Closer Look

On this week’s episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott burn a little airtime talking about the wildfires scorching across Canada — the most damaging forest fire season of the century, according to the federal government. Like everything else, the fires have fanned the flames of political rhetoric, with some provincial leaders a lot less willing than others to admit the role of climate chan...

On this week’s episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott take a closer look at new Health Canada guidelines that will see warning messages added to individual cigarettes — not just the pack. Smokers will now be reminded, by the butt, that there is “poison in every puff” and that their nasty habit “may lead to impotence.” If that’s not enough motivation to quit, nothing will be. But do warnin...

A doctor shortage forced the emergency department in small-town Thessalon, Ont., to lock its doors for 48 hours. After “exhausting all options,” the North Shore Health Network said it had no choice but shut the place down for two full days — leaving locals with nowhere to go in case of emergency. Sadly, the situation in Thessalon is not unique. Rural communities across Ontario are struggling to st...

Frisco and Scott are back for another week of Inside the Village with a special guest: Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development. The timing couldn’t be better, as there is plenty of political deal-making to talk about — including the massive electric-vehicle battery plant coming to St. Thomas, Ont. A veteran politician who served as mayor of North Bay before making the jump to Queen’...

Canadian music icon Gordon Lightfoot was laid to rest earlier this week in Orillia. With almost 4 million albums sold, 16 Juno Awards and four #1 hits, Lightfoot left an indelible mark not only on the music industry, but on his beloved hometown of Orillia. This week, Frisco and Scott talk to two friends who knew Lighfoot very well: Pam Carter, from the Mariposa Folk Foundation, and Karen Hilfman M...

The NHL playoffs are underway, and who better to talk about hockey than Ron MacLean? The iconic host of Hockey Night in Canada joins Frisco and Scott for a wide-ranging conversation that touches on everything, from the Leafs’ Stanley Cup chances, to the rapid growth of legal sports gambling, to the state of his relationship with former on-air partner Don Cherry. MacLean also sheds some light on hi...

This weekend, the eldest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II will officially be crowned King of England when his coronation takes place at Westminster Abbey. King Charles’ wife, Camilla, will also be crowned Queen Consort. The ceremony will be jam-packed with all the pomp and circumstance one would expect. Royal watcher Patricia Treble tells Scott and Frisco what to expect — and why Canadians shoul...

Frisco and Scott celebrate the one-year anniversary of the podcast with a brief trip down memory lane. Then it’s on to more serious news: a looming court challenge over a Ford government bill that paves the way for some elderly hospital patients to be moved to long-term care facilities that they don’t choose — and if they refuse to leave, they’ll be charged $400 per day. Our guest is lawyer Steven...

On the latest episode of Inside the Village, Scott and Frisco dig into a scary story that continues to generate headlines. Suzana Thayer, a grandmother of six from Barrie, Ont., has been languishing in an overseas prison for seven months, accused of smuggling cocaine into Hong Kong. But as her daughter explains in this week’s podcast, it’s clear that Suzana is the victim of a sophisticated online...

Grab some peanuts and cracker jacks! Frisco and Scott spend this special episode of Inside the Village celebrating the return of baseball just in time for the Blue Jays’ home opener on April 11. Frisco is a huge Tigers fan, Scott cheers for the Jays, and our guest Matt Betts is host of the Canadian Baseball Network Podcast. He breaks it all down for us: the Jays’ chances at a World Series berth, t...

In the latest episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott talk money. More specifically, why so many millennials are struggling with it. Our guest is insolvency trustee Ted Michalos, whose Ontario firm releases an annual “Joe Debtor” study that takes stock of how many Canadians are filing for bankruptcy every year. The bottom line? In 2022, nearly half of those people were millennials. Also on...

On the latest episode of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott welcome back deputy editor Charlie Pinkerton from The Trillium — a new Village Media website dedicated to covering the Ontario legislature. Charlie has the latest on the Ford government’s plans to overhaul how combat sports are operated in the province. He also explains where things stand on the Premier’s daughter’s now-infamous stag-an...

This week on Inside the Village: The kids don’t think we’ll be alright. New research out of Lakehead University reveals that the climate crisis is having a massive impact on the mental health of young Canadians. Nearly half (48 per cent) think humanity is doomed, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) find the future frightening, and 39 per cent say they are hesitant to have children. Dr. Ellen Field...

