Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Paul Cook and Stephanie Smyth: Toronto Mike'd #1311

Episode Date: August 23, 2023

In this 1311th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with CityNews 680's Paul Cook about his career at CHFI and 680 and his wife Stephanie Smyth about why she's no longer at CP24 and her recent work on Brad Bradford's mayoral campaign. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Pumpkins After Dark, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

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Ridley Funeral Home pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making his Toronto Mike debut is Paul Cook. And joining him, making her return to the program, Stephanie Smythe. Welcome back, Stephanie, and welcome, Paul. Thank you, Mike. It's great to be here. Hello again. Hello. I have a note from Carl Hansky, who is my neighbor. And this is actually for Stephanie because Carl wants me to ask Stephanie if Carl Hansky was the

best hire she ever made. Did you hire Carl Hansky? Apparently, I did. Be honest with me. Was it like a tough decision? Like what made you hire Carl Hansky? I need to know. You never, with Carl, it was just instant. It was easy.

Look, you hear what he does every day on 680 News. He's absolute genius, perfected the whole reporter in the field scenario. He had the drive. He's got a great wink too. Are you just saying this because you know he's listening? No, I say because

it is absolute truth. And you know, I know with Paul working with him all these years too, it's just an incredible person. Yeah. He's just world class.

With the stuff that he does, tractor trailer rollovers, you probably heard his stuff from the highways. Sure. He's absolutely incredible. He's got impeccable police contacts. Did he script that for you, Paul? I've got other things I could say about Carl

at another time, but he's a fun guy. He's very mischievous. But the other thing about Carl is that Steffi took her two favorite people on staff to the very first Raptors home playoff game. Do you remember that? Yes. Wow.

You're good. You didn't even tell me you're going to talk about that. Okay. And this, I'm guessing this was a Vince Carter era. Yeah, it was. Okay.

Tracy McGrady before Tracy McGrady left town. Because if he'd stayed instead of leaving town, the Raptors probably would have gone to win the championship that year. And that was back when you could leave after three years. I feel like they changed the rule. Like you get at least five years of control or something over a new draft. Yeah, I don't remember what the rules were.

But I just, I vividly remember Carl was a relatively new employee. Okay. And that was one of the first kind of social things I ever did with Carl was when Steffi took the two of us to a basketball game. Well, Paul, we're going to get to know you.

You are fresh meat on the program. Okay. But a lot of these questions came in for Stephanie because after Carl tweeted that question at me, Rick Ralph tweeted at me and said, Carl, you were the second best hire. I was there with Stephanie and Paul magical radio,

in my opinion. And then there's these hashtags, a nice sweater, Mike Tyson and black ice okay i don't know what any of that means rick you're so sweet but thank you uh do you know the thing i'm very surprised that you are mentioning those names rick ralph and carl hansky because they are both dirty habs fans oh my goodness i'm gonna edit this i never edit episodes but i'm gonna make an exception delete them from this episode. But yeah,

I did not know Rick Ralph was a Habs fan. I didn't know Carl was a Habs fan. So I'll just, Carl, I see him walking his dog in the neighborhood all the time. He's got a dog named Gracie. It's like a St. Bernard. It's a giant dog, and he's always got his AirPods in. One day when I'm going to bike by him, like in the next couple of days, I'll

know he's listening to you guys. Hello, Carl and Rick. Rick and Carl. Rick's just moved to Calgary. Yeah, that's right. I saw that. bike by him like in the next couple of days i'll know he's listening to you guys so hello carl and rick rick rick's blast from the past just moved to calgary yeah that's right i saw that all right rick if you're ever in town you're invited on toronto mike you need to make your uh debut if paul cook can make a debut you can make a debut by the way gene volaitis heard you were coming on and here's what gene wrote this one finally something came in about paul cook is it tough to be married to Stephanie Smythe? Like everything's, you know,

like she's a bright light shining there beside you and people are like, who's this guy? Okay, let me tell you something. This was long after Steffi had left 680. She was no longer the news director. I think she'd gone on to AM640. Well, you went to global first, global news, then AM640,

and then maybe you had just started at CP24. You weren't even on the air then at that point at CP24. We're in a taxi cab, and Steph is very mischievous. The cab driver's listening to 680, and she says to him, oh, oh, I see you're a big 680 fan. And he said, yeah, all the time. It's on my radio all the time. She said, oh, you ever hear of Paul Cook?

I says, nope. Then she says, well, what ever hear of Paul Cook? She says, nope. Then she says, well, what about Stephanie Smythe? He says, oh yeah, news director Stephanie Smythe. Absolutely. Poor Paul. Because you're a high profile, you're the guy. Like I, we were talking earlier about the Fergie Oliver episode of Toronto Mike. Then I mentioned he came on with his daughter who I I called the face of the shopping channel.

But Paul Cook, you're the guy. You're the voice of 680. I've been there for a little while. How long have you been there? I've been on the morning show for 26 years. I've been with Rogers for 38 years. What did you do before 680? So when I first started,

I basically started as an op. Don op, uh, Don Parrish, candlelight and wine. Does that show mean anything to you? Candlelight. I thought it was another person who did it. No, it was Don Parrish back when I did it. Is that CHFI? It was CHFI, 98.1 of a kind. Yeah. So he was on the air seven nights a week, voice tracked. I was going to Ryerson, now TMU, and I got a job as an op doing that evening show and sometimes the overnight

show. And I was getting $35 an hour. And I was from North Bay, and here I am in Toronto. You mean a week. $35 an hour? Sorry, $35 a shift. Yeah, yeah. Did I say an hour? I was about to say. I know. They don't pay that today. No, no.

It was $ bucks a shift. That's why Steph's here. I've been up since three this morning, okay? That's right. Anyway, so I remember walking into the hallway of that radio station where the stairwells were, and we were on 25 Adelaide at the time, and looking out and seeing the CN Tower and going, my God, I've made it in Toronto.

If you can make it here, you're going to make it anywhere. You know what, Mike, that's exactly how I felt back then. Yeah. But. This is the big smoke. My passion was news.

I always hung around the newsroom until they eventually hired me. And. But you had good pipes. Well, it didn't, it didn't hurt. Where did they come from? How many packs a day are you smoking? Cigarettes and whiskey.

I don't smoke anymore. I quit August 3rd, 1993 in the afternoon. How do you, like, if we could do some magic trick and hear how you'd sound if you had never smoked a cigarette in your life, you might sound like me and you would never be, never be the morning news anchor there on. No, you know what?

You don't, you don't need to have big pipes in radio anymore. And that's the great thing about it. There's, there's a lot of distinct and different voices on the air that are fantastic. Yeah, absolutely. All right. So I got to get to Jean Valaitis' question,

but I want to let people know if they do want the, because this is going to be A to Z on Paul Cook. And then I obviously have some big questions for Stephanie Smythe. Are you ready for those big questions? They're coming soon, Steph. Okay. I can't wait. You are my guest for episode 206.

I'm looking at her photo. We look good together. Yeah. You would have made a nice couple. Don't get jealous, Paul. We look good together. You would have made a nice couple. Don't get jealous, Paul. We look good together. Except before or after me. That's in the middle.

In this 206th episode, Mike chats with CP24 news anchor, Stephanie Smythe, about her years at 680, 640, and CP24, because you had good long runs at all three of those places, that we talked. And that's when we finally dispelled this myth that your father was Dick Smythe. Cause that's out there. You know that.

Oh yeah. But we dispelled it in that episode. You said no relation to Dick Smythe. No relation to Dick. And you know, God bless him. And a shout out to Ridley funeral home. Right.

Oh, and his lovely wife, Marnie. Yeah. It's a big loss. And, uh, so yeah, Dick Smythe was not my dad, but we worked together at, um, AM 640 and 680 news for that matter. Right. He came on AM 640. The very first anchor on 680 news.

That's right. And, uh, so we have the same last name Smythe, S-M-Y-T-H-N-O-E, which is technically Smith, but, you know, for whatever reason our families decided to pronounce it Smythe. But Dick knew, based on the name, the lineage would be the same, which it was. We're from a near Tipperary in Ireland, and he was a Smythe as well. And so we believe that we were distantly related. He was always devastated.

He wasn't identified as, as my, my partner. Can I say something about that? That's true. It's always your, that's your dad, not your lover. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I know. That was his joke all the time. The first time I met Dick Smythe, I was doing overnight news on CHFI and I'd never met him before. And I was in there first and I was writing away and all of a sudden I hear this what's going on and I turn around like oh my god it's Dick Smythe like the guy's an absolute legend right and he so he said what's happening and I said oh dick all and he went what do you mean by that first impression I got this clip sent to me by Scott Metcalf.

Do you have any kind words to say about Scott Metcalf? Scott's the best. He's the Zen news director. Calm, cool, collected. Amazing. Okay, and he's retired now, right? He's retired, I believe, but I mean, he's still like... Well, producing the 680 News 30th anniversary podcast. Genius.

Nice retirement, Scott. Incredible work, yeah. The hours that went into that. I can't imagine the work he's done. So he's here tomorrow. Amazing. So this is an interesting coincidence, obviously. No relation Nice retirement, Scott. Incredible work, yeah. The hours that went into that. I can't imagine the work So he's here tomorrow. Amazing. So this is an interesting coincidence, obviously.

