October 2025 at Victoria’s McPherson Playhouse. Sophie joined me earlier this week from Brandon, Manitoba. I asked her about this tour, performing with Paula Cole, and her new album Whaler: Re-Emerging, which is a reimagined take on her iconic 1994 album. On the album she covers “As I Lay Me Down,” one of her bestselling records. I’ll ask her about writing that, and her other memorable music including the platinum-selling hit “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover.” Visit www.sophiebhawkins.com for more. And for tickets to Wednesday night’s show at the Playhouse, go to the Ticketmaster website. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Sophie B. Hawkins; Ms. Hawkins, good morning.  The post Sophie B. Hawkins first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The former MLA, British Columbia’s first minister of mental health and addictions, and labour leader Judy Darcy discusses her memoir Leading from the Heart: The Battles of a Feminist, Union Leader and Politician (Douglas & McIntyre, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Leading from the Heart: The Battles of a Feminist, Union Leader and Politician by Judy Darcy (Douglas & McIntyre, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Leading from the Heart Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Judy Darcy joins me now. Her memoir has just been published, Leading from the Heart: The Battles of a Feminist, Union Leader and Politician. It’s an engaging book about her life and careers. She was born in Denmark and immigrated to Canada as a young child. She recounts the stories of her parents, her mother and her father, who came to Canada with the traumas of their individual experiences during the Second World War. The hatred and violence they each encountered would go on to shape their children’s lives, and in Judy’s case, though she didn’t know all of it right away. As she unravels threads of her parents lives, we as readers see as the book unfolds, the characters of her parents are fully revealed. Though Judy’s mother took her own life nearly fifty years ago, the meaning of her life is something that Judy contends with and honours in the book. Even their family name was something that her father had changed. The book also chronicles Judy’s college life in the late 1960s, through her labour activism which culminated in her being president of Canada’s largest union, CUPE, the Canadian Union of Public Employees. When she moved to British Columbia later on, she led the Hospital Employees’ Union starting in 2003. She recounts in the book labour negotiations at the highest level, and reflects on the importance of labour unions today. The book also looks at moving into the world of politics. She was elected an NDP MLA in 2013, serving through to 2020 as British Columbia’s first minister of mental health and addictions. This new book is from Douglas & McIntyre. We spoke one week ago, with Judy joining me from New Westminster. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Judy Darcy; Ms. Darcy, good morning.  The post Judy Darcy first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The author and journalist Rachel Phan discusses her memoir Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging (Douglas & McIntyre, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging by Rachel Phan (Douglas & McIntyre, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Restaurant Kid Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   One of the best books I’ve read this year is Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging by Rachel Phan. There’s a lot in the book. Rachel is born in Canada to Chinese-Vietnamese parents who had fled China during the Japanese occupation, and Vietnam during the American war, to come to Canada and open a restaurant in small town Ontario. Rachel has two older siblings, a sister and a brother, who have long, complicated relationships with the restaurant. Too many weekends spent at the restaurant that keep them away from their friends and extra circular activities. Rachel, as the baby is largely isolated from the hard work but nevertheless finds the restaurant taking up too much of her parent’s time that she finds that she doesn’t really know them. It’s hard work for her parents, and it provides for their family, but it’s also tenuous; the margins are thin, and the work is long and hard. In a way, Rachel raises herself from navigating what being a real Canadian might be, to sexuality. As the only Chinese girl at school, she alternates from being the sidekick, geek, or Asian fetish, depending on whose gaze was on her. Through the book, Ms. Phan, who joined me from Toronto two weeks ago, has to work through what she’s missing, what she wants, and what she’s needed from her family. She learns to appreciate the place the restaurant itself has in her upbringing. Rachel Phan is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Master of Journalism Program. Her work has appeared on the CBC, HuffPost, the National Post, and Maclean’s. You can find more at www.rachelphan.com. The book is published by Douglas & McIntyre. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Rachel Phan; Ms. Phan, good morning. The post Rachel Phan first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The community historian and recent appointee to the Order of Canada Richard W. Hill Sr. discusses the new book he’s co-edited Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest Running Residential School (University of Calgary Press, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest Running Residential School edited by Richard W. Hill Sr., Alison Norman, Thomas Reace, and Jennifer Pettit (University of Calgary Press, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Behind the Bricks Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. A new book provides insight into Canada’s oldest residential school, The Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario. One of the editors and contributors to the book, Richard W. Hill, Sr joins me now to talk about the history in the book, the often-harrowing accounts of students who were abused, and who witnessed abuse. The book is called Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest Running Residential School. I’ll ask Mr. Hill about how the book came together, as it’s a big book, rich with insight about the history and context of the residential school system, the architecture itself, religion, the model there that was used in other residential schools across Canada, as well as the impact to the wider community, and the path towards truth and reconciliation. Rick Hill is a citizen of the Beaver Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Haudenosaunee, and is a community-based historian at Six Nations of Grand River. He was recently appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, who with Alison Norman, Thomas Reace, and Jennifer Pettit edited this book which is published by University of Calgary Press. The list of contributors to the book vary from Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, and from a variety of disciplines. We spoke in late September, with Mr. Hill joining me from Brantford. