Team Canada has done well in the last few Olympics but they're not able to do this well without help. Our athletes are helped out by the government who use taxpayer money to help fund sports programs and athletes alike but how much involvement is too much involvement? Are we even helping out athletes enough? Guest: Dr Lucie Thibault, Sports Management Professor at Brock University - This year's list of JUNO nominees have been announced and among the nominees is Hamilton jazz artist Brad Cheeseman whose album, The Tide Turns, is up for Solo Jazz Album of the Year. What's it like being nominated for a JUNO and are there benefits of being nominated regardless of if you win? Guest: Brad Cheeseman, JUNO nominated jazz musician - Eating healthy may seem easy but there's tricks around every corner. You might believe that your healthy food and drink is just that, healthy, but you'd be surprised to find out that it could be even worse than drinking pop! See what happens when you try and be healthy? - A 42-year mystery has been solved! On this day in 1976, the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Darryl Sittler, set an NHL record with 10 points against the Boston Bruins. The jersey he wore in that game has been missing for 42 years... until Barry Meisel discovered it. How did he confirm that he had the jersey worn by Darryl Sittler on February 6, 1976? Guest: Barry Meisel, President of MeiGray Group

By now you've probably heard about how the stock market is beginning to get pretty volatile but it's a challenge making sense of it all. Most people don't understand the ins and outs of the stock market but luckily there are people who do! Scott caught up with one of them to help explain what's happening in the market today. Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor of Marketing at the DeGroote School of Business - Hamilton has brought a lot of talent and support to the world but that's not always recognized or even known about by even Hamiltonians! Florence Lawrence is one such Hamiltonian that is often referred to as "The First Movie Star" but most people haven't even heard of her and Cadillac Bill wants to change that. Will you support the recognition that Florence Lawrence deserves in Hamilton? Guest: Cadillac BIll, Hamilton musician and entertainer - There has been an absolutely staggering amount of talent, intelligence and genuinely good people who have walked this earth and in nearly every single one of their speeches, both long and short, there is a mention of mankind. Until recently, mankind is accepted by all... except for Justin Trudeau; he calls it 'peoplekind'. Can someone please remind us why he was voted in as Canada's leader? - The Hamilton Bulldogs are gearing up for the playoffs and some big trades. Amidst an amazing season, what does the GM and President of the Hamilton Bulldogs think of this years' season and where they're going this year? Guest: Steve Staios, President and General Manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs

Bob Morrow, Hamilton’s longest serving mayor, has passed away at the age of 71. Scott chats with our current mayor, as well as two former mayors, to look back on Morrow’s legacy and how he’ll be remembered in the city. Guests: Fred Eisenberger, Larry Di Ianni and Bob Wade - We all know the term, but what exactly is DNA? McMaster University is offering a new online course called DNA Decoded that aims to educate people on this commonly referenced but potentially complicated scientific concept. Guest: Dr. Caitlin Mullarkey, assistant professor at McMaster University - Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday, which means it’s time for Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys to talk about the Eagles’ victory and what happened during the big game, with a focus on the misuse of instant replays.

The leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, said he was suspending one of his MPs for harassing behaviour. The information that lead to this conclusion was sent by a 3rd party on behalf of an alleged victim that supposedly was harassed. All it took was an anonymous email that someone sent for someone else accusing an NDP Member of Parliament of harassing actions for that very MP to be suspended. Jagmeet Singh wants to lead our country yet he does things like this, what do you think of this? Guest: John Pinkus, Employment Lawyer with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP - On this day, 50 years ago, a picture was taken from the Vietnam War that changed the public's opinion of the war. It captured a South Vietnamese general executing a suspected Viet Cong soldier at close range. How can just one picture change history forever? Guest: Barry Gray, Photojournalist at the Hamilton Spectator - The internet has some weird and stupid stuff on it but the studies that are out there are often about really weird stuff like what really makes for a happy marriage. This begs the question, what do you think makes for a happy marriage? - The Superbowl isn't far away and yet again, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are going to be squaring off with another team. Tom Brady is 40 years old and still going strong, is his funky diet the reason for this? Guest: Dr. Stuart Phillips, Director of the McMaster Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Health Research