No relation. Coincidence. But, you know, you guys are tough to book. It took me several months, but finally. Okay. But tomorrow, coincidentally,

Scott Metcalf, Richard Southern, Mike Epple, and a surprise guest are going to be here to talk about the 30 years. But they sent a bunch of audio. So I'm actually going to, I think this is, I haven't like, usually when you play audio on your program, you know what you're going to be here to talk about the 30 years. But they sent a bunch of audio. So I'm actually going to... I think this is... I haven't like... Usually when you play audio on your program, you know what you're going to play. It's like

a lawyer doesn't ask a question unless he knows what the answer is going to be. But let me play this. Good morning. I'm Sandy Sanderson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CFTR. This is a sad yet exciting moment in the history of this incredible radio station. It marks the end of one era and the beginning of a new one and like all major transitions it involves mixed emotions. For nearly a quarter of a century CFTR has been a powerhouse of today's music appealing to a large and vibrant audience. Over the past several

years however the popularity of contemporary music on the AM band has music, appealing to a large and vibrant audience. Over the past several years, however, the popularity of contemporary music on the AM band has diminished, and we find ourselves in a situation that requires a change. Effective immediately, CFTR will become known as 680 News, providing Toronto with an innovative information service that has never been available in this city or in this country before. In the next few months, you'll become aware of how the new 680 News will work for you, and I'm confident it'll soon become part of your day. It's been a fabulous 22 years, and on behalf of the entire staff of CFTR,

thank you for your generous support over the years. I'm sure the next 22 will prove to be just as exciting and challenging. But for now, this chapter has ended and it's time to move on. Farewell to the old, hello to the news. This is 680 News. Good morning, it's 14 degrees at 6 o'clock on this Monday, June 7th. I'm Dick Smythe, and here's what's happening. There will be normal GO Transit service this morning. Service on the weekend was normal as well. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, one week left in power,

said farewell at Baycombe of Quebec last night. Canada's first all-news radio station is on the air, all news, all the time. After a Sunday of meetings, Premier Bob Ray says that his goal remains the same, to trim $2 billion from provincial expenditures. Morning showers, then sunny and warm. More rain forecast

for tonight. I'm Peter Gross in sports. Jack Morris was himself yesterday. Unfortunately, pickups set in the French Open and a miracle finish in men's golf. This is John Hinnon with business. The Nikkei is down 38 points. Gold is down $2, and the bank rate is expected to increase tomorrow.

Now traffic and weather every 10 minutes on the ones. First, the check of 680 News Cantel traffic. Here's Russ Holden. Thank you, Nick. Good morning. Traffic around Metro just starting to fill in. Roads are a little bit wet, some light rain persisting, and as a result, roads could be a little bit slippery, but no problems to tell you about so far.

Accident-free TTC routes, they're all just beginning to build. Reasonable start to the morning, and we'll have another update in 10 minutes. A disturbance passing southern Ontario is bringing cloudy skies and a chance of showers this morning, about a 30% chance. That disturbance will pass through the area quite quickly. Following that, we'll have a mix of sun and clouds for the rest of the day. Winds will be light today and a high of 24 degrees as expected. That's two degrees above normal. This evening, an overnight cloud on the increase.

There is a rain beginning just before dawn, overnight low of 14 degrees. I'm Michelle Skinner from the Weather Network for 680 News. Paul, what's your reaction hearing that? Well, that's the first day of 680 News. And what a day it was. And you look at the station now all these years later and you think, wow. I mean, it was on a wing and a prayer back then. They didn't really know for sure that it was going to be as commercially successful as it turned out to be.

It's been constantly the number one or two billing radio station in the country for a couple of decades now at least. Who does it share that? Because you go one or two. What's the other station? Well, you know, it varies. Often it's been CHFI, the sister station. So, I mean, you know, the Rogers entities are, you know, doing very well. Wow. But hearing Dick Smythe there, wow.

I was going to ask, yeah. I mean, you know, he's, he's the first news anchor of this radio station and, and always will be. I mean, you know, I can put in as many years as I want,

but, but the impact that Dick Smythe made on Toronto, I mean, the guy's a pioneer. I mean, he, he, he basically,

uh, you know, drew up the playbook for, for what it's like to be a morning news guy. Right. So, uh, you know,

just, uh, incredibly honored to have, have followed in his footsteps and, and hearing Sandy Sanderson there, he was, he was the voice and Sandy and John Hinnon. Yeah.

Those are two guys that are very responsible for, you know, tapping me on the shoulder and, and giving me the, the career of a lifetime. I mean, you know, 680 news has,

has defined my career. I don't know whether you know this or not, Mike, but, but Steffi and I were actually put together as a team to audition for the dual anchor role that they started to create. Because the station, when it first launched,

was 20 minutes of news every 20 minutes. And they had three anchors. Dick Smythe, Evelyn Macko, and I think Marianne Summers. And then later on, it evolved into a three-half-hour newscast. And then they decided, you know what? We should probably go to a dual-anchor newscast. And this was around the time when Dick was retiring. And so they had Marlene Oliver and Ken Cassavoy.

Do you remember Ken from CKO? No. Okay, anyway, so Ken was from CKO back in the day, and Marlene, legendary from CFRB. And they had them do a demo. And then Steffi and I were working on a demo. And we studied a lot of the US formats, WCBS, WINS New York.

And we thought, okay, let's kind of do it that way. And we played it for some of our colleagues and they went, oh, this is amazing stuff. This is really good, but they're not going to pick you. And sure enough, they picked Marlene and Ken. And that was okay. You know, I still had a good job. You guys lack chemistry, clearly. Yeah, exactly.

So I was doing morning news on the Don Daynard drive-in with Aaron Davis and Don Daynard, so I wasn't that upset about it. I thought it would have been cool. And then it turned out Ken Cassavoy couldn't make the deadline for launch. So they said, Ken, you're out. Cook, you're in.

So Marlene Oliver with Paul Cook. Listen, I love these details. Steph must have warned you, you've got to bring some stories, you've got to entertain me. Those are classics. No, Jean, those are great. And literally sprinkle those throughout this conversation because I love it.

But I got to get to Jean Valaitis' question here. He's waiting there. I can see him in Vancouver listening. He's like, Mike, you introduced my question. Where the heck is it? Jean writes in, when my pal, Paul Cook, and I'm going to pause and interject. Do you consider gene volitis a friend absolutely okay then i'll accept that's an appropriate use of pal okay something they call

people pal and it's like i wouldn't go to coffee for coffee with you okay when my pal paul cook comes in you should ask him about the time when paul and i decided to run the new york city marathon we trained for 10 months and completed the race. Then we ran the Toronto Marathon. Paul was a much better runner than me, but we had so much fun training and celebrating in New York City. He's also a rabid Leafs fan like me.

You ran a marathon. Or two. Tell me about this. I actually ran eight marathons. I have the knees to prove it, but we talked earlier about being a smoker. It's not OCD or anything. One of the ways, you know, I quit smoking was by running marathons. I mean, I got into that with Jean.

And the New York marathon was epic with Jean. That city celebrates a marathon. I mean, in Toronto, you remember Rob Ford, when he was mayor, wanted to put the marathons in the parks? Like, nobody would ever show up for a marathon like that running laps of a park. But in new york you run through all five boroughs and then and everybody's cheering you on you run up first avenue and at all the cafes they're

applauding and that night well you have a medal after you finish and that night when you go out on the town you do not buy a drink they celebrate you right jean and i ran at one of the toronto marathons and he was injured as i recall and we were running it very slowly very slowly. I said, I'm going to run this with you, pal. I'm going to stay with you. And so we finished together. But by the time we were hitting some of the markers on the route, they'd taken them away.

We didn't, people got lost, right? It was crazy. We were running amidst traffic and stuff. And people were honking on the horns, giving us hell, but we made it ultimately. Well, that's a good question. My question about these city marathons, like does the Like, when

does a marathon end? Does it end when the last competitor crosses the finish line? Because there's always going to be that person who literally takes like, you know, eight hours or whatever, nine hours. Like, what? Do the officials stay until the last person crosses the finish line? Usually they do, yeah. Of course, they have to. I mean, it's,

they're responsible ultimately for those people, unless you're running them in, you know, in the Caribbean. Like, I ran one. Where did, they're responsible ultimately for those people unless you're running them in the Caribbean like I ran one. Where did you run one in the Caribbean? I ran one in Barbados. It was actually a half marathon. And I was lapped by the guys who were running the full marathon and I was dying in the heat. And there were no water stations for me

because it's on island time and everything, right? And so some people didn't show up and whatever. Anyway, I'm running along, coming into Bridgetown in Barbados. And all of a sudden i'm getting the kenyans are passing right they've lapped me they've they're running a whole marathon i'm only running a half and there was this bayesian gentleman and he saw he saw this big fat white pasty guy in the midst of all these twig black guys from just running along and he's like he just run fat man run it just it made me laugh so hard. It actually carried me over

the finish line. Beautiful. I actually have a clip that when Scott Metcalf heard that you were making your Toronto Mike debut, Paul, and what took so long? It's been 11 years. Finally, Paul Cook on Toronto. I feel like this should have happened a long time ago. But that's not to say I'm not glad you're here now. There he is.

You're welcome. Here's a little bit of Paul Cook on 680 News. 680 News time, 603. If it were 15 years ago and we were still all hits radio CFTR, this winter, this would be our number

one hit. Yes, the 680 Storm Center theme. PTSD. Our Jamie Pulper is here live with the latest delays and cancellations. Jamie. Well, Paul 680 Storm Center theme. PTSD. Our Jamie Palfrey is here live with the latest delays and cancellations. Jamie. Well, Paul, this Storm Center is bigger than Britney Spears. This Storm Center update brought to you by your Ontario Subaru dealers. That's big, everybody.

Okay, there you go. A little bit of Paul Cook and the Storm Center, the famous Storm Center music. That's the beauty of that station. It's useful. I'm proud to work for it. It helps people every day, traffic and weather, you know, it's useful, just being useful,

getting people to work on time. Yeah. What happened in the pandemic when there were less people on the road? Is this the enemy of 680 News when you have empty streets? Well, you know, it certainly, it didn't help the morning show ratings.

Let's put it that way. I can imagine. Because people were staying home and they weren't going to work as early in the morning. We did have tremendous ratings in the middays. And, you know, when we were covering all the Doug Ford news conferences and the need to know information that was out there. And you were either listening to 680 News for that or you were watching CP24 and Stephanie Smythe for those updates. Are we back to pre-pandemic mornings now? Like everything, or like, have you noticed that

it's still some people, you know, being lazy in the morning because maybe they work from home and they don't have that drive that they had pre-pandemic? Have you noticed the difference? Well, the other issue too is people haven't returned to the downtown and they haven't returned to transit in the same ways.

