New series joining the 2025-26 AMI-audio schedule as of Sept. 2, include:

Reflections, Tuesday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET

Hosted by Ramya Amuthan (Kelly & Ramya), Reflections listens in on how we make sense of the world, through conversation and the lens of the lived experience of the disability community, weaving our questions with your stories. Contributors to Reflections include Kelly MacDonald, Grant Hardy, Joeita Gupta, Beth Deer and Nisreen Abdel-Majid. Available as an audio podcast.

Disability Rights, and Wrongs: The David Lepodcast 

In this audio podcast, outspoken disability rights advocate David Lepofsky  and AMI’s Jacob Shymanski welcome guests to discuss the latest in disability rights…and wrongs.

Returning programming on AMI-audio:

Voices of The Walrus, Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday at 8 a.m. ET

Veteran radio broadcaster Roger Ashby takes you into the pages of The Walrus, with a chorus of vibrant voices bringing to life essays and fiction from some of Canada’s best writers. Available as an audio podcast.

My Life in Books with Red Széll, Monday and Thursday at 8 a.m. ET

Join broadcaster Red Széll for My Life in Books with Red Széll, featuring one-on-one interviews with audiobook authors who discuss their life, works and three books that have resonated with them. Available as an audio podcast.

Maclean’s Magazine, Tuesday and Friday at 8 a.m. ET

Anastasia Maclean and Paul Berry present a selection of feature articles from the most recent edition of Maclean’s.

The Guardian Daily, daily at 9 a.m. ET

Hosted by Mike Ross, listen for a selection of feature articles from The Guardian, a British daily newspaper with a distinctly international outlook  focused on politics, economics and environmental issues.

The Globe and Mail Today, daily at 10 a.m. ET

Corinne Van Dusen and Matt Speirs deliver the Canadian news, editorials and business, sports and entertainment stories pulled from the latest edition of The Globe and Mail.

The Washington Post This Week, daily at 11 a.m. ET

Shawn Lavigne and Paul Berry read American news and opinions from the latest edition of The Washington Post.

Double Tap, daily at noon ET

Tune in daily for new episodes of Double Tap for discussions, led by Steven Scott and Shaun Preece, on news, reviews and technology stories of interest  to people who are members of the blind, partially sighted and disability community. Also available as an audio podcast and video podcast on YouTube.

Audiobook Café (formerly AMI Audiobook Review), Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. ET

Host Jacob Shymanski keeps you up to date with the latest audiobook releases and literary news, sharing in-depth conversations with authors, narrators and industry experts. Available as an audio podcast.

Para Sport Nation, Sunday, Monday and Saturday at 1:30 p.m.  ET

Para Sport Nation is where elite competition meets real stories from the  world of Para sport. Hosted by Paralympian Nathan Clement and AMI’s Alex Smyth, each episode dives into the athletes, events, and moments shaping adaptive sport in Canada and beyond. Also available as an audio podcast and video podcast on YouTube.

AMI-tv

Highlights of AMI-tv’s upcoming fall programming include:

September

Our Community returns Thursday, Sept. 4, at 9:30 p.m. ET to AMI-tv and AMI+ 

Celebrating its 10th season on AMI-tv, the Golden Sheaf Award-nominated Our Community highlights the people, places and organizations that have made life more enjoyable for Canadians with a disability. Organizations featured in the 12-episode 10th season include Vancouver’s All Bodies Dance project, Ontario’s WindReach Farm and Saskatchewan’s Prairie Branches.

Desert Racers debuts Friday, Sept. 19, at 9 p.m. ET on AMI-tv

Bruce Cook, the star of AMI’s IndieFEST award-winning By Hook or By Cook, is back with the brand-new six-episode series Desert Racers, exclusively on AMI-tv. Jimmy Diaz, a small-town Baja dreamer, teams up with the paraplegic daredevil to take on the most grueling off-road race in  the world: The Baja 1000. Desert Racers is produced by Render Digital Media. 

October

Game Changers returns Thursday, Oct. 2, at 9 p.m. ET to  AMI-tv and AMI+

Each episode of Game Changers finds Dave Brown in his element, visiting stunning locales while spending the day chatting with notable Canadians. Upcoming guests in the 20-episode, second season include Mary Walsh (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), Olympic gold medal-winning  hockey goaltender Sami Jo Small, comedian Courtney Gilmour, Barenaked Ladies’ Kevin Hearn, hockey analyst and internet personality Steve Dangle, Gavin Crawford (Because News) and professional race car driver Marie-Soleil Labelle. Game Changers is produced by FRANK Digital.

