Every year, we lose many people and sometimes those people leave big impacts on both our lives and the identity of Canada. Scott is joined by JC Villamere to talk about some of those Canadian legends that will be remembered forever. Who will you remember most? Guest: JC Villamere, Pop culture critic and author of "Is Canada Even Real?" - The GTHA has a rather peculiar tradition of jumping into the freezing cold Lake Ontario. The Polar Bear Dip has attracted many people from all over, all just to jump into the lake which is now in support of charity and is for a good cause. Have you ever done the Polar Bear Dip? Would you ever do it? Guest: Trent Courage, Co-founder of the Polar Bear Dip - We've all done some very dumb things before but there's always that one thing that you will remember forever. Scott has done some questionable things, have you? What's the dumbest thing you've ever done? - The roster for Team Canada's women's hockey team has been released and three of the 23 players from across Canada are local to our area. When you find out that you've been picked to go represent Canada at the 2018 Olympics, the only people that can truly describe it are those that have been chosen themselves. That's why Scott reached out to Sarah Nurse and Renata Fast to talk about what it was like being picked and what happens next. Guest: Renata Fast, Member of Team Canada's 2018 Women's Hockey Team            Sarah Nurse, Member of Team Canada's 2018 Women's Hockey Team

A baby embryo has been born 25 years after conception. You might ask how this is and it's a bit of a science fiction answer... or is it? After conception, the embryo was frozen! If science is able to do this, how much longer until we can freeze a whole human? Guest: Dr Tom Hannam, Fertility Specialist and founder of The Hannam Fertility Centre - If it's ever felt like your Iphone got slower the older it got, that's because Apple designed it that way! Doesn't this seem to be the opposite of what you want your phone to do? Why would Apple do this? Guest: Adam Oldfield, founder of FPM3 Marketing and Tech Expert - Swastika Trail is a real street name that has been hotly contested over whether or not the name should be changed. The street wasn't named after the symbol that the Nazis adopted for their own uses yet the association of the swastika with the Nazis makes this a really challenging name to defend. If this name is changed, everyone that lives on this street needs to change their addresses everywhere. Do you think the name should be changed? - Around Christmas time every year, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer plays and two characters from that movie are for sale! The original Rudolph and Santa puppets from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer are now for sale on Ebay! How much do you think these original puppets are on sale for? Guest: Rick Goldschmidt, Rankin/Bass Historian

The Prime Minister violated ethics laws that he has sworn to live by. The catch is that those very laws that were broken will have no fine or penalty of any kind put on the Prime Minister! After a two year investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. The current Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, has pardoned 95% of past people who have been investigated for breaking ethics laws even if they've clearly broken them. What should happen to our current Ethics Commissioner before she is replaced? Guest: Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch - If you had a survey about what kind of news people want to be hearing, the biggest response would be that people want happy, feel-good news. The number are saying something else. People are saying they want one thing but are all reading news about the polar opposite, why is that? Guest: Paul Berton, Editor-in-Chief at The Hamilton Spectator - Despite an overwhelming response of people saying that they want news that makes you feel happy but every study and number has shown that is simply not true. People seem to love the gritty side of their city and the news that goes along with it. Do you like the idea of all positive news, all the time or is crime and the darker side of news more your speed? - Even though there weren't any rules against performance enhancing drugs in baseball at the time that most of the nominees for this year playd, the ethical issue of whether or not a player on performance enhancing drugs during a time they weren't banned should be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Should an athlete that doped while it wasn't illegal still be allowed into the Hall of Fame? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

City Council sat down and came out of a meeting about if we should ask the province to run the LRT. A glaringly obvious hole in this idea is that if the Government of Ontario runs the LRT, can Hamilton demand things from the province for the LRT? Who should run the LRT, the City of Hamilton or the Government of Ontario? Guest: Brad Clark, Political Consultant with Maple Leaf Strategies - The Americans are poised to have some tax savings for businesses in the US but what isn't being considered, is how those tax cuts will affect Canadian businesses. Marvin Ryder joins Scott to decypher how it can be that US tax cuts will affect us up here in Canada. Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor of Marketing at the DeGroote School of Business - There are people in Quebec who are taking massive issue with Canadians calling poutine a Canadian food. They say that poutine is a Quebecois food, not Canadian. If they can do that, call something from Quebec, Canada not Canadian, what is a Canadian food? - Parents are supposed to care for their kids and how they feel but there is a limit to that. Keeping the score in kids' sports is a hotly contested topic because some will argue that this makes kids feel bad when they lose and others would argue that it teaches kids how to lose among other things. What do you think, should the score be kept in kids' sports? Guest: Sunaya Sapurji, Assistant Managing Editor at The Athletic

Wilfrid Laurier University has found there was no wrongdoing by one of their T.A.s who played a controversial YouTube clip during a class tutorial. Guest: Lindsay Shepherd, T.A. at Laurier - If a student is struggling with math or another subject, why aren't they being held back until they're actually capable of doing the thing that is giving them trouble? Guest: Linda Chenoweth, former teacher - Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys chat about the world of sports, including Senators owner Eugene Melnyk saying he might be forced to move the team if attendance at games remains low.