So if they are driving, if they are getting around to work and commuting, they're often in cars now. So, I mean, you know what it's like, Mike, or maybe you don't, because you're always on your bike. I am always on my bike. But this is why I'm so at peace with the world, because I'm never stuck in traffic. Well, traffic is still bonkers. Yeah, it's insane. And that's job security for 680 News, right? Well, City News 680, I should say. Right. All that branding. So did it take any time to get used to the new branding? Oh, there were a few times where, you know, we just had to wrap our heads around.

We were so used to saying 680 News Time 1001, you know, and it became City News Time 1001. So that was, we all had signs up all over the place. I can imagine. The Sharpies were out, you know, that kind of stuff. And now it's just intrinsic. Well, now you've adapted. Yeah. Because you're a pro. Well, you know. They do pay you, right? And then under that kind of stuff. And now it's just intrinsic. Well, now you've adapted. Yeah.

Because you're a pro. Well, they do pay you, right? And then under that concept of being paid, yes, I'm a professional. I also have a clip of Stephanie. And I have some specific questions for Stephanie before we get back to the ongoing history of Paul Cook. Here, let's listen. I think it was something like, pack your underwear and get moving.

It was just no question. We couldn't not be there. And we didn't know how or what or, you know, exactly what was going to unfold when they got there. But it didn't matter. They just had to get on the road. And they were amazing, right? Just getting on the move and getting there and getting that perspective that we had to have. So it never really was a question of if it's just how and get moving, you know, and we'll

figure it out as we go. And thankfully, they were two absolute pros. So you, Stephanie, are talking about 9-11. 9-11, Kevin Meisner and Karl Hanski. And, you know, this is after the planes have hit the twin towers and it's just insane everybody's wondering what's happened to the world we knew that was the epicenter of everything at that moment in time and it was just as i said it was a time that changed absolutely everything in the way we reported editorially and how we covered stories 680 news had to be there

and with kevin and and carl you know um they they very you know they took the orders really well and got their underwear and got on the road you know they were amazing and it was such a trying time but having them there just added a perspective, you know, sadly we had to have, but did it exceptionally well. You can live to be 300 years old, Steph, and that may be the answer when people ask, what is the most significant news story that you covered, 9-11? Absolutely. I think that changed our world as we knew it. And so many ways from, as I was saying, editorially, and then, you you look you look through before that i guess you know we had the death of diana which was it seemed huge at the time huge in 1997 right and then here we get this whiplash perspective on life where you know you're

wondering what's going to happen to our planet now right what? What's going on? And it was just such a frightening time to watch that unfold, figure out how. And it wasn't unlike COVID in a sense that, because you had the tragedy of 9-11 and the world implications, so you're living it as a human being, you're feeling the fear, you're working it as a journalist, then you know everything's still unfolding and that's the same as covid completely that we lived it we worked it we all experienced it and that's very very different than diana's death was huge obviously a world huge story but it wasn't this of the epic proportion everything seems dwarfed after 9-11 and after COVID. Absolutely.

Well, Paul, yeah, so you're on the air 9-11. You're on the air. Like, tell me timelines. Are you on the air when the plane hits the World Trade Center? We were on air for everything, for both planes hitting the towers and then both towers collapsing. So tell me, I've had Evelyn Macko on the show and she talks about 9-11 in great detail.

And it's fascinating for you folks that were on the air in she talks about, you know, 9-11 in, in great detail. And it's, it's fascinating for you folks that were on the air in the city when it happens. Like, what do you remember? Tell me what you remember about that, that morning. You just remember thinking how, how widespread is this? Is this, is this coming home as well? Is this coming here? Is it, is it coming to Toronto? And, and, and what are my children doing right now? And that kind of thing, right? That's what really hits you. And obviously you're gobsmacked that you've just watched these buildings collapse and you know how many lives are impacted by that. I mean, it's horrifying.

And you just have to stick with facts. I remember that's all you kind of have to, let's just say what we're seeing, you know, it's only, we're only going to go, we're only going to talk about what we know and what is happening and not what we think this might be. Right. I mean, there were all kinds of predictions, some, some hot takes.

I mean, I can't even imagine if Twitter was the same back then as it is now. Do you have any memory? Because I remember listening, of course, that was listening to a lot of news that morning and the big fear of what is next, that was overwhelming.

Like, will it come here? I know they sent people home working downtown. I think out of solidarity, I think the CN Tower closed down or something. But you're like, okay, what's next?

But do you remember anything making the airwaves that turned out to be untrue? Like, I know there was some pretty good sources on another, something in California, I want to say, like another plane, and it turned out that this was not true. But do you remember anything making the airwaves

that you later learned was actually? I don't have any recollection of putting anything on the air that wasn't in fact true. Okay, good. I mean, it did happen to some very reputable news outlets. So it was a chaotic morning. I'm not saying it didn't happen,

but I certainly have no recollection of it happening. When you go through a story like that and you're live, you do your very best with the experts that work around you to cull very carefully that information, not invoke more panic or fear, but try to get the information as correct as possible. And that's, like I said, that's your team around you

helping as well when you're live on air. You give as much attribution as you can. And the other thing, we had to rely, obviously, on a lot of AMNET, American Network Coverage.

Sure. So, I mean, you know, things might have come out from ABC and CNN and the Associated Press. Those were our three primary sources. Now, do you remember the transition? So the news, it was news, of course, that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

This is the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. And this is news. And I remember driving to where I was working in Thornhill and I had a car and a commute and I was listening to the news and I was hearing about this plane. And my brain was envisioning like a Cessna. Okay, this is how I was envisioning it. Like, do you remember the switch from basically like, uh,

we don't know much right now. We just know a plane has hit the world trade center to when the second plane hits and now it's clear there's a coordinated attack. Yeah. I certainly, you know what I certainly remember is, is seeing a plane go into the towers live thinking that it was a reroll of tape.

Right. And it was like, Oh my God, that just happened. That that's the other building. And that, that was the big shocker. But the thing about, I really did think it was a little plane. of tape. Right. And it was like, oh my God, that just happened. That's the other building. And that was the big shocker. But the thing about, I really did think

it was a little plane. I was thinking, remember like the New York Yankees catcher, Thurman Munson or whatever, didn't he crash a plane? No, wasn't it a pitcher? I feel like a New York Yankee pitcher.

I don't think Munson was a whole different plane crash. I thought Munson was a catcher. So maybe there was a pitcher. You're right. And maybe he was even a former Blue Jay because I actually remember this news too.

But this former Blue Jay who was with the Yankees was flying like a Cessna and flew it into the... Did he hit a building? He hit the statue. No, not the statue. What's the other one called? What's the other famous New York building? Not the Empire State Building? The Empire State Building.

No, really? Some plane. Okay, yeah. I'll Google it while we chat here. You can look that up. I will, because it's funny how your memory conflates things. So Munson did die in a plane crash,

and he was the pilot, but maybe he didn't hit a building. I'm not sure where we are. Was Munson the pilot? Okay, you're about to be right, but yeah, I'm going to look up the, okay, there was, something happened recently.

It'll come to me, but beyond the, obviously there's a famous crash into the Empire State Building from 1945. But we're talking about something in like early 2000s or something. But it was a picture. And maybe you hit a different building. But yeah, so that's what you're envisioning. The last thing you're thinking in your mind is that it was a jetliner.

Absolutely, no. What a day. What a day. Is there any effects from that time? Because it's not just a one-day reporting, right? Of course, it's many, many, many weeks of like 9-11 reporting. But do any effects stick with you today? Like, I don't want to call it PTSD.

That's an actual diagnosis. But do you have any lingering effects from having to cover 9-11? I have to say, I mean, I can't say that I do in the same way. I'm not even in the same league as Karl Hanski and Kevin Meisner. The two guys that went down there and were on the ground and had trouble breathing and the people they talked to, the grief stricken family members, and they were there. Did we have them there for a week? Do you remember, Steffi? I don't remember. Easily. And I'm sure Carl will talk about it with you when he's on tomorrow. But I think Paul's right that obviously covering these kinds of stories is huge, but to be there on the ground in this kind of an event is very, very different.

So, you know, we consider ourselves really fortunate that you can be in a safe studio for this kind of thing. Meanwhile, you know, when you're on scene, it's very different. All right. Now we're conflating lots of stories here. Because what I'm thinking about is the Yankees pitcher I'm thinking of is Corey Little. He did play with the Jays, right? He did play with the Jays. Absolutely. And his plane crash was on October 11th, 2006.

And it was into the Bel Air Apartments Complex at 524 East 72nd Street on New York's Upper East Side. So yeah, lots of stories flying around. But without a doubt, we all had the same vision, I think, when we heard a plane hit the World Trade Center. You know what's really interesting, if I can add this, Mike, I don't know if I spoke about this before, but on 9-11, it just so happened that Rogers had an internal crew that came in to shoot the 680 newsroom that day.

It just did sort of a day in the life for internal promotional purposes yeah they happened to catch the coverage of 9-11 on air by paul and by marlene and other people in the newsroom at the time and uh that footage has since been used for a documentary by the passion for the passionate eye cBC's documentary series. So if anybody ever wants to check it out, you can see the Passionate Eye and 9-11. That's amazing. Yeah. It was just unbelievable that they were there.

And you can see how Paul reacted, and Marlene, and the whole newsroom. We had Steffi's sister on the air that day from New York as well. Her husband was over in Brooklyn and couldn't get back home. They lived there at the time, yeah. Wow.

