It seems like the federal government is handing out more and more money to businesses just so they set up shop here in Ontario. Why are they subsidizing the cost of these big businesses like VW and Stellantis and does it set a dangerous precedent? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are continuing their preseason campaign which will bring them to Montreal tomorrow night. As we watch their progress before the season, how does the team look and could they be not only going to the Grey Cup but actually win it this time? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton, Assistant Program Director and Senior Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML - There are some pretty good chances that some memorabilia from your favourite TV shows are now being held in a private collection and that very same collection is going to be putting lots up for auction tomorrow. A collection as amazing as this has to have a cool story behind it so Scott is turning to the person who knows more than anyone else about it, the owner! Guest: James Comisar, Owner, The Comisar Collection

Theatre Aquarius will be introducing a massive new program that will serve as an incubator for new shows all of kinds as they go through the development and rehearsal process. How will this change theatre productions not just here in Hamilton but across the country? Guest: Kelly Straughan, Executive Director, Theatre Aquarius - Following the municipal election, the City of Hamilton had their auditor look a bit closer into the voter turnout. Surprise, surprise there wasn't a lot of voters. Why is this and how can we make it more enticing for Hamiltonians to go out and vote? Guest: Charles Brown, City Auditor, City of Hamilton - The Toronto Maple Leafs have a new GM! Who is it and why him over anyone else? Is this the move that will finally bring the Stanley Cup to Toronto? Guest: Steven Ellis, Associate Editor, Daily Faceoff

Chances are really good that you know The Brady Bunch and by extension, their house. What are the chances that you could own that same house? Well if you've got $5.5 million and a willingness to part with it, those chances are a lot better than many of us! Guest: Danny Brown, Principal, Luxury Estates Division & Evangelist West Coast, Compass

The housing market sways from being friendly towards sellers and then buyers, where is it at now? Guest: Rob Golfi, Sales Representative, RE/MAX Escarpment Realty, The Golfi Team - Chances are really good that you know The Brady Bunch and by extension, their house. What are the chances that you could own that same house? Well if you've got $5.5 million and a willingness to part with it, those chances are a lot better than many of us! Guest: Danny Brown, Principal, Luxury Estates Division & Evangelist West Coast, Compass - As foreign interference gets investigated and foreign nations get blamed for said interference, are we finding that our elections are getting more difficult to hold without anyone claiming a problem with the process? Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice-Chair of Summa Strategies, Director of Abacus Data

Some neighbourhoods in Hamilton are finding that rats are getting more and more common. Where are they coming from and is there anything that can be done before they become a major established problem? Guest: Jim Miner, President, Action Pest Control Services Inc. - This week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson gives you a little bit of everything from competitive high school barbequing in Texas to the future of Auston Matthews, it's got it all! Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Allan Cup Champion Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features our very own Ben Straughan! With topics like helping Hamilton's homeless population, putting warning labels on bottles of alcohol, slowing traffic in the City, trusting governments with the ability to regulate AI and more, you can be sure today's episode is going to provide a little more insight into the mind behind the soundboard. Guest: Ben Straughan, Technical Producer, The Scott Radley Show, 900 CHML

Why does it seem like everyone who has touched David Johnston's foreign interference investigation has had some kind of prior relationship with the Trudeau family? Seems awfully convenient. Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview & former President of the Liberal Party of Canada - Have the Blue Jays reached a point where they might as well stop trying this season? Should the Maple Leafs build a team that's more aggressive and hard-hitting in a literal sense? These questions and more get debated, discussed and possibly even answered as Bubba O'Neil joins Scott. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Jamie West who joins Scott to talk about people getting offended for other groups of people, silly stories from their times in journalism, how Donald Trump impacts television viewership, the difference between career aspirations for kids in the United States vs China. and more. Guest: Jamie West, Founder & CEO, Westpro Media

Living in Hamilton comes with many expenses and one of them puts Hamiltonians among the upper echelon of paying for car insurance. Why is this? Guest: Daniel Ivans, Insurance Expert, rates.ca - Canada's proposed redesign for our passports features a number of changes including the removal of iconic Canadian moments and people. One such person is the Canadian every Canadian knows and arguably reveres, Terry Fox. Why would anyone approve removing Terry Fox? What's it like seeing this change from a hometown perspective? Guest: Brad West, Mayor of Port Coquitlam, BC - The NHL playoffs are underway and we're seeing a lot of unusual things. Some things are for the better (like the Leafs saving their run against the Panthers) and there are some things are really contradictory. Scott turns to Bubba O'Neil to get his take on how things are going so far and what the future may hold. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

A study out of the US has found that 3 in 10 men between 21 & 30 who heavily use cannabis have developed signs of schizophrenia. What could be causing this and isn't cannabis supposed to be something that isn't addictive? Guest: Dr. James MacKillop, Director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at McMaster University - The Hamilton Farmers' Market has had many consultants take a look at making changes to it. Why? What is being gained from all of these studies and do we really need them? Guest: Jason Farr, Host, Hammer Down with Jay & Mike & former Ward 2 Councillor, City of Hamilton - There are plenty Halls of Fame and with them comes a litany of snubbed people/groups. Don't believe that, take a look at the Country Hall of Fame, Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So many people should be in these halls while others shouldn't be anywhere near them and yet, here we are. Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist and Music Commentator

The 2023 Liberal National Convention was held this past weekend and that's where there were something peculiar suggestions put forward. Would something like reporters not being allowed to report news from undisclosed sources be something you'd support? Guest: Richard Brennan, Former Journalist with The Toronto Star covering both Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill - Would you trade the entire roster of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the roster of the Seattle Kraken, assuming you were in a position to do so? Why does it feel like the Maple Leafs are writing a WWE-grade script that puts their fans through the grinder? Should penalties in hockey be always be balanced or a bit more like other sports? These questions and more get answered in this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Allan Cup Champion Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Mike Fortune who joins Scott to talk about the crowning of King Charles III, if distracted driving is built into our cars, ordering a Gretzky at Tim Hortons, new symbols for Canada and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

What is the likelihood that the PSAC strike will cause other unions to make demands for really large wage increases or else they'll strike? Are we at the beginning of something larger for unions as a whole? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Monetary Economics, Implications of Monetary Growth, with Toronto Metropolitan University - Did you watch the CFL's draft or the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs? Is there a pairing that's worse than that? Was there a plan that just didn't work out or are they just oblivious? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, NFL Chain-Gang Member, Vice-President, Fluke Transport - Should we be worried about the future of AI technology and its relationship with humanity? If the man who's garnered the nickname "The Godfather of AI" mentions some concerns, perhaps we should worry a little. Guest: Dr. Ori Freiman, Post-Doctoral Fellow at McMaster University's Digital Society Lab

Why does China seem to be focused on interfering with and influencing Canada and her people? Guest: Charles Burton, Senior Fellow with the Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute - Divisiveness is clearly something that politicians are wielding to garner support for their campaigns and with an election on the horizon, should we be preparing for an aggressive and anger-fuelled race? Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice-Chair of Summa Strategies & Director of Abacus Data - Is the writers strike going to amount to much in Hollywood? Why would late night talk shows stop production due to the strike when the hosts are hired because of their supposed comedic talents and improv skills? Also, a massive collection of movie/television props, sets and memorabilia is up for grabs! Guest: Bill Brioux, Television Critic, Author & Blogger with brioux.tv

If other LRT systems are seeing the price to expand them go up by 300%, what does that mean for the price of building brand new LRT for Hamilton? Guest: Matti Siemiatycki, Director of the Infrastructure Institute & Professor of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto - Why is the family of a Canadian MP being targeted by the Chinese government and is our government effectively combating it? Guest: Duff Conacher, Co-Founder, Democracy Watch - When Monday rolls around, you know it's time to talk sports with Don Robertson. The Maple Leafs are still in the playoffs, the Florida Panther's decision to not sell tickets to people outside of the US, firing coaches and more is on the docket for today. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner of the 2023 Allan Cup Winning Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a fan base who's used to having bad things happen to the team in the playoffs. Despite this, it didn't happen last night as the Leafs came back from a 4-1 deficit to not only tie things up at 4 but win in overtime. What does the expert eye see in this team? Guest: Ric Nattress, former NHL defenceman & Stanley Cup winner - The Volkswagen battery factory that's set to be built in St. Thomas, Ontario is bringing with it a lot of applause for green energy and electric vehicles. While the vehicles themselves may not produce emissions, what kind of impact does the creation of their batteries have on the environment? Does the total environmental cost of EVs beat out vehicles with internal combustion engines? Guest: Dr. Jennifer Dunn, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering; Director, Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience & Associate Director, Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering

Niagara Falls is going to be building the tallest residential condo building in Canada. How did they come to that decision and what kind of opposition did it face? Guest: Jim Diodati, Mayor, City of Niagara Falls - Scott is joined tonight by one of the winners of the 2023 Allan Cup. You know him, you love him and he's been here before. In fact, he's here every Monday! That's right, Don Robertson is back for more sports talk with the Dundas Real McCoys' Allan Cup win, today being the 30th anniversary of the Buffalo Sabres' May Day goal, the advantages of quickly winning a Stanley Cup playoff series vs. going all the way to Game 7 and more on the docket. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Allan Cup Champion Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Graeme Mackay, the outstanding editorial cartoonist for the Hamilton Spectator. Scott and Graeme discuss whether or not airlines should accommodate overweight people with regards to the size of seats, if the City of Hamilton should be in the golf business, putting King Charles III on our money, paying for Twitter, space travel & more. Guest: Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator

The news that St. Thomas is getting a massive factory from VW got many people really excited. This doesn't mean it's coming without a catch. Ontario is going to be throwing a big chunk of change into the pot to make this happen, how will that impact everything else? Will it? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor with the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University - Did the pandemic cause our children to get more aggressive and less empathetic? A sociologist from right here in Ontario sure thinks so. Guest: Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes, Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair in Inequality & Gender, Western University - Is it a problem to have AI creating music from other people's music? Who owns that when it happens? Also, why would people want to buy cassettes? Are cassette players even available anymore? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

We're hearing that the City of Hamilton is having issues with retaining staff. Is the issue simply a matter of money or is there something larger going on? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - The Maple Leafs have started their playoff run and it feels like the trend is getting followed rather than broken. The fans are used to it and after seeing their performance last night, is there even a glimmer of hope for the Leafs this year? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

How will 155,000 federal workers going on strike impact our economy on the large scale? Could this cause a ripple effect through to the other unions? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Monetary Economics & Implications of Monetary Growth, Toronto Metropolitan University - Have you ever heard of the Hamilton Cardinals? Chances are pretty good that you might run into them soon as their new owner plans to revamp the baseball team. What does the future hold for Hamilton's second oldest sports team? Guest: Eric Spearin, Owner & Managing Partner, Hamilton Cardinals - Every Canadian knows the story of Terry Fox and his famous Marathon of Hope. Despite his immense impact on Canada's history and Canadians as a whole, there is no permanent museum commemorating him and his legacy. Luckily, there are efforts being made to fix this so Canadians can see the many artifacts from his run and bring people closer to a truly amazing story. Guest: Rob Reid, Chair of the Board, Terry Fox Centre

The Hamilton-Wentworth District Schoolboard is making some changes to the way it names schools. What are these changes and why? Guest: Todd White, Wards 5 & 10 Trustee, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board - According to the CBC, it takes issue with being labelled as government funded media. Is this an issue that extends to any potential bias or is it merely saying that it doesn't like the fact that it receives funding by the Canadian government? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Past President, Liberal Party of Canada; Lawyer; Media pundit; Host, The LeDrew 3 Minute Interview - Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have come to expect something to go wrong in the first round of playoffs which takes them out of the running. With that in mind, it's playoff time! What are the chances that this year breaks the decades-long losing streak? Guest: David Alter, Maple Leafs Reporter & Site Manager, Sports Illustrated & The Hockey News; Host, Rink Wide: Toronto & NHL Network Contributor

On this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio, Scott sits down with Annette Hamm from CHCH's Morning Live to talk about if our education system would benefit from an SAT-type test, what the point is of having gender-specific tournaments for things like chess, charging cyclists with traffic crimes, aging gracefully and more! Guest: Annette Hamm, Co-host, Morning Live, CHCH-TV

While it's no secret that houses aren't cheap, there are some signs on the horizon that they might be getting pricier. Why is this and could it just be a seasonal thing? Guest: Judy Marsales, Broker of Record, Judy Marsales Real Estate Ltd. - Canada is home to some of the most expensive phone plans on planet Earth. There's a possibility that won't be the case for much longer - assuming things go to plan. Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor with the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University - With the recent loss of Al Jaffee, the award-winning artist behind many of Mad magazine's cartoons, Scott reminisces on the incredible impact Mad had on its readers and asks what's happened to cartoons as a medium. Guest: Robert Thompson, Founding Director, Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, Syracuse University

Is free public transit something that could be a reality in Hamilton someday? How would the costs to run our transit system be offset by this? Guest: Tammy Hwang, Ward 4 Councillor, City of Hamilton - We are set to see an incredible drop of 40% of farmers over the next 10 years. If people are going to leave, they are going to need to be replaced. How do you get into farming and who might we see entering the business in Ontario? Guest: Keith Carrie, President, Canadian Federation of Agriculture - Today may be Tuesday but that isn't stopping Scott from talking to Don Robertson about the Masters, Blue Jays' home opener, the curious case of Sidd Finch and more. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

The Pink Floyd concert that was held here in Hamilton is held in infamy with crazy stories from all around the stadium. It would appear that inside the stadium, things were super packed but not as crazy. What's the actual story here? Guest: Jon Wells, Reporter & Feature Writer, The Hamilton Spectator - A quick way to make a stir here in Canada is to talk about hockey, more specifically youth hockey. Some proposed changes to house league hockey here in Hamilton have certainly done just that. Guest: Peter Martin, Acting Chair, Hamilton Minor Hockey Council - With Easter Sunday approaching, do people celebrate this holiday for its religious significance? Why or why not? And how is religion being seen nowadays? Are people favouring organized religion over individual practice? How does that, if at all, impact our relationships? Guests: Jamie Strickland, Pastor of Discipleship Ministries, West Highland Baptist Church Gord Heath, Professor of Christian History, Centenary Chair in World Christianity, Director of Canadian Baptist Archives

Dollarama is planning to open 17 new stores across Canada. They also owned 60+ stores this year. It's a boom time for discount stores right now. Guest: Bruce Winder, Retail analyst, Author of ‘Retail Before, During & After COVID-19’ - Since Trudeau was elected into office, the Cdn Fed. Gov has hired up to 80,000 new employees. This means as well that we are paying an extra $151 BILLION a year to run government then we did 2014/15 Guest: Sahir Khan. Executive Vice-President, Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy - Yesterday marks the 50-year anniversary of the first ever call using a cell-phone. In 50-years, we've seen so much advancement in mobile phone technology, which makes some of us remember a time before cell-phones and - in some aspects - happy with where things have gone. Guest: Carmi Levy Technology Analyst & Journalist. 

In two different surveys, Niagara Falls was named the 4th "Most Popular Bucket-list Landmark". In a separate survey, it was named the Biggest tourist trap in Canada. We talk with the Mayor of Niagara Falls about this. Guest: Jim Diodati. Mayor of Niagara Falls - This story is a "wow" moment, learning that a Canadian astronaut is going to be on the next moon mission to orbit the moon. His name is Jeremy Hansen. Guest: Jesse Rogerson. Assistant Professor in the division of Natural Science, York University - On this edition of Sports talk, Scott and Don talk E-BUGs (Emergency Back-Up Goalies), the recent controversy during this past weekend's Womens Basketball Championship. And much more... Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Mike Fortune who joins Scott to talk about winning the lottery, banning participation trophies, actors who look creepy no matter what role they play, why baseball coaches wear uniforms and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

The whopping 5.8% increase to Hamilton's property tax saw a vote of 10-6. Is there a positive that can be found in this? Though this budget received approval, is there something larger that can be extrapolated from the voting numbers? Guest: Matt Francis, Ward 5 Councillor, City of Hamilton - Believe it or not, multiple hot sauce companies call Hamilton home. They are alive and well with some of their sauces available all over the place and starring online in the series, Hot Ones. Scott welcomes Rick Zamperin to run the gauntlet with him along with three of the top hot sauce companies to the show to put forth some of their sauces and share their stories. Guests: Paul Casey, Founder & Owner, Cooksville Hot Sauce Kevin Stuermer, Founder & Owner, Steel City Sauce Co. Brodie Dawson, Founder & Owner, Dawson's Hot Sauce Rick Zamperin, Host, Good Morning Hamilton, 900 CHML

Hamilton almost had a pretty monumental event occur at City Hall as Council's budget nearly didn't pass. In fact, it wouldn't have passed if only a few votes went the other way. What swayed their votes? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 Councillor, City of Hamilton - What is with the increase in the number of suspensions at our schools? Are the assaults, weapons, hate and more indicative of something larger going on? Guest: Dr. Paul Bennett, Founding Director & Lead Consultant, Schoolhouse Consulting and Author, "The State of the System" & Educhatter blog - Tomorrow marks the start of the baseball season for the Toronto Blue Jays. What are the chances that this year might be the year they go all the way and win the World Series? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball Columnist with the Toronto Star & Host of the Deep LF Podcast

Two budgets released within quick succession of each other means it's the perfect time to welcome Ian Lee back to the show. Is there anything in these budgets that will benefit us without slapping us down the road? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University - There are 12 Disney theme parks throughout the world which means there's a plethora of rides and attractions to experience. How long would it take to visit all of them? What about ride all of the rides? Turns out someone has come up with a definitive answer by actually doing that. He found that you can visit every Disney park and ride every operational ride all within 12 days. Now for the next question, how did he do it? Guest: Nathan Firesheets, Rode Every Operating Ride at All 12 Disney Parks in 12 Days - Soap opera actors often get a bad wrap however when there is some heat being thrown around by those in the industry, Scott turns to someone who you probably know better as Dante from General Hospital. Is there a stigma associated with soap opera actors and how are they different from those who act in movies? Guest: Dominic Zamprogna, Actor

Imagine getting taxed more for something and in exchange you receive less. Believe it or not, that's something you can find happening at the grocery store right now. The Food Professor is here to explain how you can pay more for less. Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor of Food Distribution & Policy and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University - Many immigrants to Canada are finding that the cost of everything is much more expensive than expected. Is there anything that can be done about this and how can we prepare/support immigrants in their journey here? Guest: Sarah Wayland, Senior Project Manager for Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council - Why would the Isabella Cup be held somewhere other than a women's hockey stronghold? What should a league do about an official who seems to be flexing their muscles? When are they honestly misinterpreting something? Also, can Don name every head coach of the Maple Leafs since they last won the Stanley Cup? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Jason Farr & Mike Nabuurs who join Scott to talk about their new upcoming project called Hammer Down with Jay & Mike which will be coming to Cable 14 and wherever you get your podcasts, running the Around the Bay Road Race, partisan politics bleeding into local politics, the federal government's handling of the story involving Trudeau's stay in a hotel room that costs $6,000 a night and more. Guests: Jason Farr, Soon-to-be Host of Hammer Down with Jay & Mike, former Hamilton City Councillor Mike Nabuurs, Soon-to-be Host of Hammer Down with Jay & Mike, PA Voice of Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Ontario's budget has been released with some applause and groans. Scott welcomes Ian Lee on to help breakdown the budget and what it means for the residents of Ontario. Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University - How well has the federal government been dealing with the allegations against MP Han Dong? Are Canadians keeping up with the news surrounding the national security of Canada? Guest: Tim Powers, Chairman of Summa Strategies and Managing Director of Abacus Data - There are many popular musicians who've gone on to have very lucrative careers but that doesn't always mean that they've had songs hit the #1 spot on the charts. This list includes some incredible names who are sure to surprise you. Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

Tonight's breaking news surrounding Liberal MP Han Dong's recommendation to a Chinese diplomat to delay the release of the Two Michaels came as a massive shock. Scott is joined by CHML's very own Bill Kelly to talk more about this. Guest: Bill Kelly, Host of The Bill Kelly Show, 900 CHML - There are talks about the world's economy changing away from the US dollar and moving towards the Chinese yuan. Would this cause a practical shift in the world or would it merely be symbolic? How likely is it to happen some day? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Monetary Economics, Implications of Monetary Growth, with Toronto Metropolitan University

Most people would expect the number of red light tickets to decline with time at any given intersection. As Hamilton continues to chug along with its red light camera program, is that sentiment one that's being seen? Do some areas of Hamilton see more people run red lights than others? Guest: Mike Field, Director, Transportation Operations & Maintenance, City of Hamilton - Performance bonuses are meant to serve as an incentive for employees to increase their performance. Why are we seeing public servants receiving some pretty handsome performance bonuses despite the fact that their performance has been severely lacking? Stephanie Kusie, MP for Calgary Midnapore & Shadow Minister for Treasury Board

With the news of certain banks closing up shop, there are questions surrounding the remaining banks and their stability. Are some banks' fate something we can use to gauge other's? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - Is slap fighting even fighting? Do we need to outlaw fighting in hockey or is it getting phased out on its own? Is there a better option than shootouts to determine who wins a game? These questions and more get debated and possibly even solved this week on Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Lorraine Sommerfeld who joins Scott to talk about her upcoming book, the work she's put into it thus far, buttons that seem to be connected to nothing, who should determine what is and isn't considered misinformation and more. Guest: Lorraine Sommerfeld, Auto Writer with Post Media, Motherlode column in the Hamilton Spec and Host of the Lemon Aid Car Show on RogersTV

We've all been in meetings that seem to have no point or purpose. Why have them to begin with? Would businesses be the same without them? Guest: Vijay Pereira, Professor of International & Strategic Human Capital Management, NEOMA Business School - Justice Russell Brown of the Supreme Court of Canada has found himself embroiled in a scandal but that doesn't seem to have been put him at the forefront of every conversation around the country. Actually most Canadians likely don't know that he is a judge for the Supreme Court of Canada to begin with. Is it good that Canadians aren't super aware of everything Supreme Court? Guest: Philip Slayton, Author of Mighty Judgment: How The Supreme Court of Canada Runs Your Life & former lawyer - There have been rumblings about the CFL expanding to Atlantic Canada but are we ever actually going to see it come to fruition? What needs to be done before it can even get underway properly? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

