This week's guest is award-winning journalist Meredith MacLeod who joins Scott for an hour of conversation that's sure to be the brightest in Hamilton (see where we get the name from?). Together they cover the renovations FirstOntario Centre is undergoing, objectivity in journalism, receiving large inheritances from wealthy parents, if protests nowadays have lost the narrative and more. Guest: Meredith MacLeod, Editor & Co-Publisher, Hamilton City Magazine

If Justin Trudeau stepped down as the leader of the federal Liberals, who could step in to turn things around for the party? Guest: Stephen LeDrew, Past President of the Liberal Party of Canada, Lawyer & Host of “The LeDrew Three-Minute Interview” - How is it that this area can have so many different sports teams playing at the professional level in every major sport and yet there are so few and infrequent championship wins? This question and more gets addressed as Bubba O'Neil joins the...

There's always something happening in Hamilton and who better to talk about those things than The Bay Observer's John Best? Guest: John Best, Publisher, The Bay Observer - Warning labels are going to be placed on each and every cigarette sold in Canada, what kind of impact will this have? Guest: Rob Cunningham, Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian Cancer Society - The Rolling Stones are heading back out on the road! This wouldn't be an unusual statement to make however the band, which was formed...

Ontario is set to ban cellphones in classrooms, something that many have sought while others detest. Guest: Annie Kidder, Executive Director, People for Education - The Dundas Real McCoys are now back-to-back Allan Cup Champions! Coming off of this win, Don has graced the studio with the Allan Cup to talk about his team's win, what it might take to turn the Maple Leafs around, the performance the Blue Jays are poised to deliver this year and more. Guest: Don Robertson, Head Coach & Owner,...

How much is a job worth? Are we pleased with the way Strong Mayor Powers are being used? How effective are body cameras on police officers? Why can't people correctly spell your last name? These questions and more get addressed on this week's edition of The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio with guest Mike Nabuurs. Guest: Mike Nabuurs, Host of Hammer Down with Jay & Mike, PA Voice of Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Hamilton, like every city, has pot holes but is there anything we can do about it? Guests: Carolyn Ryall, Director, Transportation, and Mark Priest, District Superintendent - Roadway Maintenance, City of Hamilton - Lots of lessons are coming from the Zameer case, whether for politicians, police, including the Chief, and the public. Guest: Jeff Manishen, Criminal Lawyer, Ross & McBride; Former Crown Attorney - The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its most recent class of...

Who operates the LRT in Hamilton isn't a decision that will be made by the city council and yet they spent hours debating this very topic. Was that just wasted time? Guest: John Best, Publisher, The Bay Observer - Now that the federal budget has been announced, are we seeing a change in the polls in favour of the Liberals? What kind of response was garnered by the announcement? Guest: Dr. Lori Turnbull, Professor & Chair of Public & International Affairs with Dalhousie...

Was hate speech spouted this weekend outside of parliament? When should police step in? At what point does free speech become hate speech? Guest: Dr. Robert Huish, Associate Professor, Department of International Development Studies, Dalhousie University - The federal government has announced 'halal mortgages'. What are they and why even suggest such a thing? Guest: Ian Lee, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University - Don Robertson is busy behind the bench as the...

The Brightest Conversation in Hamilton Radio implies conversation however today's guest is more than bright the way he speaks but also in the way he writes. While his future topics may be a mystery to most, the topics he covers with Scott includes the NHL playoffs, Jon's long-form journalism, the Arizona Coyotes' move to Utah, Hamilton's LRT, how "truth" is being misconstrued with "opinion", the relationship between Joe Biden's uncle and cannibals in Papua New Guinea & more. Guest: Jon...

This afternoon, city council discussed the privatization of LRT operations at its General Issues Committee with the final analysis being presented by the LRT subcommittee. What came of it and will it have in impact on the final decision? Guest: John-Paul Danko, Councillor, Ward 8, City of Hamilton - Could Canadians find themselves voting in a third referendum on the separation of Quebec? If things keep going the way they do in the province, that might just happen. Guest: Daniel Béland,...

The federal budget was announced today which means we can take a look at what the government plans to do with your tax money in the near future. How does it look and have any meaningful changes been made? Guest: Dr. Eric Kam, Professor of Economics with Toronto Metropolitan University - We keep with the theme of the budget but look at it from a different perspective, the political perspective and the implications on that side. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair of Summa Strategies - Since first...

PM Trudeau's housing announcement contains implications for Hamilton's LRT. Also discussed, the Vrancor affordable housing proposal. Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer. Data shows that elementary students in Hamilton are staying home from school more often since the pandemic. Guest: Annie Kidder, Executive Director of People for Education. Don Robertson joins us to talk about which cities might be getting new NHL teams (and which ones actually should), the Masters, and the...