Yeah. Wow, okay. So he had other worries there too, you know, family members and stuff. There's all kinds of, you know, elements to a story that can impact personally. So those clips I played, courtesy of Scott Metcalf. Thanks, Scott. He actually gave me some context

and I forgot he gave me this, so my apologies, Scott, but I'm going to give a little context in those clips. Now, I probably should have done it before I played the clips, but Scott goes, these clips are from the podcast uh city news 680 30 years in the rearview mirror and he says after cftr made the move away from music and rock and roll paul cook has been the rock that keeps 680 news rolling paul will roll his eyes at that comment i think i didn't see that yet because he's also modest but but simply put, he is world class. And he wanted me to share.

That was an example of your creative writing and on-air presentation. And that clip was from 2008. Stephanie, this is good news for you. You are also world class, according to Scott Metcalf. So I have two world class individuals in my basement right now. I sure do miss watching her on CP24. Stephanie was the news director during 9-11 in 2001, and just minutes after the planes hit the Twin Towers,

reporters Carl Hansky and Kevin Meisner were sent to New York City. On the 680 News 30th Anniversary Podcast, Stephanie talked about what was involved in making the decision to send them immediately. Stephanie, big moment here. People are waiting for this. I think I made them wait long enough, but he misses you on CP24. Many people have told me, I miss Stephanie Smythe on CP24. How long were you at CP24? I was there for 14 years and well,

14 and a half years, I guess, almost 15 years. Let's round that up to 15. It's a nice round number. Okay. I like that. A long time. And how long were you at 680? 10 years. See, you don't go for cups of coffee. You stick around. Okay. I like that. Okay. Please tell us, I will shut up and listen. That is my role here. But why are you no longer on CP24? I am no longer on CP24 because it was time. It was time to move on. It was time to leave and explore other options and, you know, take on new challenges, explore other options and, you know, take on new challenges, have new opportunities, and, you know, live a different kind of life that allows me a ton of freedom and a lot of challenge in a new way.

So it was just time. So how does this come to be for us, you know, people who don't work in the industry? Like, is there a moment where you, you go to cp20 bell media and just say hey i think it's time i not be on your airwaves and maybe you should stop sending me money you look back and you know what you look back you go it's almost 15 years of that i look back on as an amazing opportunity right an incredible right? An incredible station that I felt the same love for as 680 News, right? I had that same drive and passion for it. It was so much like 680 only it was on television. How lucky am I? And I was there during a really golden age like it where, you know, there'd been the buyout with Bell and Rogers and, you know, Rogers kept Citi and Bell kept CP24. And, you know, that was exciting to see that whole split happen, being a part of that.

That was a very confusing split. It was so confusing. It was really hard for everybody, you know, especially the Citi people who loved CP24 so much. It was painful for them. And to see new people come in like me for Bell, it was really hard. And then to establish, you know, a whole new meaning to CP24. And that's where my experience at 680, I was so lucky to have was a benefit for CP24. And it was just years of building again, like rebuilding from the beginning. And I joined 680 News about two weeks after that launch that you played.

And John Hinnon hired me in 1993. I was five months pregnant. And after Scott Metcalf had hired me at CJCL 1430, which is where I was, or The Fan, right? So that's a whole bunch of, you know, that's other history. So yeah, there's The Fan, Sports Radio, 1430. Yeah, that's where I worked. I've got all the notes in here about you.

Yeah, that was so fun. So anyway, John had hired me at 680 two weeks after the launch. I was pregnant with my first child, five months. So anyway, here we go. Fast forward to CP24, and it was the same experience. And there was a real drive and determination there with a great team to make CP24 part of the tapestry of the city like 680 News was. And that was so joyous and amazing to watch.

And, you know, you saw how it grew and how it just, you know, the breaking news position that I took on as the breaking news anchor, managing editor, five o'clock anchor, you know, doing all the specials. Like the last one I did was the June election where Premier premier ford was elected a second time last a year ago last june uh and then covid struck and uh wow right you talk about 9-11 and here's covid and another story that we are living and breathing endlessly day after day after day and i think that stuff, as amazing as it was as a news story, we were so proud of what we did and to be a part of it. I think that, you know, you talk about burnout, you talk about things that happen to your soul when you work and live through a story like that over time, it's hard and exhausting. You were working evenings and weekends and you were called and you were always the last resort.

You were doing double shifts whenever anybody called in sick, people getting COVID once, two, even three times. You did seem to be on the airwaves often. It was a lot. And you know, like anything, the way I operate is I give everything I can. Like I love it. And I have high expectations for myself and I have high expectations for others.

Tell me about it. Yes. And so it was exhausting, you know, after like post-COVID letdown, right? Exhausting. And I couldn't see anything else that I could really feel the same about ever again. You know, with that same kind of passion and drive and determination.

In a new sense, right? It was like I'd faced so much. And it was enough. And it was time. Did COVID, was COVID possibly an accelerant here in the, uh, maybe, uh, maybe a little burnout. I absolutely think that COVID was an accelerant, not just for me, but for everyone in so many different ways. And we're looking at the fallout to this day, right? I had it twice. Um, you know, we worked as hard as we could to get through it all you know as much as we could

and you know that was amazing and all the ins and outs of of keeping a newsroom on track when you've got covid was just absolutely exhausting our family room was like a tv studio yeah and you know i was trying to watch the masters for crying out loud what are you gonna do it right now during that yeah so and it's like the team, the management team at CB24 was incredible. Like it was just, you know, the stuff that had to be done, the friends there, the work that they did, you know, it wasn't just me. It took all and it took everything.

So it was exhausting. And yeah, after that, there's burnout for sure. And then the backlash from, you know, some viewers. Not everybody wanted the information anymore people were sick of it so demoralizing just you know i can imagine uh yeah the whole um conversation about covid and vaccines and you know that stuff was just exhausting and to to you know fake news that killed me um to hear that all the time and always be questioned and you know sneered at uh you know as journalists so that was that was tough that's not to say that you know i don't

love still and have a passion for cp24 like do you still watch cp24 sure of course well you never know sometimes people leave places after 14 years and it's like that's the last place they're going to tune in well we're sort of wired that way we've always been a news family right it's just it's always on um you know always reliable still you know great work being done there so 100 100 i just you know i'll be at home at five o'clock and go wow i can't believe i'm home this is just you know i can see paul for more than you know two minutes a day. I'm suddenly free at five and 5.30. I don't have to watch live at five

or live at 5.30 all the time. Well, I'm about to find out what time Paul's alarm goes off in the morning because that's always a question I have. Stupid o'clock. Stupid o'clock. Before I get there, so, and again,

pardon me for, you know, you've told your story, but it's, you know, there's so few jobs like that in Canada and you had one and it just, it's so unusual for somebody to just say it's time. It's just, I'm just, I'm just surprised because it's in your blood. It's your passion. I know, but you know what? It's just, there is, and look, I'm no spring chicken too. Like I'm 59 and, but that doesn't mean that you don't have another life in you to do things. And now I have such exciting projects that I'm working on as a consultant and

working in politics was such a laugh. I could never do that before. Okay. Let's transition. So let's segue to that because I want to know what you thought of Brad Bradford's Toronto Mike. I thought it was fantastic. Like Brad,

everybody should have heard your conversation with Brad because he's such a personable guy. So, you know, passionate about the city. He loves it. He's pragmatic. He's brilliant. And he's a cyclist. He's a cyclist. He's all kinds of things that i think you know would have served

toronto very well and he still is serving toronto very well in his riding and you know i was really proud to work with brad to to do what i could for him so tell us what did you do for brad bradford in this recent mayoral uh campaign well part of part of the new me is being in media relations consulting and communications. And, you know, I think kind of who better? Because, you know, I might have been around the block a bit in Toronto when it comes to media and information. And, you know, so what that entails is, you know, you're dealing with all the media requests and working in conjunction with the comms team for issues management. requests and working in conjunction with comms team for issues management um you know keeping the team up to date on what's going on in the city what issues might be of concern to brad and the campaign and how to navigate and uh you know other brilliant people on the on the team

as well so it was a really cool experience to see a campaign from the other side which i've never been able to do and i love that experience Really impressed by the smarty pants people, but to put it in kind of a fun way, but really bright people working in politics. And I respect so much what they all do. And Brad, especially for his dedication to Toronto. And I could really relate to that. Well, your dedication too.

I mean, we were on vacation, Mike, in Florida and she was still working. Steffi was still working the campaign. You were up every morning giving them the brief from Florida on what was happening in Toronto. Yeah, they had their own, you know, privatized newscast from me every morning. So that was really fun. And it spoke to, you know, how you can take what you've done in your career and really use it.

And so you don't realize all the time, you know, all the different things that are transferable. And politics is the closest to news, right? It is so close. Because if you're dealing with, you know, you've got to make decisions on the fly, like you're going to prep for a debate, you've got to answer these questions, you've got to be on for everything. So, so you know it was just a real thrill to be a part of that i thoroughly enjoyed my chat with brad bradford i really enjoyed it and i was wondering just so on my show at least and i'm a little biased here because you know i host this program but it's a lot of bias maybe but i thought the brad i talked to for like unedited for an hour or so was a very likable chap. But in the other world, I don't think it was as obvious if you watch the debates and you heard like the sound bites and the clips on Brad Bradford. He didn't come across quite as likable as he did when he

had time to talk. And this, you know what, that just highlights how difficult it is to get the messaging correct and the kind of work that you need to do to, like, cause he's very passionate about things and passion can be mistook for, you know, maybe he's too, you know, a mad brat or he's not, you know, his, his, he was so juxtaposed by Olivia Chow, right? Right. It was, it showed off in, you know, it was seemingly more glaring, but I can tell you that everything is so well-intentioned by him and he's very passionate and dedicated to it. You know, I think that that explains just how it looks different. And it's in soundbites aren't the same as a long form interview.

