Afternoon Pint

The conversation covers a wide range of topics, including the journey from playing football to coaching, the challenges of managing a football team, the impact of coaching, and the complexity of game management. It also delves into the cultural differences in football across different countries and the importance of data analysis in football. The conversation covers the complexity of football, community impact and youth development, developmental camp and league play, competitiveness, fun, and development, coaching and representation, influence on underrepresented communities, overcoming self-doubt and resilience, leadership and accountability, starting a business and leadership, and moving together for a better future. Micah emphasizes the importance of passion, personal development, and self-care in order to effectively impact others.

Takeaways

• Football as a vehicle for travel
• The complexity of coaching and game management Football requires a high level of intellect and understanding of the game's verbiage and concepts.
• Community impact and youth development are essential aspects of Micah's work, including the creation of developmental camps and leagues.
• Leadership, accountability, and representation play a crucial role in influencing underrepresented communities and overcoming self-doubt.
• Starting a business requires passion, personal development, and self-care to effectively impact others.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 05:18 The Age Range of the League and Developmental Opportunities
• 11:34 The Burnout and Decision to Shut Down Battle X
• 17:45 Understanding the Game and Clock Management
• 39:46 The Complexity of Football
• 45:11 Developmental Camp and League Play
• 51:28 Influence on Underrepresented Communities
• 58:13 Starting a Business and Leadership
• 01:12:41 Moving Together for a Better Future

A forgotten shore, a loud crowd, and a quiet life that fuels a very big record—Christina Martin joins us for an unvarnished look at building a career that actually holds together. From quitting university to nannying in Austin, signing a dead-end contract in Germany, and then getting invited last-minute to open for Wilco, her story moves through detours that somehow line up. The band drama that pushed her out of a 70s revival project became the nudge into solo work; the pandemic forced a hard audit of what pays and what matters; and the result is Storm, a sweeping album about gratitude, loss, and the people who stayed.

We dig into how Storm came together: strings that lift without clutter, live visuals built into the artwork from day one, and a filmed performance designed to sell future bookings. Christina is generous about the team—producer and partner Dale Murray, drummer power from Brian Murray and Jordy Comstock, and anchor lines from Jason Vautour—showing how collaboration shapes both sound and survival. She also keeps it real about money. Streaming pays pennies, full-band touring is a luxury, and sustainability often looks like a smart part-time remote job plus grants and meticulous admin. That pragmatism extends to tech: AI belongs in the paperwork, not in the lyrics.

There’s joy here too. Big Shiny Tunes in Halifax turns 90s nostalgia into a live-wire connection where audiences belt every word. That communal charge feeds the studio work and the small-town rhythm of a quieter life that leaves space to write. Christina’s takeaways land with warmth and steel: protect writing time, document your best shows, build real relationships, and choose a path with heart even when it’s not glamorous. If you care about indie music, creative careers, and how artists make lasting work in a noisy world, this conversation is for you.

If you enjoyed this, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—your support helps more listeners find these stories.

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

We sit with Tia to trace the unvarnished path from teen motherhood and convictions, a string of rejections from employers due to her criminal background check to her $50 start up cleaning company that scaled across Halifax. 

Tia shares the weight of raising kids while surviving the street, a son shot seven times, and the accountability she refuses to outsource. We talk about why “diversity” often advances without finishing the last fight, how Black women remain last in line for capital and boards, and what changes when you invest your own $200,000 to create Black Women in Excellence. We get into practical, repeatable steps incorporation for protection, pricing with confidence, and building clean books—paired with the mindset shift from operator to CEO.

There’s also a clear map for second chances. Tia brings entrepreneurship inside women’s prisons, showing how to turn passion into paid work and how parole can measure self-employment with real KPIs instead of only pay stubs. She draws a firm line between free mentorship and paid coaching, models boundaries that prevent burnout, and explains why the busiest restaurant has a waitlist for a reason. If you’re searching for resilience, small business strategy, or the truth about building generational wealth from a service company, this one delivers both heart and how-to.

