This week’s Open Sources Guelph is going to be epic. It will have the best topics as discussed by the best hosts of the best community radio station in Canada. Seriously. No one is more committed to workers rights and social justice than Scotty Hertz. And Adam A. Donaldson? Clearly the best political mind in the Royal City, without a doubt. If you’re not listening to Open Sources, you’re fired! You might as well export all your national pride to China, along with our manufacturing, because this week’s episode is going to be epic. Or didn’t I already mention that. [The preceding was meant to be read in a bombastic, egocentric vaguely New Jersian accent.]
This Thursday, June 18, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) The Campaign North. As the 41st Parliament wraps for summer (and forever), the campaign that is to take place in September is heating up. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau announced a number of measures to restore confidence in a strong and democratic Canada. Thomas Mulcair meanwhile went to the Economic Club of Toronto to convince the business elite that he’s not a socialist monster that’s going to take a big bite out of profits. In an increasingly tighter three-way race, can either Trudeau or Mulcair seal the deal with voters this far out?
2) The Campaign South. The crowded Republican presidential field for 2016 got even more crowded this week when former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and real estate mogul Donald Trump (and his ego) officially entered the race. Over a dozen GOP politicians are in the running, and several more are considering their options in what many commentators are already euphemistically calling, “a clown car.” On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton still dominates, but she’s now opening herself up to pesky reporter questions. So are we serious looking at Bush V. Clintion 2.0 for 2016?
3) The Toronto Factor. Last week was a rough week for Toronto’s crumbling infrastructure as the subway system faced a complete shutdown Monday after a communications failure, and Mayor John Tory’s “hybrid solution” for dealing with the Gardiner Expressway was reluctantly accepted by council while somehow, simultaneously, honking off every person at City Hall. Now more than six months after the start of his term, is the honeymoon over for Tory as Torontonians remember that they have some serious problems?
4) The Green Pope. In a papal encyclical to be released Thursday, Pope Francis will call on Catholics to address the “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem” caused by global climate change. Not only that, the Pope will put the majority of responsibility for that destruction on mankind, and suggest that we have to embrace big changes in lifestyle and energy consumption to stave off disaster. Will the Pope’s reach and authority create renewed urgency on the matter?
5) Solomon’s Key. Following up to last week’s news about the firing of Power & Politics host Evan Solomon over his side job as an art broker for the rich and powerful, we consider the horrible state of Canadian media. From Solomon, to Amanda Lang, Peter Mansbridge, Rex Murphy and Leslie Roberts, how can we trust the mainstream media to give us the unvarnished truth, and are they too enraptured in their own celebrity to think they’re above transparency?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.
Open Sources Guelph 