So-called Normal

In a special World Mental Health Day episode, Mark is joined by an inspiration and mentor of his, Steve Lurie, the Executive Director of the Toronto branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. They discuss how things have changed across the last 100 years of mental health care in Canada and how hospitals and governments can best help people living with mental health issues.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Kevin Newman, Canadian journalist, former ABC and Global National anchor, now retired from TV and host of the Attention Control podcast. They look back on his long career in journalism following his retirement, and his new passion of exposing how misinformation works to manipulate our psychology and tell us who to vote for.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark chats with legendary Canadian children's entertainer Sharon Hampson of 'Sharon, Lois and Bram' fame, along with her daughter and now manager of 'Sharon and Bram', Randi Hampson. They discuss Sharon, Lois and Bram's philosophy of respecting and challenging kids with their music and TV programming, and share stories of meeting the children (and adults) who were shaped by their work. Sharon also opens up about her battle with breast cancer and what it was like to make music and live life with Lois Lilienstein, who passed away in 2015. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by fellow podcaster Eric Zimmer, host of the "The One You Feed", a podcast of inspiring conversations. They discuss Eric's personal story of recovering from an addiction to heroin and how he channeled his experience into creating the podcast.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Pete Bombaci, the founder of the Genwell Project, a human connection movement that encourages us to take action to bring people together in our communities. They discuss the project, what inspires and motivates Pete, and why it's important for our health and happiness that we hold onto face-to-face, in person connection.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark sits down with the President and CEO of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Dr. Catherine Zahn. They discuss the changes in how health professionals treat mental health and how we can break stigma surround those who need treatment. Listen as she gets candid about her own life and how she is actively working to bring change.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark talks with Brendan Saye, newly-promoted principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Brendan opens up about his life as a ballet dancer from an early age, his rising prominence in the dance world, and the mysterious symptoms and sudden illness that almost cost him everything. After a long recovery, through periods of darkness and intense retraining, Brendan is poised to continue his dramatic comeback during artistic director Karen Kain’s milestone 50th anniversary 2019/20 season with the company. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Anna Mehler Paperny, a Reuters reporter and author of Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me, a new book speaking to her experience with depression and suicide. She and Mark have a deeply personal conversation about the similarities between their stories, Anna's process in committing her struggles to the page, and the various treatments she's tried for depression.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Elementary school assistant principal and mental health advocate Al Levin joins Mark to discuss his experience dealing with depression as a leader, a man, and a pillar of his community and family. They discuss how these roles can affect mental health and our awareness own mental health issues. Check out Al's podcast, The Depression Files, wherever you found this podcast!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Rudy Caseres, an award-winning mental health speaker, social media influencer, and host of No Restraints with Rudy Caseres, a weekly Facebook Live interview show. They discuss his life with bipolar disorder, his brief time in the army, and his experience with involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility and the issues around that practice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Sarah Schuster, the Mental Health Editor of The Mighty. They discuss Sarah's personal mental health story and The Mighty's person-centric approach to health advocacy. They also discuss the use of online platforms to build a community of people sharing their stories and supporting each other.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark speaks with Lee Thomas, a mental health and LGBTQ speaker, on their upbringing in small town Alberta and their early struggles with a mental illness. They also get into how complicated mental health advocacy and mental health issues really are, and the mistakes and assumptions that some forms of advocacy can make.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by 24 year old speaker Shane Feldman to discuss the importance of community in all aspects of life, from work to school to the home. Shane shares how this stems from his own desire for community as a young man, and the things he believes are holding us back from connecting with each other.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Paul Nadeau, a Business Negotiations and Conflict Resolution expert, former police detective and hostage negotiator. Paul tells incredible stories of talking down teenagers considering suicide and terrorists in Jordan as a UN peacekeeper. He also discusses what we can do to help other people in crisis, even though we can't do recovery for other people.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Darius Bashar, photographer, speaker, and podcaster. They discuss Darius's philosophy on taking "heartshots" instead of "headshots" and how he went from taking high fashion photoshoots to seeking an intimate, personal connection in his photography. This is a deep, open and raw conversation you won't want to miss.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

This week, Mark is joined by The Globe & Mail's acclaimed health reporter and columnist Andre Picard. The dive into his storied career, starting as one of the first journalists covering the AIDS crisis, to his work in Rwanda during the genocide and how the most difficult stories can take their toll on the journalists covering them.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Blake Fly, a motivational speaker who visits universities around the world to help students graduate happy and appreciative. They talk about the many surprising extracurriculars Blake took on in university, how to make a memorable first impression, and the power of a "thank call" over a prank call.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark sits down with Lynn Keane - advocate, speaker, former broadcast journalist, and author of "Give Sorrow Words".  Since the sudden passing of her son Daniel in 2009, she has dedicated her life to sharing her family’s story, educating about the underlying causes of depression and the importance of treating mental illness. Join Mark and Lynn as they open up about depression, grief, and moving forward. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Filmmaker and grassroots educator Steph Guthrie joins Mark to talk about her experiences as a feminist advocate who has faced online harassment from the far right and her work with films like the award-winning documentary A Better Man. She discusses what she's learned from legal battles, social media conflicts, and working with men trying to atone for domestic violence.      --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message

Mark is joined by Jeremie Saunders, Brian Stever, and Taylor Macgillivary from Sickboy podcast, a funny and honest look into what it's like to live with sickness and disease. They talk about how a creative project among friends turned into a hit show, the most impactful guests they've spoken with, and the way the podcast has changed Jeremie's relationship with his cystic fibrosis.     --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/socallednormal/message