There is a ton of incredible advice and brutal honesty in this episode and we hope you find Tia's story as powerful as we did. If you enjoyed this episode please follow the show, share with a friend, and let us know if any of the advice in this episode can help you in your journey. 

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

Ready for a clear-eyed look at AI that doesn’t lean on buzzwords or doom? We’re joined by digital anthropologist Giles Crouch to unpack how these systems really work, what they cost in the physical world, and why culture—not code—ultimately decides which technologies endure. We trace the supply chain from rare earths and chip bottlenecks to the low-frequency hums of data centres built near homes, and we talk about the policy vacuum that leaves Canadians exposed while the EU clamps down and the US lets courts test the boundaries.

Giles shares a personal account of a sophisticated hack that cut across social, email, and banking to show why cyber insurance and basic operational hygiene matter for everyone, from carpenters to consultants. We dig into parasocial relationships, AI “hallucinations,” and engagement-optimised design that mirrors our desires back at us. If you’ve ever wondered why LLMs feel insightful yet still make confident mistakes on complex tasks, this is your translation layer—stochastic parrots, not synthetic thinkers.

There’s good news, too. We explore cognitive scaffolding—how tools can jumpstart drafts, help ADHD brains beat task paralysis, and still preserve a human voice. We make the case for a return to the humanities alongside data literacy, arguing that print may be primed for a revival as a trusted, memorable record in a world of deepfakes. And we name the economic shift hiding in plain sight: technofeudalism, where subscriptions replace ownership and DRM can erase your purchased library with a policy change.

You’ll leave with practical takeaways on digital safety, a fresh lens on AI’s limits and uses, and a bigger story about how culture tames technology. If that resonates, follow Giles at gilescrouch.substack.com, share this with a friend who’s unsure about AI, and subscribe so you never miss a conversation that respects your intelligence. What part challenged your assumptions most?
Find Giles: gilescrouch.substack.com and gilescrouch.com

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

We sit down with newly elected Mayor Andy Fillmore after his first year for a wide-open conversation about what it takes to steer a city that’s growing in every direction: more people, more jobs, more pressure on streets and services. He talks frankly about trading the heat of Parliament for the hands-on grind of City Hall, where a mayor is one vote among many and every policy hits a sidewalk, a bus route, or a household budget.

We dig into mobility first. Halifax is in a loop where buses are stuck in traffic and riders default to cars. The mayor lays out a clear case for bus rapid transit—express routes, priority, comfort—and the provincial congestion review now underway on the peninsula. We also tackle the grid: how well-meant restrictions can slow the whole system, why data matters, and how to balance safety with movement. If you’ve felt the drag getting across town, this is the roadmap, warts and all.

Housing and budgets keep the stakes high. The city needs roughly 8,000 homes a year and is building about half that, with infrastructure capacity—water, wastewater, stormwater—now a key bottleneck. Add major defence spending set to flow into Halifax, and the urgency doubles. The mayor explains last year’s flat tax rate, this year’s 10.5% pressure from inflation and contracts, and his push to protect core services while partnering with the private sector—think smarter ferry models and transit hubs with amenities—to keep costs down and quality up. We also get into the assessment cap’s market distortions and why revenue reform isn’t about raising more, but raising better.

Along the way we talk civic culture: what makes Halifax kind and welcoming, why the waterfront still stuns, and how to grow without losing our feel. You’ll hear candid reflections on early missteps, lessons in council diplomacy, and a clear view of what quality of life should mean here: affordability, safety, things to do, and transit worth choosing. If you care about how Halifax moves, builds, and stays itself, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend, and tell us: what would you cut or fund to keep the city on track?

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

For this years Holiday Special, The Afternoon Pint presents a radio-play reimagining of A Christmas Carol —written in-house and brought to life with the help of the three 48 Hour Film Festival winners known collectively as Shwing Entertainment. Mike turns his crankiness up to 11 for Scrooge while Matt works his improvisational muscle by preforming as all of the ghosts.