Tonight, Scott welcomes Mike Fortune to the table, for the brightest conversation in Hamilton. Guest: Mike Fortune, television host and professional Master of Ceremonies

This could be a great time to be getting into the housing market if you're looking to buy. That's because the rate of growth for the price of homes is growing a lot slower than it has in the past but that isn't so good for those looking to sell their homes. Are you finding it challenging to sell your home? Guest: Rob Golfi, Hamilton Realtor - Canadian's are at a recording setting high of debt per household. We currently owe 171.1% of debt to disposable income and when we put this into perspective, when the US went into a recession, the average American had about 166% debt owed to disposable income. What would happen if interest rates went up by 1%? Why aren't people focusing on saving anymore? Guest: Scott Hannah, President of the Credit Councilling Society - There was a time when outdoor NHL games were a spectacle to see and everyone was sure to have the outdoor games marked on their calendars. Now it seems like even hockey fans don't know and in some cases don't care about outdoor games. How could the NHL have killed one of their best ideas? Will there ever be something better in the NHL? - It's the time of year when Google releases its top searches. Someone somewhere must have been determined to screw up this list because "why is everything so heavy?" is something that you really shouldn't have to ask. What's your favourite Google search?

Unpublishing, if you haven't heard about this yet, is exactly as it sounds, the removal of a story about something that did happen. If someone stood trial and was found not guilty, the stories published would say that but would remain in existence. If those stories were to be unpublished, all of those stories, URLs, etc would be removed and effectively eliminated from history. Should the media be allowed to remove information about an event that did happen and is based in fact from history? Guest: Jim Poling, Managing Editor at the Hamilton Spectator - Last night, Ward 14 existed as the largest ward in Hamilton but now that isn't going to be the case. Ward 14 is going to be split amongst the Ancaster and Dundas wards to better represent the population. This is the major change but there will be some minor changes to some other ward boundaries. Is there a better solution to this? Guest: Robert Pasuta, Ward 14 Councillor - To make for a better representation of the population in Hamilton, it has been decided that Ward 14 will be split between the Dundas and Ancaster wards. A big challenge that hasn't been considered is how to tackle the issue of Hamilton being two or three cities in one. Scott has a solution to this problem, do you? - David Sweet adopted an infant daughter when she was just nine months old named Lara who grew up to suffer from mental illness. About 4 months ago, Mr. Sweet posted a heart breaking message on his Facebook page about Lara passing away. He has decided to speak out about this because he wants everyone to know, you are not alone and that there is help out there. Guest: David Sweet, Flamborough-Glanbrook MP - We often think about who the best player is in a given sport, city and even in Canada but we rarely, if ever, ask who is the most important Canadian in sports? The impact that certain Canadian hockey players have made on sports is incredible and so is what some baseball players done but the question remains, who do you think is the most important Canadian in sports? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

During a memorial for Yousef Al-Hasnawi, the good samaritan that was shot and killed, MP Bob Bratina said something that upset many people. It's being said that he used this event as a way to promote his political ideals. Was this an appropriate place to say what he did? Guest: Bob Bratina, Member of Parliament for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek - A study has shown that over two thirds of front-line hospital workers (nurses, personal support workers, cleaners, etc) have been assaulted, harassed and worse while on the job. How is it that we can be letting this happen to those that literally take care of our population? What should we do to diminish this problem? Guest: Michael Hurley, President of Ontario Council of Hospital Unions - Ward 14 is going to be split into two wards to better reflect the population. Currently, Ward 14 covers rural Flamborough but will be split up into the Dundas and Ancaster wards which will make the size of the wards across Hamilton a lot more consistent. This change will also be coming with some minor adjustments to some of the surrounding wards too. Is this a good decision? Guest: Donna Skelly, Ward 7 Councillor - A video has gone viral showing a boy crying in a car as a result of being bullied by other students at school. It has been recently discovered that his mother may have allegedly held some racist views and opinions that he may have picked up and brought to the classroom. Would bullying a boy with an allegedly racist mother help him? Guest: Kathleen Wright, Bullying Expert

