TVOat50: Recent Episodes
TVO
On September 27th, 1970, TVO signed onto the airwaves for the first time. It was an experiment in public broadcasting using television for education at a time when TV was considered the root of all evil. It went on to produce programming that shaped entire generations and change what it means to educate.
Hosted by Steve Paikin, TVOat50 brings you the story behind shows like The Polka Dot Door, Today’s Special, and Saturday Night at the Movies. Join us as we dive behind the scenes of half a century of programming.
This is it, our last episode. So, we're going back to where TVO started: Queen's Park. Fifty years ago, the provincial broadcaster was created by former Minister of Education Bill Davis -and it still falls under the responsibility of that ministry.
Two former education ministers - Sandra Pupatello and Kathleen Wynne - and the former minister of training, colleges and universities, Dianne Cunningham, join Steve to gossip (remember when everyone thought Pupatello was cutting TVO's funding?) and swap stories.
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Lisa de Wilde was TVO's longest-serving chief executive, spending over 14 years in the job. Her main goal was to bring the broadcaster into the 21st century. She joins Steve Paikin to discuss leading the digital transformation, the difficult process of cancelling shows, and what it was like to work with a government bent on budget cuts.
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Ontario is massive - the riding of Kenora alone is almost the size of Germany. And despite what some Torontonians might tell you, the provincial capital is not the centre of the universe.
That's why former chair and CEO Isabel Bassett saw covering the entire province as a huge part of her mission. She joins Steve to discuss her term, pushing TVO to speak to all Ontarians, and what she learned along the way.
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What do you do when you are chair and CEO of a public broadcaster, and you hear your organization might be privatized? That was just one of the challenges Peter Herrndorf faced during his time at TVO. Steve speaks with Peter about his time at the helm and how he used backroom politics to keep the broadcaster public.
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When TVO launched in 1970, it had a mandate to educate Ontarians. It did that primarily by using television. Today the medium has evolved, but the mandate hasn't. Steve speaks with Karen Grose, who helped lead the digital transition, about adapting a legacy organization to new technology.
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The host of a television series gets a disproportionate amount of attention - both good and bad. The reality is that a team of producers and technical crew are responsible for getting a show to air. Steve speaks with producer Wodek Szemberg and makeup artist Diane Rowe, two of TVO's longest serving employees.
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TVO's documentary team creates and commissions films designed to delight and enlighten Ontarians. Executive producer of documentaries Jane Jankovic joins host Steve Paikin to discuss the broadcaster's long history of documentary production - and what comes next.
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For 15 years, "The Agenda" has offered in-depth coverage of issues that matter to Ontarians. Host Steve Paikin speaks with founding executive producer Dan Dunsky about the show's notoriously prickly first guest and the principles behind the program. Then, they debate who was the bigger diva: the executive producer or the host?
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Years ago, TVO was in a bit of a conundrum. It covered provincial affairs, but stories from beyond our borders also affected the lives of Ontarians. How could a small public broadcaster cover foreign affairs in a unique way?
On this episode, Steve Paikin speaks with Janice Stein, founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, who has been at the centre of TVO's foreign affairs coverage from the very beginning
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Maureen Taylor and Mary Ito remember the tiny set of TVO's phone-in talk show "More to Life" - but the conversation was much bigger. They join host Steve Paikin to discuss some memorable episodes, tackling tough conversations, and the time Steve guest-hosted the program while drunk.
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For a decade, "Allan Gregg in Conversation With..." hosted some the world's biggest thinkers, authors, and artists. No topic was off limits, and no question too tough. The show used a conversational style to explore topics in depth. Becky Fong, a producer on the program, joins Steve Paikin to share stories about the show's most memorable guests.
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On "Journeys," host Lauren Millar went on exhilarating adventures, like flying in the cockpit of a Snowbird. In this interview with Steve Paikin, she says it was equally special to spend time with the plane's pilot, Marlene Shillingford - the group's first female member and the many other scientists, engineers, and extraordinary people she profiled.
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For over a decade, "Studio 2" was a leader in Canadian current affairs coverage. It wasn't the news; it was a show about the news. Jane Jankovic, a senior producer on the program, joins Steve Paikin to discuss memorable moments - including the time a certain host lost his voice from too much karaoke before he was set to interview the premier.
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Producer Janice Neil remembers getting on the phone every day, to try and get premier Bob Rae onto 4th Reading, TVO's provincial affairs panel. When Rae's staff finally called back, they gave her a condition: Don't ask about the scandals. Much to the chagrin of his aides, host Steve Paikin didn't hold back and Rae, who might not have known about the conditions, wasn't phased. Janice joins Steve to discuss building that memorable interview and much more.
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Before The Agenda there was Between the Lines - a town hall-style program in which groups of experts discussed a topic in front of a live audience. It was also Steve Paikin's first hosting gig at TVO. Former producer Howard Bernstein joins Steve to offer a look behind the scenes.
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TVO has broadcast its share of quirky shows, but none more so than Prisoners of Gravity. It was hosted by "commander" Rick Green, who fled Earth for his space station. There, he interviewed luminaries in the science fiction and comic book worlds - such as Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.
Green joins Steve Paikin to discuss the show's influence and share some behind-the-scenes moments.
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In its early years, TVO devoted every Sunday to French language programming. Eventually, the province spun off that programming into the province's official French language broadcaster, TFO. Host Steve Paikin speaks with Gisèle Quenneville, senior producer at TFO, about the broadcaster's mission and origins.
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Joanne Souaid's name is synonymous with TVO's fundraising telethons. She joins host Steve Paikin to discuss addressing Ontarians, hat in hand, to ask for a small donation in exchange for high-quality educational programming.
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As the host of Dialogue, Richard Ouzounian interviewed Ontario's actors, choreographers, broadcasters, comedians, and filmmakers. Now, TVO's former creative head of arts joins host Steve Paikin to discuss his most memorable celebrity interviews - and how arts programming changed during his tenure.
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For nearly 40 years, TVO presented Ontarians with classic films and interviews with their cast and crew. Producer Risa Shuman made it all work. She joins host Steve Paikin to discuss landing her role, working with legendary host Elwy Yost, and the emotional finale of Saturday Night at the Movies.
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Just what exactly is Polkaroo? Marney Malabar is TVO's director of Kids TV, and her answer is simple: what do you think? The answer allows imaginations to fly - and that's the whole point. Malabar joins host Steve Paikin to discuss how TVO's educational mandate made it an early leader in children's programming.
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Hocus pocus alimagocus! These special words brought Today's Special, one of TVO's most memorable kid's programs, to life. Nerene Virgin played Jodie, and she joins host Steve Paikin to discuss her role on the show, Black representation on television, and life after TVO.
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On September 27, 1970, TVO hit the airwaves for the first time. It came after years of political debate - and many thought the broadcaster should not even exist. Ed Conroy, founder of Retrontario.com, joins host Steve Paikin to discuss those early days.
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On September 27th, 1970, TVO signed onto the airwaves for the first time. It was an experiment in public broadcasting using television for education at a time when TV was considered the root of all evil. 50 years later, the technology may have changed, but the mandate is still the same: never stop learning.
Join host Steve Paikin as he reveals the stories behind some of TVO's most memorable shows and celebrates 50 years of programming.
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