People want to hear about how they can get a free coupon from Loblaws but it seems like few people actually know why they're doing this. Could price fixing be happening in more places around the grocery store than we realize? Guest: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Dean of the Rowe School of Business at Dalhousie University - All this talk about small business owners makes them sound like they're rolling around in cash because they're so rich. That's only half the truth, maybe even less, because there are many small businesses that start but go out of business. What is it like having this happen to you and your business? Guest: Jodi Gaskell, former owner of Sticky's Candy Westdale - There are people who need service animals for many different medical reasons and some airline companies will allow for these service animals to fly with their owner but what happens why someone claims that their peacock is also their service animal? - Gronkowski suffered a massive concussion just a week ago and now with the Superbowl just another week away, he's already back and practicing! If this was any other sport, he wouldn't be close to practicing for months! It seems like football concussions just aren't as bad as other sports'. LeBron James can pretty much bring whatever team he's on to the NBA championship finals. The flipside to having him on a team is that he's a very expensive player to have. Should the Toronto Raptors trade for LeBron James? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

Hamilton has a problem that people don't seem to be aware of. We have a shortage of ambulances, hospital beds and paramedics that causes Hamilton to be plunged into what's known as a "Code Zero" meaning there are no ambulances available to respond to an emergency. How do we fix this? Guest: Mike Sanderson, Chief of Emergency Services for the City of Hamilton - Twitter is a household name and it's taken hold of many people's lives nowadays. What we sometimes don't see is that some of the twitter accounts out there have bought their followers! Why would someone buy followers and does it have any benefit besides pumping up an ego? Guest: Martin Waxman, Owner of Martin Waxman Communications - Elon Musk has his hands in everything the world has to offer and now his company, The Boring Company, is selling flamethrowers! He's sold over 17,000 in just under a week, will you buy one? - Grammys have been outspoken about equality for women but it couldn't be a more hypocritical award show! On one hand they talk about equality for women everywhere but then give awards to artists whose lyrics couldn't be any farther from being respectful to women! One Grammy winner has a song about drugging and raping a woman! What should be done about this?

Ted Michaels, news anchor and host of The Health & Wellness Show on 900 CHML, fills in as host tonight while Scott is away. “Tale of a Town” is a nationally touring theatre production that has documented the living memories of over 3000 Canadians in more than 150 communities across Canada. The show is coming to the Burlington Performing Arts Centre and will feature appearances from Mayor Rick Goldring, Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon and others. Guest: Lisa Marie DiLiberto, co-creator of “Tale of a Town” - Local artist Dylan Swan is commemorating the Around The Bay road race with a series of paintings depicting various points of the race.  Ted and Dylan delve into the story of why he's doing it and what happens to the paintings. Guest: Dylan Swan, local artist - The Super Bowl is less than a week away and bets are already being placed. What can we expect to see next weekend? Guest: Adam Burns, manager for Bodog Sportsbook - Amy Brown underwent a life-saving kidney transplant operation at St. Joe’s that transformed her quality of life. Now she’s taking on the Around The Bay 5K race with St. Joe’s Team Nephrology. Amy and the rest of her team hope to raise $10,000 for research so more patients can receive the same kind of life-changing care. Guests: Amy Brown, kidney transplant recipient and competitor in the ATB 5K race Pamela Overholt, administrative assistant for the directors of renal programs at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton & Niagara Healthcare System

It is Friday, and time for the Brightes Panel in Hamilton. Guest: Loren Lieberman, co-host of The O Show on Cable 14

Patrick Brown, the now former leader of the PC Party, has been accused of sexual misconduct and like many men before him, no charges have been laid and there isn't a guilty verdict yet his life and career has been destroyed. In modern society, does it even matter if the accused is actually guilty? Guest: Brad Clark, Principal at Maple Leaf Strategies - Divorce makes for an incredible financial burden that gets added on top of the emotional toll it takes on those involved. Usually things go to court and then it goes nowhere while the lawyers start raking in the cash. Do people sometimes lose sight of what they're trying to do and make divorce about more than just the separation of a marriage/family? Guest: Tracy Miller, Matrimonial Lawyer with Miller Law - The Doomsday Clock has been moved forward 30 seconds and interestingly enough, we're closer to midnight on the clock than we were during the Cuban Missile Crisis but what does that even mean? What aside from midnight being nuclear war, the Doomsday Clock doesn't mean much of anything! Why is the Doomsday Clock such a big deal, because it has a cool name? - There are many historical dramas and documentary-like shows and movies that recount historical stories but sometimes you have to ask yourself if the things that happen in these shows and movies are accurate. Should they have to be accurate?  Guest: Scott Henderson, Professor of Communication, Popular Culture and Film at Brock University