Authorities have arrested a suspect following an “attempted terrorist attack” on a New York City subway. How easy is it for terrorists to get ahold of weapons to commit these attacks? Could they happen anywhere? Guest: Stephanie Carvin, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, specialty in national security issues and terrorism - EQAO test results for the 2016-17 academic year show that only 49% of Grade 3 girls in Ontario agreed that they were good at math compared to 62% of boys. Additionally, a 2009 study showed American female elementary teachers passed on their anxieties about math to girls in their classes, but not to boys. Why are boys more confident in their math skills than girls? Guest: Mary Reid, Professor of math education at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education - Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys have their usual Monday night sports discussion, including asking whether or not sports games are more entertaining in the midst of wild weather.

Scott welcomes editorial cartoonist Graeme MacKay to the show, for the Brightest Conversation in Hamilton! Guest: Graeme MacKay, editorial cartoonist with The Hamilton Spectator, author of 'You Might Be From Hamilton If ...'

Although Russia is banned by the International Olympic Committee, it's athletes are not. Something seems to have changed within the IOC because this kind of decision would have never happened before. The question does still remain, why would Russia do something like this on such a large scale for an athletics competition? Are the Olympics just about sport? Guest: Bob Barney, Founder of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western University - Though it's pretty much common knowledge that the IOC has banned Russia but when it was first discovered that Russia had a large scale doping program for its Olympic athletes, athletes like Jesse Lumsden were outraged and rightly so. Scott recounts his interview with Lumsden and just how much hard work Lumsden has to put in for the smallest of gains. - The Auditor General's Report has been released and it's nothing short of crazy when you hear about the things that the government has been spending your taxes on. 1 in every 6 buildings owned by the government of Ontario is empty, SCUBA gear, car washes and raccoon traps are among the weirdest and most unnecessary things that our government has spent our money on. Could there be a legitimate reason why taxpayer's money was spent on raccoon traps? Guest: Alan Carter, Global News Anchor - Doesn't TV do such a good job at showing what it's like to be a homicide detective out on a case? No, it doesn't so then how is a real life homicide case handled? What are the steps that need to be taken and can you really get a murderer's DNA from a drop of blood in 20 minutes? Guest: Rick Arnold, Retired Hamilton Police Department Homicide Detective  - The Blue Jays are reportedly on sale right now after it slipped out during an interview a few days ago. If this is true, who will buy the Blue Jays? Scott caught up with Bubba O'Neil to talk about what his thoughts are on the idea of the Blue Jays being sold. Do you think that Rogers should sell the Blue Jays or keep them? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH

We often hear about how amazing bike lanes are to have in the city and that they will encourage more people to ride their bikes instead of driving their cars. We rarely hear about how much of the city streets these bike lanes take up and the many other drawbacks of bike lanes. Do you support the creation of bike lanes? Guest: Lawrence Solomon, Author of "Ban the Bike! How cities made a huge mistake in promoting cycling" - Safe Injection Sites are a very polarizing topic that is great on paper but will be a challenge to implement in Hamilton. Is this promoting illicit drug use or reducing the danger of using them? Would you want a Safe Injection Site to be set up by your house? Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton - There was a time in which Tom Brady was in hot water for playing with a deflated football that ended up with him being suspended for 4 games but last night's Monday Night Football game, players were getting injured left, right and centre because players began playing to injure. No players were ejected from the game due to the hits they were delivering which completely contradicts the NFL when they say that they care about the well being of their players. Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior Sports Director at Global News Radio 900 CHML - We're often told that science is fact and that's the way it is but what if modern day science is preferring certain answers to others because one is more politically correct than another. If a study is done that shows men and women are not the same or someone that's Asian is better than someone that's White at something, people will criticize, demonize and ultimately ostracize the researcher. Would you support a researcher whose work yielded a controversial result? Guest: Dr. John Anomaly, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona

19-year-old Yosif Al-Hasnawi was shot in downtown Hamilton Saturday night while trying to help a man who was involved in an altercation with two men. Guest: Tom Raczynski, a neighbour who overheard a troubling interaction between Al-Hasnawi and paramedics - Why have there been so many shootings in Hamilton this year? Guest: Jason Farr, Ward 2 councillor - A new poll shows that 69% of Canadians favour a complete ban on guns in urban areas. Guest: Wendy Cukier, gun control advocate - Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys sit down to have their usual Monday night discussion about the latest news from the world of sports. Tonight, their discussion focuses on coaching, including why so many coaches have such short tenures and whether or not coaches should treat superstar players differently from other players.