Yeah, when there's Brad on the stage and there's Brad sitting there talking to Mike where they've cracked a couple of pints, I think, as I recall listening to that. He loves his Great Lakes beer. Shout out to Great Lakes beer. You know, it makes me think about politics. It makes me think about, okay, what really makes sense here, you know, in terms of getting to know candidates? Are debates the best way to go? I mean, what other options are there? I love the long form, I think,

because that's how you really get to know somebody. But in this day and age, because, you know, I'm outside the mainstream media here, right? So it's like there's really very little opportunity in mainstream media for Brad Bradford to get more than, I don't know, three to five minutes. But you look, there's podcasts all over the place. You know, CBC does them, everybody does them,

and people are turning to podcasts more and more because they're just not getting, you know, getting what they need out of the mainstream. I hate using mainstream, by the way, by, you know, traditional news media because it's just contracting. And this is the other thing. So you see the writing on the wall

when 1,300 people are let go by a company in news, right? That is devastating to see, you know, so many changes at Bell. And they're not alone. It's going to happen to other companies. It's just a matter of time. And that upsets me a lot, seeing the writing on the wall for what's coming up. Like I envision a day soon, just speaking to Bell Media, we won't trash Rogers,

while the great Paul Cook is here in the basement here, but just speaking about Bell Media, that, you know, you have your 1010, which already has no newsroom anymore, but in 1010, CP24, CTV Toronto, like it's all one, it's all going to be one pipe, right? Like it's maybe they'll have editorial slants

or whatever that different, but it's all going to be one team. and that's what has to happen but not that long ago that was three different teams i know i know and i guess what you think when you hear that is okay what does this mean when you look at the cbc like how important that is if this is what's happening in private media right right the companies can't afford it anymore thankfully you know 680 news is highly successful where it matters thanks to paul cook yeah on an incredible team i mean we've got a lot of people on the street and hopefully right hopefully cp24 as well because so much great work still being done but But, you know, create or protecting the CBC is, you know, in my mind, I wonder,

is that more important than ever so those voices can be heard? Well, you know, the leader of the opposition, Pierre Polyev, who hopes to be prime minister soon, he would defund the CBC. Well, look, that's low hanging fruit. That's easy stuff. But, you know, C18, look at what you're not reading already. Look at what you're not reading already look at what you know it's just a matter of where are you going to get your information then if if you don't fund the cbc if there's contraction in private industry so what you're going to rely on on you know on um you know sources that are unproven online on Twitter,

or shall I say X, or, you know? Let's call it Twitter. I don't know. You either trust journalists or you don't. Many don't thank you very much to Donald Trump, et cetera. But you have to have trust and faith in something. And the people that we worked with over the years, I think Paul can say the same.

We've never had undue influence from any kind of overlord, whether it's Justin Trudeau or Bell Media or Rogers, or that hasn't been the experience ever. And people take very seriously journalism. Ted Rogers never stepped a foot in the newsroom and maybe walked by with a tour to show people. Same with Edward. Well, that's allowed.

But they've never come in and demanded anything ever. And there might have been an instance or two at Bell, but that was quickly, swiftly corrected. That was a number of years ago. So I won't get into that. No, I do remember that. Yes, I know he was sent to the States. Yeah, and so dealt with.

Boom. Right? So anyway, you know, dealt with, boom, right? So anyway, that's just my little rant about protecting journalism and private. Both private and public, right? Yes, yes. I mean, we need both. Absolutely, we need both, but it frightens me when I see the contraction happening right now, the layoffs, et cetera, and I feel very bad about that. And I think that, you know, this is where I look at where I am now,

and maybe I can make a difference somehow down the road that way. Okay, so before we close, I got to get back to Paul. He almost fell asleep here. Oh my goodness. You didn't notice that, did you? You woke up very early.

Wait, did I just... Did I hit the microphone or what? Are you saying I just put you to sleep with my little rant? Not at all. That's the first time, right? Okay. So my question, obviously,

I said I liked Brad Bradford and I enjoyed our hour conversation, but I was very little help when it came to voting day. But I'm curious, were you disappointed in the number of votes Brad Bradford got in this election? Well, you are, but you see what happened, right? Like he, John Tory steps in, says go for Anna Bailao, and suddenly any vote that was going for Brad was gone. Like it was just, it evaporated, right?

But prior to that, because that was, yes, that was very interesting. Like Anna Bailao came over here, I think, just shortly after that. Yeah, after Brad. We gave her a great idea, didn't we? That is literally what happened. So credit to you, because I should say,

Stephanie Smythe is the reason Brad Bradford came on Toronto Mic'd, and I did say any candidate that was, not any candidate, there's 102 of them. But if you were, I would say like a top 10 candidate, I would definitely have given you an hour. And Anna Bailao's people basically said, would you give, would you chat with Anna for an hour? And again, I said I would. She was a top 10 candidate.

And I enjoyed that conversation as well. Although I don't think Anna Bailao cracked a Great Lakes beer. But that's okay. You don't have to crack a Great Lakes beer. And neither does Paul. No, Paul, if you want one, I could get you one. I might have one later. Okay, I'm going to send you home. So I will send you guys home. Real quick, I'm going to send you home a Great Lakes

beer and I have a frozen lasagna. You can have more than, yeah, have a couple. I have a frozen lasagna for you from Palma Pasta. Stephanie, did you get a lasagna last for you from palma pasta stephanie did you get a lasagna last time you were here uh i i can't remember it was a long time you offered it to me for sure oh you might have said oh you don't eat lasagna no my journalistic integrity is like i can't take that really because the politicians are taking it brad took it well i'm not a journalist

anymore so i'll take it this time i think you could have taken it anyways uh i think there might be a i know i asked politicians oh, you're allowed to take it? They're like, oh yeah, up to... I don't remember the number. Up to $150 or something. Consumables, usually. Right. I can tell you every politician on this show has left taking their lasagna. So if you give the beers to Steffi

and she gives them to me, that's still ethical, right? I think it's all good here. It's all good here. I have no allegiance to Rogers, Bell, any of these outfits, chorus, anybody. Okay. So we're going to, so Brad Bradford got,

I think less than 1% of the vote. And you're suggesting that any, anyone but Chow vote, I don't know what to call that, but I know that Mark Saunders was trying to get that. That ABC vote. It all went to Anna, you're saying, because of this endorsement from John Tory.

Yeah. And that was really tough for Brad I'll bet because I bet you Brad thought either no one's getting it or that maybe Brad would get it there was a surprise that Brad didn't get the endorsement I think there was the belief that nobody was going to get it did Tory screw Brad on this one? you'd have to ask Brad or maybe some of his campaign manager who might have been quoted in the paper about it.

So I'm going to stay out of that conversation. You're going to tap out of that. But look, Toronto is now, you know, Olivia Chow is running the city now. And clearly this is the mood and the temperament and the direction that the people of Toronto wanted, despite the voter turnout not being so great. But, you know, here we are and you move

forward and i know that brad does nothing but wish olivia chow the very best and and she's picked her team on city hall and uh away they go and we just wait and see and 2026 isn't that far away okay good luck to brad bradford in the next oh we don't even know if he's going to run again actually so we're jumping the ship there but well brad will come back on and we'll find out if he's running again here. Okay. So I do. Oh, I have Google talking to me over here. Go away, Google.

Okay. So you do get your large lasagna from Palma Pasta. I want to let the listenership know that I have an event, a free event at Great Lakes Brewery in Southern Etobicoke. It's taking place September 7th. This is a Thursday night from 6 to 9 p.m. And Palma Pasta will feed us all. And Great Lakes will buy you your first beer.

And it's really just a bunch of FOTMs getting together. A lot of people you know and love. I was just talking to Lorne Honickman. Oh, right. He says he's going to be there. Nice. Okay, Peter Gross. The second voice you hear on All News 680 there.

That's right. The second voice. That's a great in you know we've sadly lost dick smythe so the uh people alive today peter gross is the first voice that you hear he's going to be at tmlx uh 13 so everybody come out for that for your beer and your pasta i have a measuring tape here courtesy of ridley funeral home if brad jones is in town he promises he's going to be at TMLX 13. So everybody come out to that. You're all invited. It's a free event. I have another

event I just want to tell you guys about. And then I got to get back to Paul Cook, find out what time his alarm goes off in the morning. I can't wait to find out. But I do want to tell everyone that Getting Hip to the Hip is an event on September 1st, and it's downtown. And you can save 10% right now if you go to gettinghiptothehip.com and you use the promo code F-O-T-M-10. That's a great event. They just added Sean Cullen to that event, and there's a Tragically Hip cover band,

and they're going to do a recording of Getting Hip to the Hip. So definitely check that out. It's at the Rec Room, 7.30 p.m. on September 1st. Gettinghiptothehip.com. And Pumpkins After Dark, the award-winning Halloween event, is back in Milton, Ontario,

September 23rd to October 31st. But if you buy your tickets in August, you can save 15% of the promo code TOMIKE15. This is an awesome event. Get your tickets to pumpkins after dark. They're going fast. Save that 15% Tio, Mike 15.

What time do you, Mr. Cook wake up in the morning so that you can be on the air. And I'm going to tell people the, I know you're right here. I could just ask you, but I'm going to tell this is a, I find this to be a very,

very early morning for you. You're on the air from 5.30 a.m. until 9.30 a.m.? Yes, that is correct. You must be exhausted. That's why you're dozing off. Okay. Well, no, I'm not dozing off. I know.

He sees your eyes glazing over to me. When I was talking. I'm goofing. No, I just, man, you've got nothing. Commercial radio, whoa. It's like, whoa, you've got more ads here than. I know, right? But do you notice how I bake them into the programming?

I don't like the ad breaks. I don't like it when you, we're going to go away now. You're going to listen to a few minutes of ads and then we're going to come back. I wish you guys did that too. Like you guys do. But the beauty of City News 680 is that you're only going to go 60 seconds max until you get more news, more information, right? Right.

Okay. So you don't go on those four-minute adverts. What did we go on? How long was that? That was like a Howard Stern break when he used to be on Q107. No, I'm kidding you. No, it's great how you do it. Well, that's a compliment to the great Howard Stern here.