This week on Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott cover a lot of ground. The Trillium — Village Media’s new website covering all things Queen’s Park — has hit the legislature running, breaking a few big stories already. The feds have banned TitTok from all government-issued devices, and other levels of government are following suit. And should the NHL ban Russian hockey players while the war in Uk...

Welcome to The Trillium, your go-to source for Queen’s Park headlines. Launched this week by Village Media, The Trillium is a comprehensive news and information website devoted exclusively to in-depth, insider coverage of politics and policy at the Ontario Legislature. Editor-in-Chief Jessica Smith Cross and Deputy Editor Charlie Pinkerton join the podcast to talk about how it all came together —...

Remember Ryan Willis? He joined Inside the Village last year to talk about his pet project: the Trent University Sasquatch Society, whose members spend their spare time searching for Bigfoot. Ryan is back on the podcast — with some big news. No, he hasn’t found Sasquatch yet, but he’s definitely found something. Tune in to find out what. Also on the podcast: some big wins for Village Media’s talen...

 On this episode: an exclusive interview with Juliette Lamour, the 18-year-old university student who came forward Friday morning to claim one of the largest jackpots in Lotto 6/49 history. After weeks of rumours, the Sault Ste. Marie resident finally revealed herself as the $48-million winner of the Jan. 7 Gold Ball draw.   At 18, she is Ontario’s youngest winner of such a massive jackpot. In fac...

In the latest episode of Inside the Village, the guys sit down with Noah Irvine, a soon-to-be 23-year-old who, after the deaths of his mom and dad, spent years fighting for improvements to the way Canada’s health-care system deals with mental illness and addictions. He has written letters — lots of them — to politicians of all stripes in the hopes of revamping a broken system. And now he has writt...

On this episode of Inside the Village, the unthinkable happens: Frisco and Scott’s guest had to cancel at the last minute. But the show must go on. Thankfully, there was still lots to talk about: A record-setting fentanyl bust in Sault Ste. Marie. An Orillia man asking to die by assisted suicide — not because of a physical ailment, but because he feels hopeless and doesn’t want to carry on. Plus,...

 In recent weeks, sophisticated computer hackers have infiltrated some high-profile targets, including Scouts Canada, the LCBO, and even SickKids Hospital. In Sault Ste. Marie, a ransomware attack forced the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board to send kids home early for the Christmas holidays. Why are cyberattacks on the rise? What steps can organizations do to protect themselves? Why d...

Frisco and Scott return for Season Two of Inside the Village. After the fatal shooting of an OPP officer last month, politicians and police chiefs decried the sorry state of Canada’s bail system. Why? One of the two people charged with murdering 28-year-old Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was banned for life from owning firearms and somehow out on bail — free to allegedly commit a horrible crime. Our g...

Welcome back to Inside the Village — and Part 2 of our “Year in Review.” This week, we take a look back at the lighter side of the news, from Peter Piper to Sasquatch Guy to the incomparable Brittlestar. And of course, the F-bomb heard round the world! If we learned anything during our inaugural season of the podcast, it was to not take ourselves too seriously. Reach out to Frisco and Scott

Welcome back to Inside the Village, a one-of-a-kind podcast where all news is local — and no topic is off-limits. In the latest episode, Scott and Frisco take a stroll down memory lane in Part I of our first-ever “Year in Review.” We covered a lot of ground in 2022, from inflation to the opioid crisis to the high-profile search for a former soldier who mysteriously vanished. Let's remember. R...

Coyotes are everywhere these days, or so it seems. Whether it’s a city council debating how to deal with hungry coyotes in their midst — or joggers being followed by them — the wild canines are generating plenty of headlines across Ontario. On Episode 25 of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott ask the question everyone wants to know: Are coyotes taking over the neighbourhood? Lesley Sampson, co-fo...

In the latest episode of the podcast, Frisco and Scott take a closer look at the emergency unfolding inside Ontario's emergency rooms. Wait times are up, staffing levels are down, and the demand on health care services is unprecedented — with a nasty winter looming. Is there a solution? We ask Dr. Michael Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. Spoiler alert: A...