Scott Radley Show

It is Friday night, and time for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. Scott welcomes Ben McVie to a lively discussion about this week’s top stories. Guest: Ben McVie, co-host of the Y108 Morning Show

The city wants to discuss banning hate groups from city parks and facilities. Which sounds like an idea a lot of people could get behind. But who defines what a hate group is? And wouldn't this infringe on these peoples' Charter right to free expression and free association? Guest: Fred Eisenberger, Mayor of Hamilton-The new hall of fame at Tim Hortons Field will supposedly be ready by the start of football season. How is that possible? And what exactly will this new hall look like? Guest: Mark DeNobile - Executive Director of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame-Australian actor, Russell Crowe is going through a divorce which is unfortunate to hear but what isn't unfortunate is that he's auctioning off some of his things! Though we're not sure why he's auctioning these off, you can be sure there will be some weird and cool stuff that you can have a chance at being the proud owner of.-Cassie Campbell is leading a charge to get North America's two women's professional hockey leagues to merge for the betterment

Today is National Down Syndrome Day. Yet in numerous countries around the world, efforts are being made through prenatal screening to eradicate the syndrome because of the 'painful' lives the children and their parents are bound to suffer. Is this true or a troubling example of social engineering perfect children and eugenics? Guest: Jen Crowson, President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hamilton-Yesterday's school shooting in Maryland ended in less than a minute with only two people hit when a school resource officer armed with a gun on campus was able to take down the shooter. Does this bolster Donald Trump's argument that having armed staff and teachers on campus could prevent greater loss of life or was this just a bit of relatively good fortune? Guest: David Hyde, Owner & Principal Consultant of David Hyde & Associates-Scott's producer, Ben, has a three stories in front of him but he can crown only one of them Ben's Story of the Day. The world has some weird people out there and these three stories

The Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow about whether Canadian who've been out of the country for years should have the right to vote. Basically, the question is, should someone who doesn't live here anymore help choose our leadership? Or if you're once a Canadian, you're always a Canadian. Guest: Allan Nichols, President of Canadian Expat Association- There are other parties running in the provincial election. The guest is running for the None of the Above Party in Hamilton. But should fringe parties get seats at all-candidates meetings and time in discussion of policy or does that just complicate things? Guest: Linda Chenoweth, None of the Above Party MPP Candidate-President Donald Trump proposed that teachers be armed in American schools and despite this being poorly received by many, it appears to have worked. A school shooting in Maryland was stopped by someone armed from within the school. Could Donald Trump be right?- Forbes just rated Rogers Centre as one of the worst major league ballparks

Over the weekend, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath shared some details about her party's platform ahead of the June election. Today the current Liberal premier delivered a throne speech that outlined what the Liberal government wants to accomplish if they're re-elected. In both cases, the plan seems to be promise voters everything under the sun - which, of course, will cost money and put Ontario even further in debt.Guest: Bill Kelly, host of "The Bill Kelly Show" on 900 CHML- When recreational cannabis is legal in Canada, what kind of packaging will it have? And what kind of effect does the government hope it will have on consumers?Guest: Julian Morris, Vice President of Research at Reason Foundation-Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys discuss the latest from the world of sports, including UMBC becoming the first number 16 seed ever to beat a number 1 seed in NCAA history and the Toronto Raptors' fury with the officiating during Sunday's game against Oklahoma City. Why do we love underdogs so

For the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton, Scott Radley brings Mike Fortune into the studio to talk through some of the serious and not-so-serious news of the week. Guest:  Mike Fortune, television host and professional Master of Ceremonies

Now that city planners have given thumbs down to a new 40-storey building, it's worth asking what we want with our downtown? Don't we want high density and lots of people? Isn't that what we've been hearing for a long time now? And if another signature building came along that everyone loved, would we have to turn it down because of precedent? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor-Where are our inspiring politicians? Most of those we'll be voting on federally and provincially don't exactly move the needle for people. They'll be voting because they have to choose one rather than because they love their choices. But surely there are leaders out there that could make that happen.-Meghan Markle has quite a lot to learn before she can become a member of the British royal family. Your mind will probably go to which utensils to use at the dinner table or how to curtsy properly but what about hostage situations and live fire exercises? In case everything goes wrong, what does the British SAS teach a royal-to-be?-Coul