November

Got Game returns Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 9 p.m. ET to AMI-tv and AMI+

Hosted by Joshua Ang, the six-episode second season of Got Game explores coming-of-age in a board game café as six youths with disabilities share their stories in a round table discussion while playing inclusive tabletop games, recognizing the individualism of these youth aside from  their disability. Got Game is produced by Mountain Road Productions.

All AMI-tv originals are available post-broadcast on demand at AMI+.

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Corus Entertainment has announced it’s shuttering Hamilton heritage station, 900 CHML, and making a format adjustment at 980 CFPL London. CHML’s closure was announced in a post to the station’s social media channels on Wednesday, saying the decision had been made after “years of financial losses.” CHML has been serving the community since 1927 and celebrated its 95th anniversary last September. The move follows the closure in late June of 880 News (CHQT-AM) Edmonton and Vancouver all-traffic station AM 730 (CKGO-AM). Read more here.

Leclerc Communication has released its on-air staff at Montreal’s WKND 99.5 (CJEC-FM) as it prepares for a rebrand. Leclerc has reached a content distribution agreement with Quebecor Media’s NumériQ, which launched the multi-platform QUB talk radio and public affairs digital channel in 2018. Starting Aug. 26, 99.5 will broadcast QUB programming including Mario Dumont’s new morning show, starting at 6 a.m., accompanied by Alexandre Dubé and Antoine Robitaille. He’ll be followed by Isabelle Maréchal from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Benoît Dutrizac from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sophie Durocher will be heard from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Richard Martineau from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. WKND, which carried a Modern Adult Contemporary format, launched in June 2020 after Leclerc acquired Radio Classique.

JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto says the not-for-profit has made significant progress toward “closing the gap,” following an urgent fundraising appeal in early July to make up a $150,000 budget shortfall. General Manager Dana Wigle says thanks to a 24-hour live appeal and the support of artists and listeners, that shortfall has been reduced to $50,000. Like other broadcasters, the not-for-profit is adapting to the shifting media landscape and running lean, but in no way is in dire financial straits, Wigle asserts. With a smaller team, the station no longer needs the 10,000 sq. ft. Liberty Village studios it first took over in 2006. As it looks ahead to celebrating CJRT-FM’s 75th anniversary in November, it has put that space up for sub-lease. Read more here.

Corus Entertainment’s 980 CKNW Vancouver is celebrating 80 years on Aug. 15. Hosts past and present will be sharing memories from the past eight decades. The station, originally located in New Westminster, BC, signed on-air on Aug. 15, 1944, and was the first in the region to have hourly newscasts. In 1947, it became the first station in B.C. to broadcast 24 hours a day.

AMI has unveiled its AMI-audio lineup for the 2024-25 broadcast season that includes returning favourites, new programs and audio and video podcasts. Highlights include the debut of AMI Today, hosted by Jacob Shymanski (AMI Audiobook Review). AMI Today will promote literacy, tech knowledge and advocacy through interviews, digging into audiobooks and debuting the latest AMI video podcasts. Also available as an audio and video podcast on YouTube, it’s available weekdays at 11 a.m. ET.

LISTEN: At least once a year, Matt Cundill gets the urge to do an episode about career management and what to do when there are mass layoffs at companies like Bell, Audacy, iHeart, Corus, Rogers, or Cumulus. Mac Prichard of the Find Your Dream Job podcast is on the Sound Off Podcast, talking about networking, applying for jobs, and managing your online presence. 

