Internationally-renowned thinker and bestselling author (The Ingenuity Gap), Thomas Homer-Dixon, Director of the Trudeau Centre for the Study of Peace and Conflict at the University of Toronto, talked to Joseph Planta about his timely and highly readable new book, The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization (Knopf, 2006).

CTV’s Ben Mulroney made a return appearance to the Planta: On the Line program to talk with Joseph Planta about his recent mission to Malawi, which he undertook as a National Ambassador for UNICEF.

Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics (Key Porter, 2006) is a new book by conservative insider and public policy specialist, Bob Plamondon. Recently, he talked with Joseph Planta about the book, that for the first time sets forth a definitive account of the events that lead to the rebirth of the Conservative Party of Canada. He discussed the players involved, Stephen Harper, Peter MacKay, Preston Manning, Joe Clark, Belinda Stronach, and Brian Mulroney.

Bestselling and acclaimed author Wayne Johnston recently spoke with Joseph Planta about his latest novel, The Custodian of Paradise (Knopf, 2006). As well, Johnston talked about how he wrote, and how he created his most remembered characters.

Journalist Julian Sher recently spoke with Joseph Planta about his new book, Angels of Death: Inside the Bikers’ Global Crime Empire (Knopf, 2006), which he co-authored with William Marsden, a timely look at the Hells Angels, and other bikers who’ve met the attention of the public, not to mention law enforcement.

Spirit of the West’s John Mann, opening tonight as the Emcee in Cabaret, talked with Joseph Planta about his starring role in the Arts Club Theatre Company’s latest. Mann discussed the Kander and Ebb musical, performing on the stage, his tour-de-force performance in last year’s Miss Saigon, and the legendary role that won Joel Grey a Tony and an Oscar.

Film and television producer Brian O’Dea talked with Joseph Planta about his past, which includes prison stays for drug smuggling, cocaine addiction, and more, which he writes about in his new compelling book, High: Confessions of a Pot Smuggler (Random House, 2006), soon to be a major motion picture.

A couple of years ago, NBC News and Today Show correspondent Mike Leonard decided to take his elderly parents and his children on a RV trip across the United States. He talked with Joseph Planta about the journey, its foibles, hilarity, bonding, and more, which are recounted in his new book, The Ride of Our Lives: Roadside Lessons of an American Family (Ballantine, 2006), soon to be a major motion picture.

Political pundit and former bureaucrat Bob Plecas talked with Joseph Planta about his new book, Bill Bennett: A Mandarin’s View (Douglas & McIntyre, 2006), a memoir on the former premier of British Columbia (1975-1986).

Satirist and bestselling author Tony Hendra talked with Joseph Planta about his new novel, The Messiah of Morris Avenue (Henry Holt, 2006), a funny and insightful novel about what would happen if Christ came back to walk amongst a nation where the religious right dominates every aspect of American life. Hendra also offers his thoughts about the current political climate in the United States, and his previous memoir, Father Joe, is also discussed.