After Doug Ford's appearance on Scott Thompson's show this afternoon, we ask if he's employing the correct strategy. Should he be taking specific aim at all things Kathleen Wynne -- including the seemingly peripheral ones like sex ed -- or keeping things general and simply waiting to be swept into office as the polls suggest? Guest: Brad Clark, CEO and Principal at Maple Leaf Strategies- The music industry is in freefall. Not the artists but album sales. Back in 1999, nearly a billion CDs were sold. Last year it was fewer than 180 million. Can this be changed or have attitudes about streaming and expectations of being able to get stuff for free sunk in too deeply? Guest: Bobby Owsinski, Author of 23 books on recording, music, the music business and social media-Pets bring great joy into everyone's lives but just like us, they get sick too. When this happens, the cost for treatment can get extremely expensive. Some people will go to great lengths and spend lots of money for their pet but how much are you wi

People across the country owe a lot of money. Though this is problem for obvious reasons, could it maybe be a good thing? Could debt be a sign of confidence in the economy? Guest: Scott Hannah, President & CEO of the Credit Counselling Society-Many questions are being raised over the issue of freedom of expression on university campuses. While some schools are doing a very poor job of maintaining the freedom of expression that students and staff possess, others are doing a spectacular job like McMaster University. How are they doing this and was there much push back against it? Guest: Dr. Neil McLaughlin, Professor of Sociology at McMaster University-Ben's Story of the Day had two stories for Ben, Scott's producer, to pick from. Between a drunk bride-to-be that caused a three car accident while in her wedding dress and a peculiar note of concern from a neighbour, Ben has a hard decision on his hands, which story will he choose?-The Blue Jays sound like they'll be having a hard time making something decent o

Doug Ford has won the Conservative leadership on the promise of cutting and balancing. But how exactly will he be able to do that when the province is awash in debt, running a deficit and unwilling to raise taxes? Sounds like quite a challenge.Guest: Richard Brennan, forner Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill reporter for The Toronto Star - You're on Facebook one day and you see a post from a woman desperately asking anyone out there to give her a kidney. Naturally, your immediate response is, "OK, take mine." Actually, that was Christi's reaction. To a total stranger.Guest: Christi Nolan - Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys sit down for their usual Monday night chat about the latest from the world of sports. Why do we love Tiger Woods in spite of ourselves? And can the NHL ever get a rule change right? 

It is time for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. Tonight Scott welcomes Brad Clark back to the show, to talk through the news of the week. Brad Clarke, Principal Consultant for Maple Leaf Strategies and former Hamilton City Councillor and Ontario's Minister of Labour and Minister of Transportation

While nobody would argue that the ongoing support of Locke Street is a good thing, questions still remain about why this event has resonated with people while similar acts of vandalism and urban terrorism across the city haven't. Coun. Sam Merulla mentioned again at council today that if it happens in the east end, it just isn't as important. Question is, why? Guest: Sam Merulla, Ward 4 Councillor-Is it possible that we could someday get our exercise in a pill? Why yes, yes it is. At least, researchers in California (including our guest who is involved in the project) say we're getting close to that. Someday maybe soon, a pill will be able to have the same effect on our system as a hard workout. Which is either the greatest thing ever or the height of laziness. Guests: Dr. Michael Downes & Dr. Weiwei Fan, Staff Scientists at Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory-Our loved ones are called exactly that because we love them. When they are in danger, we get worried but this doesn't seem like it's the case

People were complaining about the number of potholes in Hamilton so the city jumped on fixing Main Street. The city started fixing Main Street so fast that now people are complaining about traffic jams! What would you rather have, traffic jams or potholes? Guest: Dan McKinnon, City of Hamilton's Head of Public Works-Reality shows are known for being over the top with drama and now there is some lashback with The Bachelor being insensitive. What could The Bachelor do to upset so many people and are the people right? Guest: Robert Thompson, Pop Culture Expert-Three stories, one winner. Scott has three stories but only one can be crowned the best so he turned to his producer, Ben, to decide. What are the stories and which will Ben choose?-The Hamilton Bulldogs have already clinched a playoff spot but tonight they have a chance to take the first spot in the Eastern Conference. They've improved so much in just a few years, could we see the Bulldogs be awarded The Hamilton Spectator Cup next year? Guest: Teri Pe

We keep hearing about anarchy and anarchists as well as their involvement with what happened on Locke Street. What many people probably don't know is, what anarchists actually stand for and want. Guest: Dr. Francis Dupuis-Deri, Professor of Political Science at Université du Québec à Montréal-It's good to accept who are you and what you look like but there has to be a line drawn between being happy and being healthy... right? Guest: Dr. Gregory Steinberg, Canada Research Chair in Metabolism, Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes-There's a movement that will allow non-smokers to be given extra vacation days to compensate for the smoke breaks that smokers get. Where do you stand on this? Is it a good idea or completely unfair?-Student engagement is a big challenge for Canadian universities when it comes to attending events but if there's one university that outshines the others, it's Brock University. They have a huge turnout of students to their events even if the students have to pay to get in, what's their secret?