With the coronation of King Charles III set to happen on May 6, how do Canadians feel about the monarchy and its relationship with Canada? Does anyone actually care about the coronation? Guest: Nathan Tidridge, Teacher at Waterdown District High School & Author of six books on the Crown and its role in Canada - What happened with the NHL last night? Will we see the day that a digital overlay on players becomes a regular thing? Also, if the writers in Hollywood go on strike, will we see much of an interruption on the consumer side? Guest: Bill Brioux, Television Critic and Author, brioux.tv

Interests rates continue to jump as Canadians continue to owe money. With more money going to paying down the interest on debt, what does this mean for the economy on a larger scale? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Monetary Economics, Implications of Monetary Growth, Toronto Metropolitan University - For the first time in decades, vinyl record sales topped CD sales. Why has this medium for listening to music made such a resurgence? Guest: Larry Jaffee, Author of Record Store Day: The Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century & Journalism Lecturer, Rutgers University

It would appear that the numbers haven't moved for Doug Ford in either direction despite the controversies that have been coming up for him. What's made for this to be the case and how hasn't he, or his party, slipped or gained in popularity? Guest: David Coletto, Founding Partner & CEO, Abacus Data - Should a sports league ever be allowed to publicly criticize the referees and linesmen? What should be done if they do? And Scott spent how much for tickets to a sports game? It's all coming up on Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Jamie West who joins Scott to talk about why there seems to be more weather-related school closures now versus before, the impending increase to Hamiltonians' taxes, preventing our children from learning how to overcome challenging situations and more. Guest: Jamie West, Founder & CEO, Westpro Media

Canadian MPs are set to receive another pay raise pretty soon. Yes, another one. HOW? Wouldn't it be great to get a raise of about $5,000? How about a little over $10,000? Guest: Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - Would a concert like Live Aid work today? It looks like we won't have to wonder because it sounds like a lot of work is being put in for exactly that only this one will be in support of Ukraine. Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

Brantford is talking about building a new 5,000-seat arena to keep the Bulldogs around. Guest: Kevin Davis, Mayor of Brantford - The latest on the Chinese election meddling and the government's response. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair, Summa Strategies -  Is the NHL REALLY thinking of putting an expansion team in Atlanta? Again? And, how will the addition of a pitch clock change baseball? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Hamiltonians were hit with a tax increase last year and it's looking like this year will be following suit. The catch is that this year will see a much larger jump. How necessary is this increase and what will the money collected go towards? Guest: Tom Jackson, Ward 6 Councillor, City of Hamilton - A documentary about MuchMusic is set to come out. Whether you know about this staple TV channel or not, this documentary will set the stage and tell the story of the place that built many careers. Guest: Sean Menard, Director, 299 Queen Street West

Guests: Trudeau just held a press conference this afternoon to address the recent news about Election meddling from China… It sure was something. Stephen LeDrew   Could some of downtown Hamilton's vacant office buildings be turned into residential? Would that even be a good idea? Judy Lam.   Sports talk with Don Robertson. Are the Leafs cursed? Also, the NHL Draft Lottery is coming up. And, John Morant in trouble for his night at the club. Don Robertson.

Guests: We're getting close to hearing what the tax increase is going to be here in Hamilton. In a letter to council, the head of the Realtors' Association says Hamilton is becoming too expensive. Lou Piriano   The Jays first spring training game drew more viewers on TV than any other team's average for regular season games. Are we that great a fan base or is something else going on? Steve Foxcroft   Another very realistic deepfake is confusing people like the Joe-Rogan-Justin Trudeau one did a few days ago. Allen Mendehlson

A new by the U.S. Energy Department says COVID probably did start in a Wuhan lab. What does this mean? Guest: Charles Burton, Senior Fellow, Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute -  The Prime Minister says Canada will not hold an inquiry into Chinese interference in our election. Should we? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - Don Robertson is not unavailable for trade-related reasons. He's here and there's never a shortage of things to talk about in the realm of sports! Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Sending a large delegation can make sense in certain scenarios but why would someone from the government need a hotel room that costs $6,000 a night? Even more puzzling is why the federal government is going to such lengths to try and hide who was staying in that room? Guest: Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - Becoming a Canadian citizen is the aim of many immigrants both past and present however the rate of people becoming citizens has dropped drastically. Why is that? Guest: Daniel Bernhard, CEO, Institute for Canadian Citizenship - How important is it to have the home team playing in the Grey Cup? Do the Tiger-Cats have a chance at making it to the Grey Cup with their new players? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

A U.S. study suggests half of the people believe the media is not just biased but intentionally misleading them. How did we get here? Guest: Don Gibb, Professor Emeritus, School of Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan University - The federal government is about to start negotiating with 300,000 employees who surely all want raises. How is this going to go? Guest: Tim Powers, Chairman of Summa Strategies and Managing Director of Abacus Data  - A terrific new documentary is out about former Ticats owner (yes, he owned the Maple Leafs, too) Harold Ballard. We talk to the documentary's executive producer about both the documentary itself and Ballard's confusing life.  Guest: Michael Geddes, Executive Producer, Offside: The Harold Ballard Story

Hamilton's Commonwealth Games bid is something that we've heard much about over the years however it sounds like that will be coming to an end. Guest: PJ Mercanti, CEO, Carmen’s Group & President, Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group - Science now tells us coffee is terrible for some of us. The catch? We can't easily know if we're one of the ones for whom it's terrible. So enjoy your morning java... Guest: Dr. Sara Mahdavi, Researcher with the Department of Community and Family Medicine, University of Toronto

UFO is one of those acronyms that brings about many preconceived notions. Despite this, Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) are being identified with some frequency and now we're hearing about them being shot down. While this probably doesn't have anything to do with aliens, what does it mean? Is it a sign of something larger? Guest: Chris Rutkowski, Ufologist - A Yale professor is suggesting the solution to government overspending on the elderly in Japan is mandated euthanasia. Sounds crazy. But just a few years ago we would've said MAiD for the mentally ill would never be considered sane. Should we be concerned someone is talking about this out loud ... and he has a lot of supporters? Guest: Trudo Lemmens, Professor, Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto - How come the officials seem to ruin so many games these days? Was Rihanna the worst halftime show ever? The Blue Jays open spring training and more on this edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Mike Fortune who joins Scott to talk about why it seems like pretty much everyone is on their phone recording everything at sporting events rather than living in the moment and watching with their eyes, if imprisoned criminals should be granted leniency for donating organs, local politicians infusing party politics into their own politics, whether the conversation of introducing a private element into Canadian healthcare should even be had and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

Why do we feel that we shouldn't have to pay for some things? We don't expect to receive a car for free but why do we expect to get other things for free? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - Is a big buildup of Russian troops an indication that Russia will be attempting a large offensive against Ukraine? Guest: Christian Leuprecht, Professor at both the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University; Fellow, Macdonald Laurier Institute - The Super Bowl is only days away which means many people are going to be tuning in for more than sports. What are the big sights to see and if given the choice, would Canadians prefer to watch the Grey Cup over the Super Bowl if the two events happened at the same time? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host, Good Morning Hamilton & Sports Director, 900 CHML

There has been a lot happening at Hamilton City Hall lately from protesters interrupting a meeting to a councillor getting ejected from another. What happened and what was it like being the Committee Chair for both of these events? Guest: Brad Clark, Ward 9 Councillor, City of Hamilton - It's no secret that streaming content has reshaped the world of entertainment especially television. What will TV look like in the next 5 years? This question was answered by several TV executives who had some interesting answers. Do they think it'll change much, if at all? Guest: Robert Thompson, Founding Director, Bleier Centre for Television and Popular Culture, Syracuse University

The Hamilton Bulldogs will be needing a new home while FirstOntario Centre gets some much needed renovations. This means that the usual patronage that many downtown businesses see will be dropping as multiple seasons will be played elsewhere in addition to the many concerts and events that get held at the arena. How big of an impact will this have on Hamilton's downtown? Guest: Ryan McHugh, Manager, Tourism & Events, City of Hamilton - The question of how much money should one have before retiring is ever present in the minds of many Canadians. An estimated number has been put out and it's astronomically high, why? What makes $1.7 million the special number that should be in a Canadian's bank account for a comfortable retirement? Guest: Thie Convery, Financial Planner & Wealth Advisor, Convery Wealth, IPC Securities Corporation

Pierre Poilievre has been using the talking point of Canada being broken but do Canadians agree with that sentiment? Guest: Andrew Enns, Executive Vice-President, Central Canada, Leger - The topic of ChatGPT, an AI program capable of producing original essays and writing, has come to the forefront especially with regards to how it can impact the education system. How will educators manage the likelihood of students turning in schoolwork that's been completed by the AI program? What does a high school principal see in the program? Guest: Brian Daly, Principal, St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School - Has the NHL hit rock bottom after its dismal All-Star Skills Competition? Who are they trying to market to? What can the Hamilton Bulldogs expect to see as they prepare to temporarily move to a new home? These questions and more get answered in this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features none other than CHML's own Diana Weeks! She's on maternity leave right now but that doesn't mean she's keeping away from the microphone as she and Scott talk about everything from infertility to a high-ranked restaurant that doesn't exist. Guest: Diana Weeks, Mom-to-be & Afternoon News Anchor, 900 CHML

What has Willie Nelson done at 90 to suddenly earn a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? And other questions from the typically puzzling annual announcement. Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist & Music Commentator - A new report says many of Canada's grocery stores will be cashless within five years. Digital currency only. Is this wise? Is this where we should be going with our financial system? Guest: Brett Scott, Author of Cloud Money

Once interest rates rise enough to control inflation, do we lower them again? In other words, are we ever going back to the way things were? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Macroeconomics, Toronto Metropolitan University - Social media has not been kind to the NFL officials from last weekend to the point that #NFLrigged has been trending on Twitter. By most accounts, it was a mess. And it wasn't just these games. It's been a mess a lot lately. Are officials getting worse or is the job simply getting too hard? Guest: Ron Foxcroft, CEO of Fluke Transport, Creator of the FOX40 whistle, Author of ‘40 Ways of the Fox’, Member of the Order of Canada, Former Basketball Referee

Billions of dollars were sent to people and businesses who aren't eligible to receive CERB. This was known at the time and we were told it would be sorted out at a later time but now the CRA is saying that it isn't worth their time to go and collect that money that shouldn't have even been sent in the first place. Even though it's known who received the money and how much they received, where is the challenge? Guest: Duff Conacher, Co-Founder, Democracy Watch - On this day in 1969, The Beatles performed their last public performance on the roof of Apple Corps headquarters. The police were called and among the responding officers was 19-year-old Ray Dagg. He joined Scott while Scott was filling in on the Bill Kelly Show to talk about that day and what his life was like after the event. Guest: Ray Dagg, Former London Metropolitan Police Constable - Sports Talk with Don Robertson returns to talk about the Tiger-Cats' newest acquisition, remembering Bobby Hull, NHL teams tanking on purpose to get better draft picks and more. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features CHML's own Dave Woodard who joins the show to talk about everything from the CRA saying that recovering the billions of dollars that were sent to people who shouldn't have received CERB isn't worth their time to TV shows that couldn't be made today. Guest: Dave Woodard, Afternoon News Anchor, 900 CHML

There is some big news for John Mulwa, the Kenyan refugee who is due to be deported on Saturday. His lawyer joins us to explain. Guest: Joshua Makori, Immigration Lawyer  - Should the provincial government be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on four or five World Cup soccer matches in 2026? Some are saying it's way too much for too little. Guest: Neil Lumsden, Ontario's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport & MPP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek

We learned yesterday on the show that our poor operator, Ben, has failed miserably at watching many of the greatest movies ever made. Jaws? No. The Godfather? Nope. Titanic? Uh uh. The list goes on and on. Time to set him on the right track. What are the movies a young man needs to watch this year to catch up?

There have been a series of high-profile crimes recently involving kids. When should adult charges be levied? Guest: Jeff Manishen, Criminal Defence Lawyer, Ross & McBride; Former Crown Attorney - The federal government spends millions and millions of dollars on consultants. Not long ago Hamilton was being hammered for this. Considering the size of our public service, how come people in government can't do this work? Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Former Mayor of Hamilton & Lobbyist

Educators are worried about a new AI program that is now capable of producing essays that pass as authentic. Are we heading toward a new reality in teaching in which cheating is impossible to detect? Guest: Natalie Wexler, Education Writer & Author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—And How to Fix It - It's starting to sound like our property taxes are going to be going way up? Is this true? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councilor, City of Hamilton - Are the Ticats going to sign Bo Levi Mitchell or is this delay saying otherwise? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

GUESTS: Alvis Violo - "The Autograph Boss" What is the value of a signature now? Don Robertson - President of the Dundas Real McCoys joins Scott for his weekly hour of sports talk

With another Friday comes another edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio! This week, Scott welcomes Tim Bolen from CHCH who is now co-hosting Morning Live! which makes him the perfect kind of person to tackle a myriad of topics. Today's docket includes the whole Meghan and Harry wanting to be the most public private citizens in the world, if Canada's win at the World Junior Championship is enough to wipe the Hockey Canada scandal out of people's minds, what you would do if you found lost Nazi treasure, how stable Confederation is and more. Guest: Tim Bolen, Co-Host, Morning Live!, CHCH-TV

Some are calling for stricter bail conditions in the wake of the shooting of the OPP officer. Should it be tougher to get out on bail? Guest: Jaime Stephenson, Defence Lawyer; Former President, Hamilton Criminal Lawyers Association - Now that Damar Hamlin is showing positive signs of recovery, what should the NFL do with its schedule and standings headache? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, NFL Chain-Gang Member, Vice-President, Fluke Transport -  7:10 - 7:55 - Canada is opening its doors to 500,000 new immigrants this year. So why is a local man, who's carved out a life helping his community and been a model Canadian for almost a decade, being deported to Kenya? Guest: John Mulwa, Scheduled for Deportation on January 28, 2023

When I flew out of Pearson in June, it was a disaster. Today people are complaining it's still a disaster. How could things not be improved in half a year? Guest: Gábor Lukács, Founder, President & Coordinator, Air Passenger Rights - Whenever there's a tragedy people say they're offering 'thoughts and prayers.' So why was it so shocking to see an ESPN analyst stop his commentary and actually pray for Damar Hamlin. Do we really mean the 'prayer' part or is that a meaningless cliche? Guest: Dr. David Haskell, Associate Professor, Digital Media & Journalism and Religion & Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University - The Celineiacs are up in arms over the exclusion of their favourite chanteuse from Rolling Stone's list of the top 200 singers. What the heck makes a good singer anyway? Guest: Brian West, Afternoon Drive Host, Y108

Pelé is a soccer player who did more than just play the beautiful game, he sparked a love for the sport of soccer in many people's hearts. Now that he's died, people are looking back on his legacy and many achievements. While some remember seeing him on their TV, a Hamilton man is remembering what it was like playing against him. Was it intimidating? Exciting? An opportunity to get an autograph right there on the pitch? Guest: John McGrane, Former Canadian Men’s Soccer Player, Member of the Canadian & Hamilton Soccer Halls of Fame and the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame

Today sees a major spike in divorce filings but why is that? Why are people choosing divorce nowadays and how much does it cost for each side to go through the process? Guest: Tracy Miller, Family Lawyer; Co-Host, Divorce Solutions Podcast

One of the big sports stories that's circulating right now is Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's collapse and subsequent hospitalization following a tackle mid-game. What happened to him and could it happen to athletes in other sports too? Guest: Dr. David Levy, Sports Medicine Practitioner; Team Physician for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for 35 years, the Toronto Rock since inception, McMaster University and Mohawk College varsity teams for over 30 years; Medical Staff for the Hamilton Bulldogs; Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame Inductee - Today sees a major spike in divorce filings but why is that? Why are people choosing divorce nowadays and how much does it cost for each side to go through the process? Guest: Tracy Miller, Family Lawyer; Co-Host, Divorce Solutions Podcast - Pelé is a soccer player who did more than just play the beautiful game, he sparked a love for the sport of soccer in many people's hearts. Now that he's died, people are looking back on his legacy and many achievements. While some remember seeing him on their TV, a Hamilton man is remembering what it was like playing against him. Was it intimidating? Exciting? An opportunity to get an autograph right there on the pitch? Guest: John McGrane, Former Canadian Men’s Soccer Player, Member of the Canadian & Hamilton Soccer Halls of Fame and the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame

Scott welcomes Jamie West back to the show for this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio. Together they debate of all of the great holiday topics from real or fake Christmas tree to Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. Guest: Jamie West, Founder & CEO, Westpro Media

Canada is mandating that by 2026, 20 per cent of all new cars be electric. Are we even remotely ready for this? Guest: Tim Burrows, Manager, Electric Vehicle Society - YouTube is paying $2 billion for the rights to Sunday night football. Is this the beginning of all sports moving to streaming services? ALSO, there hasn't been a classic Christmas movie released in the past 20 years. Are we no longer festive enough? Creative enough? Joyful enough? Guest: Bill Brioux, Television Critic, Author & Founder, brioux.tv

Two polls were taken about what matters to Canadians. One in 1992, one 30 years later in 2022. How have we changed?  Guest: Craig Worden, President & Chief Innovation Officer, Pollara Strategic Insights - The number of Canadians who consider religion important is dropping. Except one age group is surprisingly rising. Which one? Guest: David Haskell, Associate Professor, Digital Media and Journalism / Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University - Are we totally sick of those endless ads for gambling sites that fill every game we watch yet? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, NFL Chain-Gang Member, Vice-President, Fluke Transport

We've heard that the government should stay out of the nation's bedrooms but what about the nation's kitchens? It would appear that some UN delegates at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference want to tell you what to eat but why are they trying to influence your diet and should they be trying anyways? Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois a.k.a. The Food Professor, Professor of Food Distribution & Policy and Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University - Some really nasty weather is projected to be hitting us just before Christmas but just how bad could it be and why? Guest: Anthony Farnell, Chief Meteorologist, Global News _ Recent stats say Canadians are doing better at marriage and having fewer divorces. Are the numbers lying? Guest: Dr. Lisa Strohschein, Professor, Sociology, University of Alberta

As the war in Ukraine progresses and the Russian invasion continues to be repelled, people are starting to question Putin's hold on Russia. What are the chances that a coup is waiting to strike? Guest: Dr. Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor of Political Science with Carleton University

As the war in Ukraine progresses and the Russian invasion continues to be repelled, people are starting to question Putin's hold on Russia. What are the chances that a coup is waiting to strike? Guest: Dr. Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor of Political Science with Carleton University - Writing a book is no small. There is a lot of time that goes into the research and actual writing which means you've got to pick a topic that won't bore you nor your reader. With that in mind, why would someone want to write a book about a prime minister who was in office for a little over 2 months? Let's ask him! Guest: Steve Paikin, Host, The Agenda, TVO - When you move to a new country and its team plays against your former home country's team, who should you cheer for? If one of your players makes a really weird play that doesn't work out, do you scream at them or just go, "what were you thinking?" in the locker room? These questions and much, much more gets answered and debated in this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

The stars have aligned for this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio! Scott has assembled all of CHML's announcers for a super-round table featuring Rick Zamperin of Good Morning Hamilton, Bill Kelly of The Bill Kelly Show and Scott Thompson of Hamilton Today. Together they tackle topics that range everywhere from if Bo Levi Mitchell will someday be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' quarterback to what Hamiltonians' taxes may go up by. Buckle up for an amazing show that truly lives up to its name. Guests: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton Bill Kelly, Host of The Bill Kelly Show Scott Thompson, Host of Hamilton Today

Why are we seeing so many students suffering from chronic abenteeism at school? How does this impact grades? Can we fix it or is this something that will be temporary and eventually fade away? Guest: Dr. Paul Bennett, Founding Director and Lead Researcher, Schoolhouse Institute - A joke tweet from PGA golfer Mackenzie Hughes revealed a lot about people, the most glaring of which is that many only read the first few lines before coming to a conclusion and moving on. The answer was in the tweet and yet so many didn't bother to read that far. How can we teach people to read everything before drawing a conclusion? Should this be taught early on in childhood? Can you even effectively teach critical thinking? Guest: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts

You can see some pretty interesting things if you drive around Hamilton and among those interesting things is a certain station wagon from the movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. How did the current owner come to acquire such a unique vehicle and what has the public's reaction to it been? Guest: Sean Kiely, Owner, Ford Country Squire station wagon - We might someday see the owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs also become the owner of the Ottawa Senators. If that happens, will the team be coming to Hamilton? Also, could we prevent countries from building massive stadiums and then abandoning them after the one sporting event is done? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

For people who claim to want their privacy, Harry and Meghan sure do a lot to stay in the public eye. The story they keep selling is being made in all mediums possible but what do they have to sell after everyone knows their story? Do they have a shelf life? Guest: Nathan Tidridge, Waterdown high teacher and author of six books on the Crown and its role in Canada - It isn't even Christmas yet and the Blue Jays are making some pretty big moves. What could next season' Jays look like and are they poised for a World Series win? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball columnist and podcaster with the Toronto Star - Many music genres have had their story told but soft rock is one that's fallen by the wayside despite being a seemingly ever-present sound for many years. What place does soft rock have in our history? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist and music commentator

What was done to get us out of the last recession? Are moves being made so that we go down that path and avoid this supposed recession we're heading towards? Is that even possible for us to do at the moment? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - Hospital wait times are even longer than before but just how bad are they and what are other countries doing to combat this? What if we followed what Sweden and Switzerland are doing? Guest: Nadeem Esmail, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute & Health Policy Specialist - Who holds the responsibility to pull an athlete off the field due to injury? The numbers are pointing towards a little bit of favouritism towards the Toronto Maple Leafs but is that indicative of the referees' or the players' tendencies? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Is university too hard? Why does it seem like the federal government is treating Quebec and Alberta differently? Will Hamiltonians be forced to pay higher taxes because the new city councilors all want new programs without getting rid of any preexisting ones? Are penalties a sufficient way of deciding the winner in games as large as World Cup matches? These questions and more get debated and answered on this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio. Guest: Mike Fortune, Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

After much consternation regarding the potential for land in the Greenbelt being sold to land developers, a request was made on Twitter to see MPPs Donna Skelly and Neil Lumsden appear before Hamilton's city council to find out more about this. Scott welcomes MPP Donna Skelly to the show to speak about exactly this. Guest: Donna Skelly, MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook - While housing markets across the country seem to be rebounding and shifting, we're being told that this is not the case here in Hamilton. Despite being an area that sees lots of people wanting to move to it, why is the housing market being seen as a cold one? Guest: Dr. Murtaza Haider, Associate Professor, Data Science and Real Estate Management, Toronto Metropolitan University - Brittney Griner is on her way back to the US, Buffalo sports fans are still being hit with a curse and more money is being paid out to athletes who are already making a ton of money (in the hundreds of millions). It's a lot to tackle which means Scott needs to bring out the big guns of Steve Foxcroft! Guest: Steve Foxcroft, NFL Chain-Gang Member, Vice-President, Fluke Transport

Decisions are being made at City Hall regarding how much your taxes are going to be going up (or if they will at all). How is this process coming along and how much of a hit can Hamiltonians expect this year? Guest: John Paul Danko, City Councilor for Ward 8 - Fighting has fallen by the wayside in the modern game of hockey. While this may please many, there are still those who love a good hockey fight and miss the days of enforcers and goons. Those who can't get enough of hockey fights will be delighted to hear about Ice Wars. a new fighting league that's based around hockey fights and hockey fights alone. Guest: Bryan Pedersen, Wyoming MMA Commissioner

When you buy millions and millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines, they only last so long before they go bad and according to Canada's Auditor-General, that's soon to be the case. Does this mean the feds are essentially flushing your tax dollars down the drain? Guest: Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - If you've watched Sesame Street, you've probably seen Bob McGrath's face or heard his voice. Though he passed away this week, he'll live on in the memories of everyone who enjoyed his performances for the world. Scott looks into the audio vault and pulls out an interview he did with Bob back in 2014 in celebration of the 45th anniversary of Sesame Street.

