The Craig Needles Podcast

Episode 93: Kevin Dickins on Hunger Strike, Homelessness

As a hunger strike begins at London City Hall, Kevin Dickins joins the podcast.

The Deputy City Manager of Social Health and Development weighs in on how the city handles encampments, what he'd like to see happen with #TheForgotten519 and more.

The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 92: Friday Round Table with Jessie Rodger, Jared Zaifman and Scott Kitching

On this edition of the Friday Round Table, Craig talks about the issues of the week with ANOVA executive director Jessie Rodger, London Home Builders Association CEO Jared Zaifman and Blackburn Media news manager Scott Kitching. First, they talk about #TheForgotten519, then the latest with Hockey Canada. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 91: Josh Morgan on the Mayoral Campaign

Will London have a real mayoral race? Josh Morgan is the favourite in the campaign and joins Craig to talk about the race, his campaign team, and more. What will the campaign look like if voter engagement is low? How would a campaign with few serious competitors change the way Morgan approaches the vote? The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 90: Melissa Sheehan on Homelessness

Londoner Melissa Sheehan, who is currently homeless, joins the podcast to share her thoughts on a potential hunger strike some advocates are planning to protest the lack of assistance for the homeless population in London. Is that the right approach? Melissa says no and explains why. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 89: Friday Round Table with Cheryl Miller, Shawn Lewis and Dan Wylie

On the Friday Round Table this week, Craig welcomes former City Councillor Hollywood Cheryl Miller, City Councillor Shawn Lewis and Classic Rock 98.1 Program Director Dan Wylie to talk about the issues of the week. They talk about what measures should be taken ahead of the Pride London Festival Parade this weekend, whether the city should spend $120-million to replace London Transit Headquarters (17:24) and what Pillar Nonprofit Network owes the public, if anything, after making a leadership change (29:19). The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 88: Beth Mai on what needs to change at TVDSB

Beth Mai wants to be a Thames Valley School Board trustee this fall. Here in the summer, she stops by studio to talk to Craig about why she wants that job and her concerns about what's happening right now at the TVDSB. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 87: Friday Round Table

On this edition of the Friday Round Table, Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott, London City Councillor Shawn Lewis and political insider Nathan Smith join Craig to talk about the issues of the week. First they talk about Hockey Canada re-opening their investigation into the sexual assault settlement arising from an incident in London involving eight members of the 2018 World Junior Team. Then they talk about data from Stats Canada showing significant income inequality in London - and why we can't we move that Santa house in Victoria Park? The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 86: Healthcare in Ontario, LAVs in Saudi Arabia

With concerns about hospital wait times amid another potential wave of serious COVID cases, Craig talks to Peter Bergmanis of the Ontario Health Coalition about the state of the system in the province. Also - why wasn't healthcare a bigger topic during the provincial election? Then, Craig plays a portion of Minister of Defence Anita Anand's media availability at General Dynamics - and wonders why sending Light Armour Vehicles to Saudi Arabia seems to not bother the federal government.  The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 85: Friday Round Table with Jared Zaifman, Shawn Lewis and Scott Kitching

London Home Builder's Association CEO Jared Zaifman, City Councillor Shawn Lewis and Blackburn Media News Manager Scott Kitching join Craig to talk about the issues of the week. They start with the Rogers outage that was freezing the nation on Friday afternoon, then talk about Patrick Brown being booted from the Conservative leadership race and some key housing decisions in London. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.

Episode 84: The death of Justin Bourassa and why the SIU needs to be disbanded

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has cleared a London Police officer of criminal wrongdoing after a 29-year-old tennis pro was shot on Richmond Row in October of last year. However, there's some parts of the report that don't make sense in Craig's opinion. He explains why he has questions about the narrative the SIU has provided, and then shares his thoughts on whether we even need an SIU. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by Lexus of London.