Afternoons with Rob Breakenridge

Join host, Rob Breakenridge, as he offers his unique perspective on the most talked-about stories of the day every weekday afternoon.

News
2151
Reduced number of rural seats raises concerns
Rob welcomes to the show the President of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties Al Kemmere to chat about concerns raised by the move to reduce the amount of legislative seats in rural areas to match the population.  Nathan Cooper, Wildrose MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills also phones in with his thoughts  More here: http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/rural-communities-fear-fewer-seats-will-diminish-voice-in-alberta-legislature
18 min
2152
How long could a human live?
Last year research from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine concluded that the biological limit to a human lifespan in 115 years old. But this year, Canadian researchersd at Mcgill argue that initial research was flawed and that there is no limit to the human lifespan. Bryan Hughes Postdoctoral Fellow at Mcgill University Co-authored this age study in the Hekimi Lab at Mcgill University.  More here: http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/no-detectable-limit-to-human-lifespan/wcm/45192f37-db70-4730-a3a7-1e4169ae703a
14 min
2153
Child Brides in Canada and around the world
Samra Zafar is a former teen bride who has escaped an abusive marriage and gone forward to become a speaker, activist, and scholar.  Her website here: http://www.samrazafar.com/
16 min
2154
Are all vegetative patients totally unaware? no
Dr. Adrian Owen Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Imaging and Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario and author of the new book Into The Gray Zone has been involved in some groundbreaking research showing that some patients who haver been written off as in a vegetative state- are very much aware of what is happening. 
17 min
2155
Dump hours down- illegal dumping is up
Illegal dumping is up in and around Calgary- is this related to the restricted dump hours since January? City councillor Shane Keating says yes. Rob also takes calls from many listeners who protest the dumping is getting out of hand. 
18 min
2156
Dangerous spots on AB highways
Through a FOIP the Wildrose Party has discovered which parts of AB highways are the most deadly. Grant Hunter, Wilrose MLA and Shadow Cabinet Minister for Transportation and Technology.  The map is here. Rob takes a few calls as well about where the roads get ugly in our province. 
9 min
2157
Greg Clark- True cost of refineries
Greg Clark, Leader of the Alberta Party, is pointing to the 800 million dollars more the Sturgeon Refinery is supposed to cost, over budget. And he has some questions about how this affects Alberta's finances. 
11 min
2158
Minimum Wage
Recent studies from American cities have shown that 15$ minimum wage may not be conducive to positive growth. Trevor Tombe Economist, Fellow at The School of Public Policy at the U of Calgary joins Rob to chat about it. 
17 min
2159
Roger Taylor from Duran Duran
Roger Taylor, the drummer of Duran Duran joins Rob on air to preview the Roundup Music Fest two weeks from today.   
11 min
2160
Rethinking tipping
Rob is joined by Bruce McAdams, Assistant Professor in the School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph.  He says that the amount we tup is constantly increasing- and it may be getting out of hand More here: https://news.vice.com/story/north-americas-tipping-culture-is-increasingly-oppressive?utm_source=vicetwitterca  
10 min
2161
Child wanders off- man bringing her back gets b...
We live in a paranoid time- and a would be good samaritan in Florida has the bruises to prove it after he tried to return a 2 year old to her parents- only to have dad beat him up.  Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free-Range Kids movement joins Rob to chat about our paranoia of our kids.  The story is here: http://globalnews.ca/news/3558935/good-samaritan-mistaken-for-child-predator/?utm_source=%40GlobalEdmonton&utm_medium=Twitter
14 min
2162
United Liberty- Derek Fildebrandt in studio
Derek Filderbrandt joins Rob in studio today to chat about "United Liberty" and rolling back the "nanny state" in Alberta. 
13 min
2163
The dark side of twitter
How the mob mentality of censure on twitter is affecting discourse.  With Jonathan Kay, National Post.  His Piece here: http://nationalpost.com/news/world/jonathan-kay-on-the-tyranny-of-twitter-how-mob-censure-is-changing-the-intellectual-landscape/wcm/c94cb9be-3eef-4982-9e65-7f4e934c2afb
9 min
2164
Ban scalper bots
The Ontario Provicial Government is looking to find a way to ban and prevent scalper bots from spoiling ticket sales for real fans. Josh O'Kane joins Rob from the Globe and Mail, His piece here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ontario-to-make-ticket-buying-bots-illegal-cap-markups-in-scalping-crackdown/article35460982/
13 min
2165
Toronto pride and their cop ban
So no cops were allowed to march in Toronto Pride, but Justin Trudeau and Kathleen Whynne did.  Sue-Ann Lewvy, investigative journalist at the Toronto Sun joins Rob to share her thoughts on the matter.  More here: http://www.torontosun.com/2017/06/25/cop-ban-sours-good-pride-party  
11 min
2166
Newspaper bailout?
Should the government step in with a bail out for fledgling newspapers in Canada? Jesse Brown, media critic, Canadaland. More on his thoughts here: http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/great-newspaper-bailout/
13 min
2167
Liberals and session in Parliament
The Senate sent an unprecedented message to the House of Commons stating that the Red Chamber has every right to amend the government’s budget bills. Kelly Mcparland, National Post contributor, joins the show to share some insight. 
13 min
2168
Saretzky update
Defence in Derek Saretzky triple-murder trial will not present any evidence. Nancy Hixt from Global News joins the show to provide an update. 
12 min
2169
Do poorer people eat more junk food? Not necces...
A study in the States has found that people of all income levels tend to eat fast food at the same rate. Jay Zagorsky is an economist and research scientist at The Ohio State University.   More here: https://theconversation.com/do-poor-people-eat-more-junk-food-than-wealthier-americans-79154
10 min
2170
Alcohol causing more hospitalizations in Canada...
With Jean Harvey, Director, Canadian Population Health Initiative. More here: http://globalnews.ca/news/3547212/77000-canadians-hospitalized-because-of-alcohol-in-2016/
11 min
2171
Criticizing politicians
Rob chats about criticizing politicians and takes a call from a listener who thinks President Trump faces too much criticism. 
9 min
2172
BC politics drama continuance
The election of a speaker. With Vancouver Sun Columnist Vaughn Palmer. 
12 min
2173
How ISIS weaponizes children
Mia Bloom, Professor of Communication at Georgia State University.  Her piece here: http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/islamic-state-has-weaponized-children/
14 min
2174
Math scores and bussing concerns
CBE Trustee Trina Hurdman joins Rob to chat about the CBE decision on bussing changes for certain schools and the falling of math scores in AB
8 min
2175
Remember Otto Warmbier- but think of those stil...
Washington Post Columnist Christian Caryl has been following the story of American student Otto Warmbier who died after being returned by the North Korean government this week.  His piece here https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/06/19/let-us-mourn-otto-warmbier-the-north-koreans-treated-him-like-one-of-their-own/?utm_term=.b8fe9a46c2e3
14 min