Guests: Matt Francis Dan Kelly Don Robertson

Guests: Brian Patrick Green Bill Brioux Bubba O'Neil

The Federal Government is trying to collect back CERB money from recipients who it turns out weren't eligible. This sounds bad for the ones who it turns out weren't eligible, but it seems also like a good thing to return tax payer money where it belongs. Jay Goldberg. Ontario Director of the Canadian Tax Payers Federation. Crowdfunding has been a great tool for small start-ups to get off the ground. But there are also a lot of weird ones out there. Many campaigns, you would be shocked to learn have gone beyond successful. Technical producer Tom joins Scott to take a look at the weirdest and most interesting crowdfunding campaigns. Tom McKay. Technical Producer AM900 CHML.

Today is Giving Tuesday! This day was created to highlight charities and how they need donations in order to help people. Are Canadians as generous as we might like to think we are? Guest: Nicole Danesi, Senior Manager of Public Relations, Canada Helps - Why does it seem like politics always find a way to seep into the sports world? Are we not able to keep the two separate? Guest: Dr. Ann Pegararo, Lang Chair In Sport Management and Director of the International Institute for Sport Business & Leadership, University of Guelph; Co-Director of the National Network for Research on Gender Equity in Canadian Sport

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features former Ward 2 councilor Jason Farr! As a newly minted private citizen, there's a lot that he's done and a lot still left to do. Scott and Jason chat about Jason's time on Y108's morning show, some behind the scenes from his time on Hamilton City Council and much, much more. Guest: Jason Farr, former Ward 2 councilor

The Bank of Canada has announced that it's losing money for the first time ever. While this generally sounds like a bad thing, is it really? What does this actually mean? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Monetary Economics, Implications of Monetary Growth, with Toronto Metropolitan University - Whenever humanity has made efforts to get to the moon, there's always some sort of buzz that gets generated, this time seems to be different. Why hasn't anyone pointed out that we've sent a rocket to the moon, passing just over 100km from the lunar surface? That's incredible! Guest: Dr. Jesse Rogerson, Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies in Natural Science with York University - A major player in the history of the NHL has passed away. Börje Salming helped pave the way for European players to join the NHL and flourish as much as they have. What did he bring to the game and how is his impact still being felt today? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Canada played its first match in the World Cup today against Belgium. How did we do and what is needed in order to pull out a win next time? Guest: John McGrane, former Olympic and North American Soccer League soccer player - The news that a meteor flew over the Grimsby/Vineland area and landed somewhere around here. Can you find any pieces and how big of a meteorite should you keep an eye out for? If you do find a piece, what can you do with it? Guest: Dr. Kim Tait, Mineralogy, Meteorite and Gem Curator at the Royal Ontario Museum - The Tim Bosma murder case is an infamous case in this area and it's making a return to the news cycle. Why is this and what is it saying about Canada's legal system? Guest: Jeff Manishen, Criminal Lawyer, Ross & McBride & Former Crown Attorney

Canada is looking to expand its requirements for who's eligible for MAiD but is this needed, especially when you consider that Canada is number 1 in terms of MAiD? With the current rate of patients who are opting for and being granted MAiD, does that mean, would opening it up to the mentally ill prove to be a beneficial move? What about children? Guest: Trudo Lemmens, Professor, Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy, University of Toronto

Canada is back on the world stage as it prepares for its World Cup appearance against Belgium. Scott is joined by someone who knows what it's like playing the game on the international stage. Does Canada stand a chance against the Belgians? Guest: Greg Sutton, Master Coach, Men & Women's Soccer, Concordia University; Former Professional Soccer Player - Canada is looking to expand its requirements for who's eligible for MAiD. Is this needed, especially when you consider that Canada is number 1 in terms of MAiD? With the current rate of patients who are opting for and being granted MAiD, does that mean, would opening it up to the mentally ill prove to be a beneficial move? What about children? Guest: Trudo Lemmens, Professor, Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy, University of Toronto - Today marks the 59th anniversary of the assassination of JFK. Is there still an interest in this historical moment and why hasn't all of the documentation surrounding this event been released? Guest: Randy Owen, JFK Assassination Historian

Tiny shelters are being touted as something that could help the homeless however the next issue is where do you put them. How do people feel about a proposed location here in Hamilton? Guest: Tom Cooper, Director, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction & Board Member, Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters - Could we see the World Cup get hosted by North Korea someday? Why would a sports team draft a player only to avoid playing him? Why aren't we seeing Canadian university football games on TV? What can we do to make the Grey Cup as big as the Super Bowl? Get answers to these questions and more! Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio pairs perfectly with Lorraine Somerfeld! Scott welcomes Lorraine to the show tonight to talk about if Remembrance Day is being honoured less with time, if highly processed foods should be classified as drugs, whether or not airlines should charge more based on your size, if we're witnessing the death of social media and more. Guest: Lorraine Sommerfeld, Auto Writer with Post Media, Author of the Motherlode column in the Hamilton Spec and Host of the Lemon Aid Car Show on RogersTV

Is there a curse on all of Buffalo's sports teams? It seems like they haven't been able to catch a break for the longest team and this year was looking like it could be the one for the Bills until their superstar quarterback got injured. While this hasn't completely wiped their chances right off the board, it has certainly followed in the footsteps of many other unfortunate events of years and teams past. What's going on with Buffalo? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Commentator, NFL Chain Gang Member & Vice President, Fluke Transport - The CFL's Grey Cup championship game garners a lot of attention from Canadians and despite CFL football identifying heavily with all things Canadian (after all it is called the Canadian Football League) why isn't the performing artist for the half-time show a Canadian musician? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist and Music Commentator

How does someone's attractiveness impact their grades in school? Does it make someone more likely to get good grades all throughout or is it only certain subjects? Guest: Adrian Mehic, Doctoral Student, Lund University - A lot of interest in purchasing the Ottawa Senators has been expressed and one of the names that's being thrown around is Michael Andlauer, owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs. How likely is it that he'll make the move and if he did buy the team, could the team move to Hamilton? Guest: Bruce Garrioch, Columnist, Ottawa Sun - Becoming a city councilor comes with a lot of work that a new member might not always be aware of. Scott welcomes one of Hamilton's new incoming councilors who's currently in the process of being brought up to speed before getting sworn in. What's it like so far and is it anything like the start of a new season of Survivor? Guest: Jeff Beattie, Incoming Hamilton City Councilor for Ward 10

What can we expect to see out of the US' midterm elections? How might the outcomes impact Canada and its relationship with the United States? Guest: Dr. Laura Dawson, Executive Director, Future Border Coalition - Jewelry can be made out of many different materials but this lady has discovered you can make it out of more than just metal and gems. Try something more along the lines of breast milk or semen! Guest: Amanda Booth, Artist & Founder, Trinkets by Amanda Booth - While many of us don't love paying taxes, it's understood why we do. Unfortunately, it seems our tax dollars aren't always being funneled towards healthcare, education and roads. Lots of bonuses are being paid out to crown corporations and their employees sometimes regardless of performance! We want our taxes to pave roads and teach kids not line the pockets of people who are already excellently paid. Guest: Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

According to recent information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada's 2019 federal election saw China covertly fund candidates associated with the Chinese Communist Party, place employees in the offices of MPs with the intent of influencing policy to benefit China and more. Scott welcomes Elliot Tepper to the show to talk about this incursion. Guest: Dr. Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor, Political Science, Carleton University

According to recent information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada's 2019 federal election saw China covertly fund candidates associated with the Chinese Communist Party, place employees in the offices of MPs with the intent of influencing policy to benefit China and more. Scott welcomes Elliot Tepper to the show to talk about this incursion. Guest: Dr. Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor, Political Science, Carleton University - Should a sports team hire someone who was a bully when they were 14? Do referees ever favour one team over another when making a call? Is there a way to get a ref on your side? How should we feel about the Houston Astros' and their World Series win? It's all coming up on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Last year around this time, the people behind Hamilton Day had brought it back after a long time without it. Now we hear it's returning this year as well, possibly becoming an annual tradition going forward. Chrystia Freeland, the Finance Minister gave her mini-budget. The good news: the federal government brought in revenues of roughly $40 BILLION more than what was projected (though most of the reason might be because of inflation). The Bad News (depending on who you ask): is sounds like the Federal govenrment might pour this right back into the market, which seems to have been the cause of our inflation problem. We talk to Dr Ian Lee more about this. The CFL announced their All-Stars list... SYKE! They announced that there was a msitake with how the list was put together, so the "All-Stars" are not All-Stars anymore.

Some people - maybe because they haven't lived here all their live - are now adults who have NEVER experienced Halloween. A piece at The Spec: "I’m 27 years old and have never been trick or treating" by Spec Reporter Beatriz Baleeiro. She's going out trick-or-treating tonight for the first time. One week ago, we were talking about the election as the votes were coming in. One week later, we see the electoral map of Hamilton, showing where votes from various polling stations went for Mayor. What we see is a stark image of our city. Russ Powers joins us, soon-to-be out-going councilor for ward 5. It's Monday, which means we sit down with Don Robertson once again for Sports talk.

On this edition of The Scott Radley Show Podcast, we are joined for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio by Graeme Mackay. The outstanding editorial cartoonist for the Hamilton Spectator. We’re going to be talking about the local election, Andrea Horwath, drawing, art, free speech, and if a Prince throw his family under the bus in a memoire? Lots more on The Scott Radley Show Podcast.

Less than 72 hours after the Hamilton election was finalized (an election that was meant to change everything, get rid of the division), Councilors are already taking shots at other Hamilton politicians, including one open letter saying they will not talk to the Hamilton Spectator because of a police story that was covered, claiming it was racist. Sports talk with Bubba O'Neil! We're hearing Aaron Judge may get a contract for 10 years $500 million judge! If you own a baseball team and a few billion dollars, would you sign Aaron Judge for $500 million?

We've talked about it a couple of times this year because it keeps happening. Analysts and "experts" keep raising interests and ringing alarm bells. And yet it keeps happening! Which might mean that the alarm bells don't need to be rung, or it might mean that there will come a day where if you cry wolf enough times a wolf might appear. IPSOS did a poll about Hockey Culture. 6 in 10 Canadians say they believe there is a problem with Hockey Culture. Is that the case? Is it worse than it use to be?

Housing prices are dropping which some are celebrating while others are concerned. Could this housing market lead to a crash? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor, Macroeconomics, Toronto Metropolitan University - How do the different regions of Canada feel about each other? Do we properly understand the culture of the provinces and are they properly presented? Guest: Charles Breton, Executive Director, Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation - There's a likelihood that strong mayors powers will be granted to a number of municipalities in Ontario within the next term. Hamilton is one such municipality which begs the question of how that could, and if it even should, play into who you'll vote for. Guest: John Mascarin, Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP

Why would anyone want to mix two different strains of COVID? Is making a more powerful variant uncommon in labs nowadays? How dangerous is it to make something like this? Guest: Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid, Health Policy PhD graduate and Queen Elizabeth Scholar - As the Toronto Raptors begin their season, do they have a good chance at winning the championship this year or could they be working towards making next year's championship their target? Will the NFL see Tom Brady truly retire part way through the season? It looks like Tua Tagovailoa is cleared to take the field this week however after taking some incredible hits that look like they clearly led to concussions, what's changed? Is the NFL's claimed concern for players' safety valid if he gets hit and concussed again? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

A poll is showing that Andrea Horwath is currently leading Hamilton's mayoral race. Is name recognition enough to win this and is she too far ahead for the second-place candidate to catch up? What else does the electorate think? Guest: Robert Martin, Data Analyst, Main Street Research - Sass Jordan is coming to Ancaster this Friday! Chances are pretty good that you've heard her name before and now you can come see her live. She's done a lot of amazing things and Scott welcomes her to the show to talk about all of this and more. Guest: Sass Jordan, Award-Winning Musician

It's been 4 years since cannabis' legalization here in Canada. What knowledge has been gained about the drug in this time? Guest: James MacKillop, Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University & Director, Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton - Should someone's upbringing, race or socio-economic circumstance be brought into consideration as a factor that could influence a court case? Guest: Jeff Manishen, Former Prosecutor; Criminal Defence Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP - What's the best fan celebration in sports? Is there a more important player on a hockey team than the goalie? What does the NFL have that makes it more appealing to football fans than the CFL game? Scott welcomes Don Robertson back to the show to debate these questions and more on this weeks edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

When your Friday shows are called The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio, you need someone who's both really bright and really good at conversation and there are few comparable to the one and only Annette Hamm. She joins Scott to talk about canceling school on hot days because the building has no air conditioning, social media user slamming candidates rather than supporting others, Disney's theme parks pricing people out of visiting, voting for a candidate based solely on their gender and more. Guest: Annette Hamm, Co-Host, Morning Live, CHCH-TV

What's the point of having an inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act? Will anything be changed by this inquiry? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview & Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - What's with our obsession with getting new things? A new book aims at tackling that question and how it is that we always find a way to acquire more stuff. Guest: Paul Berton, Author of "Shopomania: Our Obsession With Possession" & Editor-in-Chief, The Hamilton Spectator - All of the top TV shows except for NFL football were dealt losses over the last year which is never a good sign. Why are these viewership numbers dropping so heavily and what could it spell for the future? Guest: Robert Thompson, Founding Director, Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture & Trustee Professor, Television and Popular Culture, Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing their season opener tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. What can fans expect to see this year and the age old question surfaces once again, could this be the year? No, not win the Stanley Cup! Will they win a round in the playoffs? Guest: David Alter, Publisher & Reporter, Inside The Maple Leafs, SI - Were you taught about how to work with money? A Leger poll found that around 65% of Canadians said no in response to that question. Why is this? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - Many amazing people call Hamilton home and one such person is now a champion triathlete! She won the Women's 60-64 age category at the 2022 Kona Ironman and now she joins Scott to talk about how she is able to accomplish such an amazing feat at 60 years and what's she's planning to do next. Guest: Sharon MacKinnon, 2022 Kona Ironman F60-64 Champion

It used to be hard to find a job not too long ago however it now seems like everywhere is looking employees. What's changed and why does it seem like every business is hiring so suddenly? Guest: Dr. Wayne Lewchuk, Professor, Labour Studies, McMaster University - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats Alumni Association will be putting on a dinner tomorrow night to honour Danny McManus who'll be getting his name put up on the Wall of Honour in addition to the 1972 Tiger-Cats team who won the Grey Cup at their home stadium, the first team in the modern CFL to do so. Scott is joined by the quarterback of that team, Chuck Ealey, to talk about this and more. Guest: Chuck Ealey, Former Tiger-Cats Quarterback, 1972 Grey Cup Winner & MVP - Today is Canadian Beer Day! Is there a special way beer drinkers celebrate this? Do other people actually like those super bitter craft beers? What inspires someone to start their own brewery? Ed Madronich, of Shaun & Ed Brewing Company, joins Scott to answer these questions and more. Guest: Ed Madronich, Co-Founder, Shaun & Ed Brewing Company

These last few weeks have seen some of Hamilton's top mayoral candidates join the show to talk about their plan for Hamilton, should they be voted in, on what Scott likes to call Mayoral Monday. Hear the interviews Scott conducted with Andrea Horwath, Keanin Loomis & Bob Bratina.

Scott welcomes on one of the candidates running to be Hamilton's next mayor, Bob Bratina, to the show where they talk about his plan for Hamilton, should he be elected as mayor. Guest: Bob Bratina, Mayoral Candidate, 2022 Hamilton Municipal Election - There is no shortage of things to talk about in the world of sports this week! From the cheating allegations in competitive fishing to Mackenzie Hughes' second PGA win, Don and Scott cover it all. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

With another Friday evening comes another edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio, this week featuring Jamie West! Today is also National Truth & Reconciliation Day which has Scott and Jamie talking about what this day is designed to mark, if today should be a stat holiday and more in addition to the benefits and drawbacks of having inexperienced politicians, almost catching a baseball that would be worth a ton of money and what's with peoples' fascination with true crime & serial killers? Guest: Jamie West, Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director

After moderating 16 political debates, has Mike Fortune's sanity been permanently altered? How does he feel about the future of Hamilton's political scene? Guest: Mike Fortune, Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14 - The topic of LRT in Hamilton is enduring with many for and against but in an area of Toronto, it's actually being built. The catch is that this project began construction 11 years ago, is still underway and its deadline to be finished just came and went. If this project is still being built, how has it affected the surrounding businesses and could we see a similar thing happen here? Guest: Enzo Torrone, Chair, Fairbank Village BIA - After 21 years, CHCH's Morning Live will be needing a new co-host because Bob Cowan has announced his retirement! In fact, his last time on the air will be tomorrow morning. Scott welcomes Bob to the show to recount his time on the air and what's next. Guest: Bob Cowan, Co-Host, Morning Live, CHCH-TV

Lots and lots of bonuses were given out to government executives even during the pandemic and yet the reasons for those bonuses are so flimsy! Bonuses are supposed to be given out for performance that is above and beyond what's expected, did the bare minimum even get achieved? What kind of message does this send to the public? Guest: Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - Many European countries have some major questions that will need answers as the weather gets colder and their main source of energy runs dry thanks to a gamble that was placed on Russian oil. While this may seem like an issue that would affect European countries, the world economy is tied together which means we could be impacted too. What would that look like and how severe could it be? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, International Monetary Economics, Implications of Monetary Growth, Toronto Metropolitan University - As we near the 50th anniversary of Paul Henderson's goal during the 1972 Summit Series, Scott has started to wonder, what is the greatest moment in Canadian sports history? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Commentator, NFL Chain Gang Member & VP, Fluke Transportation Group

Scott welcomes on one of the candidates running to be Hamilton's next mayor, Keanin Loomis, to the show where they talk about his plan for Hamilton should he be elected as mayor. Guest: Keanin Loomis, Mayoral Candidate, 2022 Hamilton Municipal Election - What injury was sustained by Tua Tagovailoa? Is the NFL's concussion protocol a sham? What makes a player one of the greats? And should you put more effort into getting into the playoffs or saving your best pitchers so you can do well in the playoffs (assuming you make it in)? These questions and more get debated and possibly even answered in this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

What should happen to Hamilton's city council during a municipal election? Are small things worth settling or should it all be decided by the next council? Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Former Mayor of Hamilton - Bill C-11 wants to govern what Canadians view online by promoting Canadian content over others. Is that actually how it would work or is there something more going on? Does anyone other than the government actually something like this put in place? Guest: JJ McCullough, Political Commentator & Youtuber - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been performing terribly this year however their showing against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was surprisingly great. Is this a sign of things to come or was it simply a fluke? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

University is often something that's touted as being the bastion of debate and alternative points of view. Some research has found that may not be the case anymore as the political leanings and opinions of professors has shifted across Canada. Guest: Dr. Christopher Dummitt, Professor, Canadian History, Trent University & Podcast Host, 1867 & All That. - This week marks a big milestone for M*A*S*H but that's not the only big TV news that's happened and is happening. Scott welcomes Bill Brioux to talk about what's going on in television today. Guest: Bill Brioux, Television Critic & Author, brioux.tv

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features Dave Woodard who joins Scott to talk about Australians wanting Steve Irwin on their money, the CFL and the position the Tiger-Cats find themselves in, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, transitioning to a cashless society and more. Guest: Dave Woodard, News Anchor, 900 CHML