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Evanov Communications says it’s planning to “integrate” its Toronto LGBTQ+ station Proud 103.9 (CIRR-FM) with Z103.5 (CIDC-FM), licensed to Orangeville, ON, on Sept. 1. Both stations play a Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) format. Proud FM undertook a brand refresh in 2020 that saw Elvis Duran and the Morning Show added to the lineup, the widely-syndicated morning show originating from iHeartMedia’s Z100 (WHTZ-FM) in New York City. Evanov says Proud FM announcer Jaret Sereda, who has been helming afternoons, and Tyler Carr, who hosts Weekend Pop-Up Party (also doing double duty as a morning co-host on Energy 106 (CHWE-FM) Winnipeg), will both move over to Z103.5 as part of the integration. Sereda, also Proud FM’s brand manager, will host a daily feature weekday mornings and afternoons with entertainment news and community updates, while Carr will take on the weekend shows on Z103.5. Evanov has made repeated attempts to move or modify CIDC-FM’s signal over the years. The CRTC most recently denied a technical application in early 2020 that would have seen the stations swap frequencies to boost Proud’s signal in Toronto and have the lower power station re-focus on serving Orangeville. Read more here.

Stingray has announced it will launch Sports 1440 in Edmonton next month, bringing a dedicated sports talk radio station back to the city just months after Bell Media’s move to shutter TSN 1260 (CFRN-AM). Stingray plans to launch the new format on Sept. 5, which will air on CJKR-AM, licensed to the Edmonton bedroom community of Wetaskiwin. The station is currently branded as W1440 and carries an Oldies format. The effort is a collaboration between Stingray Radio, former NHL‘er Jason Gregor’s Just A Game Productions and digital sports media site The Nation Network, which was acquired by Playmaker Capital in 2021. Read more here.

Playmaker Capital has acquired La Poche Bleue, the Quebec-based podcast production house co-founded by former Montreal Canadiens players Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse. Playmaker says with the acquisition of La Poche Bleue’s video-podcast series and branded lifestyle products (which span spirits to bbq sauce and t-shirts), it unlocks access to a new audience in Quebec, rounding out its regional and national hockey coverage in time for the upcoming 2023-24 NHL season. As part of the transaction, Lapierre and Latendresse, who host flagship podcast La Poche Bleue, as well as Managing Director Louis-Philippe Dorais, will remain with the business. La Poche Bleue’s video podcast portfolio includes eight shows, produced in both French- and English, focused on the Canadiens, NHL, MLB, NFL fantasy football, among other topics, including Game Over with former MLB pitcher and Cy Young winner Eric Gagne. Its podcasts are also syndicated on Quebec radio via a partnership with Cogeco Media. Read more here.

640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto has added new program Toronto Threads to its weekend lineup, along with recent addition Toronto Tomorrow. Toronto Threads, hosted by author and speaker, David Peck, will air Saturdays at 10 p.m., beginning Aug. 19. Featuring in-depth conversations with those who shape Toronto and the GTA, the show promises to focus on “the diverse cultures, experiences and voices that make up the fabric of the city.” Toronto Tomorrow airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. It features Dan Speerin, Tamer Gargour and Jessie Lee from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Transmedia Zone in discussion with future-forward thinkers.

AMI (Accessible Media Inc.) has unveiled its AMI-audio lineup for the 2023-24 broadcast season, headlined by the debut of The Washington Post This Week and the return of its daily Double Tap program, discussing news, reviews and technology stories of interest to members of the blind, partially sighted and disability community. Read more here.

Hot Docs Podcast Festival’s two-day Podcast Creators Forum this October will feature a mix of creative masterclasses and career-building sessions. Executives, producers and hosts from studios and agencies including Conde Nast, Pushkin Industries, CBC, NPR, Canadaland, Acast, Bumper, and Media Girlfriends, among others will be featured this year. The Creators Forum Pass is available for a discounted early bird rate only until Sept. 11. This year’s Hot Docs Podcast Festival runs Oct. 18-23.

LISTEN: Charles Adler doesn’t have a lot of time or love left for radio anymore. The veteran talk host, who parted ways with Corus Radio in 2021, transitioned into podcasting earlier this summer with the launch of The Charles Adler Show, in partnership with Crier Media and the Sound Off Podcast Network, making his podcasting debut at #1 on the Canadian News Commentary chart. He joins us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to share his unfiltered thoughts on the state of Canadian media and why he thinks the big broadcasters are in trouble. We also get into his enduring love affair with Winnipeg.

LISTEN: Sam Sethi, the host of Podnews Weekly Review and a former programmer at Windows and Netscape, is on the Sound Off Podcast to talk about the launch of Podfans – part of a new wave of podcast apps. In this episode you’ll hear about Sethi’s time at Netscape and Windows, how he got involved with industry futurist and Podnews publisher James Cridland, and what exactly goes into building an app like Podfans.

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