Gerry FitzGerald turned Toronto into a world leader in public health, producing vaccines and medicines that saved tens of millions of lives. Unfortunately, he would be destroyed by his own demons and by his era's backwards attitude towards mental illness. James FitzGerald, author of What Disturbs Our Blood, joins us to discuss his grandfather's life and legacy on Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.Mental Health Resourceshttps://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.htmlhttps://findahelpline.com/
Jul 21
39 min
For decades, Massey Hall was the most famous venue in Canada. It hosted legendary performers like Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and Gordon Lightfoot. It also hosted a variety of events staged by local community groups. On this episode, we cover the history of the Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street. Learn all about it from Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
Jul 7
27 min
Toronto's Black community is almost as old as the community itself. The first census ever done in York identified 15 black residents. Some of them were slaves, but some of them were free persons who chose to settle there. Natasha Henry-Dixon of York University has made it her mission to recover the stories of these often overlooked people. She joins us on this episode to talk about the lives of these early black residents on Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can learn more about Natasha Henry-Dixon's work from her website (https://tach.natashahenrydixon.ca/) or you can follow her on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/nhenrydixon.bsky.social.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
Jun 16
42 min
Next Monday, June 8th, is the 200th Anniversary of an often overlooked event. On that date in 1826, a mob forced its way into a newspaper printing shop and proceeded to smash the printing press as well as anything else they could find. The rioters were all members of the local elite, better known to us as the Family Compact, and their target was a muckraking journalist named William Lyon Mackenzie. This attack was meant to stop him in his tracks. Instead, it would save his newspaper and launch his political career. You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.This episode is brought to you by Therme Canada, the company behind the new wellness destination coming to Ontario Place. We covered the Ontario Place story in a previous episode, controversy and all, and Therme came on as a sponsor after. We tell history the same way no matter who's paying for the mic. https://www.thermecanada.com/
Jun 2
26 min
Ontario Place was Toronto's summer getaway from the noise and heat of the city. It was also our attempt to match Montreal and the spectacular success of Expo 67. Today, it's at the centre of a debate about what to do with the stretch of the waterfront that it used to occupy. This episode is about the creation of Ontario Place. Former MP Adam Vaughan will also join us to talk Therme's plans for the site on Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
May 19
37 min
In part two of our history of the Don Jail, we'll learn more about some of the men who were executed there, including the last two men to be executed in Canada, we'll hear about the gang of bank robbers who managed to escape, not once, but twice, and we'll find out what happened to the building after the jail was finally closed. Learn more about Toronto's most notorious prison on this episode of Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.Kool Kats by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100601Artist: http://incompetech.com/
May 5
40 min
The Don Jail was Toronto's most notorious prison, home to some of the most dangerous offenders in Canadian history. In part one of this episode, we'll explain why the prison was built and the ideas behind its design. We'll also talk about some of the people who spent time there during the 19th century. Learn all about it at Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
Apr 21
27 min
In 2010, the world-famous Toronto International Battle of the Bands would become the centre of a series of bizarre events related to a little known group called Sex Bob-Omb. On this episode of Muddy York, we will be telling the story of the 2010 TIBB and the mysterious band that came out of nowhere to dominate all the news surrounding it. You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
Apr 2
14 min
Most people believe that ML baseball arrived in Toronto with the Blue Jays on April 7, 1977. However, this was actually the third ML game to be played in the city. Harvey Sahker, author of Before the Blue Jays, joins us to talk about these two lesser known ML games. Learn all about this forgotten part of Toronto baseball history on Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
Mar 27
10 min
On the evening of March 17, 1960, five workers died in an underground tunnel because of the neglect and indifference of the men in charge of the project. It became known as the Hoggs Hollow Disaster and it would fuel a drive for workplace safety that created many of the rights that we have today. Learn more about this tragic event in this episode of Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: Toronto_History, Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/muddyyork.bsky.social and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/.
Mar 17
16 min
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