While Hamilton has "the mountain", it's not really a mountain and is much less one that allows for bobsleigh events to take place. So then how can it be that Hamilton has spawned so many bobsleigh athletes? How did a Hamiltonian and newly minted Olympic athlete get into bobsleigh? Guest: Nick Poloniato, Canadian National Bobsleigh Team Pilot - A kid was busted for going almost twice the speed limit on the Red Hill Parkway and now people are saying that we should fix the Red Hill so this can't happen. Why are we trying to make a world where no one is responsible for their own actions and nearly everything that happens is someone else's fault? - Elton John said that he will be retiring from touring with the intention of focusing his time and attention on his kids but there's one small catch to this announcment, he's doing it all in three years! Why would he announce that he'll be retiring from touring in three years? - There are many flaws in the induction process required for a baseball player to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. An even bigger issue than these flaws is the fact that no one is doing anything to fix them! Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior Sports Director at Global News Radio 900 CHML

Most people are seeing the raise in the minimum wage as something that businesses can combat with either higher prices or lowered expenses but what do you do when your business can't raise its prices and isn't able to lower its expenses? Guest: Calvin Cain, Hamilton regional director for Ontario Homes for Special Needs Association - Birth is a stressful experience for everyone involved but imagine doing it while on the highway at 100km/h! What do you do if your wife starts giving birth on the way to the hospital instead of in it? Guest: Joe Rand, Husband to Heidi Rand - Littering is something that happens everywhere and it's argued that more garbage cans equals less litter but is this really the case? Should businesses with drive-throughs be mandated to have garbage cans and recycling bins actually in the drive-throughs? - A study has shown that the time you're exposed to screens is directly related to your happiness. Could being hyper-connected with the internet do the exact opposite socially? Guest: Dr. Jean Twenge, Author of iGen

Even though Hamilton isn't on Amazon's list for potential cities that it will put HQ2, Burlington is! If HQ2 lands in Burlington, how will Hamilton benefit? Guest: Rick Goldring, Mayor of Burlington - According to numerous polls, Kathleen Wynne's Liberals are behind. These polls are sometimes incorrect and can be far off from the truth. Do you believe these polls or have the Liberals been doing a good job? Guest: Matt Gurney, Morning show host at Global News Radio 640 Toronto - There are some people in Hamilton who dedicate their lives to benefit and help others in our community. Roger Boyd is the man who founded the Men's Street Ministry to help the homeless. Recently, he woke up to find his truck that brought aid to Hamilton's homeless is stolen! What did those in need do to deserve this? Guest: Roger Boyd, founder of Men's Street Ministry - With the signing of Johnny Manziel to the Ticats on the horizon, people are afraid that his history is going to repeat itself and Manziel will cause problems for the CFL and more specifically, the Tiger-Cats. Is there any way that Manziel can prove he will behave? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior sports director at Global News Radio 900 CHML

If you've ever listened to a City Council meeting, you've probably noticed that some of the councillors like to talk but never seem to stop. Donna Skelly put forward a motion to cap the time someone is allowed to speak at any one time. What do you think of this? Guest: Donna Skelly, Ward 7 Councillor - Lana Del Rey is being sued for making a song that sounds nearly identical to Radiohead's Creep. A defense that is used fairly often is that the original song inspired the song in question but this begs the question, where is the line between inspiration and copying drawn? Guest: Michele Ballagh, Lawyer & Trade-mark Agent with Ballagh&Edward LLP - Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump have almost blurred the line between a politician and a celebrity with the insane tweets and selfies galore. Now Jagmeet Singh has opened up his personal life to the public when he invited the media to the moment that he proposed to his then girlfriend. Do we want our leaders to be more celebrity than politician? - North and South Korean athletes are going to be marching into the Olympics under the same flag that will just be a picture of the Korean Peninsula. Some South Koreans aren't happy about this and they have every reason to feel that way. How would you feel if the Olympics took place in Canada but the American and Canadian athletes marched under a flag with a picture of North America on it? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

