Newstalk Today

Newstalk Today

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Newstalk Today episodes

  • NHL pauses season due to COVID-19, Olympics pull-out likely

    Graham Richardson fills in for Evan Solomon. We break down the latest news on Omicron — Quebec shutting down schools, bars and gyms as COVID-19 cases soar, Canadians scrambling to get rapid tests, and the National Hockey League announcing it will put the season on pause. 

    On today's show: 

    • Maggie Mac Neil, Canadian Olympic champion who was named best female athlete of the 2020 Tokyo Games on breaking a world record on Monday.
    • Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association on the feasibility of an electric vehicle future.
    • André Pratte, a former Canadian senator and long-time editorial writer for the newspaper La Presse on Quebec’s Bill 21. 
    • TSN Radio’s Steve Lloyd on the NHL pausing its season and whether players are expected to compete in the upcoming Olympics.
      • 1 hr
    • Evan Solomon’s year-end interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

      Zain Velji fills in for Evan Solomon. We play Evan’s conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on inflation, deficit concerns, reconciliation, booster shots and the state of Canada’s international relationships.

      On today's show: 

      • We play a condensed version of Evan’s year-end interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  
      • Dr. Joe Vipond, emergency physician and co-founder of “Masks4Canada” on Omicron, masking and booster shots. 
      • Jody Thompson, a world-recognized future workplace expert who created the idea of the ‘results-only work environment’ — which experts say should be the future of workplaces.
      • Dr. Elizabeth English, founder of the Buoyant Foundation Project, on how homes could be retrofitted to float during floods.
        • 1 hr 19 min
      • Free For All Friday

        Free For All Friday, hosted by Amanda Galbraith, features top talent from across the iHeart radio talk network. Hosts from all over the country join the roundtable to discuss the five biggest stories of the week.

        This week's show features panelists Kathleen Wynne, former premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018, and Tom Mulcair, CTV political analyst and former NDP leader. 

        Topics: 

        1. Are you changing your behaviour in light of the new travel advisories?
        2. Brampton's mayor is calling on cities across Canada to 'join the fight' against Quebec's Bill 21. Will this help or hurt the fight?
        3. What should the government do to fix the housing market or should we just let it play out?
        4. Elon Musk is TIME’s Person of the Year. How do we define influence?
        5. Have you ever pulled a prank that has gone wrong?

          6.  

          40 min
        6. ‘Circuit breaker’ needed to curb Omicron spread, Ontario modelling warns

          Evan Solomon breaks down Ontario's sobering message about the Omicron variant with infectious diseases physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch.

          On today's show: 

          • Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases physician at Toronto General Hospital on Omicron.
          • It's been five years since Soli Faqiri died in an Ontario jail because he was beaten and restrained by guards while in crisis. His brother, Yusuf Faqiri, joins the show.
          • Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, on calling on cities across Canada to 'join the fight' against Quebec's Bill 21.
          • 'Overhyped v. Underplayed' with Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator.
            • 1 hr 19 min
          • Feds advise Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside Canada

            Evan discusses the federal government's announcement warning Canadians against all non-essential international travel amid the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19.

            On today's show: 

            • We play Evan's conversation with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Canada's fiscal update.  
            • Karen Yolevski, COO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, on the aggregate price of a home in Canada expected to rise 10.5 by the end of 2022.
            • The War Room with political strategists Tasha Kheiriddin and Zain Velji, and former NDP leader Tom Mulcair.
            • We play the federal government's full announcement on new travel measures. 
              • 1 hr 24 min
            • Trudeau speaks with Evan about boosters, inflation and Quebec's religious symbols ban

              Evan Solomon shares a snippet of his exclusive interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where they discuss booster shots, inflation and Bill 21. 

              On today's show: 

              • We play a snippet of Evan’s interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
              • Dan Riskin, CTV science and technology specialist, on a new study which suggests brain surgeons and rocket scientists aren't smarter than everyone else.
              • Dawn McIImoyle, a veteran and survivor of military sexual assault, on the government's apology to victims.
              • Bowling Green, Kentucky mayor Todd Alcott on the devastating tornado that tore up his town.
              • And we ask you: should Marineland be cancelled?
                • 1 hr 18 min
              • Community transmission of Omicron could 'rapidly escalate' soon: Canada's top doc

                Leslie Roberts fills in for Evan Solomon. He breaks down Dr. Theresa Tam's announcement that community transmission of Omicron is now present and could "rapidly escalate" in days to come.

                On today's show: 

                • Ian Lee, a professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, on the Bank of Canada's inflation target for the next five years. 
                • Donald MacPherson, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, on a national drug decriminalization platform for Canada.
                • Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, on what happens if Canadian athletes are targeted at the Beijing Olympics.
                • Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Canada Research Chair in Emerging and Re-Emerging viruses, on Canada's public health system being stretched “dangerously thin”.

                • Chloë Chapdelaine, who has designed a new moose crossing sign that will now be used on Canada's highways.

                  1 hr 18 min
                • Teacher removed from Quebec classroom for wearing a hijab

                  Evan Solomon and former NDP leader Tom Mulcair discuss how a teacher employed at an elementary school in Quebec has been removed from her teaching position because she wears a hijab.

                  On today's show: 

                  • We play Evan’s full interview with foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly on Canada’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics. 
                  • Danny Motyka, CEO and co-founder of the Calgary company 'Psygen', which has ambitions to supply the pharmaceutical industry with psychedelics.
                  • Tom Mulcair, former NDP leader, on a teacher who was removed from her Quebec classroom for wearing a hijab. 
                  • Abbotsford, B.C Mayor Henry Braun provides an update on the flooding in his city. 
                  • Dan Riskin, CTV science and technology specialist, on whether insects have feelings. 
                    • 1 hr 19 min
                  • Canada announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

                    Evan Solomon breaks down the federal government’s announcement that Canada will proceed with a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

                    On today's show: 

                    • We check in on Tiffany Gaura, a Canadian who describes poor conditions at the quarantine facility she stayed at after returning home from Egypt. 
                    • Brad Hunter, National Crime columnist for the Toronto Sun, on the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. 
                    • The War Room with political strategists Tasha Kheiriddin and Zain Velji, and former NDP leader Tom Mulcair. 
                    • Ivor Davis, author and former tour reporter for The Beatles, on the 41st anniversary of John Lennon’s death.

                      •  

                      1 hr 18 min
                    • Canadian traveller at quarantine facility describes poor "prison-like" conditions

                      Evan Solomon speaks with Tiffany Gaura, a Calgarian who describes poor conditions at the quarantine facility she stayed at after returning home from Egypt. 

                      On today's show: 

                      • We play Evan’s full interview with David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General of the Canadian Olympic Committee, on whether Canada is considering a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Games.
                      • Yves Giroux, Parliamentary Budget Officer, on why supplementary estimates are the most important part of politics.
                      • Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases physician at Toronto General Hospital, on Ontario’s latest COVID-19 modelling. 
                      • Brian Ricker, chair of the Turkey Farmers of Ontario, on a potential turkey shortage on Christmas from B.C. flooding.
                      • Tiffany Gaura, a Calgarian who describes poor conditions at the quarantine facility she stayed at after returning home from Egypt. 
                      • John Visser, a farmer in PEI on the suspension of exports of Prince Edward Island potatoes south of the border — a trade order that is impacting potato prices in both countries.
                        • 1 hr 19 min

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