3 a.m. is the answer to your question. What time do you go to bed so that you can be up at 3 a.m.? I try to live a normal life. I'm a big sports fan, so I'm the answer to your question. What time do you go to bed so that you can be up at 3am? I try to live a normal life. I, I'm a big sports fan. So I'm watching the Blue Jays. I'm watching the Leafs. I curl sometimes during the week. So.

You're a curler. Yeah. I'm, I'm a big napper. Um, two hours, sometimes three hours. What time would be a typical nap for Paul Curler? Uh, 12 till three. Something like that. So this is messing you up.

This, uh, this Toronto Mike appearance. It's going to screw you up. Well, we'll have to see him tomorrow morning. Tune in. Tune in tomorrow, 5.30 a.m. Depends on how late the Jays game goes tonight.

I can't handle another extra innings game. Well, you know what's terrible is I find the playoff game seems to start at 8 o'clock, like a playoff game. Oh, that's a killer. And yeah, like it's like

sometimes it's midnight or something. Well, the year the Raptors were in the playoffs, 2019, that was, that was absolute torture. And then we, we, we, um, we were cheering for the St. Louis Blues that year after the Leafs were

out of it. Cause Steffi's friend's son is Jordy Bennington. So we were, uh, we're St. Louis Blues groupies. So we were, we were, we were watching all the Blues games in the playoffs, which were West Coast games.

Plus we had the Raptors playing. Right. And those were always late starts, especially when you got to the finals. And so it was a grueling spring. When you wake up at that time of day, and you've been doing this for a very long time, waking up at 3 a.m. or whatnot, what's that like for your physical health? Are there any repercussions there? You know, the thing is-

Should I be calling Ridley Funeral Home? Oh! No, you know, I had a conversation with my doctor about it. He said, you know, it's not like you're like a true shift worker in the sense that you're working nights one week and then switching back and forth.

Your hours are pretty consistent. So, you know, I think I've been able to manage it well. I'm also a professional napper. When my kids were in sports and I was at the hockey arenas with them, once they knew how to tie up their skates, I could send them in before the game, an hour before the game, and then have a nap in the car before going in to watch the game, that kind of thing. I also sleep, I'm not a morning person.

That's the irony of it all. So on the weekends, I will stay in bed till eight or nine o'clock sometimes, where a lot of my colleagues are up at 5 a.m. vacuuming and stuff, right? Doing laundry. So that's how I've been able to do it for 26 years. The other thing is I do always nap. I have some, some of my colleagues do not nap. Karl Hansky is one of them. He usually doesn't nap.

He stays up right through. I don't know how he does it. I don't know how the heck he's done it. And you know what? He doesn't even, he doesn't even drink coffee. Like he's not even a caffeine guy. If my doctor said to me, you can't have caffeine anymore, I'd have to quit. You'd end it all.

I'd retire. I was going to say, you just walk into the lake. Yeah. I don't go that far. Okay. Don'd have to quit. You'd end it all. I'd retire. So you just walk into the lake. Yeah. Goodbye, Paul. I don't go that far. Okay, don't go that far. I will say I'm a big coffee guy too,

and I'm waking up way later than you, Paul. So I do like to start my morning with a coffee. So you've never actually heard me on the radio before then? You're up after 9.30? Stephanie told me you were on the radio. I said, what? There's radio at that time of day? Like, isn't it?

Again, though it comes down to commute. i would hear you when i had a commute and then i've been working from home since oh for a long time now uh i've been working from home and yeah working from home is the i'd say the enemy of uh terrestrial radio is working from home and not always not a lot of people put it on while they're getting ready or whatever but i was a a big car, car, I'm a big car radio guy. So when I'm in the car, I listen to the radio. But if you have a speaker in your house and you want to just a quick up to speed deal on what the heck's going on in Toronto.

680 is where I go. Right? Absolutely. City News 680. Well, it's still 680. I'm still adapting. I got to write little notes everywhere. For tomorrow when I do the, remember, this is a

wild week. This is like the 680 week, but it's City News 680. And I know that because I bike by Carl Hansky's car, the company car, and it's got the City News 680 logo on the side. Right. Is it full of dog hair? Have you looked? Never been inside.

The first day that they changed it when they rebranded to City News 680, I took a photo and tweeted it and he called me a stalker. It's on a public street that's not stalking. Okay, Paul, radio, radio. You've been a radio since 1985. Yes, well, actually, yeah, okay. So December 83, I started as an op, but I've worked full-time since 85, yes.

That's wild. But you did Moonlight in television. So, you know, I have a few things I'm going to ask you, and you can tell me about this because I did not realize. So you were the host of Agenda, which first aired on MSNBC Canada. Yeah. Which I didn't know existed. Those were early days, you know, when they first started having all those extra channels.

Remember the time where you just had your basic global CTV, CBC. Of course. City, right? Right. And all these extra channels. Remember the time where you just had your basic global CTV, CBC. Of course. City, right? Right. And all these extra channels came out. So they were looking for content, right? And Rogers was running a lot of these networks out of Omni.

So that's where I would record that show. So I would go down there after the morning show and we would go live to tape. We would do two shows at a time, hour long shows. And I remember in between them, there'd be a break and I'd go out in the parking lot and sleep in the car. Wow. Yeah.

So, yeah. So MSNBC Canada and then Omni and then Rogers Cable. So, and you also filled in on Goldhawk. Yeah, there was one time I filled in Goldhawk live and went to the- You didn't know your husband here was a TV star. Are you Brian? I went to the Rogers Studios up in York Mills. Yeah, I did that. That was kind of fun.

You could have been the next Peter Mantrich. Could have been somebody. You could have been a contender. You know what? I'm very happy with my career in radio and a little anonymity, you know, not being recognized. Until they hear your voice. Yeah, sometimes.

That's true. I did not know what Paul, I wasn't sure what Paul Cook looked like. I do like your glasses. I think that's a cool frame. Did you pick that frame? With the help of my fashion assistant here. I was going to suggest that was a little cool

for you. I think somebody helped you with those frames. It is funny though about TV because I will be sitting, you know, Steffi never got used to the fact that people recognized her all the time. You know, we'd be sitting in restaurants and she'd go, why is he staring at me? I'm like, Steff, you're on TV. And you're in every coffee shop, pizza parlor.

Where do I know her from? Or maybe he does know, you know? The thing is though, like when you're in a studio, because I wasn't out in the field, right? I was always in studio right and talking to a camera it's not like talking to a big group or an audience you just you're talking to a camera so you just honestly you go into your work you're in a studio and and you you go home and suddenly you're out there and you know it you get looks or whatever you honestly forget i forget it's just

funny like i'm a cd level you know personality in the city you know not a list you're being hard on yourself cp24 is much much like 680 is all over the place uh cp24 is everywhere i mean if i go pick up the pizza at my local pizzeria it's on like it just seems to be when you go into a uh yeah. It's embedded in the city for a reason. Same as City News 680. I did that well. You know what? You transitioned well. For so many decades, 680 News, and it rolls off the tongue. I know Paul can't give me an honest

answer on this, but I kind of liked 680 News. I wish the rebrand didn't happen. I know why it's happened, but I do like 680 News. Yeah, there's going to be a day when the number 680 is not going to mean anything. When is this day? So they had to transition, I guess. I mean, I'm not going to lie.

I mean, you know, there's a special place in my heart. There always will be for 680 news. I certainly have kept all my 680 swag. And every once in a while on the morning show, we have 680 day where we wear all of our 680 stuff. And I still have a mic sock in my locker that just has 680 on it. I'll put it on my Mike every year for the anniversary. But yeah, I mean, you know, forever and ever, I'll have always started at 680 and that'll be closest to my heart.

But, you know, we move on. I mean, it's like, you know, remember what was Max Milk became. Mike's Milk? Well, there was Mike's Milk and then there was Becker's. Max Milk became Becker's, right? No, Becker's became Mike's Milk. And then they became, what is it called now? Pushtard. called yeah owned by them but they've they've branded what's what's their brand here uh circle k right okay we're still selling the same stuff just different name right we're still it's the

same crew it's the same i'm gonna keep calling it it's the same useful radio station and you keep calling it beckers news time beckers eggnog was the best eggnog ever. Yes. Yes. Becker's was the first place where I, maybe it was Max Milk, but the first time I saw that milk doesn't have to come in bags. Like the big,

the big quantity of milk doesn't have to come in bags. And then I married a girl from Edmonton and she's like, we don't have bags in Edmonton. It is a very unique thing

for Toronto. But it's all you know. It's mine. It's like, oh, it's hard to understand that, oh,

people don't necessarily, not everybody buys bagged milk. It's why free agents's like, oh, it's hard to understand that. Oh, people don't necessarily, not everybody buys bagged milk. It's why free agents won't come to Toronto to play for the Raptors. Not in the metric system. Who was that? Antonio Davis, I think, was worried. His kid would learn the metric system. He can't come here.

Oh my goodness. Okay. So you, Paul Cook, have covered a lot of big news events, but you also were at the Barcelona Olympics. Yeah, I got to cover the Barcelona Olympics in 92. That was a big one. That's huge. The Mark Tewksbury Olympics. He electrified the world there by winning the gold medal.

He was our first golden boy in those games, and I was at the poolside for that. And it was really cool because at that time, I mean, nobody was really using email, and IBM had set up the press village, and so we could, we could email each other, the media, and then we could also email the athletes to set up interviews. So that was really cool. Yeah. In 92. That's wild in 92.

Yeah. I remember, uh, because we weren't a rights holder, I had to arrange the interviews, uh, via email. So I'd, I'd set some, it's Tewksbury up and I went to interview him at the venue, but then I realized I couldn't get in with the tape machine. I asked Rosie Damano if she could go in and get them for me. And then she never did. Rosie, Rosie, Rosie.

