Ward Zero podcast

After a bit of a break due to scheduling, the election and other of life's wonderful creations, the Ward Zero team is back to talk about Calgary's top civic issues.

In this episode, Esmahan Razavi - back from steering campaign victories for the Alberta NDP in two high-profile Calgary ridings - leads the show with Jeremy Zhao and LWC editor Darren Krause into talking about the hot-button housing issue.

They also dig into the provincial election and what it means for Calgary.

They tie things up with a look at the pre-election arena decision, but it gets into a conversation about city building and how we may need to shift our perception of the arena deal and where the City of Calgary has failed in communicating to citizens where the public benefit lies.

Plus a hot take on Bill C-18, Google and paying for news and your round up of quick hits.

Enjoy the return of the Ward Zero team!

Plus: You can check out the BONUS content on the future of Rachel Notley and if the NDP has anyone that can move the party forward, by becoming an LWC member at patreon.com/livewirecalgary.

To launch our third season of the Ward Zero podcast in style, we've got Green Line CEO Darshpreet Bhatti answering questions specifically on SNC-Lavalin's involvement in the $5.5 billion project.

Plus, the Ward Zero trio hits on the Calgary arena project and a potential new site, plus: Will Alberta Sheriffs be coming to downtown Calgary?

We've got hot takes and quick hits to round things out as we begin a new season with a new format chock full of quality Calgary information.

In the final episode of the year - and the season - the Ward Zero trio of Esmahan Razavi, Jeremy Zhao and LiveWire Calgary editor Darren Krause take a look back at 2022 and they glimpse ahead to 2023.

They choose and defend their selection for news story of the year, their newsmaker of the year and they make their bold predictions for 2023.

The team took some 'liberties,' shall we say, in making their selections this year.

Enjoy the listen!

The Ward Zero trio tackles the Calgary budget head on in this episode!

Join them for their perspective on how Calgary's 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets rolled out this year.

There's also a pretty sizeable bit of bonus content for members only this time around - so watch for it in a new spot online at livewirecalgary.com.

In this episode "conduct" means a lot of different things. (It's also tied to BONUS content you can get via Patreon. We talk about the David Wallace / Russian dark money scam over there for a solid 10 minutes. (members only!)).

The Ward Zero trio hits on on Premier Smith's first month in office and some of the good and bad ideas she's rolling out - particularly as those ideas pertain to municipalities.

They also talk about municipal government 'parties', the James Short Park renaming (Harmony) and a whole lot more.

Shows are often billed as jam-packed - but this one really is. Enjoy!

The Event Centre is back in the Calgary news, and the Ward Zero trio of Esmahan Razavi, Jeremy Zhao and LiveWire Calgary editor Darren Krause talks about the $16.8 million in close out costs, but really dive into transparency.

They even tie in the way Calgary's 2026 Olympic bid was handled.

After that they consider how a Calgary version of Edmonton's $170 million plan to bring 100 kilometres of bike infrastructure to that city over the next four years might look. Jeremy is pretty clear in his thoughts on how this would in our city.

There's hot take and quick hits to keep you up to speed on local happenings in Calgary.

Enjoy the listen!

The trio is back with a late summer episode of the Ward Zero podcast, just as everything gets back in full swing.

In this month's episode, they talk about the approval of three new communities (on top of five already approved). They also discuss the Sovereignty Act and what implications are in play for Calgary.

There's a couple of hot takes and quick hits to get you up to speed on what's happening in the city.

In the latest Ward Zero episode, the team talks about the newly-approved Calgary suburban communities and also some healthcare issues with urgent care centre hours being cut.

There's a hot take, some quick hits and Esmahan speculates about... a panda attack?

Thanks for listening! (Don't miss the bonus content available for LiveWire Calgary members! The trio riffs off the healthcare issue to talk about the massive gap in infrastructure in north central Calgary.)

The trio is back for a mid-summer show and they focus on a couple of recent topics: Climate strategy and councillor sanctions.

One of the hot takes ties in nicely to the climate debate - and the misinformation around the so-called $87 billion cost over 26 years to implement the climate strategy.

The councillor sanctions discussion separates the social media complaints from the property disclosure one - and the feeling is the latter is much worse than the former.

PLUS: Patreon members in the $10+/mo levels are listening to bonus content on Michelle Rempel Garner's decision not to run for the UCP leadership contest and the politics of the Calgary Stampede.

We're back after working between crazy schedules, sickness, vacation and more to catch you up on City of Calgary-related news and issues.

With Esmahan dealing with a bout of Covid, LiveWire Calgary editor Darren Krause took over this episode's hosting duties.

The trio catches you up on the climate strategy, some thoughts on the UCP leadership race (commentary on their launch videos... - do they ALL need to walk slo-mo through tall grass?) and we cover Calgary Transit safety.

Quick hits and a hot take from Esmahan about a recent CBC article she wrote - and that fills the show out!