Mainstreet Halifax

Anne McLellan and Lisa Raitt, who have an incredible amount of combined experience in federal politics, have been working together to address issues on economic growth and productivity with the Coalition For A Better Future. They join host Jeff Dougals to talk about what they think is contributing to falling productivity in Canada, and what can be done about it.

In 2022, a graphic novel called Night At The Belfry was released digitally through Comixology Originals. AND just last month, it was published in print by Dark Horse Comics, one of the largest independent American comic book publishers. The story follows 74-year-old James — who was a boxer in his younger years — as he aims to pick up the gloves again. The cartoonist behind it is Nova Scotia-born Xavier Saxon. Mainstreet's Alex Guye reached Xavier at his home in Montreal. Here's part of their conversation, starting with Xavier explaining what inspired Night At The Belfry.

While it's been 40 years since Mainstreet hit the airwaves, 1984 also marks the founding of Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro, N.S. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by artistic director Laura Vingoe-Cram to reflect on four decades of theatre and what's coming up in their 40th anniversary season.

Pictou County Pride has kicked off a week-long festival of events and activities across the region. The week will end with a Pride Day celebration at Pictou Landing First Nation on Sunday. The group's chair Carissa Ainslie joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about what they have in store for their community.

In the introduction of his new book, Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life, Andrew Lawton writes: "He is authentic and full of conviction, yet every decision he makes — even the most mundane — is the product of calculation." Lawton joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about what he's learned about the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada while researching and writing his book.

About 500 people in Nova Scotia live with scleroderma, a rare auto-immune disorder that affects the skin and internal organs. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by Michelle Richard, who lives with the disease, and Jason Doucette, president of Scleroderma Atlantic, to talk about what supports are available for people living with the disease.

Ahead of a meeting in New York later this month, where nations will begin figuring out how to implement the High Seas Treaty, marine researcher Ryan Stanley joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about why climate change needs to be top of mind in those preparations. Stanley leads a research program on marine conservation areas at BIO, The Bedford Institute of Oceanography.

The Mainstreet Spinbusters join host Jeff Douglas to talk about fixed election dates, and their value of having them or not, and the reasons a politician might promise one and then jettison it. Plus, a look back at 1984 with Spinbusters Barb Emodi, Michelle Coffin and Chris Lydon, as Mainstreet marks 40 years of being on the air.

Magician and magic historian Margaret Steele joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about her new book, The Great Boomsky: The Many Lives of Magic's First Black Superstar. Boomsky was a magician's assistant character who was played by more than a dozen people in the decades after the American Civil War, including Isaac W. Willis. Willis became a world-class magician in his own right before settling in Truro where he became a community patriarch.

Despite the high cost of food at grocery stores, the National Farmers Union says farmers are not making any more money. In fact, the gap between what consumers pay and what farmers receive is only getting bigger. Host Jeff Douglas is joined by union co-ordinator, Eli Milton, to talk about why that is and how farmers are trying to manage.