Are you preparing to start going back to work on-site or hunkering down to keep working from home? Do you even want to stop working from home? Guest: Dr. Andrew Parkin, Executive Director, Environics Institute - Why does it seem like there isn't a government nor party who has any intention of saving or cutting back on spending? Could all this spending, this time from Doug Ford, be part of what's contributing to inflation's rapid rise? Guest: Jay Goldberg, Ontario Director & Interim Atlantic Director, Canadian Taxpayer Federation - There's almost a recycling of music nowadays as entire catalogues get bought and re-released and covers are put out and sampling pulls favourite clips & obscure ones alike. How has this contributed to a lack of 'new-ness' by regurgitating popular music of the past? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

What is worse for us to face, a recession or inflation? That's seemingly the choice that's having to be made as the fight against inflation continues but could a third, and albeit worse, option be on the table, we get both a recession and more inflation? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor, Macroeconomics, Toronto Metropolitan University - If you voluntarily give your DNA to the police and it gets used for more than just that case, were your rights violated? Where is the line drawn and if it hasn't been drawn yet, where should it be drawn? Guest: Jeff Manishen. Former prosecutor; Criminal Defence Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP - It turns out that music is a fantastic tool for reconnecting with people who are afflicted with diseases like dementia. How does our brain interact with music and what is the response actually like in someone with dementia? Guest: Rachael Finnerty, Registered Psychotherapist, Certified Music Therapist & Music Therapy Academy Founder

Having a conversation requires two people but it simply can't happen when one of those people is belligerent, rude and inconsiderate. Unfortunately, that's the nice way of describing how some people conduct themselves online and someone has found this to be a major hindrance to their business. How is The Conversation dealing with problematic users who make it impossible to have a conversation? Guest: Scott White, Editor-in-Chief & CEO, The Conversation Canada - Gerry Dee has found a way onto many different TV shows all while also being a stand-up comedian. As a stand-up comedian, he's taking the stage right here in Hamilton on Thursday Sept. 15! Scott welcomes him to the show to talk about the show and more. Guest: Gerry Dee, Actor & Stand-Up Comedian

Scott welcomes on one of the candidates running to be Hamilton's next mayor, Andrea Horwath, to the show where they talk about her newly released plan for Hamilton. Guest: Andrea Horwath, Mayoral Candidate, 2022 Hamilton Municipal Election - Do you feed an easy pitch to a batter who's about to break a milestone? What should be done about the Montreal Canadiens' new captain who doesn't speak any french? These questions and more get answered in this weeks' edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio features none other than CHML's very own, Bill Kelly! He's worked all morning and now Scott is pulling him in to work all evening long where they talk about what the future of the monarchy may look like, simplifying the way governments and their subsidiaries speak about things, the state of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and more. Guest: Bill Kelly, Host, The Bill Kelly Show (9a-12p), 900 CHML

The Scott Radley show for September 8th: Guests: Nathan Tidridge - Presented the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Prince of Wales in 2012. Author of Beyond Mainland, Canada's Constitutional Monarchy, and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. Robert Finch - The Dominion Chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada. Tim Powers - Chair of Summa Strategies

As winter approaches, it's possible we could be seeing a massive 30% jump to the price to heat your home. This comes after an already staggering jump of 50% to the price. What's happened to all of the liquid natural gas (LNG) that's purported to be under Canada? Can't we just use that for cheap? Guest: Patrick DeHaan, Head of Petroleum Analysis, Gasbuddy.com - The Bank of Canada is set to have another hike to its interest rate which could be very threatening to jobs all over Canada in addition to the economy itself. Is a recession imminent? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - When entertainers betray the image they try to project to the world, what should we do? Should a musician who's accused of horrendous acts continue to get air play on the radio? Should we continue to enjoy the works of entertainers and athletes after they are accused? What if they're found guilty? Guest: Alan Cross, Host, The Ongoing History of New Music & Creator, A Journal of Musical Things

Hamilton will be implementing a new 'nuisance bylaw'. How does this one differ from other bylaws and laws that already exist and why is it being put forth? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 Councillor, City of Hamilton - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been performing terribly this year. Despite their 3 wins and 9 losses this season, they aren't completely out of the race in the East Division. Does that indicate something wrong with the league? On another note, how has the ideal NFL & CFL player changed over time to match what kind of game the leagues have been trying to go for? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, NFL Chain-Gang Member, Vice-President, Fluke Transport

Hamilton's city budget deal with large sums of money but how much of that money is actually being spent on each Hamiltonian? How does this compare to past spending and other cities? Guest: Jason Clemens, Executive Vice President, Fraser Institute - Rob Golfi, a local real estate agent, is being sued by another agent from the US over a pose that he does in advertisements. This other agent says that Golfi is infringing on his pending trademark pose. Is there an argument that can be made here and what can actually be trademarked? What, if any, difference is there between trademarks and copyright? Guest: Rebecca Kupfer, Associate Lawyer (Trademarks, Copyright, IP Litigation), Shift Law - Is Serena Williams the greatest female tennis player of all time? What makes a network more inclined to give air time to one sporting event over another? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

When the federal government conducts a census, the findings don't get released in one big information dump, instead opting for a trickle. Some of that info trickle has been released and it would appear that 1 in 5 people in Hamilton is over the age of 65. How could that statistic impact the city and the rest of its population? Guest: Steve Buist, Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator - Roberto Alomar won't be joining in the commemoration of the Toronto Blue Jays' 30th anniversary of their 1992 World Series win. How should we deal with players who have, or are alleged to have, committed crimes? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport - Has HGTV ruined home renovation? There's an undeniable 'look' that can be attributed to the many shows on the network but how has that permeated into the rest of interior design? Guest: Glen Peloso, Creative Princial, Glen Peloso Design

Is a 35% raise something that the government can afford to give to education workers over the next 3 years? While a strike voting is set to take place, will either side back down? Guest: Jay Goldberg, Ontario Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - A British study found that 85.7% of respondents feel that music is vital to maintaining their mental health. Should this be surprising to us or has the ability to bring music with us allowed it to become a much more integral part of us? Guest: Eric Alper Publicist and Music Commentator - What is this municipal election going to be about? There doesn't seem to be any one central issue that's in question - or is there? Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Host & Community Producer, Cable 14 & Former Hamilton Mayor

Scott is back for another wonderful show to talk about the latest impending strike vote, which union this concerns and what they want this time. Scott also welcomes Don Robertson back to the show for another round of conversations about everything that's going on in the realm of sports. Guests: Laura Walton, President, CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Why are we hearing so much controversy surrounding Taiwan and China's anger over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan? What is China and Taiwan's relationship like and could we see a similar situation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Guest: Dr. Charles Burton, Senior Fellow, Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad, Macdonald-Laurier Institute - Why would a journalist agree to speak with Dellen Millard who, along with Mark Smich, was convicted of murdering Laura Babcock and Tim Bosma? What does a killer have to gain by speaking to the media? Scott gets answers to these questions and more with the help of Adrian Humphreys. Guest: Adrian Humphreys, Reporter, National Post & Host, The Mob Reporter - There are a lot of people who look back at the original Woodstock music festival through rose coloured glasses. This was so much so that there was an attempt to do it again in 1999 for what's become infamously known as Woodstock '99. What went wrong? Was the original Woodstock really that good? Let's open our history books and take a look back in time with Alan Cross. Guest: Alan Cross, Music Historian & Host, The Ongoing History of New Music

Problems at Pearson Airport have put into question convenient travel. How will this affect travel? Will it affect travel in the short term? Long term? Guest: Eric Kam Economics Professor Toronto Metropolitan University - "Today Years Old" is a meme on the internet surrounding all things you may not have known before today (e.g. "I was today years old when I learned _____"). Let's bring in technical producer Tom McKay and quiz him on things he may not have known! - There appears to be an imbalance between the West and the East of the CFL. Year after year it seems, the East division pales in comparison to the mighty West division. Why is that? Also some more with Bubba O'Neil Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

It seems like we keep hearing about incidents, some of which are fatal, on Hamilton's roads. Questions are starting to be raised around the safety of Hamilton's streets and if they're engineered to be safe. Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - Many people have traveled far and wide to catch a glimpse of the Stanley Cup. Could you imagine what it would be like to look out the front window to see it being hand delivered to your house? Guest: Kit Karbler, Accidentally was delivered the Stanley Cup - Ever noticed that jingles have fallen to the wayside in commercials? There are so many that you remember and yet it seems like companies are choosing to use popular music instead of jingles nowadays. What's changed and why are these commercial jingles so effective at sticking in our minds? Guest: Juan Manuel Hernandez Chico, Student Assistant, Special Collections in Mass Media & Culture, University of Maryland Libraries

There's talk of wiping the criminal record of Canadians who were convicted of possessing cannabis back before it was legalized. Is this a good idea or is there a major component that is being overlooked? Guest: Jeff Manishen, Former prosecutor; Criminal Defence Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP - Does tennis need a 'villain'? Is there any hope for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats? These questions and more get asked and addressed on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Phil Perkins who joins Scott to talk about Ontario's right to disconnect legislation, taking incredible amounts of money to play in a new controversial golf league, a football team's decision to sign a player with many lawsuits and allegations, how Phil got into broadcasting and more. Guest: Phil Perkins, Evening News Anchor, CHCH-TV

The Hamilton Bulldogs' general manager, Steve Staios, has been voted as the OHL's general manager of the year. Scott welcomes Steve to the show to get his take on winning this award, the challenges of being a GM and more. Guest: Steve Staios, General Manager, Hamilton Bulldogs & Winner, Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award - The City of Hamilton is taking in and helping support 50 Ukrainian families who are fleeing the war in their country. This is unquestionably a good thing but how does the support of these families manage to total approximately $670,000 a month? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor, City of Hamilton

How did you learn to read? It's a question that you probably don't think about much however the way children are learning today likely differs from how you did. Should that change back or is this more modern method superior? Does the difference help kids with reading challenges like dyslexia? Guest: Dr. Erin Panda, Assistant Professor, Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University & Cognitive Neuroscientist

How did you learn to read? It's a question that you probably don't think about much however the way children are learning today likely differs from how you did. Should that change back or is this more modern method superior? Does the difference help kids with reading challenges like dyslexia? Guest: Dr. Erin Panda, Assistant Professor, Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University & Cognitive Neuroscientist - Many local Hamilton businesses are still recovering from the pandemic and the Hamilton Business Rally is here to help. Scott is joined by its creator to help explain how it benefits local businesses and how you can play a role in it. Guest: Krysta Boyer, Creator, Hamilton Business Rally - How long has it been since a Canadian hockey team has won the Stanley Cup? You might be surprised by the answer and maybe also a little suspicious. Scott discusses this and more with Bubba O'Neil. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Air travel was once a glamorous endeavour however it's anything but that nowadays and much less so if you find yourself going through Toronto's Pearson Airport. What makes it such a slog to get through and is this something unique to YYZ or is there a larger issue at hand? Guest: Gabor Lukacs, President, Founder and Coordinator of Air Passenger Rights - The most recent season of Survivor has come to a close and we now know who the winner is. It turns out that we spoke with her a few months ago back when Survivor was just starting up! Scott catches up with Maryanne Oketch to hear about if her intense study of Survivor strategy was put to use, what it's like to win such an iconic show and more. Guest: Maryanne Oketch, Winner of Survivor 42

GUESTS: Neil Lumsden Incumbent MPP, Ontario Provincial Parliament for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek Esther Pauls Ward 7 City Councillor  Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Inflation is biting all of us. The benchmark interest rate has risen by half a point by the Bank of Canada to hopefully stimulate the economy as we did when the pandemic started. Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - This upcoming Ontario election has seemed fairly quiet in terms of smear campaigns, hostile ads and all around negative feelings towards the opposing parties. Guest: Michael Taube. Columnist for Troy Media and Loonie Politics.  Contributor to the National Post and Washington Times.  Was a speechwriter for former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.  - KISS has announced their farewell tour, and in an interview Gene Simmons confirmed this will be the last one and then they will retire forever. The reason is "we don't think that people wanna see a bunch of old men on stage..." Guest: Eric Alper Publicist and Music Commentator 

An article about how journalists and the media at large has incorrectly covered the unmarked graves found throughout Canada has garnered an enormous amount of attention. What was actually said by the indigenous communities and how did that get misconstrued by the media? Guest: Terry Glavin, Ottawa Citizen & National Post columnist; Contributing Editor, Maclean's magazine; Senior Fellow, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights - We are just days away from finding out who will be crowned Premier of Ontario. As that day nears, it seems like the polls are saying one thing while social media is saying another. Does any one party leader have an obvious lead or is it a toss up as to which party will win? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada

The ages of voters vary as do the priorities of those same voters. What kind of priorities does the younger voter have? Are they unique to young voters or are these priorities shared by many other voter demographics? Guest: Sarah Rana, Volunteer with Future Majority - This week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson features an interesting position that the Hamilton Bulldogs may have found themselves in, consistency in referees' and umpires' calls, if the Maple Leafs should stay the course in the wake of getting knocked out of the playoffs' first round again and more. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Graeme Mackay who joins Scott to talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger in Hamilton, holding politicians accountable for things they did/said as children, Hamilton counsel making Main Street a 2-way street, is referring to someone as bald sexual harassment? and much more! Guest: Graeme Mackay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator

Guests: Are the unions support of the Conservatives a surprise?  Eric Kam Economics Professor Toronto Metropolitan University Will the Leafs be able to avoid a game seven and defeat the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champ Lightning Thursday? Is the Jays current cold streak cause for concern or is it early in the season still? Bubba O'Neil Sports Anchor CHCH News

With the recent Wayne Gretzky bridge incident with large debris on the highway, could the same thing happen in Hamilton? Guest: Lloyd Ferguson Ward 12 Councillor   With the government taking UFO research more seriously, has anything changed to make this more warranted than in the past? Guest: Chris Rutkowski Ufolofgist  Are youtubers really reacting to famous classic songs for the first time, or are they faking it for likes? What artists are the future or rock and roll music, plus this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class. Guest: Eric Alper Publicist and Music Commentator 

Should everyone go to University? If they do, will their post graduate salaries be close to their expectations? Guest: Trevor Buttrum, Executive Director Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers With the ongoing effects of the pandemic on education, does reintroducing Grade 13 makes sense? Guest: Paul Bennett, Director and Lead Researcher of School House Institute After the Leafs game four defeat to the Lightning, what is the outlook for the rest of the series? What is standing in the way of more accountability for officials and referees? Can the CFL endure the possible strike with Collective Bargaining talks stalling with the players? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Jamie West who joins Scott to talk about whether people can handle a joke anymore, whether or not Hamiltonians  should have to pay the same taxes regardless of the services they receive, swearing in politics and more. Guest: Jamie West, Host, The Jamie West Podcast & CEO, Westpro Media

If you spend any amount of time with your eyes open, you'll see an advertisement for some gambling site. Does constantly getting bombarded by these ads at all time of day make you want to place a bet or change the channel? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton & The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, 900 CHML - With Mother's Day only days away, Scott welcomes Dr. Jean Chamberlain who's done incredible work to improve women's health in developing nations. How is this being accomplished and how can you help this Mother's Day? Guest:  Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese, M.D.; Obstetrician, St. Joseph's Healthcare; Professor of Obstetrics, McMaster University; Co-Founder of Save the Mothers - Canada's rules surrounding who can access Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) may be changing in the not too distant future and that's made for a lot of controversy. What should qualify someone for MAiD and are morals something that should be considered in this conversation? Guest: Dr. Sonu Gaind, Chief of Psychiatry & Medical Director of Mental Health, Humber River Hospital; Co-Director of Adult Psychiatry Health Systems Division, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto

What makes a politician more likely to be voted in? Well as we approach an election here in Ontario, a professor has written an article about who he thinks will win and why. Scott welcomes that same professor to the show to talk more about this and why people are more likely to vote for one type of politician than another. Guest: Dr. Robert Danisch, Professor, Department of Communication Arts, University of Waterloo - If you take a look at pictures from back in the day circa 1970, you might notice that it seems like no one is carrying some extra weight on their body compared to today. Why is that? Why do we see more overweight people nowadays compared to "back in the day"? Guest: Richard Fast, Author, "Obesity: Cause and Cure"

May 9 is known as Victory Day in Russia, marking the defeat of the Nazis in World War II. The intelligence community is warning that there's a chance Vladimir Putin may use the holiday to increase his war effort against Ukraine. What would this look like and what could it mean for the conflict & the world as a whole? Guest: Dr. Christian Leuprecht, Professor at both the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, and a Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute - The NFL draft is something that many football fans get together for and watch on TV but why isn't that the case for the CFL's draft? Should this be something TV networks start covering and if they did, is the viewership even there? Guest: Rod Pedersen, Host, The Rod Pedersen Show; Former Play-by-Play Announcer, Saskatchewan Roughriders - As the Johnny Depp & Amber Heard trial continues, many are tuning in to watch on their TVs. Should Canada consider bringing cameras into the courtroom to broadcast trials as they happen? Guest: Jeff Manishen. Former prosecutor; Criminal Defence Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP

The Green Party of Ontario's leader, Mike Schreiner, was in Hamilton today where he made a few campaign promises. Scott welcomes Mike to the show to talk more about what he wants to get done, his thoughts on potentially working with the other parties and more. Guest: Mike Schreiner, Leader, Green Party of Ontario - The war in Ukraine has interrupted a major element in the world's food supply. How large will this impact be? Dr. Sylvain Charlebois has written an article about this exact topic and the results don't sound pretty. Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois a.k.a. The Food Professor, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University - As another week begins, another edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson welcomes you to it. The Toronto Maple Leafs playing their first game of the playoffs tonight, the Blue Jays starting their series against the Yankees, officiating strictness between regular season and playoffs and more is on the docket tonight! Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Lorraine Sommerfeld who joins Scott to talk about the safety of Hamilton's streets, trusting autonomous cars, creating laws for space, equalizing the workforce, the prospect of kissing each other through the internet someday and more. Guest: Lorraine Sommerfeld, Auto Writer with Post Media; Motherlode columnist, The Hamilton Spectator; Host, Lemon Aid Car Show

Ontario has released its proposed budget however as we near a provincial election, you can be sure a portion of it was made with reelection in mind. Does any of it come as a surprise? How likely are we to see changes made to it? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor, Macroeconomics, Toronto Metropolitan University - 24 Sussex Drive is known to many as the home of the Prime Minister however it currently is anything but. We hear about how it's fallen into disrepair and how the PM doesn't even live in it. Is fixing it up worth doing or should it get bulldozed and have a whole new facility built? Guest: Chris Wiebe, Manager, Heritage Policy & Government Relations

The most recent census information released included the topic of aging. How will things like housing and medical attention be addressed differently to address Canada's aging and aged population? Guest: Dr. Lauren Griffith, Co-Principal Investigator, Canadian Longitudinal Study On Aging; Associate Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact, McMaster University - A press release from the CFL was sent out today announcing some changes that are being made to the game for this upcoming season. Some of the changes are ones you may not have ever considered but will certainly make for an interesting sight. Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

Maintaining a city costs a lot of money but the income doesn't always match the costs a city faces so what's a council to do? Guest: Maureen Wilson, Councillor, Ward 1, City of Hamilton - We've just seen a ton of spending be done by Doug Ford's Conservative government thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic however as we near a provincial election, it seems like every party is announcing billions and billions in spending. Why isn't anyone considering cutting back spending and trying to get things back into a somewhat normal state? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Do you remember what your first concert was and how much you paid for that ticket? In the words of Bob Dylan, the times they are-a changin' because the average cost of a concert ticket has gone way up. Why? Guest: Alan Cross, Music Historian & Journalist; Author 'A Journal of Musical Things' & Host, The Ongoing History of New Music

A judicial inquiry into the Red Hill Valley Parkway began today and as this inquiry begins, there are lawsuits waiting in the queue to enter the courts. One such lawsuit is a class-action worth $250 million and the lawyer leading this suit joins Scott to talk more about what his suit is hoping to achieve and why it's being pursued. Guest: Rob Hooper, Lawyer, Grosso Hooper Law - As the Ontario provincial election nears, the political parties are putting out their platforms just as the NDP did today. While it can be described as many things to many people, Scott welcomes NDP MPP Monique Taylor for Hamilton Mountain to talk more about the platform and what the NDP wants to accomplish should they be voted in. Guest: Monique Taylor, MPP, Hamilton Mountain - This week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson features Scott, live from FirstOntario Centre, and Don who talk about the Dundas Real McCoys' recent championship win, if it's better to be an underdog or not, if modern-day hockey will ever generate a player with the status of a player like Guy Lafleur and more. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Scott welcomes Mike Fortune back to the show for this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. Together they tackle topics like gun bans, the passing of Guy Lafleur, becoming one of the few to score a perfect game of Pacman, tuning out from the troubles of the world, fasting from social media and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Co-host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

This year marks the highest rate of inflation in 3 decades! It's not something we should celebrate but it certainly is something that we need to talk about. Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor, Macroeconomics, Ryerson University - How do we feel about the government in Ottawa? It's a question that has varying answers depending on where you live but if there's one thing that appears to be prevalent, it's a sense of pessimism. Guest: Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist & Founder, Nanos Research - This is not the first time the driver of the vehicle that hit and killed prolific conductor Boris Brott has had a vehicle-related incident. How might that previous incident, and the causes behind it, relate to the killing of Brott? Should this indicate something bigger that needs to be done? Guest: Jeff Manishen. Former prosecutor; Criminal Defence Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP

Steven Del Duca, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, joins Scott to talk about some of the things he wants to enact should be voted in as premier of Ontario and how he plans on actually getting them done. Guest: Steven Del Duca, Leader, Ontario Liberal Party - The Hamilton Bulldogs are crushing the competition this year in the OHL. The entire regular season yielded only 4 losses which means there's an obviously huge amount of pressure on the team. Luckily they've got loads of talent in the form of players like Arber Xhekaj. He's big, he's tough, he's talented and he's playing for his hometown team. How does he feel about all of this? Guest: Arber Xhekaj, #8 Defenceman, Hamilton Bulldogs - Not all streaming services are flying high with record numbers of subscribers, in fact, quite the opposite is happening to some. With Netflix seeing a drop in subscribers and CNN+ hitting way below its projected mark, we're also hearing about the potential for commercials to come to certain streaming services. Why are we seeing this happen? Guest: Bill Brioux, TV blogger, brioux.tv