But that's kind of cool. But that was an amazing time. And, you know, hanging out, having drinks with Christy Blatchford. I was there with Arlene Bynum as well from Chronicle, who I worked with at CHFI for many years and learned a ton from. Right.

And no, that was the big Silk and Lauman comeback after basically having her calf taken off by a boating accident there when she was rowing. And she came back and triumphantly won the bronze medal. She didn't get the gold. And I remember racing to get comment from the other. I bumped into some other Canadian rowers and I bumped into Marnie McBean. And it was funny. All I wanted to talk about was Silken Laumann,

but I didn't realize at that moment because I had to run to try and get Silken at the end of the race that Marnie had, I think had just raced and she'd won a gold medal. Yeah, they won gold. Yeah, it was the, it was the, it was the big one though too, right? I mean, it was the biggest rowing boat that

they, they go with. Is it the tens? Is that, are the 10 of them the boat? I can't, or eight. So I can't even remember how many are in the boat. But she was a bit incredulous. She kind of said to me,

so we just want a gold and you just want to talk about silk and laumen? But you're just kind of chasing the individual people stories at the time, right? Amazing, but was there any consideration of having you cover the 96 Olympics in Atlanta? You know who did? Peter Gross.

And he did a fantastic job. He might, I'm not, I don't want to spread rumors, he might be my secret guest. Oh, that's fantastic. I don't want to spread rumors here.

Love Peter, guy's a legend. Yeah, give him our best. He was everything to Toronto in his day, both with 680 and with City.

I remember coming here looking at all the high schools and it was a big damn event of Peter Gross. You got on Peter Gross? Like I went to

Lawrence Park in Toronto and it's like if Peter Gross showed up your high school. Like I went to Lawrence Park in Toronto and it's like if Peter Gross showed up at our football game, I was like, whoo. Well, he's a legend. He's literally in the FOTM Hall of Fame.

He should be. The guy can do 100 pushups and I think he's 70, right? Like he's unbelievable. Yeah. On his birthday, he came over and we recorded in the backyard

and he dropped down and did 100 pushups. Amazing. Unbelievable. Although, I don't know, I think it's easier when you're vertically compressed, but I'm just going to leave it right there. You remember the Canada fitness stuff where you do the flexed arm hang?

It was always a short little compact guys that, that just were able to hang up there all day if they wanted to. I think there's an advantage there. Do you have an award to commemorate the Edward R. Murrow award from the International Radio and Television News Directors Association for best radio newscast in the world? It was the hanging chad presidential election. So we actually beat the American stations for our coverage, which was kind of wild. And we had the great political affairs specialist, John Stahl, on the air with us that morning as well. Did you say John Stahl? I did.

Okay, let's listen for a moment. Because of the reach of Rochester's WRVN, also at 680 on the dial, we couldn't broadcast at full power during the day unless that station moved to another frequency. The owner of WRVM was a Detroit... Yeah, we'll play the whole thing. It's a teaser. He's reading...

It's from Ted's book. That's from Ted's book. That's a teaser, everybody. If you want to have great content like that, tune in tomorrow. I just saw that. Because all I'm looking at, I just got these things sent from Scott. So I load them in because he's going to kind of set

them up tomorrow. And then I saw it was called John Stahl. So I thought it would be a little punchier than that, like a little John Stahl. You're getting stuff live right now and just jumping it in as you go. You guys are like, I'm not even recording this. Did you guys think I was recording this? I'm just trying to practice for tomorrow and work the big City News 680

episode tomorrow. That's funny. Did either of you ever meet Brian Linehan? Because I heard that name mentioned earlier. No, I never did. I watched him as a kid. I had the chance to meet Brian Linehan because he was often a guest with Arlene Bynum on Chronicles. So he would come into the studio and record a weekly bit.

He was very friendly, impeccably dressed and always seemed to be in a fabulous mood. Good to hear. I know before I pressed record, you guys noticed there's a picture of Ryan Linehan in the studio here. And that's a gift from The Watchmen, a great Winnipeg band that I love, The Watchmen.

And it says, Dear Toronto Mike, thanks for all the support over the years. Brian Linehan would be proud of you. So I look over, Brian's proud of me. So I must be doing something right. Well, you certainly dig stuff up like he used to do. Well, that's it. We're both shit this term.

That's the word I was looking for. For example, you know what I digged up? Paul, you won't believe this. I learned you're from the Hammer. Yeah, well, I was born in the Hammer. Yes. So you were pretty young when you moved to Huntsville, right? Yeah.

So we moved to Huntsville probably when I was five years old. So I was about 1968, 69. Okay, you know what? Then you were just literally, yeah, five years old. So are you from the Hammer originally? No. No, okay. You sounded excited about it, right?

I was for a second. I was. I have been to the Hammer. Does that count? I've talked to the great Steve Pakins from the Hammer. He always drops those Oski wee-wee. He's on strike, you know. Pakin? Well, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I didn't realize great Steve Pakins from the Hammer. He always drops those Oski wee-wee. He was working. He's on strike, you know. Pakin?

Well, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I didn't realize he was actually out on the picket lines. You're not reporting that on? No, no, we've reported on the story, but I wasn't sure. I wasn't following it closely enough to know that Steve was out on the picket line. But I guess he's not management there, so I guess he would be. He was the City Hall reporter when I first started working at CHFI CFTR. Right.

And yeah, so and Michael Landsberg was doing afternoon sports. I reunited those two on Toronto Mic because they had worked together at CIUT. They used to broadcast games and stuff. Well, they were both mentors. They both had a lot of time for me and taught me a ton. I love the name drops. Keep rocking with that, but. Do you know when I was doing overnights?

I'll drop some more names here. Yeah, I love it. Paul Rogers. So I was on I was doing overnights and I'll drop some more names here. Yeah, I love it. Paul Rogers. So I was on, I was on, um, I was on CHFI doing overnights, which shows you how different the landscape

was back then. Yeah. We didn't have Twitter and you know, everything else. We didn't have 24 hour news channels either. Right. Uh, we,

so I was on CHFI. And that's Chronicle? Uh, well, no, that, so I, I was working later on Chronicle in the

daytime, which was a public affairs show that was on in the daytime, 12 noon. I was doing news overnight on CHFI. Austin Delaney was doing news overnight on CFTR at the time. Paul Rogers, who went on to a very big career with CTV was, uh, and I think he did global as well. Right. Um, so he was, um, he was doing all night news on CFRB. Bob Hodge, whose broadcast name was Bob Summers, was doing overnight news on Chum. And Donnelly Williams was doing overnight news on CKY. So that's, you think about that, really. I mean, who's doing overnight news anymore, other than 680 News?

What did he call it? Did you hear that stuff? Yeah, I did. 680 News. What did he call it? Did you hear that? 680 News? What the heck? Are we in a time machine here? I'm going to have to put a loonie in the time jar or something like that. Okay, I'm going to tune in just to hear if you do slip up on the actual. I haven't done it for a long time. Today I'm doing it. But it's past my nap time.

So back in those days, you just took us back to like the Chronicle and you were at CHFI. Is this where you win an award for covering the crash at the International Air Show in Toronto? Yeah, I was a CHFI employee at the time, but obviously a Rogers employee. So I happened to be, or maybe I was CHFI. I wasn't 680 News yet because it was 680 News then. So I was out in a boat. Yes, before you joined the 680 News yet because it was 680 News then. So I was out in a boat. Yes, before you joined the 680.

I was out in a boat during the air show with some clients and the Nimrod crashed right in front of us. So I basically spent the day in that boat just live and nonstop. That was kind of my debut on 680 News. Interesting, interesting. And you had, I don't know if you received an award for this. You tell me.

How many awards? You got a whole trophy case over there in the homestead? Yes, there's been a few, but I mean, they're team awards too, right? I mean, I got to go to New York for the New York Festival Radio Awards and I just, I was just so honored to be there and so excited.

And I, they put me up on the Park Plaza and I remember getting into a taxi cab and I, we were going, the awards were taking place at a old bar, New York, not old bar, Florida, but old bar, New York. And I remember saying to the driver, uh, yeah, take me, I'm going to old bar. And he goes, uh, it's just across the street. That's okay. That's okay.

Drive me there. So I got out of the car there. The other thing I remember about that is I'd actually had some Cuban, Cuban cigars to celebrate that I actually brought into the U S I wasn't even thinking stupid. And you could smoke in bars back then. about that is I'd actually had some Cuban cigars to celebrate that I actually brought into the US. I wasn't even thinking. It's stupid of me. And you could smoke in bars back then. And I pulled out one of those cigars and the bartender said, you can't smoke cigars in here.

And I said, well, it's Cuban. And he said, okay, go ahead. I've got to love New York, right? I just watched an episode of The Sopranos where Tony had some Cuban cigars. So it depends who you are. But Meech Lake constitutional crisis. This was a, you also covered that.

We're really doing a deep dive here. Well, hey, listen, Stephanie Smythe had to endure this previously. I remember those days, man, because the cell phones back then were like a briefcase. They, you know, there's a handle on them and we were camped outside the talks going on at the convention center there. And it was like the country was hanging, somehow, only in Canada could we be just hanging on the thread of the constitutional

talks, right? Everybody was interested back then. Right. And, you know, I just remember being kind of by myself there with another colleague, Wallace Pigeon, and looking over at the CBC people, you know, Anna Marie Tremonti and Wendy Mesley. And, you know, Anna Marie Tremonti and Wendy Mesley.

And, you know, they had some people hold their spot in the lines for them at times. I just remember we were just grinding away, standing there all the time. But it was really cool to witness history. And there was David Peterson's big night when he'd surrendered a couple of Senate seats or something like that. I can't remember what it was. He cut a deal that he was going can't remember what it was. It was, it was, he cut, cut a deal that he was going to, it was going to help, whatever it was.

So he was captain Canada. And I just remember him walking down to a bunch of us sitting in a bar and he just grabbed a beer off the table and chugged it. That's so Canadian. Yeah. That's amazing. All right.