Matthew Adams, Assistant Professor and GIS Program Director of Geography, Geomatics and Environment with the University of Toronto New study tracks infamous ‘rotten egg’ smell in Hamilton lower city Jeff Manishen, Criminal Lawyer, Ross & McBride; Former Crown Attorney How do televised trials impact justice? How did televising the OJ Simpson trial impact the justice system? Tristan Borges, Midfielder for Forge FC The four-time Canadian Premier League champions, Forge FC, will kick off...

The countdown to the RBC Canadian Open is officially on, with just five weeks left until the big event! Today, we're thrilled to chat with tournament director Brian Crawford, who will share some details of a major announcement. GUEST: Brian Crawford, Tournament Director of The RBC Canadian Open. Prime Minister Trudeau to testify at the foreign interference inquiry. GUEST: Dr. Robert Huish, Associate Professor with the Department of International Development Studies at Dalhousie...

In an opinion piece published to the Bay Observer, Fmr Mayoral Candidate Vito Sgro asks the question he keeps hearing in regards to Hamilton Council: "Have You Had Enough?" GUEST: Vito Sgro is a former mayoral candidate and political insider People flocked to Niagara Falls to see the once-in-a-lifetime eclipse yesterday. Leading up to the event, a state of emergency was declared, expecting millions of people to arrive. Turns out, the reality is a little different. What happened? GUEST: Jim...

Government documents show concerns at Queens Park over the overrun of transit costs. What will this mean for the LRT? GUEST: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer  Don Robertson joins us over the phone and then in the studio thanks in part to 'Eclipse Traffic'. Lots to talk about, from the eclipse, to the Bulldogs and so much more. GUEST: Don Robertson, Owner of the Dundas Real McCoys

Bright conversations can be sparked by many things such as cartoons and no one does better editorial cartoons than Hamilton's own Graeme MacKay. With conversations about the upcoming eclipse, the boundaries an editorial cartoonist must follow (and when they can/should be pushed), when body modification enters the realm of mental illness, April Fools' products made by companies that actually sound pretty decent and more on the docket for today, you might be getting a sneak preview at one of...

Why are we seeing places like Niagara Falls declaring an emergency ahead of this Monday's solar eclipse? Is buying extra food and water really something that we need to do? How bad could it be? Guest: Nomi Claire Lazar, Full Professor in Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and author of the book “States of Emergency in Liberal Democracies” - This weekend, the Argylls, Signallers and other military occupations in Hamilton will be holding a recruitment drive in addition...

We speak with Burlington’s mayor about a huge new development being proposed by the GO station in Aldershot that would include housing, a university campus, commercial space and a 5,000-seat arena. Guest: Marianne Meed Ward, Mayor of Burlington - Coles has announced that it'll be closing it's store in Jackson Square marking the loss of one of the original tenants. Is Jackson Square still a viable business location? Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor with the DeGroote School of Business at...

The continued fallout of Mayor Horwath's plan to use strong mayor powers, and the latest on the encampment in front of city hall. Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - Canada's productivity seems to be so low it's an emergency. How do we measure productivity, what's driving this drop and is there anything we can do to fix it? Guest: Moshe Lander, Senior Economics Lecturer with Concordia University - 'SCTV' alumnus Joe Flaherty passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Guest: Bill...

The province says it's prepared to force the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board to sell its Sir John A. Macdonald property. How has this been received by the HWDSB? Guest: Todd White, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Trustee for Wards 5 & 10 - It would appear that for as divided as Canada appears to be nowadays there's still something many can agree on, opposing the Carbon Tax. Guest: Kate Harrison, Vice Chair of Summa Strategies - The Blue Jays are set to start their season...

How important is it for our politicians to actually meet with protesters? What does it say when they do? This and more is happening in Hamilton so who better to talk to than the Bay Observer's John Best? Guest: John Best, Publisher of The Bay Observer - Parliament seems to be spending lots of time arguing about stuff in other countries and what they should be doing though we haven't thought much about what our reaction would be if other countries started demanding things change here. What if...

A push by developers is being made to the Ontario Land Tribunal to bring some new buildings to Glanbrook. Who makes the final decision on this kind of thing? The City? The Land Tribunal? Guest: Mark Tadeson, Councillor for Ward 11 Glanbrook - Things went sideways fast as experts ran a hypothetical election with some disruption thanks to deepfakes. How might deepfakes cause our elections to go down like never before? Guest: Carmi Levy, Technology analyst & journalist - Electric vehicles...