We've seen many city councillors move on to provincial and federal politics under the banners of various parties while others have come from those domains into municipal politics. Is having municipal politicians associated with political parties something that we should strive for or avoid altogether? Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Host & Community Producer, Cable 14 & Former Hamilton Mayor - When athletes, coaches and general managers do poor jobs, they get replaced however this doesn't seem to be the case for referees and officials who do poor jobs. Sports like baseball rely on the keen eye and mind of the umpires to determine how the game goes but sometimes they are anything but consistent. Would having a computer replace the umpire make for a better game? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

What's the likelihood of voter support surging to the federal Conservatives if they had Pierre Poilievre at the helm? A study found something interesting about how voters would feel about the Tories should Poilievre be chosen as their leader. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair, Summa Strategies - When its the 7th inning and you've got a pitcher who's been so far throwing a perfect game with only 80 pitches thrown, why would anyone think it's a good idea to swap him out? Scott wants to get to the bottom of this because he's on the verge of throwing a chair in anger! Maybe Steve Foxcroft can help calm him down... or maybe Steve will grab a chair of his own. Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport - With the Easter weekend upon us, Scott is wondering if people still know the story of Easter and why we take off the days we do. Does the religious significance of the days mean much to Canadians? Guest: Dr. Kevin Flatt, Professor of History & Associate Dean of Humanities, Redeemer University

The Bank of Canada has raised our national interest rate but how will it actually influence the scourge of inflation? Will we be seeing any meaningful changes or will this simply be an ineffective method hailed as a way of fighting inflation? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - A study has found that surgeons who were operating while listening to hard rock were able to do the same quality of work but faster. How is it that a stimulus like music can have such an effect on us? Guest: Rachael Finnerty, Registered Psychotherapist; Certified Music Therapist; Music Therapy Academy Founder & PhD Student in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University

If you've seen the movie "Schindler's List" you probably remember a little girl who wore a red dress as the symbol hope. She has grown up and is now helping Ukrainians who are fleeing the war by way of the Polish border. Scott welcomes her onto the show from the Polish-Ukrainian border to talk about her life after the movie, why she's helping at the border and more. Guest: Oliwia Dabrowska, 'The Girl In The Red Dress' from Schindler's List & Volunteer at the Ukrainian-Polish border helping Ukrainian refugees

Gilbert Gottfried may have passed on today but a wonderful video will live on for a long time. That video happens to involve Karen Cumming, a then-reporter with CHCH, who had an opportunity to interview Gottfried which turned into a laughing fit like no other. She joins Scott to relive that moment and more. Guest: Karen Cumming, Former Reporter, CHCH-TV, Mars 100 Candidate & Author - There's word about a potential rise that may be coming to our interest rate. What kind of implications would come from this? Guest: Don Fox, Executive Financial Consultant, Fox Group Private Wealth Management - If you've seen the movie "Schindler's List" you probably remember a little girl who wore a red dress as the symbol hope. She has grown up and is now helping Ukrainians who are fleeing the war by way of the Polish border. Scott welcomes her onto the show from the Polish-Ukrainian border to talk about her life after the movie, why she's helping at the border and more. Guest: Oliwia Dabrowska, 'The Girl In The Red Dress' from Schindler's List & Volunteer at the Ukrainian-Polish border helping Ukrainian refugees

The government wants to get rid of disinformation online but at the same time, there are politicians who've spread disinformation themselves! How can this actually be enacted while making sure that any punishment is dealt to everyone and not just those the government disagrees with? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - CHCH has a new home here in Hamilton! One of the first people to help break it in is one of the hosts of CHCH Morning Live, Tim Bolen. What does he think of the space and is it as good as it looks on the TV? Guest: Tim Bolen, Sports & Adventure Reporter, Morning Live, CHCH - Where would you put Sidney Crosby on a list of the best hockey players of all time? Do you like the idea of introducing more technology into baseball and using it to change the way pitchers and catchers communicate what's going to be thrown? These questions and more get answered and debated on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Jay McQueen who joins Scott to talk about the safety of Hamilton's streets, inspecting kids' backpacks for too many snacks at school, freedom of speech in the classroom and more. Guests: Jay McQueen, Weather Reporter, Global News Radio 900 CHML & Real Estate Agent, Realty Network

The newest federal budget has been released which means Canadians get to find out how their hard-earned money is being spent. What is the goal of this budget and what are the notable parts of it? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Whenever major decisions concerning any group of people is made, efforts should be made to consult those it affects most. This isn't always the case with the homeless which is why some people are undertaking this task. So what do the people on the streets have to say about the calls being made? Guest: Tony D'Amato Stortz, Coordinator, Hamilton Alliance For Tiny Shelters - There are many famous people who were born in, grew up in and/or lived in Hamilton. The recent passing of one such person, world famous orchestra conductor Boris Brott, has Scott open the phone lines to hear about who else you think should fall under the category of "Famous Hamiltonian"?

Stelco Holdings Inc., at a city planning meeting, asked the city to consider rezoning 800 acres of surplus land on Wilcox street. Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - Are we disliking each other more in Canada? A survey conducted by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research seems to say that this is so. Guest: Jason Disano, Director, Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research - Eric Alper tweeted recently "On this day in 1994, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was found dead in his house in Seattle. There might never be another band who changes the landscape of music so quickly like they did." Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

Boris Brott, one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, was the victim in a fatal hit-and-run in Hamilton on April 5, 2022. He was the founder and artistic director of the National Academy Orchestra of Canada and the Brott Music Festival, both based in Hamilton. Guest: Steve Paikin, Canadian journalist, author, and documentary producer - When the war in Ukraine comes to an end, will there be any tangible justice served? Will those who've committed things like war crimes and crimes against humanity actually be brought to justice rather than merely declared as a criminal? What has to be done in order to actually get that done? Guest: Gissou Nia, Human Rights Lawyer; Director, Strategic Litigation Project, Atlantic Council - As the 2022 Masters gets ever closer, more eyes are being placed on Tiger Woods to see if he will be competing to win another green jacket. How likely is it that we'll get to see him take to the fairway this year? Will we ever see another golfer like Tiger? Where will Phil Mickelson be during this years Masters? Guest: Adam Stanley, Golf Writer & Contributor, The Globe and Mail's Report on Business

Is it time for teachers to regain discipline in the classroom? How would this even be done and is it something that can be done effectively? Guest: Michael Zwaagstra, Columnist; Senior Fellow, Frontier Centre for Public Policy; Author, "A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning" & Public High School Teacher in Manitoba - Don Robertson joins the show every Monday to talk all about what's going on in the sports world and there's definitely no shortage of things to talk about this week. Hear it all on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

One of the things we've heard a lot about when it comes to Hamilton's hotly contested LRT project is that affordable housing can be built along the route but has that opportunity been missed? Guest: Karl Andrus, Community Benefits Manager, Hamilton Community Benefits Network - Back in 1986, Canada played in the FIFA World Cup for its first and, so far, only time. Tonight might change that as Team Canada is right on the door step of making it for a second time. Scott welcomes the goaltender from that 1986 World Cup team to talk about looking back on his time in the tournament, how it feels to see Canada on the brink of making it again and more. Guest: Paul Dolan, Goaltender, Team Canada, 1986 FIFA World Cup - While many Hamiltonians are yearning for the warm weather to come, another is literally soaking in the cold. Why is Yulia Shevchenkko doing 333 Polar Bear Dips and how will it help the 3 Wishes Project at St. Joseph's Hospital? Guest: Yulia Shevchenko, ICU Nurse & Polar Bear Dip Enthusiast

How should Hamilton go about managing homeless encampments here in the city's parks? The City of Hamilton had a sit down where this topic came up, Scott speaks with one of the councilors who's been involved in these talks. Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor, City of Hamilton - Eric Alper joins the show again to talk about who are some of Canada's most underrated and overrated musical acts are. Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

It's not being called a coalition but it might as well be one between the federal Liberal and NDP parties that will secure the Liberal's government until 2025 while fulfilling what the NDP have been calling for. The catch is that of all those government programs there's nothing about how to they're going to pay for them nor grow the economy. Surely this means the one thing no one likes to hear, more and higher taxes for everyone! Guest: Jay Goldberg, Ontario Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - The dreaded idea of introducing 4 downs to the CFL has come up again but even if it was put in place, would it benefit the league or actually cause more problems? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton & The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML

As we hear more and more about the atrocities coming out of Ukraine, you have to start asking whether or not the old adage, "All is fair in love and war," is a true statement or just something people like to say to sound cool. What are the rules of war, if any, and do they apply to both sides equally? Guest: Dr. Christian Leuprecht, Professor at both the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, and a Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute - On World Down Syndrome Day, you'll be seeing people with mismatching socks celebrating the day and all those with Down Syndrome. Scott welcomes the Chair of the Down Syndrome Association of Hamilton to the show to talk all about Down Syndrome, being a parent of someone with it, what Down Syndrome looks like around the world and more. Guest: Heather Gain, Chair, Down Syndrome Association of Hamilton - The NHL trade deadline has come, a woman is minding the net on the hockey rink in Quebec and the Browns have signed a major deal with a player who has major red flags. Hear Scott and Don Robertson's take on these topics and more on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Mike Fortune who joins Scott to talk about staying and fighting to defend Canada if we were invaded, the driver who caused the Humboldt Broncos accident in the process of being deported, doing silly things as kids and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Co-host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

A video of Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was circulating for a bit until people started realizing that it was actually a deep fake, a video that was created by a computer. Whenever the topic of deep fakes was brought up in the past, the severity of what could be done with it was often overlooked. Is that still the case and could we be seeing more deep fakes of not just Ukraine's president but many other major political and cultural figures? Guest: Siwei Lyu, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Director, UB Media Forensic Lab & Founding Co-Director, Center for Information Integrity, University at Buffalo, State University of New York - How far would you go to help a friend? For a Hamilton man, that means traveling to the Polish-Ukrainian border to find and take care of a 7-year-old girl while her brother, his friend, can fight and defend Ukraine. How did this truly amazing story start and how is it currently going? Guest: Wyatt Raitt

The story of what happened to Jude Strickland story is unfortunately one that many Hamiltonians know but as the case returns to court after around a year, it's sure to stir up many emotions. How is Jude's father, Jamie, coping with this truly horrendous situation and how has his faith helped him forgive the driver who killed his son? Guest: Jamie Strickland, Father of Jude Strickland

The area rating system here in Hamilton is set to be debated whether it should be kept or scrapped and while that may make your eyes glaze over, it's role in determining how much you pay in taxes might be enough to make your ears perk up. That now begs the questions of what exactly is the area rating system, how does it work and is it something worth keeping? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - Losing a child is never easy and it's even harder when it's sudden and unexpected. The story of what happened to Jude Strickland story is unfortunately one that many Hamiltonians know but as the case returns to court, it's sure to stir up emotions. How is Jude's father, Jamie, coping with this truly horrendous situation and how has his faith helped him forgive the driver who killed his son? Guest: Jamie Strickland, Father of Jude Strickland - After a huge trade, the Toronto Blue Jays are being chosen as the AL team to watch this season. Why are they being seen as the ones to beat and will their new roster meet expectations? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball Columnist, Toronto Star & Podcaster

As Ontario faces a shortage of doctors, a plan is being formed to help bring more doctors to the province as well as encourage Ontarians to become doctors. Guest: Dr. Adam Kassam, President, Ontario Medical Association - We're hearing that Russia's economy isn't doing so well thanks to the sanctions that have been put in place by the international community. As this continues on, what could we see start to develop in the country and what kind of impact could it have to companies outside of Russia? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - As another big name from the professional wrestling world passes away, many fans from the old days remember what these athletes mean to them. As many look back, Scott also finds out what's happening nowadays and how things are changing, or not changing, for those in the ring. Greg Oliver, Producer, Slam Wrestling; Author & Sports Writer

It's that time of year again when we set our clocks forward an hour and while it may make for an inconvenience when you're trying to wake up or simply tell the time, we're told that daylight saving time comes with some really serious impacts on our health. Just how unhealthy is DST though? Guest: Dr. Richard Cytowic, Neurologist, Speaker & Author - A major player in the goalie pad game has passed away, outdoor hockey games are being played in Hamilton & Tom Brady has come out of retirement just 22 days after entering it. These signs all point to one thing, another conversation with Don Robertson is needed! Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Diana Weeks who joins Scott to talk about the 2-year anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether social media platforms should allow for the calling of violence against Russian soldiers & Vladimir Putin, Diana's battle with infertility & more. Guest: Diana Weeks, News Anchor, 900 CHML

How many sex offenders live in Hamilton? Are they spread out or concentrated to only a few areas? How does this rate compare to Ontario as a whole? Scott gets answers to these questions and more with help from a reporter who looked into these exact questions and more. Guest: Katrina Clarke, Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator - Traveling to Antarctica is an arduous journey nowadays let alone back in 1915 when Sir Earnest Shackleton was leading expeditions. His ship, The Endurance, was sunk and within the last few days, was found just under 10,000 feet below the sea. Something that's shocked many is just how well the ship was preserved by the Antarctic waters (the name of the ship can still be read on the stern). Guest: Dr. Ann Coats, Marine Historian & Senior Lecturer, School of Civil Engineering & Surveying, University of Portsmouth - The MLB season can finally start now that the players and owners have come to an agreement. Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

How does vaccination status vary throughout Hamilton? Can any extra information be gleaned from this? Guest: Joanna Frketich, Health Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator - It's always fun to root for a team or player from your hometown and now fans of the TV show, Survivor, who happen to be living in the GTA have someone to cheer on! Scott catches up with this contestant, who's also a former McMaster student, just before the 42nd season of Survivor airs its first episode. Guest: Maryanne Oketch, Survivor Contestant, Season 42

Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr joins Scott to discuss a potential 45-story condo on the Hamilton waterfront. Scott is also joined by Don Robertson where they discuss a variety of topics including the Maple Leafs goaltending situation and Marie-Philip Poulin turning down an ECHL contract.

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Jamie West who joins Scott to talk about whether or not you'd be willing to kill Vladimir Putin if it means saving the lives of thousands or more, Canadian politicians who are out of touch with gas prices and how they can help lower them, the potential for moving Hamilton's shelter for men and more. Guest: Jamie West, Host, The Jamie West Podcast & CEO, Westpro Media

Interest rates are being raised and though it is a minor increase, will it yield a minor impact on Canada or should we be preparing for a major hit? Guest: Thie Convery, Financial Columnist, The Hamilton Spectator; Wealth Advisor, Convery Wealth, IPC Securities Corporation - Many people agree that a good piece of music sounds pleasing regardless of what genre you play it in but does that mean it would be as big of a hit now, as it was when it was released? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

The baseball world is still in a bit of a standstill as fans continue to wait on spring training or games of any kind to be played. Where do we stand in this battle and why does it seem like it's billionaires fighting with millionaires over not getting paid enough? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball Columnist, Toronto Star & Podcaster - Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features a child who was born with an extremely rare disease called Uncombable Hair Syndrome, two animals start getting it on with each other in plain view at one of Disney's parks & according to the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Ukrainians won't need to worry about claiming any captured Russian military equipment and/or vehicles on their taxes so that T-80 Main Battle Tank that you happened to come into possession of is not just your T-80 Main Battle Tank, it's your tax-free T-80 Main Battle Tank!

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, an investigation into potential war crimes committed by Russia has begun. What might get found and if Putin is found to be guilty, is there any way to actually arrest and imprison him? Guest: Dr. George Fletcher, Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence, Columbia Law School - As the Russian ruble collapses and banks get isolated from the world, how could we see the sanctions impact the Russian people and Vladimir Putin's plans as a whole? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - The acts of aggression from Russia has prompted many sports organizations to not only ban Russian athletes and cancel events in the country but also strip Vladimir Putin of his belts and statuses. Will this strike a meaningful blow or is it more of a symbolic move against Putin? Guest: Mark Hebscher, Author; Podcaster; Former Host, CHCH-TV; Former Co-Host, Sportsline

A lot has been going on involving the federal government and that's certainly going to have an impact on how Canadians perceive the different parties. Nanos Research did some polling to find out how respondents feel about the parties and Scott welcomes Nik Nanos back onto the show to help analyze the results. Guest: Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist & Founder, Nanos Research - All throughout the Olympics, China has said that it doesn't want things to get political however it recently held a press conference in which they did exactly that, made things political! Guest: Dr. Charles Burton, Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad - What's happening in Ukraine? We've heard warnings and seen support get sent off but what could go down and what's the likelihood of anything happening at all? Guest: Dr. David Marples, Distinguished University Professor, Russian and East European History, University of Alberta

Charles Juravinski, a true legend of Hamilton, has passed away at the age of 92. Scott replays an interview he did with Juravinski not too long after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when Charles and his wife, Margaret, donated $3.3 million to help bolster COVID-19 related and brain health research here in Hamilton. - Canada's Olympic Men's Hockey Team has been eliminated from the competition. Should this come as a surprise? Also, Steve shares some words and a story or two about Charles Juravinski. Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport - The amount of money that's being spent on Olympic coverage by streaming services is immense and yet these Olympics aren't seeing a massive amount of viewership. To talk more about this, Scott welcomes Bill Brioux back to the show. Guest: Bill Brioux, TV blogger, brioux.tv

We found out today that there was a settlement in the case against Andrew York but is this sort of an admission of guilt? How will this settlement be perceived by the public? Guest: Jeff Manishen. Former prosecutor; Criminal Defence Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP - There's a pretty big gap between the pandemic's effect on public servants and its effect on private businesses. While one was struggling with lay offs and closures, the other seemed to be flourishing with pay raises and bonuses. Guest: Jay Goldberg, Ontario Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - We should be seeing baseball starting its spring training down south but instead we're seeing delays and bickering. Who's holding things up and why? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball Columnist, Toronto Star & Podcaster

Now that the federal government has invoked the Emergency Measures Act, what kind of weight does this bring with it? Guest: Dr. Christian Leuprecht, Professor at both the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, and a Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute - Why is an Olympic athlete who's been found to be using an illegal substance still being allowed to compete? Should we be cheering on an athlete who used to compete for Canada but is now competing for the United States? And not only did the golf world see two hole in ones get shot this past weekend, they were done on what can only be described as the craziest hole in golf. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Mike Fortune who joins Scott to talk about the 2022 Winter Olympics, the potential for missing ballots, Whoopi Goldberg's Holocaust comments, house prices in Hamilton, what sports should be returned to the Winter Olympics and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Co-host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

Now that Erin O'Toole has been removed from his role as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and an interim leader has been put in place, who would the Liberals want to take the helm of the federal Conservatives? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - Brian Flores, former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has had a lawsuit filed against the NFL and teams for what will certainly be a landmark case. What has happened so far and where can we expect to see things go? Guest: Will Russell, Lawyer, Sport Law - Award-winning musician Alan Frew will be performing at a benefits concert here in Hamilton and Scott caught up with him to talk about this event, his experience as a rock star, writing the hit song "I Believe" which was played all the time during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and more. Guest: Alan Frew, Award-Winning Musician & Songwriter - The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee list has been released and despite the fact that "rock & roll" is in its name, this year's list follows the trend of having some big snubs coupled with some people who play music that probably wouldn't be described as "rock & roll". Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

How do you "follow the science" when there's science that contradicts other scientific findings? Guests: Dr. Victor Menaldo, Professor, Political Science, University of                     Washington              Dr. Mark Smith, Professor, Political Science & Adjunct Professor,                 Comparative Religion and Communication - Being locked down and isolated from others can be bad enough on its own however when you start factoring burn out's impact on a person, it starts to make sense why they might be a little more aggressive and unpleasant to be around. How common is this state becoming and how bad does it appear to be? Guest: Dr. Richard Cytowic, Neurologist, Speaker & Author - Erin O'Toole has been booted from his role as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. There's a lot to unpack here so Scott made sure to bring some help. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair, Summa Strategies - The Winter Olympics have a very peculiar history and as we near the opening ceremony for the 2022 Olympics, Scott gets a feel for what it's like in Beijing with help from someone who's there on the ground while also revisiting some of the Winter Games from years past. Guest: Philip Barker, Writer, insidethegames.biz & Executive Committee Member, International Society of Olympic Historians

How transparent is the City of Hamilton when it comes to the budgetary process? Is it better than the way that other cities are doing theirs or possibly worse? Luckily there's a study that was done on this exact topic and it looks like Hamilton's marks are improving. Guest: Bill Robson, CEO, C.D. Howe Institute - Wintertime is easily the most dangerous time of the year to be homeless however there's a plan that might be able to help Hamilton's homeless population while keeping them out of shelters. How would tiny shelters be deployed and would they be a temporary solution or could they offer long-term support? Guest: Tom Cooper, Director, Hamilton Round Table for Poverty Reduction - The day has finally come, Tom Brady has announced his retirement. Many would argue that he's the greatest NFL quarterback of all time which prompted Scott to ask, who's the best player of all time in North America's biggest professional sports? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton & The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML

A new Angus Reid poll has released its results and one of the things it asked respondents was their thoughts on restrictions and how responsible people should be for their own health. You might be surprised by the results but at the same time maybe you share the opinions expressed. Guest: Dave Korzinski, Research Director, Angus Reid Institute - We are nearing the start of the 2022 Olympic Games as well as the 56th Super Bowl. What can we be expecting to see? Will the Arizona Coyotes ever find a home arena? And what could be added to spice up the discipline of bobsleigh? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Dave Woodard who joins Scott to talk about whether or not Canada should be supporting Ukraine and to what degree, how kids are learning about the Holocaust, the upcoming Beijing Olympics and more. Guest: Dave Woodard, News Anchor, 900 CHML