We then have some addtional stories from the AP content creator team.  

Laura Flemming, shares the beautifully strange and haunting original Christmas tale about a mysterious abandoned home that has a soul called  “The Foggy House.”

Don't Over Think It Chip  then tells a story about wishing for the impossible —The Toronto Maple Leafs winning the  Stanley Cup.

And just when you think it couldn’t get any wilder, we wrap things up with a brand-new original song, “Sex, Drugs, and Christmas Time,” performed by the incredible Christina Martin - 

This may be our wildest Christmas Special to date. Thank you to all the folks that helped us out with this one, and to our sponsor, Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality, who has supported our show since day 1. Happy Holidays from the Afternoon Pint! and please share this episode. 

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

What did 2025 really change? We sit down with Steve Murphy for a clear-eyed year-end that swaps noise for signal. The conversation starts with community—Christmas Daddies turning 62 and a bold decision to sell seized U.S. liquor to fund food banks—then widens into the defining fault line of the year: leadership tone and what it does to a country.

Politics loomed large without swallowing the local. Steve unpacks why style and truth-telling matter as much as policy, and how that set the stage for Mark Carney’s centrist moment. We dig into Quebec’s shifting currents, vote migrations, and the surprising places affordability now hurts most—from trades to homeowners staring at double-digit property tax hikes. Even Canada Post becomes a mirror for modern reality: less mail, more parcels, and a humane case for restructuring that protects people while matching the service we actually use.

The Atlantic lens brings fresh ground. Weather swung from drought to downpour, scorching berries and boosting certain grapes, while EVs and chargers quietly tipped from novelty to normal. City-building gets practical: Halifax needs a multipurpose stadium, a mid-size performance hall, and eventually a larger arena—not as vanity projects, but as social infrastructure that anchors tourism, keeps doctors and students here, and gives families reasons to gather. The airport’s expansion and new direct European routes prove demand is real; now we match it with venues, roads, and a plan.

Energy sits just beyond the horizon and right at our feet. Wind is a serious bet. Tidal is a fierce engineering problem begging for a Nova Scotia answer. Solar may not be our ace, but a portfolio of renewables could be. Through it all, we keep circling back to something simple: kindness is strategy, not sentiment. It draws visitors, calms politics, and holds space for the work ahead.

If you value grounded analysis, local stakes, and a conversation that respects your time and intelligence, press play. Then share this with a friend who cares about Atlantic Canada’s next chapter. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what headline from 2025 will history say mattered most?

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

We sit down once again with Don Mills for a frank, energized conversation about a new private-sector panel tasked with one job: raise productivity and close the prosperity gap with the rest of Canada. No spin. No bureaucratic maze. Just a focused plan to turn our energy potential, resource base, and export channels into real incomes and real jobs.

We dig into the big levers. Energy sits at the core: offshore wind, onshore wind, tidal, hydro from Labrador, nuclear in New Brunswick, and proven natural gas reserves. Don argues we need a modern transmission grid, predictable approvals, and clear timelines to unlock billions in capital. He challenges myths vs facts around fracking and mining by pointing to decades of safe practice elsewhere, remediation bonds that return mine sites back to nature, and the productivity gains that large capital projects can deliver. The goal isn’t to bulldoze environmental standards—it’s to replace uncertainty with clarity so investors build here instead of passing us by.

We also talk about the economic engine already working in our favour: Halifax Stanfield. With direct international routes, belly freight for seafood exports, and a billion dollars in upgrades, the airport shows how strategic assets compound over time and shift us from “nice to visit” to “smart to invest.” From there, we zoom out to the fundamentals: right-sizing a decade of public headcount growth, aligning regional efforts instead of fighting in provincial silos, and pacing population growth to match services. The labour challenge is real, which is why Don makes a strong case for the trades—electricians, pipefitters, and technologists will be the scarce skills that make big projects possible.