A big part of Hamilton's history is when Pink Floyd came to Hamilton and essentially caused concerts to be banned from the then Ivor Wynne Stadium, now Tim Hortons Field. Should City Council let Spectra, the company that organizes concerts at FirstOntario Centre, organize concerts at Tim Hortons Field too? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 Councillor - No one questions anything anymore. Everything is believed the moment it's said and there is never and presumption of innocence whatsoever. We have reached a point where if a woman accuses a man of any unwanted sexual actions, no one asks for proof and no one even questions the truth behind the claim. She is instantly believed and his entire life is crushed immediately. That is simply not right. What should we do to fix this? - Hawaii had a false warning sent out to everyone on the island warning about an incoming missile strike. What would you do if you only had 10 minutes left to live? - There was once a time where it was rare to watch a hockey game without a fight but now the game seems to be focusing more on drafting players that can play rather than fight. Is this making for a better game? Is fighting ever going to become a prominent part of hockey again? Guest: Kyle Hagel, former professional hockey player

Brazil has announced that it will enact measures to identify and punish authors of fake news. This comes after French President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to introduce legislation to block certain websites that are accused of spreading misinformation. How worried should we be about this? Guest: Allen Mendelsohn, lawyer and expert on internet law, teaches Cybersecurity and Privacy at the Faculty of Law at McGill University - How much of what you pay for beer is going toward taxes? Would you be surprised that Canadian consumers, on average, are paying 47% in taxes on beer? Canada’s brewers have launched a campaign – Axe the Beer Tax – to raise awareness of this fact and in response to an automated “escalator” that will lead to further increases to that tax rate as of April 1. Guest: Luke Harford, president of Beer Canada - Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys chat about sports, including the weekend’s AFC and NFC divisional matchups and the NHL announcing the lineup for the 2018 All-Star game.

It is time for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. Tonight Scott welcomes Ben McVie for in-dept talk about serious topics and less-serious ones. Guest: Ben McVie, co-host of the Y108 Morning Show

The modern generations are loving the idea of living in a condo downtown and the prices are reflecting it but is there a better, cheaper alternative? Guest: Rob Golfi, Hamilton & Burlington Realtor - This upcoming election is full of people with some interesting ideas but there's one that has become more of a burden than anything else, the LRT. Is this election going to be about nothing but the LRT? Guest: Bill Kelly, Host of The Bill Kelly Show on 900 CHML - Redesigning bills doesn't sound like a very expensive endeavour but Hydro One has managed to find a way to make very, very expensive. Something that just about anyone could do has managed to cost Hydro One $15 million! - If you watched the World Junior Championship, you probably saw that there wasn't many people in the stands. Every year, around this time we hear about how amazing the ratings were but this year is different, we've yet to hear anything about this year's championship. Was this year's World Junior Championsip a success? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports anchor at CHCH

We keep hearing about how millenials are struggling to set up their lives but what we haven't been told is that Generation X is struggling to save money for retirement. Studies are showing that people simply aren't saving enough money, are you? Guest: Andy Lyster, Executive Financial Consultant with Investors Group Financial Services - The Canadian National Women's Soccer Team is currently ranked 5th in the world and has improved more than anyone could have expected. A major reason for this is because of their head coach who pulled them up and built them into a world class team. Can he do the same for the Men's National Team? Guest: John McGrane, Retired Hall of Fame soccer player - After Justin Trudeau came through Hamilton and visited McMaster University where he answered some questions that were, as expected, soft. He was, however, asked a few questions that truly are hard hitting. Were Trudeau's answers satisfactory? - No matter how healthy the food you buy is, when you get home, you'll notice that the first food you reach for is probably not the healthiest, why is this? What about when the label says that it's high in calories but the food itself isn't, will your mind cause your body to respond differently? Guest: Dr. Rachel Herz, Neuroscientist

Someone that plans to run for Ward 10 says that if he is elected, he will bring forward a motion that will bring in term limits for those on city council. This motion would limit City Councillors to be able to serve 2 terms. What do you think of this? Guest: Brad Clark, Principal of Maple Leaf Strategies - Autonomous vehicles are an amazing leap in technology and though they're said to be safer on the roads than a human driver, are we ready to allow them on the road? Is the technology there? Guest: Krzysztof Czarnecki, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo - With Prime Minister Trudeau travelling across Canada in an attempt to connect with Canadians. The people that show up to these events will likely to fall into one of two categories, the fanboys and fangirls and the concerned Canadians. How will Trudeau be met at McMaster University? - Johnny Manziel becoming a Ticat may not be as guaranteed as we previously thought. Manziel's agent came out on Facebook and said that he expects Manziel to be paid as much as past Tiger-Cats quarterbacks. Zach Collaros is among those quarterbacks who is the highest paid player in the CFL at $500,000. What do you think? Should Johnny Manziel be paid as much as Zach Collaros? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior Sports Director at Global News Radio 900 CHML