Is Hamilton's LRT "shovel ready"? It turns out that the answer is a little more dependent on what your definition of "shovel ready" happens to be. Guest: Keanin Loomis, President & CEO, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce & Hamilton Mayoral Candidate - Transparency International's Corruptions Perception Index (CPI) has ranked Canada as 13th in the world where it's tied with Austria, Ireland, Estonia & Iceland (Ranked 1 means least corrupt). What has Canada done to earn it this spot on the list and are we trending towards a better rating or a worse one? Guest: James Cohen, Executive Director, Transparency International Canada - We're not too far out from the Olympics however you may have noticed that there hasn't be a huge push to promote the event on TV. How should the TV industry go about their coverage of the Olympics? How will these Games' coverage differ from Olympics past? Guest: Bill Brioux, TV blogger, brioux.tv

People keep moving to Hamilton which means we are always in need of housing and with the rate that people are coming, we're going to be needing a boost to the number of homes being built each year but just how drastic of an increase will be needed if we're to keep up? Guest: Mike Collins-Williams, CEO, West End Home Builders Association - The results of a survey conducted here in Canada found some worrying news about students and their knowledge of the Holocaust. What was found and what does it mean? Guest: Dr. Carson Phillips, Managing Director, Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre - What's been going on in the NFL? Grievances with their overtime rules have already been addressed but what of the playoff season thus far? Is the player who we've been hearing is the best really the best or should someone else be given this praise? Also, is not making it into this year's Superbowl reason enough for Tom Brady to retire? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

The stock market has been an absolute roller coaster of ups and downs which has made many Canadians ask, "What's going on here?" Scott welcomes someone onto the show who'll be able to help provide some clarity on what's happening as well as provide some advice on navigating these seemingly turbulent waters. Guest: Don Fox, Executive Financial Consultant, Fox Group Private Wealth Management - While most of the world and its industries strive for innovation and the next best thing, television is looking to the past. Whether it's old shows that fans already know and love or news anchors that viewers have come to trust, it seems like everything old is being revamped and reintroduced to audiences. Why is this and what is it saying about TV viewership? Guest: Robert Thompson, Director, Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture, Syracuse University

If you go to a grocery store and find barren shelves, is there cause for concern or is it a momentary blip that'll be fixed before you know it? Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois a.k.a. The Food Professor, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University - Playing in overtime is a horribly unbalanced mess in the NFL because all you've got to do is win the coin toss and score to win the game. That's right, no attempt is granted to the other team. Does this mean it's a dumber idea than having a robot call balls and strikes in baseball? Well, Scott and Don Robertson are here to discuss these questions and more on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Nicole Martin who joins Scott to talk about the passing of Meat Loaf, Hamilton's bus network, the upcoming elections, the potential to be charged for breaking the real law while in virtual reality and more. Guest: Nicole Martin, News Anchor & Reporter, CHCH-TV

For a country that's generally known to be populated with nice people, there sure are a lot of angry Canadians but what exactly are they so upset about? Guest: John Wright, Executive Vice President, Maru Public Opinion - We all have things that we look back at and think about how we would have changed the way we did something and that includes celebrities. In a recent interview Bono, of U2 fame, talked about how he doesn't like the band's name nor most of the songs they've put out. Could this be him looking for a little bit of an ego stroke by fans? Also, U2 can't possibly be one of the worst names for a band... right? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

Inflation is continuing to grow but where can we see things go and what's causing this kind of growth? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - There used to be a notion that if you can't afford to buy a house in Hamilton, Brantford will have what you're looking for however there's a chance that we may be over those days with a small house selling in the $800,000 range. Was this an anomaly or could it be a sign of things to come? Guest: Brendon Assla, Brantford Real Estate Agent, RE/MAX Twin City Realty Inc - There are always things to be upset and angry about but if you're looking for a place where people are perpetually upset, it's got to be the sports world. Scott welcomes Bubba O'Neil back to the show to discuss what's currently on sports fans' minds and more. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Three local ladies have been chosen to be a part of Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team and Scott welcomes one of them to the show to talk all about it! Guest: Emma Maltais, #27 Forward, Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team

Two former Hamilton paramedics who failed to provide the necessaries of life to 19-year-old shooting victim Yosif Al-Hasnawi have been sentenced but should we have been surprised by what was handed down or was it expected? Guest: Jaime Stephenson, Criminal Lawyer; Former President, Hamilton Criminal Lawyers Association - You'll be paying off-peak rates for electricity for the next little while thanks to the provincial government but is any cynicism merited here? Guest: Donna Skelly, Conservative MPP for Flamborough/Glanbrook - Three local ladies have been chosen to be a part of Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team and Scott welcomes one of them to the show to talk all about it! Guest: Emma Maltais, #27 Forward, Canada's Olympic Women's Hockey Team

The government deals with massive amounts of money each year and each year, they spend more than the last while hiring more employees and outsourcing more work to contractors. Wouldn't hiring more employees mean that less outsourcing has to be done? What are all of these employees doing? Where is all of your hard earned, yet seemingly easily spent, tax money going? Guest: Bill Curry, The Globe and Mail’s Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief - There's a never-ending supply of news coming out of the sports world and regardless of the form that news comes in be it football, fighting in hockey or the Olympic hockey roster, you can be sure that Scott and Don Robertson are going to talk about it. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

We live in a world that's seen Prince Andrew be stripped of his military titles & royal patronages, many travel plans get cancelled, tensions increase along Ukraine's eastern border, truckers' vaccine mandate & restrictions get reversed and Canada's Olympic hockey team rosters released (one's a little more real than the other) among many other things happen. This means that there's no shortage of things to talk about on this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton with this week's guest being none other than Mike Fortune. Guest: Mike Fortune, Co-host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

Tiger-Cats and Dane Evans fans rejoice! Scott chats with Dane about choosing the Ticats over free agency, returning to the Ticats for another 2 years, having glorious hair and more. Guest: Dane Evans, #9 Quarterback, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

It was a matter of time before someone would put forth a court challenge against Quebec's controversial decision to tax adult residents who aren't vaccinated and don't have an exemption to be vaccinated and now we know who will be challenging Quebec. Guest: John Carpay, President, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms - Tiger-Cats and Dane Evans fans rejoice! Scott chats with Dane about choosing the Ticats over free agency, returning to the Ticats for another 2 years, having glorious hair and more. Guest: Dane Evans, Quarterback, Hamilton Tiger-Cats - Prince Andrew is being stripped of all titles and patronages. It's a very messy situation that's coming out of Buckingham Palace and Scott's enlisted the help of Nathan Tidridge to help make sense of it all. Guest: Nathan Tidridge, History & Civics Teacher, Waterdown District High School; Multiple Award-winning Author; Board of Directors Member, Ontario Heritage Trust

We often hear about how many hospitalized cases of COVID-19 there are however a decent portion of those hospitalized aren't there solely because of COVID. Does that change the conversation we should be having when it comes to the COVID case count? Guest: Dr. Andrew Costa, Associate Professor & Schlegel Research Chair in Clinical Epidemiology & Aging, McMaster University - Before you know it, we'll be knee deep in elections which has prompted Hamilton City Council to review and revise some of the bylaws surrounding candidate sign placement. Is this needed or will the additional rules make for increased confusion? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - Would you want to attend a sports event knowing that it could be the second coldest game on record in that given sport? Scott welcomes long-time friend of the show Bubba O'Neil to debate this topic and many more. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Raising children and teens during an incredibly unstable time in human history is something that likely few people have considered however one psychoanalyst has ideas and theories about how to tackle this very topic. Some people have given her ideas lots of support while others have called them old-fashioned. Scott welcomes her to the show to explain what she thinks parents could and should be doing to help raise happy and healthy kids. Guest: Dr. Erica Komisar, Clinical Social Worker, Psychoanalyst, Parent Coach and Author of "Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety"

After way, way too long, Chuck Ealey is finally being inducted into the United States' College Football Hall of Fame. You would think that having a college football record of 35 wins and zero losses and being the first black QB to win a Grey Cup (as a Ticat no less) among many other accolades would be enough to qualify him for induction but here we are, 51 years too late. Guest: Chuck Ealey, College Football Hall of Fame inductee & former CFL quarterback - Raising children and teens during an incredibly unstable time in human history is something that likely very few people have considered however one psychoanalyst has ideas and theories about how to tackle this very topic. Some people have given her ideas lots of support and others have called them old-fashioned. Scott welcomes her to the show to explain what she thinks parents could and should be doing to help raise happy and healthy kids. Guest: Dr. Erica Komisar, Clinical Social Worker, Psychoanalyst, Parent Coach and Author of "Chicken Little the Sky Isn't Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety"

With the cancellation of thousands of surgeries as a result of the pandemic, is it time to consider allowing private healthcare providers into Canada? Scott discusses with Colin Craig. president of SecondStreet.org Alan Cross joins Scott to discuss the late, great Michael Lang. Don't recognize the name? Well, he was instrumental in getting the greatest concert of all time, Woodstock 1969, off the ground and in the process creating a legendary moment in music history, And Don Robertson, owner and operator of the Dundas Real McCoys, comes on for his Monday slot. This time Scott has a series of "What would you have done?" scenarios in professional sports for Don to answer. It's all coming up on the Scott Radley Show podcast! 

Are lockdowns an effective or appropriate method to combat the most recent wave of COVID-19 dubbed "Omicron"? Guest: Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid, Health Policy PhD graduate and Queen Elizabeth Scholar - How should the NFL deal with the 'meltdown' of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown? And much more on Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

University campuses are supposed to be the homes of debate and different ideas however that's slowly becoming not the case anymore as certain topics become taboo to talk about at all. Is anyone doing anything to protect full freedom of speech on university campuses? Guest: Dr. Mark Mercer, President, Society for Academic Freedom & Scholarship; Chair & Professor, Philosophy, Saint Mary's University - Canada produces many outstanding elite athletes who are internationally recognized as such but when it comes down to it, who should be honoured as the best? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport - Just because the NHL has announced that it's athletes won't be attending the upcoming Beijing Olympics, doesn't mean that world-class hockey players won't be competing. Canada's national women's hockey team will be going but do they share the same concerns? Scott welcomes one of Team Canada's players to talk about that and more. Guest: Renata Fast, #14 on Team Canada's National Women's Hockey Team

What is 'pandemic brain' and how likely is it that you currently have it? Guest: Dr. Karl Szpunar, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the Memory Lab, Ryerson University - Cousin Eddie's RV easily stands out in the minds of fans of the beloved Christmas movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but what happened to it after the movie finished filming? The current owner of that very RV joins Scott to talk about some of the peculiar things that have happened to it and the joy that owning it has brought to many. Guest: Bob Boston, Current Owner of Cousin Eddie's RV

As we see more restrictions getting put back into place amid the Omicron variant's spread, it brings back memories of the major lockdowns, something which devastated restaurants all over. Are we seeing a similar effect happening now? Guest: James Rilett, Vice President, Central Canada, Restaurants Canada - According to many reports, NHL players will not be competing in the Olympics. Despite the fact that this isn't a huge surprise if it happens to be the case, what kind of fallout could come about as a result of this decision? Guest: Sean Fitz-Gerald, Senior National Writer, The Athletic - It seems like everyone has a Christmas album to some degree or another. Why are people so persistent in making Christmas music and is there an angle they could be working that isn't just money-driven? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

The past has shown that in times of strife, many people turn to religion as a way of getting through however the COVID-19 pandemic has found otherwise. Why is that? Guest: Dr. David Haskell, Associate Professor, Digital Media & Journalism and Religion & Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University - Should hockey take some influence from lacrosse? How should PGA players feel after placing behind a 12-year-old? These questions and more get asked, answered and debated on Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

What do you do when you've got an old building with beautiful architecture that's no longer being used? Put housing in it! Guest: Graham Cubitt, Director of Projects and Development, Indwell - We were expecting a treasure trove of information to be released by the US government regarding the assassination of JFK but instead, we got an information dump (and not the good kind). What was, and wasn't, released and why did the feds change course on what would be declassified? Guest: Jefferson Morley, Journalist & Blogger, JFKfacts.org - Legendary sports broadcaster and author Brian McFarlane joins Scott to talk about just about everything. After all, it isn't every day that you get to talk with someone this prominent from your childhood. Guest: Brian McFarlane, Legendary TV sports broadcaster, Author, A Helluva Life In Hockey

The federal government's economic statement included Chrystia Freeland saying that the economy is back but is it really? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - We're seeing a lot of positive COVID-19 tests in the sports world which has been leading to postponed games and multiple players being unavailable for games at a time. Could this lead to leagues having to shutdown temporarily again or will we see the return of games without fans in the stands? Guest: Dr. Michael Naraine, Assistant Professor of Sports Business, Brock University - We've seen a big rise in the popularity of foreign TV shows and movies but are they here to stay or has their popularity in North America merely been a quirk of the COVID-19 pandemic? Guest: Robert Thompson, Director, Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture; Trustee Professor of Television, Radio and Film

Why are politicians willing to speak out against Quebec's controversial Bill-21 after the election? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - The Grey Cup has finished with a disappointing end for Ticats fans and to take a look through the wreckage, Scott enlists Don Robertson for some help. Also, will the NHL prevent players from playing in the Beijing Olympics now that we know that a positive COVID-19 test could result in a 5-week quarantine in China? Will some players' agents step in and take the blame for why their athlete won't be competing? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Hamilton's own broadcasting legend Jamie West joins Scott for this week's Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. From people wielding science as their religion, to the CBC's "Words and phrases you may want to think twice about using," to outright discrimination of a teacher in Quebec, there's so much to hear!

Presenting any championship trophy is a massive honour however being able to do it at the Grey Cup final in your hometown as a diehard Ticats fan takes what would be a cool experience and turns it into something akin to a fairy tale dream. Scott had a chance to chat with someone who'll not only be one of two RCMP officers presenting the Grey Cup at this weekend's game but also someone who'll be getting a chance to live out this exact experience. His name is Sgt. Dave Binkley. Guest: Sgt. Dave Binkley, RCMP officer - How much of a home field advantage will the Ticats have? Will it give any actual advantage? Could it be the deciding factor in the upcoming Grey Cup final? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton & The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML - What does the future hold for the Ticats' head coach, Orlondo Steinauer? How do the Hamilton Tiger-Cats stack up against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers leading up to the Grey Cup? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

What is the best Christmas movie of all time? Who will win the Grey Cup this weekend? Those are two questions that one man is endeavoring to answer and his name is Rick Zamperin. Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of Good Morning Hamilton & The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML - The experience of playing any tabletop game is immediately enhanced the moment you play it at a dedicated location. Whether you're looking to try some new games or continue your campaign, a new gaming cafe will open its doors this weekend here in Hamilton. Say hello to The Bard & Bear! Guests: Steven & Megan Edmonds, Owners & Operators, The Bard & Bear Games Cafe, 237 James St North - When Drake removed his nomination from the Grammys, it almost seemed to make bigger news than if he won a Grammy! Have we reached the point where winning awards as big as a Grammy has lost what makes them so special? What does the future of concerts hold now that we're seeing more and more artists become massive sensations thanks to only one song? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

Ontario has some new legislation governing employers' ability to contact employees outside of work hours. How will this work and will it actually work?\ Guest: Gregory Sills, Employment Lawyer & Associate, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP - The City of Hamilton is set to raise taxes to help cover for the much needed infrastructure updates and repairs around the city. How much of an increase is expected and will it actually be spent on what we're being told? Guest: Bill Kelly, Host, The Bill Kelly Show, Global News Radio 900 CHML & 980 CFPL

It's no secret that house prices in Hamilton are constantly skyrocketing to new highs and a major contributor to that comes from the fact that there isn't a lot of inventory for real estate agents to sell. Guest: Judy Marsales, Broker of Record, Judy Marsales Real Estate Ltd. - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are moving on to the Grey Cup! Does a diplomatic boycott actually mean anything? Why can't the NHL deliver any meaningful punishments? Get answers to all of these questions and more on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

The Toronto Rock is returning to Hamilton and their first game back in The Hammer is this Saturday. Scott gets the inside line from someone from the team and the city. Guest: Jamison Dilks, #42 Defenceman, Toronto Rock - After an extremely distinguished 50-years as a sports broadcaster, Brian Williams has announced his retirement. Scott takes a look back at his half-century career with the best person you could want for the job, Brian Williams! Guest: Brian Williams, Long-time Broadcaster

Ontario's Auditor General has found that almost $1 billion of pandemic aid was sent to businesses that shouldn't have qualified among many other problems. How does something like this happen at all? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Major League Baseball could be coming up on a lockout. What more is there to ask for when players are already making millions and millions of dollars? Guest: Mike Wilner, Baseball Columnist, Toronto Star & Podcaster - The newest Beatles documentary has been released and when it comes to musical history, there's no one better to talk to than Alan Cross. Guest: Alan Cross, Music Historian & Journalist; Author 'A Journal of Musical Things' & Host, The Ongoing History of New Music

When businesses are doing well, the economy tends to be chugging along at a healthy pace. Is that still the case when it's the banks who are doing well? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - Beer is one of those products that gets heavily taxed however should that mean the tax should be equal between alcoholic and dealcoholized beer? Guest: David Clement, North American Affairs Manager, Consumer Choice Center - UNZIPPED, the first international exhibition of The Rolling Stones' memorabilia, has come to Kitchener! Featuring a realistic recreation of their Chelsea flat 'Edith Grove', original pieces from their personal collection and collaborations with many fellow artists. Now the next question must be asked, why is Kitchener the only Canadian stop for this exhibit? Guest: David Marskell, CEO, THEMUSEUM

A Parliamentary decision was made that would allow for MPs to call-in from home or sit in-person but could this be something that takes away the ability to keep politicians accountable? How can you ask someone questions if they never leave the house? Guest: Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch - Will athletes ever be paid "enough money"? When is it the general manager's fault that a team isn't doing well and when is it the players'? These questions get asked, answered and debated along with biting people in hockey and more. Hear it all on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Neil Lumsden who joins Scott to talk about the new COVID-19 variant, athletes choosing to speak up and speak out about issues in the world, what Amazon knows about you, if our rules are strict enough and organized pillow fighting championships among many other things. Guest: Neil Lumsden, Vanier Cup Champion, Grey Cup Champion, CFL Hall of Fame Member, former Athletic Director of Brock University & Amazing Race Canada Contestant

Burlington Taxi will be closing its doors after 53 years of business. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic's dealing of a major blow to business, is there still a future for taxis as a business model? Guest: Scott Wallace, President, Burlington Taxi - Today marks the 10th anniversary of what's become known as 'The Best Game Ever' where McMaster squared off against Laval for the Vanier Cup with Mac eventually winning thanks to a field goal in overtime. To get more on this major win for McMaster, Scott welcomes Stef Ptaszek from the McMaster Marauders. Guest: Stefan Ptaszek, Football Head Coach, McMaster University - There were some major concerns at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic over how the virus would impact Africans. As we've seen the pandemic progress, the countries of Africa haven't seen as bad of an impact as was expected when compared to the more developed countries. What could be the reason behind this and could there be a link between malaria infection and the potential for COVID-19 infection? Guest: Dr. Chris Mody, Professor & Department Head, Department of Microbiology Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

As we hear more and more about the impending acquisition of Shaw Media by Rogers Communications, any argument was put forth essentially saying that having fewer options means more competition. How is that even possible and could there be any truth to it? Guest: Ben Klass, PhD Candidate, Telecom Policy, Carleton University - Hamilton may be playing host to the Canada vs. United States Men's World Cup qualifying match. How big of a deal would this be for The Hammer? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport - The Chinese government keeps giving the world reasons to boycott competing at the upcoming Olympic Games and yet we have to ask, how likely is it that we'll actually see one happen? Guest: Dr. Richard Baka, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Victoria University; Olympic scholar and Co-Director, Olympic Research Network & McMaster graduate

While Hamilton City Council has voted against expanding the urban boundary, that doesn't mean that people are going to stop wanting to come to Hamilton. If building out is no longer an option, what are the alternatives? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - Grammy-winning and JUNO nominated musical group, Canadian Brass, will be performing at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre this Friday. To get a peek inside the inner-workings of this world-renown quintet, Scott welcomes founding member & tuba player Chuck Daellenbach as well as trumpeteer Brandon Ridenour. Guests: Chuck Daellenbach, Founding member & tuba player for Canadian Brass              Brandon Ridenour, Trumpet player for Canadian Brass

The debt that Ontario is facing is nothing short of enormous and so are the interest payments that get doled out each year. What has led us here and is there any hope for us paying it off? Guest: Jay Goldberg, Interim Ontario Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - Today marks the 58th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. A man from Hamilton happens to have an interesting connection to this monumental event and many of the people who played some pretty well known roles in it. Guest: Mike Tabone, Collector - Is Mackenzie Hughes getting enough of the attention that he deserves? Also, The Maple Leafs have won their last few games in ways that aren't typical of the Maple Leafs. What's changed and are the changes here to stay? These questions get talked about, argued and answered along with many more on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Scott welcomes back a good friend for this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton, Mike Fortune. Together they discuss China's missing pro tennis player, obscene signs in public, Hamilton's urban boundary expansion debate, if there are enough players from Quebec in the NHL and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Co-host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

There are talks around building a museum to display the history of Hamilton. Is this something that needs doing or should we be waiting for a better time before going down this road? Guest: Dermot Nolan, Hamilton Museum Citizens' Committee - As Canada continues to charge forward towards its goal of competing in the World Cup, one of its hurdles was playing against Mexico and with home field advantage, Canada used it to its full advantage by playing outdoors in Edmonton in the middle of November where the temperature was -9 degrees Celsius at kickoff. Guest: Nick Bontis, President, Soccer Canada

