Brian Crombie Radio Hour

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian explores one of the greatest health challenges facing Canadians today: Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and what science is teaching us about protecting brain health throughout our lives. Brian is joined by clinical psychiatrist and internationally recognized author Thomas Verny to discuss his thought-provoking series on Alzheimer's disease and the growing body of re...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian examines one of Canada’s most important economic and political debates: the future of energy, pipelines, and national prosperity. Canada’s energy future is once again at the centre of the national conversation. Can new pipeline projects finally move forward after decades of debate? Will the vision of nation-building infrastructure succeed where previous efforts hav...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian tells the remarkable story of a Canadian pioneer whose groundbreaking work changed science—but whose achievements went largely unrecognized for decades. Brian is joined by filmmaker Alison Reid, director of the acclaimed documentary The Woman Who Loved Giraffes, to discuss the extraordinary life and legacy of Canadian scientist Anne Innis Dagg. At just 23 years old...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian is joined by former Canadian diplomat and Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, Colin Robertson, for a timely conversation about the United States at 250 and what America’s evolution means for Canada. As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the discussion explores a series of pressing questions: Has America fundamentally changed? Is the rise of...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian celebrates Canadian music, Canadian values, and the country we have the opportunity to become. In the first half of the program, Brian is joined by rising Canadian country artist Barbara Ann to discuss her remarkable journey from overcoming stage fright to becoming one of the country's emerging voices in country music. The conversation explores her latest single, A...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian is joined by Professor Jacqueline Murray for a thought-provoking conversation about marriage, masculinity, history, and some of the most pressing social challenges facing modern society. Drawing on her expertise as one of Canada's foremost medieval historians, Professor Murray examines the historical misconceptions contained in the manifesto of a Montreal incel mur...

On this Canada Day special edition of The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian explores the themes of kindness, community, and the values that define Canada at its best. In Part 1, Brian is joined by Toronto-based producer Peter Gentile to discuss the documentary You Are Here: A Come From Away Story, which tells the remarkable true story behind the hit musical Come From Away. Following the terrorist attacks...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian explores how rapidly shifting global dynamics are reshaping geopolitics, technology, and national strategy in the twenty-first century. He is joined by Belgian transformation strategist Joe Coudron, author of End the System and Other Bad Ideas for the Future, for a wide-ranging discussion on Europe’s evolving role in a new era of global uncertainty. Coudron argues...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian is joined by Professor Murtaza Haider of the Alberta School of Business for a wide-ranging conversation about housing affordability, urban planning, and the future of Canadian cities. The discussion explores one of Canada’s most pressing policy questions: should cities be building upward through densification, or outward through suburban expansion? Haider challenge...

On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian is joined by author Dennis M. Dodo for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, populism, and the future of democracy, drawing on insights from his forthcoming book The Tale of Two Men. Dodo, who grew up during Zimbabwe’s political transformation in Zimbabwe, brings a lived perspective on how democracies can shift from hope to authoritarianism—and why many people...

On The Brian Crombie Radio Hour, the conversation explores one of the most difficult—and hopeful—questions any family can face: how do we help someone we love when they feel beyond our reach, and what allows people and even nations to endure and rebuild through hardship? In Part 1, Brian is joined by clinical psychologist Susan Raphael, author of What’s Wrong with My Teen? Finding Answers to Teena...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie is joined by McGill University professor Daniel Béland, one of Canada’s leading experts on federalism and public policy, for a timely discussion on the state of Canadian unity. The conversation examines growing political tension in Alberta and Quebec, including renewed talk of sovereignty and separatism, and asks whether these movements...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie presents two deeply personal and contrasting conversations—one focused on the realities of war in Ukraine, and the other on the people and relationships that shape a life. In the first segment, Crombie speaks with Christian Thwaites, a retired investment executive who is now volunteering in Dnipro, Ukraine with ARTESANS ResQ. Operating...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian speaks with award-winning French-Canadian author, actor, and educator Jerome Bourgault about his powerful historical novel, The Day of Epiphany. Set in 1950s Quebec during the era of Maurice Duplessis, the novel explores the tragic true story of the Duplessis Orphans—children who were reclassified from orphanages into psychiatric institutions throug...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie is joined by Aurel Braun, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the University of Toronto and Associate at Harvard University's Davis Center, for a wide-ranging discussion on the war in Ukraine and its global implications. More than three years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine continues to defy expecta...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie opens with a reflection on storytelling and why, in a world saturated with information, the most meaningful truths often come from simply listening to others. Drawing inspiration from author Michael Lewis, he explores the idea that everyone carries a story worth hearing — beyond resumes, headlines, or public achievements. In the second...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie is joined by global cyber risk and digital security expert Rafal Rohozinski for a deep dive into artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, and the shifting global balance of power. The conversation explores how AI is rapidly evolving into a geopolitical force, reshaping international competition and national security. Rohozinski out...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie is joined by author, entrepreneur, advisor, and former CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Rocco Rossi to discuss his new novel Finding Grace, released June 15. The conversation explores Rossi’s extraordinary journey along the Camino de Santiago, which he has completed in 23 variations over more than 14,000 kilometres — the equivalen...

Tonight’s episode concludes with a focused on municipal politics and its direct impact on everyday life. The discussion highlights how local governments shape key areas such as housing affordability, transit systems, public safety, parks, roads, and the overall vitality of cities and communities. While municipal leadership often concentrates on managing existing challenges, the commentary raises t...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie is joined by Toronto mayoral candidate Darrell Brown for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of Canada’s largest city. The conversation explores Toronto’s most pressing challenges, including housing affordability, homelessness, congestion, transit funding, planning delays, and ongoing fiscal pressures. Brown also addresses the limit...

In this special birthday episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian reflects on the lessons, insights, and perspective that come with another trip around the sun. He explores aging, health, family, forgiveness, purpose, and the clarity that often emerges as time becomes more precious. Brian also shares a thoughtful commentary on what he calls "The Power of Co"—the importance of community, friendship...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, we examine Canada’s deepening housing crisis—where homes have become both unaffordable to buy and increasingly unfeasible to build. Guest David Graham, real estate developer and founder of Atlantic Developments, breaks down his Globe and Mail analysis of a system weighed down by rising costs, regulatory delays, development charges, and labour shortages. T...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie speaks with psychiatrist and musician Dr. Ashok Bhattacharya, founder of the Empathy Clinic, about the growing sense of emotional disconnection in modern life. Together, they explore why loneliness, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion are rising despite unprecedented digital connectivity, and how concepts like “empathic alienation” help e...

📘 Part 1 — Forgiveness and Addiction Recovery Brian speaks with Tabitha Rose, founder of Life to Paper Publishing and author of When We Forgive, about her personal journey through addiction, trauma, recovery, and forgiveness. The conversation explores how addiction impacts families, the role of accountability and self-awareness in healing, and how storytelling can support recovery and emotional r...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, host Brian Crombie is joined by behavioral economist and author Sam Sivarajan for a deep dive into AI, investing, and one of the most important — and most misunderstood — ideas in decision-making: the difference between correlation and causation. The conversation explores why financial markets repeatedly fall into bubble cycles, and why even sophisticated...