In our latest episode, Frisco and Scott revisit some popular guests who stopped by to chat on Up Close & Personal, another interview show from Village Media. Hosted by Scott, Up Close & Personal is a deep-dive series that has welcomed prominent Canadians such as LLoyd Robertson, Ron MacLean and former Premier Kathleen Wynne.

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In the latest episode of Inside the Village, we explore an issue that impacts thousands of people across the province: the soaring cost of rent. Dania Majid, a staff lawyer at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO), joins us to talk about the crisis of skyrocketing rental rates. Also on the podcast: Stanley the Goat isn’t going anywhere. You’ll have to listen to find out the rest of the story.

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In our latest episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott try to find out why airports are such a mess these days. Joining them on the journey is Gabor Lukacs, president of the advocacy group Air Passenger Rights. Also on the podcast: the lifeguard shortage plaguing Ontario. Barbara Byers of the Lifesaving Society explains why some community pools and beaches may not be able to open this summer. Dive in!

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In this week's episode of Inside the Village, Scott and Frisco explore the U.S. Supreme Court’s contentious decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, granting individual states the power to ban abortion. Tami Friedman, a history professor at Brock University, talks about the ruling’s potential ripple effects north of the rbordr. Also on the program: The search for Bigfoot. Ryan Willis of the Trent University Sasquatch Society says he is closer than ever to finding the mythical creature—in Barrie, of all places.

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In this milestone episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott explore an issue that most people don’t even know about: disappearing farmland. According to new numbers released by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), the province is losing 319 acres of farmland every day—or the equivalent of nine family farms per week. We dig into the problem with OFA president Peggy Brekveld. Also on the podcast: body slams in the back of a church. “Big Ben” Ortmanns, who operates a wrestling school in Cambridge, tells us why he moved his ring to God’s House. As Hulk Hogan used to say: “Say your prayers!”

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In the latest episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott explore a unique idea that could help seniors across the country stay out of long-term care: a homecare company owned and operated by the very workers who provide the services. Here to talk about the compelling concept is Danielle Turpin, co-founder of Home Care Worker’s Co-operative Inc., and Dr. Simon Berge, director of the Research Centre on Co-operative Enterprises at the University of Winnipeg. Also on the show: How a North Bay brewery is helping fund Pride events—one can of lager at a time. Jason Maclennan of North Bay Pride fills our glass with all the details.

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The overdose crisis continues to rage across the country, with the latest stats revealing that toxic street drugs kill approximately 20 Canadians every single day. On the latest episode of Inside the Village, we hear from Christine Nayler, a Barrie woman who lost her son, Ryan, to poisonous drugs in 2020. Nayler recently travelled to Ottawa to advocate for Bill C-216, a NDP private member’s bill that called for a sweeping public health approach to tackling the crisis. When the bill was widely defeated in the House of Commons, Nayler did not mince words: “Every MP that voted no to bringing this bill to committee has blood on their hands, and Canadian families will have to bear the consequences.” Also on the show: The much-debated Bradford Bypass seems inevitable now that Doug Ford captured an even bigger majority in the June 2 election. But some local residents, including Bill Foster, aren’t giving up the fight quite yet.

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We’re in the final stretch of the Ontario election campaign, and one thing is certain: Not everyone thinks this podcast is worth their time. When the campaign kicked off, Inside the Village extended an open invitation to the leaders of all four major political parties. Two of them—Andrea Horwath of the NDP and Mike Schreiner of the Green Party—took us up on our offer. You can listen to both in-depth interviews on this special election edition of the podcast.

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The cost of living in Canada continues to soar at the fastest rate in decades, and the sticker shock you’re feeling at the grocery store and the gas pumps is going to get worse before it gets better. On this episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott are joined by Jean-Paul Lam, a former assistant chief economist at the Bank of Canada and now a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo. Also on the program: a big change at the iconic French River Trading Post, a nostalgic stop for countless summer travelers. Finally, we take a closer look at a deadly trend: Toronto-area street gangs branching out into rural and northern Ontario in pursuit of hefty drug profits. Antonio Nicaso, one of the world’s leading organized crime experts, tells us the story behind the story.

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In the latest episode of Inside the Village, Scott and Frisco dig into a political controversy in Sault Ste. Marie, where the provincial Liberals rejected a prominent Indigenous lawyer, Naomi Sayers, as a candidate for the provincial election—in favour of an 18-year-old who doesn’t even live in the city. We hear from Sayers, who has chosen to run as an independent. Also on the show, the war against microfibres. Tiny plastic particles are filling the Great Lakes—and our mouths—but scientists in small-town Ontario are working on a solution. Finally, we remember Katrina Blagdon, a missing Canadian army veteran from St. Catharines whose body was finally discovered after a massive search effort that united thousands of people.

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