There's a new member of Hamilton City Council however to say that he's new to politics wouldn't be quite accurate. The now-Ward 5 councillor is also a former Dundas councillor and a former Liberal MP named Russ Powers and he was sworn in today. Guest: Russ Powers, Ward 5 Councillor, City of Hamilton, Former Liberal MP & Former Dundas Councillor - Ever since humans have launched rockets into space, the search for a better way has been ongoing. A new company hopes to explore another way into space by spinning rockets really fast around a wheel and then throwing them. How realistic is this method and could we be seeing rotary accelerators become the new way to space? Guest: Dr. Jesse Rogerson, Astrophysicist; Assistant Professor, Department of Science & Technology Studies, York University - While it's no secret that the skill of cursive writing is waning, there are some who want to see it continue for a myriad of reasons. How important is it for kids to be taught how to write in school? Guest: Michael Zwaagstra, Columnist; Senior Fellow, Frontier Centre for Public Policy; Author, "A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning" & Public High School Teacher in Manitoba

The Grey Cup isn't just 'the big game' because it also comes with a whole week-long festival attached. Where is this festival being held in Hamilton and what can you do at the different events? Guest: Matt Afinec, President & COO of Business Operations, Hamilton Tiger-Cats - Anything that's labelled as 'free' often comes with some sort of catch. Enbridge is offering free home winterizing to those who qualify but what exactly qualifies you for this free offering and is there a catch at all? Guest: Corrie Morton, Supervisor, Affordable Housing Energy Conservation Programs, Enbridge Gas - There's always news being made in the sports world which means there's always something to talk to Don Robertson about. While a lot of questions get asked and answered today, one of the big ones is whether or not Connor McDavid is the greatest hockey player to ever live. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

As we near the cut off for students to apply to post-secondary institutions, an increasing amount students are saying that they don't feel ready for the next step and are aiming lower than what they would ideally want as their education stream of choice. Guest: Dr. Paul Bennett, Founding Director & Lead Consultant, Schoolhouse Consulting and Author, "The State of the System" & Educhatter blog - There's some idea that the province of Ontario will be cutting some of the tax on gasoline in an effort to lower prices. Will this be something that can actually find its way to benefiting the average Ontarian, it it's doable at all? Guest: Jay Goldberg, Interim Ontario Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - A stand-up comedian who'll be coming to Burlington next Wednesday joins Scott to talk about how he got by during COVID-19 shutdowns and much, much more. Guest: Seán Cullen, Award-winning Canadian Comedian, Actor, Voice Actor & Host, The Seán Cullen Cocktail Hour (& a half)

COVID-19 has found a way back into the headlines as case counts start to rise once again and questions surrounding whether or not we're nearing the end of the 4th wave start getting asked. Guest: Dr. Karen Mossman, Professor, Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine & Vice-President of Research, McMaster University - It's no secret that there's a lot of great TV out there to watch but for some reason there doesn't seem to be any Canadian original shows that are gaining much popularity. Is this just a matter of them not getting popular around here or is there no appetite for what Canada has to offer? Guest: Bill Brioux, TV blogger, brioux.tv

Hamilton's potential urban boundary expansion is a topic that's divided many people and upset even more. On top of that, there is some heavy viewing that needs doing and it has got to be enough to dissuade anyone from wanting to be on council! Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Host & Community Producer, Cable 14 & Former Hamilton Mayor - There's is likely going to be some big changes to the price of food at restaurants however it won't be because the owners are getting greedy. What would be causing this potential increase that could land in the double digit percentile? Guest: Chef Matt Kershaw, Executive Chef, The Other Bird - Lots of hockey news both from the NHL and beyond which is why Scott welcomes Steve Foxcroft to the show to talk about it all and more! Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator, Referee & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

The teen accused of fatally stabbing Devan Selvey has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder just before his jury trial was to commence. Guest: Jeff Manishen. Former prosecutor. Criminal defence counsel now with Ross & McBride, Hamilton.  With the death of Angelo Mosca, Scott takes the time to remember him and his legacy with Don Robertson. Along the way, they reminisce about other local sports legends, philosophize about the nature of the sport of football, talk senior hockey and so much more! Guest: Don Robertson, owner Dundas Real McCoys.

Hosting the Grey Cup may seem amazing at the initial blush however that doesn't necessarily mean that it is the best course of action for Hamilton? Large events cost a lot of money to put on so does that mean it's better to find out how much is being spent after it's locked in or before? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - COP26 has brought together many of the world's leaders to discuss climate change and how to address it going forward. Wouldn't it be great if they did everything they could to minimize the conference's impact on the climate? It sure would be. Too bad that instead many more people were brought than were necessary, flying in on their own private planes, taking massive motorcades and eating off menus that featured foods that are known to be some of the least carbon efficient out there. Way to set a good example for everyone to follow. Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - The world of sports never stops because there is always someone trying to do something or the exact opposite because wow can some teams manage to do absolutely nothing. Talk about all of that and more can be found right here as Bubba O'Neil joins Scott. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) A man in Hull, England got upset over the sexual nature of a bottle of ketchup while at a Pizza Hut. The bottle reads, "shake, squeeze & squirt," and if that doesn't get your motor running, I don't know what will. As you can clearly see, Ketchup is the sexiest of the condiments. 2) If you're stocking up for Christmas dinner and need to save time, why not get all of the best parts at once? Introducing Heinz's Christmas Dinner Big Soup! Featuring pigs in a blanket, brussels sprouts, stuffing balls, potatoes and "big chunks" of turkey along with a gravy and cranberry sauce. Will it look like dog food? Probably. Will it taste like dog food? Stay tuned. 3) Being under house arrest is not supposed to be an enjoyable way of serving a criminal sentence however it is supposed to be better than jail. A man in Italy would argue against that after he asked to be jailed as an escape from being forced to live with his wife. Something tells me that being legally forced to stay at home violates the rules of 'happy wife, happy life'. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

If you enjoy products that involve dairy in some way, get ready to start paying even more for them because reports are pointing towards a big increase to the price of dairy that may be coming. Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois a.k.a. The Food Professor, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University - A court ruling has been delivered saying that the City of Hamilton is going to be allowed to enforce its bylaw prohibiting encampment in public spaces. What does this mean for us in our current situation? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor, City of Hamilton - The 20th anniversary of a revolutionary piece of technology came and went without too much attention being paid to it. Despite this, how did the iPod change the way we consume music (among many other things)? Guest: Alan Cross, Music Historian & Journalist; Author 'A Journal of Musical Things' & Host, The Ongoing History of New Music

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) When you own cool cars, other people will want them too. It's really unfortunate that after 17 attempts at stealing those cars, the 18th thief had to be met by the naked gun-wielding man whose successful meat business has allowed him to buy such vehicles. 2) Some Chinese parents are buying molds to put on their babies' heads in the hopes of making them more circular and thus more aesthetically pleasing. You know how we sometimes look back on things we've done in the past and ask ourselves, "what were we thinking?' Yeah, this is going to be one of those things for a lot of people. 3) When Facebook changed its name to Meta, many Hebrew-speaking people took to Twitter to mock the new name. Why? Because 'meta' sounds extremely similar to the Hebrew word for 'dead'. Talk about a truly grave mistake. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

Parents care about what kind of education their child receives and as such, many parents want to be involved in deciding what their children learn about. Should parents have a say in what the curriculum contains and if so, how much say should they have? Guest: Monika Ferenczy, Education Consultant & Author - Don Robertson joins Scott to talk about all of the big stories in the realm of sports on this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

When you call your Friday show The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton, you need someone who can help uphold that name which is why Scott welcomes Bob Cowan to talk about what should be done with the Canadian flag on Remembrance Day, if schools should be culling certain books from their school libraries, Canada's new Olympic kit and more. Guest: Bob Cowan, Co-host, Morning Live, CHCH-TV

Politicians have to deal with scrutiny and criticism with nearly every decision that gets made. Sometimes people take things too far and send threats and/or vandalize property which appears to be on the rise. Could we be heading down a path that no one wants to take? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor, City of Hamilton - Supply chain issues are affecting companies both near and far so Scott brings on a man who's built a company here in Hamilton that's gained fame around the world. How are supply chain problems impacting how business is done? Guest: Ron Foxcroft, Philanthropist; Founder & CEO, Fox 40 International Inc; Chairman, President & CEO, Fluke Transport; Basketball Referee - How important are autographs in this day and age? Paul McCartney says that he will no longer be taking selfies nor signing autographs. Will this eventually pay off or is he making a massive mistake? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

We're revisiting a topic we spoke about earlier in the week regarding the recent interview with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and more specifically one of his comments which has raised some eyebrows. Was absolutely nothing really said about the abuses Indigenous children were suffering while he was both Minister of Indian Affairs and Prime Minister? Guest: Richard Brennan, former Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill reporter for The Toronto Star - A very difficult story out of the Chicago Blackhawks is revealing itself more and more every day. A former player has publicly come forward as the victim of the sexual assault scandal but there's a lot to uncover here so Scott welcomes Bubba O'Neil to the show to talk about it all. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

An interview with former Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, revealed some interesting opinions about the current government's policy decisions and approach to just about everything. Should our current government take Chrétien's advice and listen to the old guard or is our current and future financial situation just fine the way it is? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - The likelihood of earthquakes around here may be higher than you think. This coming thanks to the work being done by a McMaster geologist. Will the next 'big one' happen here or is the issue potentially less destructive than the image in our minds? Guest: Dr. Alexander Peace, Assistant Professor, Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University - When there's a football that was given away before people realized it could be worth around $500,000, cheaters are back in the World Series and fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are angrier than ever, you can be sure that there's conversation about it all between Scott Radley & Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

On this edition of the Scott Radley show podcast, Scott sits down with Annette Hamm from CHCH's Morning Live about all things Hamilton and more! This includes getting up early to host the morning show, the urban boundary expansion, how much heating will potentially cost this winter with gas prices rising, and much more! Guest: Annette Hamm, Co-host, Morning Live, CHCH-TV

On this episode of the Scott Radley Show Podcast, it's sports talk! The Ti-Cats are not only hosting the Grey Cup in 2021, but it was announced that they will also host the 2023 Grey Cup. Guest: Matt Afinec, President and COO, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Forge FC Hamilton. Last night, fans of the Canadian Soccer team saw their team play like a World Cup worthy team against Panama. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

The October 13th edition has Health Reporter at The Hamilton Spectator Joanna Frketich join the show to discuss unvaccinated individuals in the hospital system. Scott was also joined by Dan McTeague President of Canadians for Affordable Energy to discuss rising energy costs.

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Having fun is something everyone can enjoy and elderly grandparents can sometimes find themselves getting into just as much trouble as any youngster. Here's your proof of that being true and all it'll take is a drunk elderly couple and a water park at night. 2) It's perfectly legal to sell a catalytic converter but if you do, remember to keep the focus on what you're trying to sell. This guy didn't quite understand this because the police were quick to stop by and arrest him because of the big bag of meth in the background of his ad. Unfortunately the "it's medicinal" argument is much harder to make here. 3) Getting cursed is a horrible thing and things get compounded when the psychic you hire to get rid of it doesn't follow through with their end of the deal. So what do you do if you find yourself in this position? Sue them! Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

The unemployment rate seems to keep climbing and yet at the same time, so is the number of employers who are saying they can't find anyone to fill positions. How can this be and what can be done to fix it? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - What do you do when you have an asteroid hurtling at your planet at tens of thousands of kilometres an hour? Send something fast and heavy right back at it! Or at least that's what NASA is intending to test with its DART program. Could intentionally crashing something into an asteroid slow it down enough to have any real effect? Guest: Dr. Jesse Rogerson, Astrophysicist; Assistant Professor, Department of Science & Technology Studies, York University - When two teams have a strong enough rivalry, fans will come from near and far to see them play because you always know that you're going to get a good show. Have rivalries reach their climax and are they getting to be too much or are fans getting exactly what they want? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

As if Facebook wasn't under enough fire and controversy already with its recent outage, the company is now having to deal with the massive dump of information stemming from a whistleblower who recently spoke in front of a congressional hearing. What's been revealed and is there any legal recourse that can happen as a result? Guest: Allen Mendelsohn, Canadian Internet and Tech. Lawyer - Getting to know the inside scoop on your favourite musicians is easier than ever thanks to all of these memoirs and documentaries being made. Now the question must be asked, why are so many artists making these series and writing these books about their lives and adventures in the music industry? Guest: Eric Alper, Publicist, Music Commentator & Shameless Idealist

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Being Shakira isn't easy. You have to be flawless on stage, always have something in the works and do something that very few people have to do even once in their life, run away from some wild boars while walking in a Barcelona park! 2) Kicking an addiction isn't easy and many people find that when one addiction goes it gets replaced by something else to fill the void that's created. This guy falls into that category because after quitting alcohol, he found a new love for eating nuts, screws, bolts and knives. Good thing doctors were able to surgically the kilogram of assorted metals from his stomach because passing that must be a real pain. 3) Wedgies suck and if you ask anyone, they're sure to agree with you on that. On top of being uncomfortable, this lady can now also say that she was almost killed by one after contracting sepsis due to her shorts being so short. Excuse me miss but this isn't what Bart Simpson meant by eat my shorts! Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

A speech from the throne was delivered in Ontario's legislature today and from what it sounded like, everything and somehow nothing was said. What does the plan seem to be and how attainable is it actually? Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Why is baseball's batting average drastically dropping? Would you get vaccinated if it meant you had to do your job and get paid $15 million? Questions like these get asked, answered and debated in this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Jamie West who joins Scott to talk about Justin Trudeau's vacation in Tofino, BC on the inaugural National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, referendums and surveys in Hamilton, having good hair, the future of the James Bond franchise & more. Guest: Jamie West, Host, The Jamie West Show, Global News Radio 900 CHML; Executive Producer, The Scott Radley Show & CEO, Westpro Media

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) If you go missing for long enough, people will eventually come looking for you. That was something a man discovered after drunkenly walking off into a forest where he discovered a manhunt. He decided to help them out and after a while they found who they were looking for, it was him! 2) A Danish museum lent an artist $84,000 to produce a piece however he instead turned in two blank canvasses entitled Take the Money and Run and oh boy did he take the money! 3) Car horns have a somewhat uniform sound that's super loud and in India, it seems like everyone on the road loves to make their horn heard. This has bothered India's Union Minister so much that he's proposing that car horns give off the sounds of Indian musical instruments. Organized chaos may someday become musical organized chaos. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

Whether it's the pension, salary or severance package, politicians are paid handsomely. This means the big wave of incumbent MPs who didn't get reelected still has a way of getting your money. Why is this? Guest: Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - There is a lot of money to be made in the art world and as such, some people try to cut in on the action by creating forgeries of already existing art. If you were given some clues about a certain artist and their tendencies, would you be able to tell the difference between a real and fake painting? The Art Gallery of Hamilton's newest exhibit "Tom Thomson? The Art of Authentication" takes that question and lets you make the call while viewing the works of Tom Thomson. Guest: Tobi Bruce, Director, Exhibitions and Collections & Senior Curator, Art Gallery of Hamilton

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) NASA is looking for a new van to take astronauts to and from their spacecraft. Luckily a company with a well known vehicle has offered their services. The question now stands, would NASA be willing to let its astronauts ride in the Oscar Mayer WEINERMOBILE? 2) Sleeping is crucial for humans, just like eating. Meth, on the other hand, is anything but essential... unless you're this guy from Alabama. When police arrested him, he was found asleep on a pile of chicken fingers & meth. I guess we have to update the age-old question to the 2021 standard what came first, the chicken fingers or the meth? 3) Humans are weird in so many different ways. Many people have hidden talents that involve something to do with their body like being double jointed or being able to turn their foot around 180 degrees. This lady's talent trumps nearly every other one out there thanks to her empty eye socket. After all, who else can blow air out of there? Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

As many Canadians celebrate the return of Michael Kovrig & Michael Spavor back to Canada, some are still remembering those who remain locked up in China. One such person is a lady from Burlington whose husband has been imprisoned as a political prisoner for 15 years without any family contact.. Guest: Kamila Telendibaeva, Wife of Huseyin Celil - The price of groceries is on the rise and that's undeniable however some people are saying the price is rising at one rate while others are saying it could possibly be even higher. Who's to be believed and how might the pandemic play a part in all of this? Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois a.k.a. The Food Professor, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University - The Toronto Blue Jays are starting one of their most important series of the season against the New York Yankees to determine if they've got a shot at the playoffs this year. How did things get to this point? Also, today is the anniversary of Paul Henderson's goal in the 1972 Summit Series. Scott's parents were there that day and Scott still has the tickets, brochure, program & more and you'll never guess how much it cost to go see the games, ballet and more. Guest: Mark Hebscher, Author; Podcaster; Former Host, CHCH-TV; Former Co-Host, Sportsline

Some new information regarding Hamilton's bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games is being revealed but will it be enough to secure the win? What are the proposed ideas and how would they work? Guest: Robert Livingstone, Producer & Senior Journalist, GamesBids.com - We can say, without a doubt, this year had some interesting weather. The rain, heat, sunshine and more all impacts how grapes grow and when you're in world renown wine country, that means this year's vintage could be amazing or garbage. Will we have to wait and see what kind of wine the grapes grown this year will create or can it be determined ahead of time? Guest: Britt Dixon, Winery Media/PR consultant - The NHL wants to crackdown on cross-checking but why haven't they been calling it every time it happens to begin with? Why stop at cross-checking? Also, would the Tampa Bay Rays flourish or flounder if they split their home games between Montreal & St. Petersburg? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Scot Urquhart who joins Scott to talk about COVID-19, the stress level when in large groups/traveling, China, Canada's government post-election & more. Guest: Scot Urquhart, Co-Host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) A Boston high school had to hire a private bus company due to a school bus shortage so they could take students on a field trip. When the bus pulled up to the school and the students got on, it was quickly realized that this was no ordinary bus, this was a party bus complete with LED light strips and a stripper pole! Getting to the field trip was probably more exciting than the trip itself! 2) If a ref makes a bad call, groan & complain but then get over it because you don't want to catch a charge or two like these students & teachers. All it took was a couple bad calls for them to barricade the referees in their locker room with vending machines and the like. 3) How can you enter a 10k run but run more than 10 kilometres? Well it turns out that all it takes one wrong turn as an English man discovered. In fact, not only did his excursion place him among the half marathon group, he ended up winning with a 4 minute gap! Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

As the light gets shone more and more on mental health, are we doing any favours by devaluing the marks our students are receiving? Is it time to get rid of the idea of grading as a whole? Guest: Dr. Paul Bennett, Founding Director & Lead Consultant, Schoolhouse Consulting and Author, "The State of the System" & Educhatter blog - Where did COVID-19 come from? Some said a lab in Wuhan, China while others suggested bats found in Chinese wet markets were the point of origin. Is there a possibility it could be both? Will the Chinese government ever open up to allow for an unfettered investigation? Guest: Dr. Gordon Houlden, Director of the China Institute, Professor of Political Science, University of Alberta - Many athletes find ways to police their games independent of the referees and umpires, fighting in hockey & hitting the batter in baseball are two such examples. We're seeing leagues cut down on players' ability to get revenge on dirty players/teams. Does that make for a better game or is it making things less interesting to watch? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) The saying, "If something seems too good to be true, it probably is," rings very true with these two guys from Mississippi. While walking down the street they saw a car with a sign in the window that said it was free and the keys were in the ignition. After taking it home, they found something, or rather someone, in the trunk that they weren't expecting. 2) New Zealand's strict lockdown measures have prevented many restaurants from offering takeout. This has prompted smugglers to start trying to get the people what they want and based off of a recent bust, the people want KFC. 3) Taliban fighters in Afghanistan are reportedly quite sad now that the US, Canada and other countries have/are pulling out. They're sad because now they can't be killed and become martyrs which means they can't enter paradise. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

We've been hearing political promises and hopes for the future for a little over a month but it's now time to get back to reality and the real issues that are happening right now. Many of these issues are based in the financial realm which is precisely why Scott welcomes Dr. Ian Lee to the show so help put these problems into perspective. Guest: Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Is there anything any of the Toronto Maple Leafs' players can say that will satisfy fans until we get into the playoff season? Also, would you ever play football while wearing a vial of your deceased fathers' ashes around your neck? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

As we approach closing time for the polls, Scott is joined by someone who might be able to help shine some light on where we're at going into the final hours of the 2021 federal election. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair, Summa Strategies - Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Baby showers are supposed to be full of joy and celebration however this one took a turn for the worst. How bad can a gift be that a family goes from celebrating a baby shower to gun-slinging? 2) There is no reason to hold up a 911 phone operator but apparently this guy isn't smart enough to know that because he felt the need to keep calling 911 simply because he needed to make it known that he's tired. 3) Many guys have tried to measure their privates but few have tried to do it with a USB cord with even fewer anchoring from the inside. Thank you modern medicine for being able to fix stupidity. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Sometimes it's better to not ask a question because the answer can leave you more confused than you were to begin with. For example, why was this guy shooting out of a window? Apparently it was because he thought he was shooting at aliens. I don't know about you but I'm certainly more confused and have many, many more questions all because of that answer. 2) If you need to bring positive vibes, generate some laughs and spread love, joy & happiness, wearing a pair of overalls and a Michael Myers mask while holding a fake bloody knife and walking around the beach probably isn't the way to do it. A Texas lawyer found that out the hard way after he got arrested while doing exactly that. 3) The LAPD is shopping for a new van to transport explosives after they blew up their current one all thanks to a bunch of fireworks and a miscalculation. In other words, their 'total containment vessel' is now a bit more of a 'totaled containment vessel'. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

While an election boils down to who gets the most votes, there's always much more that goes into garnering those votes. To help break down who's doing what and how this election is going as a whole, Scott invites Stephen LeDrew on to the show. Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - Hamilton will play host to the NHL's Heritage Classic game where the Toronto Maple Leafs will square off against the Buffalo Sabres. To talk more about this, Steve Milton joins the show. Guest: Steve Milton, Sports Columnist, The Hamilton Spectator; Member, Canadian Football Hall of Fame & Skate Canada Hall of Fame - Change has come to television, as it does to all things. Why is it changing and how have streaming/on-demand platforms begun to replace network television? Guest: Bill Brioux, TV blogger, brioux.tv