Again, I'm going to ask a slightly personal question, but not too personal because I respect you guys, but I'm just curious. Brian Linehan right here. Brian, no, just out of curiosity. So do you two meet at 680? Absolutely. Yeah.

That was the very first time. I actually was working for Chronicle and I was in the studio and I saw somebody go by and I heard somebody say Stephanie or whatever. And I, oh, well, that's Dick Smythe's daughter. That's exactly what I thought, even though it wasn't. But no, absolutely. We met at 680 and I think we really became good friends just because when we were put together to demo, we had spent some time together doing that and got to know each other.

And then we were both over in London to cover the Diana funeral. I was there for the, for the first week. I didn't, I didn't realize that we were going to be there for a whole week when John Hinnon sent me right away. And then obviously we needed a couple of people to cover the actual funeral date. So Stephanie flew over then. So, um, yeah, so we developed a friendship and, uh, we had, we had a friendship, uh, with our families and hung out together. And then eventually when we both ended up getting separated down the road, I separated first. And then a couple of years later,

Stephanie and her husband separated. And obviously she was the one for me. 20 years later. It's been 20 years. We each have two kids. We seem to take each other. I'm sorry to interrupt you there, Paul. No, I'm sorry.

I was going to let the listenership know. I sense a lot of love here. I'm sorry to interrupt you there, Paul. No, it's all right. Let the listenership know. I sense a lot of love here. You two seem into each other. You said 20 years you've been together? 20 years. We got married in 2007, but we've been together in our home for 20 years is when we blended our families in 2003. Married for 16.

We lived in sin for the first four. Shame on you. My goodness gracious gracious get out of my basement that's unacceptable but yeah so maybe if you don't mind uh if you paul maybe tell me why you were interested in stephanie like like like in that way look at her why wouldn't i be interested right yes yes tell me your vision is, uh, was good. It's still good. Okay. Okay.

Obviously, you know, stimulated intellectually beyond belief and, and, and an absolutely incredible sense of humor. We, we, we laugh all the time.

Steffi would probably get ticked off of me for saying this, but once she said an unkind thing to me and stormed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door, I stormed up the stairs, boom, boom, boom, boom,

boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,

boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, pushed through the bedroom door. She was in the middle of getting undressed or dressed. I can't remember.

And she said to me, she covered up and said, it is a privilege to see me naked. And we both just burst out laughing. We just like, and I don't even remember what the fight was about, but that's how it kind of is. That's a good line, Steph. That's a good line. Yeah, I use it every so often.

Like it's a, I will say it's a classic. And, and the thing is you can't stay mad about anything for long. We're really similar that way. Like we, you know, might have, have words or whatever,

but it's like, okay, let's move on. It's just too exhausting to be, you know, to hold grudges or anything like that. And plus we've got such a great life. Like it's,

you know, we, we love our kids. The four of them blended together and they're just, they bring such enrichment to our lives. Did you say is it two each? How is it? Each of two.

Yeah. And, but they've, you know, they grew up together in many ways. They're pretty young. And so we're really lucky. We've got a lot to be thankful for. I think our other secret, Mike, is that, you know, a lot of people say,

never go to bed angry. Our philosophy is go to bed angry. Our philosophy is, go to bed angry. You wake up in the morning, you're like, what was that all about? The worst thing you're going to do is deprive yourself of sleep.

I should be taking notes. It always looks better the next day. Right. And the other thing is like, what a support system. Like Paul's been my lifeline through everything, you know,

whether a parent dies or worries about the kids or careers or you name it. Like, and we share the same passion for news and information and it's just, it's just embedded in our, in who we are. And so I'm just so grateful to have that

kind of support and a backbone. Likewise. I wouldn't be doing this without you. There's no doubt about that. So Steph, you were just blown away by this handsome guy with the big deep voice and uh the rest is history well and it's you know not just the big deep voice yeah sure but it was just like i could do that i just even want i just don't i just can't do that it's

the uh it's the intelligence factor too right because like anybody who works with Paul can tell you his editorial judgment and his ways of packaging and thinking and use of, you know, sound, you know, no matter what. And just the little thing you played at the beginning of the interview, you know, the brilliance in his writing is captivating and infectious. And, you know, he makes you want to be better at what you do. And so he inspired me all the time to be better. And I really believe that, you know, that was something that was just so magnetic about him to me. And I really believe you're missed on the airwaves in the city because I think you are the best. You are Toronto. I mean, you're the Toronto brand.

Okay. On that, thank you for setting me up because we all know when we're going to see Paul Cook. Well, we'll hear him, sorry. But at 5.30 a.m. tomorrow, we're going to hear Paul Cook on City News 680. He's going to wake up at 3 a.m. tomorrow for that gig. That's how committed he is. And he's not even a morning person.

See, this is the kind of insight you get from Toronto Mic'd. Stephanie Smythe, you did work with brad bradford and you have uh some top secret projects that sounds like you're working on but is there anything you can publicly disclose about what's next for you and would we again either see you or hear you because the city does miss your uh voice and your face. Thank you. Only Paul gets to see you naked, but it's a privilege to see your face and hear your voice. I'm in trouble.

Okay. I am, you know, as the best is yet to come. Who said that? Huh? Wow. That's the kind of real talk. Is that Ted Rogers? I have great passion.

Is that his statue I see outside the dome? Yeah. The, you know, what's next? I'm loving working in communications and media relations. I love being able to work with people and, you know, in a different way and politics. I love politics very much. Would you run for office? I really, watching Brad in a different way, right? Watching the city with this election, watching what happened with John Tory, who could have ever imagined? John Tory sex scandal?

Yes. Oh, I predicted that years ago. Sure you did. Okay, well, you i i and i look at what's happening provincially federally and i am a native torontonian i have lived in my riding for years i my whole life essentially and i love um i see the passion that people bring to it. And let's just say that it's very enticing. And look, anything can happen. That answer was way too long to do no.

That is, you're open to, you're considering that and you're open to running for public office. I don't know. I think that. Well, you're clearly open to it. That was a long answer. I'd love to explore it. I'm not saying that I would be, you know, I'm not saying anything specific,

but what I am saying is I think that I have a lot to offer the city, the province, whatever. I think that it would be something. I'm very impressed by these people. I really admire them. I think we need more good people in the political realm right now. And would that be something i'd

ever consider sure is it going to happen i don't know we'll see well we'll be we'll be paying attention that's for sure is there any possibility you uh are back in the media covering politics i don't know so you're it's anything it's all these things are possible you're not going to give us any specifics but the bottom line is things are possible. You're not going to give us any specifics. But the bottom line is things are happening behind the scenes that you're just not yet ready to put into the public realm. That I'm really enjoying doing. And I feel like great freedom and excitement about it.

And I'm very grateful for all these opportunities that I have right now. Would you return to City News 680? Oh my gosh, I love it. You know what? I picture my, I've had dreams of doing a newscast there. I'm not going to lie. You know, I don't know if they'd hire me, but yeah. Do you know anyone there?

I know a few people, but they have got such a great team. Like shout out to Catherine Jette and, you know, all Jamie Paul for Carl, like Kevin, all the wonderful people. Laura Carney. Exactly. Like amazing people. Slajanita Minzik. She lives all the wonderful people. Laura Carney. Exactly. Like, amazing people. Slajanita Minzik. She lives around this neighborhood somewhere.

Oh, yeah. They've got a great thing going without anybody. James Monroe. Yeah. So, there we go. So, Steph, it's been awesome to get you back. And we miss you on CP24. But it sounds like things are happening.

And you'll let me know when these things can be said in the public realm so we can share it with the world. But thank you for coming back. Thank you for having me. And Paul Cook, thank you for being here. You're now an FOTM. That means Friend of Toronto, Mike. Well, I'm honoured. Thank you, Mike. So forget that trophy case you have or whatever. Maybe it's a trophy room.

Maybe it's a trophy wing. I don't know. But you are an FOTM and that trumps all. It was a pleasure. Thanks, Mike. And you are getting some Great Lakes beer as well. And you're getting your lasagna

and you've got your measuring tape. And that... I didn't know about that. You know what comes in handy? Sometimes you have to measure something. That's all I'm going to say. And that brings us to the end of our 1,311th

show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Paul City News. Do you even tweet? I retweet the good work of my team. And Stephanie Smythe of course is, Smythe

has a Y in it. No E. There's no E I should say. Yeah, it does fool you. You look at it and you think Stephanie Smith, but of course is uh smythe has a y in it no e there's no e i should say yeah yeah it does fool you you look at it and you think stephanie smith but of course it's stephanie smythe then you're on twitter okay our friends at great lakes brewery are at great lakes beer palma pasta's at palma pasta getting hip to the hip is at getting hip pod remember that event is on uh september 1st and i'll be and you've got to get your ticket, so use the promo code FOTM10.

Recycle My Electronics are at EPRA underscore Canada. Go to RecycleMyElectronics.ca if you have some old electronics you need to throw out because you don't put that in the garbage. You get it safely and properly recycled. Go to RecycleMyElectronics.ca and know where you can drop it off. Pumpkins After Dark are at Pumpkins Dark.

Save the 15% in August. Again, it's TOMike15 to save the 15%. And Ridley Funeral Home, they're at RidleyFH. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. See you all tomorrow when Mike Epple, I've got to get this list here,

Mike Epple, Richard Southern, and Scott Metcalf come back for more 680 Talk. Are Mike Epple and Richard Southern good guys? They're great guys. Yeah, they're both very funny.

They're frickin' frack. They're the exact polar opposites. I mean, they're, yeah, it's like the odd couple. There's no doubt about that. But they're both very bright, very great business guys. Any dummies at 680 or no?

Not that I'm aware of. See you all tomorrow. Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn Because everything is coming up Rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Warms me today And your smile is fine

And it's just like mine And it won't go away Because everything is rosy and green Well I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down on Sacré-Cœur