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Rick Hill; Mr. Hill, good morning. The post Richard W. Hill Sr. first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The author Brittany Penner discusses her bestselling memoir Children Like Us: A Metis Woman’s Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home (Doubleday, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Children Like Us: A Metis Woman’s Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home by Brittany Penner (Doublday, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Children Like Us Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   One of the more compelling books of the year is the one from Brittany Penner, Children Like Us: A Métis Woman’s Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home. I spoke to Dr. Penner two and a half weeks ago about the bestselling book. In the book, she talks about growing up in a Mennoite family, and the feelings she contended with growing up. By the time she was seven, she has loved and lost twenty-one foster siblings, who like her were all Indigenous. There’s a loneliness that she feels at a young age, that she works through the book identifying and dealing with. It’s a lot for a child to contend with, especially later, when she’s born in 1989, near the end of the Sixties Scoop, and she seeks her birth parents. The book is a marvelous exploration of family, identity and belonging. As the author seeks home, in all its forms, the reader is enveloped in a generosity and hope that might belie the tough subjects in the book. I’ll ask Brittany about racism, and not just in reaction to her writing, but through her life. Brittany Penner is an author and practicing physician. She is also a lecturer with the University of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine. She is currently completing a Master’s of Liberal Arts at Harvard. The book is published by Doubleday. She joined me from Winnipeg. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Brittany Penner; Dr. Penner, good morning. The post Brittany Penner first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The author and psychologist Bill Koch discusses his debut novel Hired Gun: Uncovering Buried Secrets (FriesenPress, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Hired Gun: Uncovering Buried Secrets by Bill Koch (FriesenPress, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Hired Gun Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  Bill Koch joins me now. He’s recently published a novel, his first, Hired Gun: Uncovering Buried Secrets. The central character in the book David Lipman is a psychologist, who practices in Vancouver and lives part-time on Gabriola Island. Setting it close to home, makes it compelling reading as Bill sets the mood so well with descriptions of Downtown locales so evocatively, especially when he describes the weather. We taped this interview last month, in mid-September coming off several weeks, if not months where it was relatively dry. Starting the book as I did then, made me nostalgic for the grey, wet weather for which Vancouver is celebrated and derided. David is also contending with the recent death of his wife Katherine. This grief lives with him, as do some of the patients that he sees in his practice. Two patients in his care die, and in succession making the circumstances of their deaths even more intriguing. Part of David’s work is appearing in court as an expert witness. This all comes together as he’s pondering the ethical issues surrounding seeking the killer of his patients, as well as revealing something about his work. I’ll ask Bill to tell us as much as he’d like about this character of David, and the surrounding events in his life that make Hired Gun such a compelling read. I’m nearly halfway through the book, and it’s tough to put down. Bill Koch is a clinical professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. In his career as a psychologist, he conducted research in anxiety disorders and trauma, and was a highly credentialed cognitive-behaviour therapist. In his career, he also investigated and adjudicated ethical violations for the College of Psychologists of British Columbia. All this naturally, informs the writing of this novel, and possibly other works that I’ll ask Bill about. The book is published by FriesenPress. Visit www.billkochwrites.com for more information. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Bill Koch; Dr. Koch, good morning.  The post Bill Koch first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The writer Russell Smith discusses his new novel Self Care (Biblioasis, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Self Care by Russell Smith (Biblioasis, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Self Care Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Russell Smith’s new novel Self Care is described as an examination of women and men, self-loathing and twenty-first century loneliness. I spoke to Mr. Smith recently about the new book, and its characters. There’s Gloria, a writer for an online publication that might belie her education in creative writing or journalism. It’s a reflection of the current state of media, news consumption, and literacy perhaps. She’s navigating the dating scene making questionable choices like seeing married or random men on apps. She’s fascinated by a stranger, somebody younger than her named Daryn, who is a protesting immigration, and as she soon discovers, somebody part of the incel movement. This leads to inviting him back to her apartment and dominating him sexually. This is all heading into dangerous territory, and Gloria knows this, but proceeds. This tension is what drives the book, just as it reflects life in a big city, you know, it’s full of people, yet isolating for a lot of them. Russell Smith is the author of twelve previous books of fiction, nonfiction, and translation. His fiction has been nominated for every major Canadian award, including the Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Amazon First Novel Award. He is a journalist and cultural commentator, whose writing has appeared in the New York Review of Books, The Walrus, and elsewhere. He was a columnist in the Globe and Mail for many years. He is also an acquiring editor at Dundurn Press. Self Care is published by Biblioasis. He joined me from Toronto, three and a half weeks ago. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Russell Smith; Mr. Smith, good morning. The post Russell Smith first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The Province and Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston discusses the new biography he’s co-authored (with Peter Leech) Gino: The Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick (Greystone, 2025), with Joseph Planta. Gino: The Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick by Patrick Johnston and Peter Leech (Greystone, 2025). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Gino Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.   Patrick Johnston joins me now. He’s co-written a new biography, a highlight of the season, Gino: The Fighting Spirit of Gino Odjick, with Peter Leech, who was also on the program recently. It’s an engaging book on the life of the beloved Vancouver Canucks player Gino Odjick. The book chronicles his early life in Quebec, through to making it in the NHL becoming one of the league’s most feared players, and one of the few Indigenous players. The book also looks at the larger-than-life persona of Odjick, who led a fascinating and fun life on and off the ice. The book looks at the friendships he developed with players, like Pavel Bure, as well as the sort of memorable qualities he brought to the locker room, as well as the team itself within the community, especially with Indigenous youth. The book is also revealing and honest. We read about Odjick’s family life as a son and as a parent and partner. The authors also provide insight as to the various struggles Odjick contended with throughout his life, especially the physical and mental ailments in the last years of his life, which came to an end in 2023 at the age of 52. I’ll ask Patrick about writing the book with Peter, who was one of Odjick’s closest and loyal friends. As well, I’ll ask him about covering the Canucks today. He’s a fixture in The Province, and Postmedia with his reporting and analysis. This new book is published by Greystone Books. We spoke last Monday. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Patrick Johnston; Mr. Johnston, good morning.   The post Patrick Johnston first appeared on thecommentary.ca.