Met Radio

July 3, 2026 – This week, listeners take a dive into the world of one of Toronto Metropolitan University’s rooftop gardens through host Claire Van De Weghe’s interviews with program supervisors. She speaks to farm Manager Arlene Thorness about the essential role these gardens play in keeping visitors healthy, happy, and culturally fulfilled.

It’s been a busy summer in Toronto, and if Pride and World Cup pandemonium wasn’t already keeping schedules busy, Toronto’s International Jazz Fest crushed any opportunity for a dull moment. Running over ten days, more than 100 performances took place at venues across the city for the festival’s 39th annual bash. Luckily, I was able to get in on some of the jam-packed action. Here were my highs.

June 26, 2026 – Host Claire Van De Weghe speaks to Toronto 2SLGBTQIA+ activists and organisers about city-based event Abolition Pride on this special Pride episode, an alternative to mainstream festivities that many community members feel have ignored the needs and wants of queer attendees. Starting with a conversation with the founder of the event, Angela Bain, this story explores the event’s history, what caused it to be formed, and what motivates people to keep going today.

More than 50 parents and children gathered at Christie Pits Park in June for a circle time and organizing picnic hosted by Parents for Child Care, a province-wide advocacy coalition. With Ontario still falling short of the promised $10-a-day target and its funding agreement with the federal government set to expire in March 2027, advocates are calling for long-term funding… Source

Editor’s note: Click on image thumbnails to see the full photos! Alanna Matty at the Cameron House Style: folk, indie pop Date: June 10, 2026 Performing on the elevated stage to a standing room only crowd, Alanna Matty’s songs of self- discovery and growth were magical. The audience arrived early and stayed late, clearly fans who knew her songs and enjoyed hearing them played live. Alanna Matty’s supporting musicians had a warm and friendly rapport with each other.

With June marking both Pride Month and National Indigenous History Month, I thought the perfect way to celebrate would be to catch some LGBTQ+ Indigenous shorts at the 2026 imagiNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. The Love Has No Gender shorts program was free to attend on Friday, June 5th at TIFF Lightbox as part of their TD Free Friday. Consisting of five short films from all over the world, The Love Has No Gender shorts program brought together an exciting and eclectic mix of stories.

Friday, June 19th, 2026—Host Claire Van De Weghe speaks with local architect Charles Hazell about the struggle between affordable housing and architectural heritage in west-end neighbourhood The Junction. Plus, Mia Johnson interviews community members about their feelings on Toronto establishment Sneaky Dee’s potential demolition after the plot was purchased by developers. Rogene Teodoro has the news.

As the FIFA men’s World Cup comes to North America this year— officials were looking to avoid another human rights scandal that have marred World Cups in the past. For the first time, they required the 16 participating host cities to submit detailed reports addressing three key themes: workers’ rights, access to remedy, and inclusion and safeguarding, along with any other relevant concerns… Source

I can’t believe this was my third year covering NXNE! Being at these shows always gives me such a deep appreciation for live music. NXNE brings together artists from all over the world, with a diverse range of genres including pop, R&B, folk and rock. NXNE did not disappoint.

Every nation is built on stories. Some are preserved in textbooks, monuments and public consciousness. Others survive in fragments, carried by the people whose lives were shaped by them. More than 50 years after hundreds of students occupied the computer centre at Montreal’s Sir George Williams University to protest anti-Black racism on campus, the uprising remains largely absent from Canadian collective memory.