Hamilton is working on legislation that would limit the number of payday loan locations in the city. People who see these businesses as predatory would call this a step in the right direction, but could there be negative consequences as a result of this? Guest: Brian Dijkema, Program Director, Work and Economics at Cardus, a local think tank - Ontario's minister of labour suggests businesses struggling with legislation that hikes minimum wages should consider price increases. Is this a realistic solution? Also, a new survey suggests that it’s likely the governor of the Bank of Canada will soon announce an increase in interest rates for a third time since last summer. Guest: Marvin Ryder, business professor for the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University - Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys are back from the holidays to chat about the latest sports news, including the Ti-Cats offering a contract to former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.

For 2018’s first Brightest Conversation in Hamilton, Scott welcomes broadcasting legend Sue Prestedge to the show. Guest: Sue Prestedge, Broadcasting legend, recently retired from her positon as Program Coordinator for Journalism, and Pre-Media and Entertainment, at Mohawk College

A man is suing the City of Hamilton $390,000 for his pain and suffering after falling off of Albion Falls. The suit is being called frivolous by many people but what makes a lawsuit frivolous by definition? Guest: Rob Hooper, Founder of Hooper Law - It's always fun to watch Olympic athletes set new world records and hear about the amazing things that the human body can do, but have we reached the limit? Are we biologically able to keep improving? Guest: Dr Martin Gibala, Professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University - If you haven't heard about this bomb cyclone that's coming, you're missing out! It's apparently going to be an incredibly powerful winter storm with an awesome name. There's absolutely no way that there can be a greater name than bomb cyclone. The question has to be asked, who's the genius that came up with this name? - Currently sitting in 2nd place within the NHL is surprisingly the Las Vegas Golden Knights. How can it be that an expansion team in its first season be this close to the top? Is it good for the NHL to have this happening? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior Sports Director at Global News Radio 900 CHML

Sometimes we have to work with people that we don't like. Regardless of what the reason is, there's only so much that you're allowed to do so when an employee puts up a bunch of air fresheners because she didn't like the smell of another employee does she deserve to be fired? Guest: Lior Samfiru, Head of Labour and Employment Law with Samfiru Tumarkin LLP - A Hamiltonian was recently on The Price is Right and was an absolute pleasure to watch! Scott caught up with Marcy to talk about her experience on The Price is Right. Sometimes you've got to ask yourself, what is it really like to be on a game show? Guest: Marcy Zonta, The Price is Right contestant - If you go to a waterfall just after midnight in February and fall over the edge of said waterfall, you have no one to blame but yourself. Despite that, a Mississauga man is suing the City of Hamilton for $390, 000 because all that happened to him two years ago! Now taxpayer money is going towards a lawsuit as ridiculous as this! What should be done about this? - The Tiger-Cats have made some big decisions.this year and one of them bringing on Johnny Manziel. What do you think will happen to the Ticats' team dynamic by bringing him on? Do you think June Jones set Manziel up for failure when he said that Manziel would be "the greatest CFL player of all time"? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

It's ok if you don't like the cold weather that we've been having for a while, it's natural! You're probably familiar with shivering as a response to being cold but what else does your body do when it gets cold? Can someone use their mind to warm up? Can mind over matter apply here? Guest: Dr. Stephen Cheung, Professor of Kinesiology at Brock University and head of Environmental Ergonomics Laboratory - There are people who support the legalization of marijuana and those who don't and both sides of this argument have their reasons. The supporters like to talk about the incredible amounts of money that marijuana will bring in but what is rarely considered are the subsequent costs of the legalization and sale of marijuana. Who is going to pay for these costs? Guest: Sam Merulla, Ward 4 Councillor - People often get angry over the amount of money that CEOs are making. The weirdest part about this argument is how specific and directed this anger is. People get upset with CEO's salaries but a musical artist that makes even more is left alone. Why is that? - Diversity is a word that is thrown around workplaces nowadays but it feels like this word has lost its meaning. This diversity is almost always physical diversity but what about the diversity of opinion? Is a workplace full of white people that all think different things still a diverse workplace? Guest: Priya Ramsingh, Author of "Is diversity more than a brand?"

It is time for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton. Scott is joined by the illustrious Mike Fortune, to send you off into 2018 with some good laughs and deep thoughts. Guest:  Mike Fortune, television host and professional Master of Ceremonies