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Cup Noodle, a ramen noodle company, is celebrating their 50th anniversary by creating a line of ramen noodle flavoured soda pops. This lineup will consist of their basic Cup Noodle soda, a seafood-accented cream soda, a curry-accented cola and a chili-tomato soda. Thirsty yet? 2) Trying to fake documents when traveling is not an easy thing to do and that's by design. If you ask anyone who knows anything about documents, legal or not, one of the first things they'll tell you is that you must spell everything correctly. Looks like this lady vaccinated with the "Maderna" shot must have missed that memo. 3) Boris Vishnevsky is running for municipal office in St. Petersburg, Russia and is facing a tactic used by his opponents to confuse voters so they might vote for a fake candidate. That's why the beard-sporting, balding & greying Boris Vishnevsky is running against two other candidates, Boris Vishnevsky who's balding, greying & has beard and the bearded Boris Vishnevsky who happens to also be greying & balding. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

If you compare most of the political platforms that are being put forward by the candidates in Canada's federal election, you'll see that there are many similarities. Despite this, there are some topics that the party leaders differ on and one such topic is childcare. What are their perspectives, how would they implement their program, if at all, and what would it cost to do so? Guest: Peter Shawn Taylor, Senior Features Editor, C2C Journal - The Tiger-Cats have found themselves in an interesting position as their lineup of great quarterbacks has been hit hard with injuries. Is this the best time for it to happen or the worst time? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Running late for your flight is always nerve wracking and extremely stressful however one lady found a sure fire way to make sure the plane doesn't take off for a few more hours... call in a bomb threat! Now you don't have to worry about being late for your flight ever again! 2) Some people from Florida have a whole new approach to life. While police had a massive standoff with an armed man on a house's roof, a buck-naked woman pulled up in her golf cart and got out to watch the show. Where else but Florida? 3) If you ever find yourself building a complex in Cuba, take a page out of this guys book and make sure to include plans to stand up an army of attack iguanas. Don't ask why, just accept that you need one of these too. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

There is already much controversy over the upcoming Olympics that are set to take place in China. Activists have been sending letter pleading for countries to reconsider sending athletes to the Games and also, interestingly enough, to television networks. Why television networks and how could they help protest China's atrocities? Guest: Lhadon Tethong, Political Activist, Co-Founder & Director, Tibet Action Institute & Former Executive Director, Students for a Free Tibet - Some interesting results have come up following the federal leaders' English-language debate. To help interpret which numbers have changed, in what direction and what it could mean, Scott has enlisted the help of Nik Nanos from Nanos Research. Guest: Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist & Founder, Nanos Research - Minor league hockey stars as the first of many topics covered in this week's edition of Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Tonight's debate between the leaders of Canada's federal parties will see a lot of words get exchanged but that doesn't always dictate what message gets portrayed. Scott speaks with someone to help explain what different signs mean and what to watch for during tonight's debate. Guest: Robyn Braley, Brand Specialist, Unimark Creative; Blogger; Body Language Interpreter - Political candidates will often promise new things that cost money however we don't seem to have any candidates that want to cut back on things to lighten the national debt. If we don't cut back on the national debt, who will pay for it? Guest: Jake Fuss, Senior Economist, Fraser Institute

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Criminals aren't always the smartest and we've found another to add to that pile. When it comes to cocaine smuggling, there are many ways to do it but under a toupee is definitely one of the worst. 2) Stealing a car is a bad idea and stealing one while running from the police is even worse but this criminal found a way to take things to a whole new level. All it took was stealing a mortuary van while it was being loaded up with a body! 3) Game-worn/used items are very popular with sports memorabilia collectors but does that mean that every article of clothing worn is worth something? Well we're about to find out because a pair of Michael Jordan's underwear showing signs of "definite use" are now up for auction. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

The negative impact that closing our schools has had on our students hasn't been dealt evenly. This disparity has prompted many experts in the education realm to start sounding the alarms because there are many red flags that are waving. Guest: Irvin Studin, Chair, Worldwide Commission to Educate All Kids; Editor-in-Chief, Publisher & Founder, Global Brief Magazine; President, The Institute for 21st Century Questions - Larry Walker has been welcomed into the Baseball Hall of Fame however his entry brings up memories of 1997 and who should have won the Lou Marsh Award that year. Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) People were protesting outside of Facebook's offices in London in the hopes of changing the way they moderate pictures of nipples vs tattoos of nipples on breast cancer survivors. Though some protestors dressed up as giant breasts, hopefully no one acted like one. 2) Gender reveals have caused much damage and devastation around the world. An expectant father from Tennessee got the good news and simply had to fire off a few celebratory rounds from his shotgun into the air prompting 3 nearby schools to go into lockdown. 3) Some collectors have extremely detailed and expensive collections of just about everything you can think of. One such collection was tragically thrown out by a man's parents after he moved out. A lawsuit was filed and won by the 43-year-old man whose parents now have to pay him $30,0441 to cover for the collection of pornography and sex toys. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

How is this election moving along? Are things going the way we expected when the writ was initially dropped? Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair, Summa Strategies - The price of meat is rising rapidly and there's no denying it. The question, however, is why? Has it been the pandemic alone that's caused this spike or is there something more to it and is it time to start stashing tonnes of meat in your freezer? Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois a.k.a. The Food Professor, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University - Naming a band is a daunting task because whether you like it, or not, it's going to stick with you forever. Some names have cool stories behind them while others stem back to a spur-of-the-moment idea. Unfortunately, only so many names can exist before we enter the realm of bands with weird characters and symbols, with no way of pronouncing them, in their name. What are bands and musicians doing to ensure their name is unique to them, and them alone? Guest: Alan Cross, Music Historian & Journalist; Author 'A Journal of Musical Things' & Host, The Ongoing History of New Music

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Graeme Mackay who joins Scott to talk about the current situation in Afghanistan, vaccine hesitancy, the fact that Hamilton has 9,000 employees, conscious cartooning and more. Guest: Graeme Mackay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator

Why are social media platforms willing to ban people like Donald Trump from their platforms while at the same time allowing members of groups like the Taliban to use it. Where is the line drawn and why aren't social media companies fully enforcing their own, self-imposed, policies? Guest: Allen Mendelsohn, Canadian Internet and Tech. Lawyer - There's a chance that you remember the company Consumers Distributing. 25-years-ago this week, Consumers Distributing went out of business despite it being used by so many people. What's caused this business, and many like it, to fade into the history books? Guest: Craig Patterson, Editor-In-Chief & Founder, Retail Insider

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Crashing your car is one of the last things that you want to do. What can make it even worse is when you crash a nice Audi Q7 into a 371-year-old house built by the ancestors of Abraham Lincoln. Wouldn't it be crazy if all of this actually did happen and just because the driver tried to avoid hitting a squirrel? 2) What do you do when there's a tree that sits right on the property line and one owner wants the tree while the other doesn't? Split it! One side gets beautiful canopy and other side gets pruning cuts. 3) Donating your body to science is something that helps allow medicine and science to progress in many different ways. What you might not expect is for your best friend to find your body being the one that gets pulled for anatomy class. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

A new poll has found that around one third of Ontarians say they are house-poor meaning the majority of their income goes towards their mortgage and/or house-related bills. Of that third, half of them say they're concerned they won't be able to make ends meet in this coming year. Guest: Don Fox, Principal, IG Private Wealth Management & Co-host, Planning Your Financial Future on Global News Radio 900 CHML - Bob Ross is one of the few people who's loved by just about everyone and a documentary all about him and the battle for his business is set to be released on Netflix. Guest: Dr. Kristin Congdon, Professor Emeritus, Art and Media, University of Central Florida & Co-Author, "Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon"

Interesting numbers are arising as the federal election campaign gets underway. Where can we expect to be seeing support and for whom will that support be for? Guest: Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist & Founder, Nanos Research - If you take a look at who's running in your local riding chances are you won't see anyone familiar. How might this lack incumbent MPs impact the outcome of this election? Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Host & Community Producer, Cable 14 & Former Hamilton Mayor - Don Robertson joins Scott to talk about the Honus Wagner baseball card that sold for a whopping $6.6 million, childhood heroes, the kids of famous athletes trying to imitate their parents' success and more in Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features our friend Mike Fortune who joins Scott to talk about the new Jeopardy! lineup, the potential for a federal election, how people vote, vaccine passports and more. Guest: Mike Fortune, Co-host, The Hamilton Network, Cable 14

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) The University of Wisconsin is removing a rock from its campus because some people are saying it's racist. That's because of a name that it was referred to as at one point in time. 2) If there's one place OJ Simpson will never return to, it's Los Angeles. Why might you ask? Well isn't it obvious, the killer is still there! 3) They say that a picture is worth a thousand words however you only need a couple words to paint this picture. Flasher. Swinging. They were used in a police report to describe what someone was doing at traffic and now they're two words that can be used to describe what you're envisioning in your mind. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

What do you do when you're the president of the United States and you cancelled an oil pipeline from being built on your first day but your country needs more oil to bring gas prices down? Request more oil! But don't order it from Canada, request it from countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and more. Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - The movie set where Field of Dreams was shot has welcomed the MLB to take it from fiction to reality. Complete with Kevin Costner and the players entering the diamond from the corn, what else can we expect to see from tonight's game in Iowa? You're also going to be hearing none other than our friend Bubba O'Neil doing the play by play for this weekend's Ticats game! Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Monday, August 9th saw Hamilton City Council vote 10-2 to remove the homeless encampments. This vote specifically removes a Superior Court injunction that prevented the tent cities from being removed. Renewed regular enforcement will resume in 3 weeks. Scott spoke with the Councillor who introduced the motion, Jason Farr. GUEST: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor Hamilton   As the situation in Afghanistan quickly deteriorates, in light of the US army's departure from the region, many people are wondering the same thing: Was it worth it? Guest: Dr. Geoffrey Hayes, PhD. History professor with special research interests in Canadian Military History and Afghanistan.   Then, in a rare showing for Scott, we replay an old interview with W.P. Kinsella, in honour of the Field of Dreams game White Sox vs Yankees. Guest: W.P. Kinsella (archived), Canadian author of "Shoeless Joe" a sports fiction novel later adapted to film as "Field of Dreams"

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Some people really, really love certain bands to the point of getting tattoos of them. A mother from New Zealand may have taken that love to a whole new level when she decided to name her kids after three of her favourite heavy metal bands, Metallica, Pantera and Slayer. Let's hope that her kids will grow up to share her love for metal. 2) Extracting teeth is not something just anybody can do. Years of schooling, examination and practice must be completed or at least that would be the case for someone who wants to do it the right way. Instead, this lady broke into a dentist's office where she pulled 13 teeth on top of some other shenanigans. 3) Flying over 2,000km from England to Russia is an amazing feat regardless of what kind of animal you're talking about. When it gets accomplished by a bat the size of your thumb, that makes things even more spectacular! How do we know that this bat is from England? You can thank an unfortunate run in with a cat for that. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

All around the world, there is a growing anti-government sentiment. Where is this feeling coming from and where could we see it lead to? Guest: Bill Kelly, Host, The Bill Kelly Show, Global News Radio 900 CHML - Licensing private rental properties is the basis of a new pilot project that got the green light from Hamilton City Council today. Why do they want to license these properties and how would it work? Guest: John Paul Danko, Ward 8 City Councillor, City of Hamilton - When you lose one of the great players from any game, there's always a sombre feeling however the passing of NHL Hall of Famer Tony Esposito also evokes memories of when goalies were simply the coolest player on the ice. How have sports changed since the time of Esposito and why are different sports being played so similarly? Guest: Steve Foxcroft, Sports Broadcaster, NFL Chain Gang Member, NBA Court-side Administrator & Vice-President, Fluke Transport

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) The Olympics added some new sports to its long list of disciplines and sports which has prompted a guy to petition the International Olympic Committee to add another. He, and others, think that it's an "injustice" that the heart-racing, high-octane sport of Yu-Gi-Oh! (a trading card game) is not a part of the Games. Could we see the Olympics relent and welcome this as its next sport or could it be banished to the Shadow Realm instead? 2) Scented candles can really change the atmosphere of a room and while usually for the better, there are some that have some rather unusual smells. Ikea has thrown its hat in the ring with candles that smell like their iconic Swedish meatballs. Whether you think this would smell amazing or dålig is up to you. 3) Breaking up with someone introduces a whole ton of questions about what comes next. Very few people would ever expect their now-ex to take their car and run through a bunch of red lights and yet that's exactly what this one lady did 49 times! Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

How can you get today's kids interested in the news? Is it just a matter of interest or perhaps it's attention span that's lacking? Guest: Joyce Grant, Freelance Journalist, Children's Author & Co-Founder, TeachingKidsNews.com - When people in the sports world make moves that will get them massive amounts of money, and they're from Hamilton, you can bet that Scott and Don Robertson will talk about it! Also, is it time for the Canadian Premier League to launch a women's league that'll run parallel to the current CPL? Would you pay to see some of the best women in the world play soccer? Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

Ontario’s big city mayors call for decriminalization of drugs and Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward joins Scott to talk more about what this may look like. Also addressing a few common misconceptions about decriminalization.   There have been some rumblings that Live Aid may come back in aid of COVID this time. Scott brought on music publicist Eric Alper for this one.   And Bubba O'Neil from CHCH discusses the state of NHL and MLB officiating. Is it ruining the sports as some commentators say? Or is it no big deal?

The HSR has a new director in charge. As the new director for the HSR, Maureen Cosyn Heath is going to face some new challenges. Is she ready? What challenges await her? Guest: Maureen Cosyn Heath, Transit Director HSR, London school bus CAO. Paul Bernardo's parole hearing has taken place, and to many Canadian's relief, it didn't go well for Bernardo. But why should he have a parole hearing when many Canadians believe he won't be released? Guest: Jeff Manishen, Criminal Lawyer & Associate Counsel, Ross & McBride LLP Vinyl records are seeing such a resurgence in popularity that vinyl manufacturers can barely keep up with the demand. What is driving the interest in vinyl? Guest: Alan Cross, Music Historian & Journalist; Author 'A Journal of Musical Things' & Host, The Ongoing History of New Music

Hamilton legend Ron Foxcroft has recently launched his new book "The 40 Ways of the Fox", and he joins Scott on the podcast to talk more about it. Guest: Ron Foxcroft, Philanthropist, Founder & CEO, Fox 40 International Inc and Chairman, President & CEO, Fluke Transport & Basketball Referee The U.S. Open took place yesterday, and with it, Canadian golfer Mackenzie Hughes finishing 15th, potentially making Canadian golf history. Also, the Olympics, and their absurd COVID restrictions that (while safe) take the fun out of the game It's all coming up in Sports Talk with Don Robertson. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner, Dundas Real McCoys & Broker of Record, ComChoice Realty

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Jen Watson who joins Scott to talk about cancelling Canada Day, students being sent home for wearing inappropriate clothing, embarrassing stories, removing honours programs from high school and more. Guest: Jen Watson, Voice Actor, McQueenVoiceOvers.com & former CHML News Anchor & Reporter

A new Angus-Reid poll found that many people think the price of things are increasing more than they actually are. What is making people think this? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Associate Professor of Marketing, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University - There are collections of pretty much everything under the sun but one man in Hamilton likes collecting letters and signatures from people who never intended to be famous but rather found themselves thrust into historical moments. How does he get these letters from people who've done just about everything from walking on the moon to following Charles Manson? Guest: Mike Tabone, Collector - He's back! Our friend Bubba O'Neil has healed up and is ready for some more debates and conversations about everything the sports world has to offer. Today, Scott & Bubba discuss who should and shouldn't be nominated for the NHL's GM of the Year award. Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor, CHCH-TV

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) When your drugs get seized by the police it's best to just cut your losses and leave. This guy, instead, made his first stop, presumably after posting bail, the drug lockup to get his drugs back. Clearly all of the previous bad ideas didn't get the message across so let's add trying to raid the police station and City Hall to the list! 2) Sometimes YouTube's algorithms take you on a ride to learn about topics you never would have searched on your own, other times you're just plain bored or curious. Whatever the reason is, don't take the bomb you just built from a YouTube video to the police station for deactivation. 3) Living near an airport has its inherent risks but rarely does the topic of falling poo come up in the conversation. What comes up even less is the likelihood of a half-meter wide mound of poop coming real close to annihilating your car. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

As we approach the end of the school year, there are a lot of Grade 12 students who aren't sure where they should go next. Is Grade 13 the way to go or is progressing into post-secondary education what students should do? Guest: Michele Vesprini, Guidance Counselor, St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School - There are two stories unfolding on opposing ends of the country that aren't dissimilar however the way politicians are treating it is night and day. What's going on in Alberta and Quebec? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Political Commentator; Host, The LeDrew Three Minute Interview; Former President, Liberal Party of Canada - The Vancouver School Board is cutting out its honours programs from its high school. What purpose is this suppose to serve and are the words equality and equity misused too often? Guest: Monika Ferenczy, Education Consultant & Author

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Girl Guide cookie sales have dropped through the floor thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and now they're sitting on 15 million boxes of cookies! Oh what I'd do to get into that warehouse... 2) Unfortunately McDonald's Happy Meals aren't served all day long much to the dismay of this guy. How did he react to this news? By threatening to execute everyone in the restaurant! 3) Simply wearing your underwear over your pants and putting on a cape isn't enough to bestow you with the powers of Superman. A self-identified comedian from Mexico found that out the hard way after he tried to stop a bus while donning the classic red, blue and yellow costume. Who won this battle? Certainly not the guy who got flattened by a bus! Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

We now know what it would cost to run the LRT in Hamilton... we think. Have all the questions been answered or is there still more to discover? Guest: Lloyd Ferguson, Ward 12 Councillor, City of Hamilton - Some new concerns are on the rise over cannabis use but this time it's revolving around children's use of it. Is this something that actually merits concern or is a ruckus being made about nothing? Guest: Dr. James MacKillop. Peter Boris Chair in Addictions Research. Director of the Peter Boris Centre For Addictions Research. Co-director of the Michael D. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research - The CFL has announced its new season and the Ti-Cats are going to be having a doozy of a year! 4 games against the Argonauts!? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Host of The 5th Quarter, News Director & Sports Director, Global News Radio 900 CHML

This week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton features Neil Lumsden who joins Scott to talk about the reopening of restaurant patios and loosened restrictions in Ontario, taking another look at our history through the lens of today's standards, bringing back things from our youth and more. Guest: Neil Lumsden, Vanier Cup Champion, Grey Cup Champion, CFL Hall of Fame Member, former Athletic Director of Brock University & Amazing Race Canada Contestant

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) School's aren't often fully evacuated unless under the most dire of situations like say, a bobcat in the school. Whoever called in this bobcat sighting needs their eyes checked because when the school was finally cleared, it was found to be nothing more than a house cat. 2) Semi-trucks and the trailers they tow are truly some of the most important things to ensuring our society and its businesses can function. Unfortunately things occasionally go wrong while en route and it isn't until you realize that you've leaked an entire trailer's worth of tomato paste mixed with olive oil on the highway for as far as the eye can see. Though it may look like blood, it's only a horror scene for those who love the culinary arts. 3) It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a sex-toy wielding quadcopter? Just some of the words that were almost guaranteed to have been said by onlookers of a a mayoral speech that was being conducted by a mayoral candidate. Whether the goal was to slap the candidate's head with the toy or just to simply divert peoples' attention, it was clear that the only way it was going to be removed was by 'gripping and ripping'. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?

A parole hearing is coming up for Paul Bernardo but everyone is asking, is there really a chance at him being released from his life sentence? Guest: Tim Danson, Lawyer representing the French and Mahaffy families - The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many weaknesses in our education system. This is something that Dr. Paul Bennett has helped distill down to 5 headlines that describe what exactly is going on with our students, teachers and the system as a whole. Guest: Dr. Paul Bennett, Founding Director & Lead Consultant, Schoolhouse Consulting and Author, "The State of the System" & Educhatter blog - Hockey fans are yet again wondering what punishment, if any, is going to be delivered by the NHL. This comes after another player was injured to the point of being stretchered off of the ice. Is it time for the enforcer to come back or is the NHL actually going to do what it says? Guest: Sean Fitzgerald, Senior National Writer, The Athletic

A long meeting was held at Hamilton City Hall between Councillors and the head of Metrolinx about the proposed LRT system. Was anything accomplished? Guest: Chad Collins, Ward 5 Councillor, City of Hamilton - The Prime Minister said that Quebec can call itself a nation unto itself with the ability to make unilateral changes to the Canadian Constitution. One such change would be the ability to declare French its only official language. By that standard, could any other province declare English to be its only official language? Is it time to end Canada's official bilingualism? Guest: JJ McCullough, Columnist, The Washington Post - You can watch those TV shows you loved as a kid once again! Thanks to a website that's broadcasting the commercials, shows, news, sports & more from the 1970s, 80s, 90s & 00s! Scott speaks with the creator of these websites to find out how the My Retro TV series came into existence and what inspired their creation. Guest: Joey Cato, Creator, My Retro TV series

Today's edition of Ben's Story of the Day features: 1) Dead bodies decompose & get extremely smelly over time, that's a fact. A court inquest uncovered that someone, who was knowingly living with a dead body, decided to fight that stench with the help of 70 bottles of air freshener. At what point does someone decide that they've got to get rid of something? 2) Art is something that often finds its place coming from the mind and heart but an Italian sculptor has taken that to a whole new level with his latest sculpture that sold for 15,000 euros ($22146.15 CAD). That very same sculpture is one of an immaterial nature which is fancy talk for it's entirely imaginary and has no physical or digital form. Who thought this was something they wanted to buy?! 3) PC gaming is full of weird and wonderful games from expansive fictional sagas to intricate simulators. One of those simulators has been released under the title, "Chair Simulator". This distinct simulator allows for the player to sit in a chair. Genius. Which one will be crowned Ben's Story of the Day? Which one is your story of the day?