Following the act of vandalism on Locke Street over the weekend, Hamiltonians are planning on Saturday March 10 being #LoveLockeDay. But why hasn’t Barton Street, which has also experienced acts of vandalism on its businesses, had the same warm treatment from residents?Krysta Boyer, realtor with Judy Marsales Real Estate and founder of Try! Hamilton-Hamilton has a rich diverse history and there are about plenty of artifacts dating back to before the city was established. Some of these artifacts are on display at places like Dundurn Castle, but a significant amount of Hamilton’s history is collecting dust in storage. What if these items could be on display at a museum dedicated to the history of our city?Ian Kerr-Wilson, Manager of Heritage Resource Management for the ‎city of Hamilton-Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys discuss the latest from the world of sports, including the NFL scouting combine and what constitutes ‘poor sportsmanship’. Does a football player who only has one hand have a sig

Scott is joined by Mike Fortune, for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton for this less-than-snowy  Friday night. Guest:  Mike Fortune, television host and professional Master of Ceremonies

Main Street West is a minefield of potholes that like many other things that need fixing in Hamilton, will cost millions to have remedied. When this happens, the money doesn't just appear out of nowhere, it has to come from somewhere but the question is, where? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor-The video game industry generates money that dwarfs what the film industry does yet there are film history courses but no video game history courses... until now. Wilfrid Laurier University will be offering a video game history course but what is the history of video games? Guest: Syd Bolton, Canada's Top Video Game Collector-Sometimes things get stuck in your chimney but what would get stuck and whisper eery things into your home? Is it worth knocking your chimney down to get it out?-Hamilton might not be getting an NHL team but you can be sure that there are some people interested in getting one for Seattle. There was a survey that was put out to see how many people would put money down to secure their seat at S

Isn't it great how we hear about the price of oil going down but don't see the same trend at the gas pump? You're right, it isn't! Why is this happening and can we fix it? Guest: Dan McTeague, Senior Petroleum Analyst at GasBuddy-University of Toronto student, Sasha Reid was able to produce an analysis of accused serial killer Bruce McArthur before he was caught. How did she do this? Guest: Sasha Reid, PhD Candidate at University of Toronto-Flying sometimes puts people on edge and when the person you're sitting beside isn't very cooperative, things get even worse but what could be so bad that it's worth starting a fist fight?-The Russian doping scandal is something that nearly everyone is familiar with, a government led intiative to have a lot of Olympic athletes take performance enhancing drugs. This is a major infraction but what is the punishment, miss one Olympic Games which wasn't even really the case. Was this a fitting punishment? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

Hamilton has some potholes that you and your car will never forget and that's a problem. So what's the City going to do about this problem? Is there a fix on the horizon? Guest: Dan McKinnon, City of Hamilton's Head of Public Works-We were told by many that raising the minimum wage would also raise the cost of business and it certainly did. The Canadian Food Industry is going through tough times and food inflation is up but what does this mean and how will it affect our future? Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor of Agriculture at Dalhousie University-The Canadian government has released it's budget today and it's a little concerning. There is an $18 billion deficit which isn't very confidence inspiring. What do you think of our government's budget?-Team Canada's Women's Hockey Team won the silver medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics. This was only because of a shootout against the United States. What's it like having to sit on the bench and watch your Olympic fate be decided? Guest: Laura Fortino, Defen

American evangelist Billy Graham died last week at the age of 99. He was known as a wildly influential preacher and became a counsellor to U.S. presidents like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.Could there ever be someone else with this kind of influence in the future or has the world changed too much?Guest: Dr. David Haskell, Associate Professor, Digital Media and Journalism / Religion and Culture at Wilfred Laurier University-The federal budget will be announced tomorrow. What can we expect from it?Guest: Marvin Ryder, business professor for the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University-Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys are back to chat about the world of sports and there’s no shortage of news in that area. Scott and Don discuss the Winter Olympics, the NHL trade deadline and more.