The Craig Needles Podcast

Glen Dietz first donated blood when he was 17.

Now he's 73 and he has rolled up his sleeve 304 times - with number 305 coming up later this month.

Why is donating blood so important to Glen? The former LHSC lab technician shares his story and explains why blood donation is so important to him - and to the community.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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London Mayor Josh Morgan is asking for your vote in his campaign for re-election.

Why should you give it to him?

Morgan joined Craig at the Covent Garden Market Studio for the second of back-to-back conversations with London's top two mayoral candidates.

They talked about his plans for homelessness, taxes, transit, and more.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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The biggest promise of London's mayoral campaign is Susan Stevenson's pledge to get the tax increase down to between zero and one percent each of the next two years, which will require millions in spending cuts.

Where will those cuts be?

In the first of two sit-downs with the top two mayoral candidates this week, Craig was joined by Councillor Stevenson at the Covent Garden Market studio to breakdown that promise and more.

How can we improve transit in London? If she were Mayor - how would the downtown core be improved? Those questions and more on the Craig Needles Podcast - powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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Ward 13 council candidate Andrew Crook had a bit of a disagreement with Craig this week - so they decided to talk it out on the podcast.

They breakdown the homelessness crisis in London, what can be done to help alleviate it, and what the role of a councillor will be in bringing those plans to fruition.

Then they look at other campaign issues and Crook explains his vision for the downtown core.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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London Cares - an organization in the centre of the homelessness crisis in the city - is out with a new message for the community.

Housing First. Hope Always.

They're asking Londoners to talk to election candidates about the key issues impacting the homelessness crisis, and trying to share what the organization actually does to help manage the crisis.

Craig was joined by London Cares Executive Director Chris Moss for a look at those issues, the latest on House of Hope and an honest conversation about the building near Queens and Adelaide.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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Susan Stevenson says if she's elected mayor, tax increases will be at 1% or less for 2027 and 2028.

Is this possible without major cuts?

Craig welcomes former Green Party candidate Dr. Carol Dyck, organizational consultant Mojdeh Azad and political insider Ryan Gauss to the studio to discuss her promise on the Friday Round Table.

Will voters believe this plan? Will it remind them of the Fontana council?

Then, it's debate season! Mayoral candidates, council candidates, everyone. Do these debates actually matter? Do they sway undecided voters? And how should we decide which candidates get invited to Mayoral debates?

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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London's Ward 4 has an unusual race in this council cycle - no incumbent!

Craig sat down with candidate Mario Jozic to talk about issues like homelessness, development, taxes and more.

Plus, some conversation about former Ward 4 representative Stephen Orser trying to get back on council - and a few thoughts on backyard chickens.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Follow Craig on Twitter/X, Bluesky and Facebook.

The two leading London mayoral campaigns had launch events this week - and released platform ideas.

Josh Morgan's platform is out and includes promises aimed at transit, taxes, and homelessness.

Meanwhile, Susan Stevenson released priorities at her launch event - with the promise of more detail to come.

Craig was joined for the Friday Round Table by former council candidate Jeremy McCall and advocate Dr. Jeff Preston to look at the promises and whether they'll convince more Londoners to actually head to the polls in 2026.

Then, they talk council races. With less than two months to go, are those engaging the public?

Those stories and more on this week's Friday Round Table -  powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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It's been a brutal construction season in London - no way around it (literally).

How can we speed up these projects and maybe not have so many ongoing at once?

Incumbent councillors and candidates Shawn Lewis and Steve Lehman have an idea and joined Craig on the podcast - along with Ryan Aarts, CEO at J-AAR - to discuss it.

What if, for big projects, crews work until 11pm? What if they work some Saturdays? It might make a big difference.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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As we get closer to the 2026 election, council is debating an issue that many voters have identified as a high priority: transit.

London Transit Commission – which is now run by councillors – is asking for a $2-million budget increase to help stay ahead of rising fuel costs and other price increases.

Should council go for this?

Former City Councillor Cheryl Miller and London Development Institute Executive Director Scott Collyer joined Craig for the Friday Round Table to breakdown that story and look at the latest in the municipal election.

Also, a whole lot of by-elections federally and provincially. Are governing parties just going to keep winning until Donald Trump is out of office?

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Follow Craig on Twitter/X, Bluesky and Facebook.