Underneath it all is a cultural reset: move from saying no by default to asking how we can do it responsibly. Startups and newcomer founders are already there—thinking global, shipping products abroad, and raising the bar on ambition. If we build the grid, streamline approvals, and keep the conversation rooted in facts, Atlantic Canada can pay its own way, lower tax pressure, and fund more doctors and teachers without leaning on transfers.

If this vision resonates, share the episode, leave a review, and hit follow so more Atlantic Canadians can find it—and join the chorus calling for smart growth.

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

We sit down at Garrison Brewing with Dr. Andrew Travers, Nova Scotia’s EHS medical director, to unpack how a care-first 911 system can calm panic, deliver treatment faster, and often avoid an unnecessary ambulance ride. From text-to-video assessments that let clinicians see a wound in real time to nurse and physician callbacks that build a safe plan without leaving home, Andrew shows how “time to care” now trumps “time to arrival.”

We explore Integrated Health Programs and the paramedic “Jedi” who operate single-response units, treat on scene, and coordinate with doctors to keep patients safe and out of crowded waiting rooms. The numbers are striking: roughly a third of 911 calls end without transport, and specialized units non-transport most cases while maintaining safety. Andrew explains the public utility model that powers EHS, why Nova Scotians own the system, and how moving lifesaving treatments upstream—like thrombolytics for heart attacks or early antibiotics for sepsis—saves lives and dollars.

The conversation widens to prevention and community health. Using real-time surveillance to spot opioid hot spots, connecting callers to 211 for social supports, referring seniors directly to falls clinics, and enrolling frequent callers in special patient plans—this is EMS as a network, not just a ride. We also tackle burnout with practical tools like debriefs and “green/yellow/orange/red” mental readiness checks, and we look at AI that hears distress in a caller’s voice or reads a pulse through a phone camera without replacing the human connection that makes care humane.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge old assumptions about emergencies, healthcare access, and what “good care” looks like in 2025. If this episode gave you a new way to think about 911, share it with a friend and leave a review so others can find it.

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca

This week we sit down with Matt Thomson  - TEDx speaker, entrepreneur, and children’s book author—to unpack what it really takes to “lead courageously toward love” in work, relationships, and community.

Matt traces his shift from hustle culture and people-pleasing to a values-first life where courage means action from the heart and complacency is the real opposite. We explore how love shows up on an ordinary Tuesday: creating space where people feel seen and heard, telling the truth even when it’s hard, and setting strong boundaries so open hearts don’t burn out. Along the way, we talk ADHD, overcommitting to volunteer boards, and the resentment that builds when giving has no guardrails.

We go deep on the five regrets of the dying and the tiny course-corrections that prevent them—texting a friend you’ve avoided, choosing presence over performance, and admitting anxiety out loud. Matt shares how his firm humanizes hiring with mindful, conversational interviews and a shift from “culture fit” to alignment and contribution, building psychological safety and belonging. We also wrestle with AI’s duality: the environmental cost and existential worry, alongside its real power to clarify thinking, compress admin, and even mirror back a personal North Star—kindness first, creation without fear, connection always.

Matt’s children’s book, “I Love You, I Trust You, I’m Proud of You,” lands the message with heart, and his readings at the Ronald McDonald House reveal purpose at its simplest: bringing joy where it’s needed most. Leave with one clear action: reach out to someone and say, “thinking of you.” If this conversation resonates, follow, share with a friend, and leave a review—then tell us: what fence are you building around your wide-open heart?

Send us Fan Mail

Your Dream Home Does Not Have to Be Just A Dream. Today's show is brought to you by Kimia Nejat of Exit Reality Metro. Kimia is the realtor who knows how to get things done. Buying or Selling? Go to afternoonpint.ca/kimia and we will set up an introduction

Support the show

Find The Afternoon Pint on Youtube Facebook  Instagram & TikTok

Buy merch, get out newsletter, or book some of Afternoon Pints Media Talent on our website: www.afternoonpint.ca