I'm pretty sure I did the final interview with Jackie Robinson. I'm glad I grabbed the chance to approach Robinson, already a legendary figure, when I did. He was gone shortly after.

It took place in Montreal, where Robinson loved living and playing baseball. The city was his refuge...

"A man with a ping-pong paddle was reported chasing a pig across Route 19. Deputies responded."

We all love newspaper Police Calls columns (they often appear in weeklies), where you can see what alleged criminal actions have occurred in your neighbourhood.

Some of these interesting columns are weirder...

I'm not proud of the fact that I've tried to get out of jury duty. But bragging about it on the radio? Bad idea.

That's exactly what one Susan Cole, 58, got nailed for recently in Denver. Cole, a local cosmetologist, wore heavy, smeared makeup, curlers in her hair...

The headline in Canada's national magazine, Maclean's, is an attention-grabber: "The U.S. and Canada: we used to be friends." Followed by this subheadline: "Why Barack Obama shelved the Keystone pipeline, and insulted Canada (yet again) in the process."

The Nov. 10 decision to again delay a final decision...

"Our elections last six weeks," commented a man from Toronto, reacting to one of my Canada columns at MarketWatch.com. "How long do yours last now, two years?"

Longer. But there are "only" 14 more months of pointless political punditry left on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, CNBC,...

The June 15 Stanley Cup hockey rampage has accurately been called "the most-documented riot in history. " And many of those who took part in it have felt not just the wrath of police and public officials, but also that of "Facebook vigilantes" who have not only

"Go home! Go home! Go home! Stop looting our beautiful city!" That Tweet sent to the @CBCNews twitter feed summed up the feelings of an overwhelming majority of Vancouverites after this week's hockey riots that erupted -- and damaged -- the city's downtown.

The CBC reported Thursday morning that "the...

It may feel like summer in many places, but hockey fever is gripping western Canada. The Vancouver Canucks began their quest for their first-ever Stanley Cup in the club's 40-year existence this week against the Boston Bruins. Meanwhile, to the east, Winnipeg finally got NHL hockey back after 16 years...

The famed Ice Road Truckers might become the Muddy Road Muckers if a new climate-prediction study that looks at the future of Canada's melting permafrost is right. Also, forget the Northwest Passage, at least for now. But new far-north shipping routes opening up might well take up the...

A few things I've learned covering Canada's current national election campaign for MarketWatch.com this past month from my vantage point on the Canadian border, where I get Canadian radio and TV:

1. Canadian politics, while occasionally tough, is far more civil than the American variety: This is partly...

What's right about TV and cable news? This critic doesn't often get to address that because broadcast and cable news is generally so dismal -- disgusting, even.

But here's a rare example of TV news excellence: NBC's Richard Engel.

The NBC/MSNBC Middle East correspondent -- more precisely, war correspondent...

The past few weeks have strikingly revealed an ugly truth about TV. It's a medium increasingly driven by one of the baser human emotions: Fear.

Even before the horrific Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the fearmongers -- cable and broadcast news consultants, segment producers and news directors -- held sway in...

Canada's new Environment Minister has a famous relative: Peter Kent is the older brother of the so-called "Scud Stud," handsome former NBC reporter Arthur Kent. Like his famous brother, Peter Kent will have to be on guard for plenty of enemy fire.

Both have TV experience, and both worked at...

Want to know who the big winners will be next Tuesday on Election Day?

That's already been decided.

The answer: Your local broadcasters.

It's something most voters don't stop to consider in all the uproar about negative ads, Citizens' United, and the need for campaign finance reform....

Jerry Brown is likely to beat Meg Whitman, and Harry Reid will almost certainly be re-elected to the Senate. And the Tea Party will soon take over the Republican Party.

Want to know how the Democrats -- and Tea Party candidates -- are likely to...

This was the week that shook Canada 40 years ago -- one Americans have probably forgotten. Our normally peaceful and sedate northern neighbor experienced the kind of political terrorism Americans wouldn't see until 9-11. So this week was not the best time for a terrorist hoax, exactly 40 years...

Michael Krasny has probably interviewed more famous and celebrated authors than anyone, ever. Amazingly, he's done it on a sharply devalued medium, radio.

Krasny's intelligent and low-key "Forum" on San Francisco's NPR affiliate is the most-listened-to local talk show in the country. It's helped KQED-FM...

Making fun of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party wingnuts has been fun, granted. And it's given Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert lots of great material. But maybe it's time to re-assess all this.

I now cover Canada for MarketWatch.com, and having lived...

Like most of you, I like Jon Stewart and his Daily Show on Comedy Central. But Jon really needs to do something about his "Act Two." Acts One and Three need work, too.

Don't misunderstand. I record Daily every day. But I don't always watch it now. Not...

Canada's remarkable recent success in regulating its banks and creating new jobs is finally starting to get the U.S. media attention it deserves.

If this keeps up, U.S. right wingers will start attacking Canada's banking and economic system like they attacked our neighbor's government-run health-care system for years.