For tonight's Brightest Panel in Hamilton, Scott Radley goes one-on-one with Brad Clark. Panel Guest: Brad Clark, Principal Consultant for Maple Leaf Strategies and former Hamilton City Councillor and Ontario's Minister of Labour and Minister of Transportation

Just how much of your information is being tracked and recorded? Those ads you've seen about things that you were just looking at aren't there by coincidence, it's because just about everything you do on the internet is being tracked, is that as bad as it seems? Guest: Allen Mendelsohn, Internet Lawyer - There has been a pretty big resurgence of stand up comedy content on everything from Netflix to Hulu. If we don't have some of the comedy legends we once did, why is stand up coming coming back as strong as it is? Guest: Ben Guyatt, Stand Up Comedian and Host of Club 54 - Surely you heard about how the USA won't be competing in the 2018 World Cup but they're not the only surprising team to not compete because Italy didn't qualify either! How can it be that Italy isn't in the World Cup but places like Egypt are? Moving on to the other kind of football, the Toronto Argonauts won the Grey Cup after being one of the worst teams in the league. If they're able to turn around and win the Grey Cup just like that, why can't Hamilton? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior Sports Director at 900 CHML

We are constantly hearing about the incredible value of Bitcoin but you probably don't know how Bitcoin works. That's ok! Scott brought Marvin Ryder from the DeGroote School of Business to help explain what Bitcoin really is, why it exists, who owns it and more. Guest: Marvin Ryder, Professor of Marketing at the DeGroote School of Business - Toronto FC is looking to beat the Columbus Crew to advance to the MLS championship. After it felt like TFC was just losing every game and we were getting used to it, the possibility of them winning the MLS Championship is really exciting! The stadium experience is just as interesting as the match, which do you go for? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH - A big stats dump from Stats Canada has shown that Canada is first in developed countries with 54% of residents having a college or university degree among other things. They also reported that the length of the average Canadian's commute has gone up, that women are getting more doctorates than men for the first time ever and that women outnumber men 4 to 1  in the healthcare field whereas men outnumber women 3 to 1 in high tech. Is there a problem with that?

If an autistic student has an outburst that results in a teacher being hit, what should be done? How do you balance the needs of a child with the safety of teachers and educational assistants? Studies have shown that these students benefit most when they're in the "normal" school system. The question still remains, what should be done when a student with special needs hits a teacher or EA? Guest: Dr. Jacqui Specht, Director of the Canadian Research Centre for Inclusive Education - The Hamilton Bulldogs are the third best ranked team in the OHL so there's no wonder that when a team like this makes a trade, it's big news. This is especially the case with Connor Roberts but surely you've had to ask yourself at one point or another, who is the person that actually makes the trade? Guest: Steve Staios, General Manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs - Today is the 100th birthday of the National Hockey League! The league that is a huge part of our national identity was founded on this day 100 years ago where all of the team owners except for one from the National Hockey Association met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal and created the NHL. But who was that one owner and what was his team? Why did the other owners go behind his back? Guest: Kevin Shea, Hockey Researcher and HIstorian

Metrolinx says that while HSR can run Hamilton's LRT line, the Crown transit agency recommends against the idea. In a letter to City Manager Chris Murray, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster warns that Hamilton would be forced to shoulder a list of onerous responsibilities and legal obligations as part of a local operations agreement.

Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys and Com/Choice Realty talk about the latest from the world of sports, including the 105th Grey Cup and Stampeder Marquay McDaniel blaming teammate Kamar Jorden for a late fumble that may have cost Calgary the game and the trophy. - Metrolinx says the HSR can operate the city's LRT, but there are some things the city should know before they take on the responsibility. Guest: Fred Eisenberger, mayor of Hamilton

The Brightest Panel in Hamilton has been gathered together for a wide variety of topics, concerning Hamilton and the world. Panel: Loren Leiberman, co-host of The O Show on Cable 14 Emily Taylor, Journalism student at Mohawk College

We've been hearing a lot about celebrities being accused of committing sexual misconduct, harassment, etc and there doesn't seem to be an end to this list in the near future. Recently a female reporter from CHCH was sexually harassed on two occassions at Mohawk College who, while delivering an interview, had an offensive phrase yelled at her.  Guest: Britt Dixon, Reporter at CHCH - This Saturday may be the best Vanier Cup game in history where the Western Mustangs will be going up against the Laval Rouge et Or here in Hamilton at Tim Horton's Field. Laval's defense is unparalleled and Western's offense is unstoppable which will surely make for an amazing game. Who will you be rooting for to win the Vanier Cup, Laval or Western? Guest: Rick Zamperin, Senior Sports Director at 900 CHML - We've been told that once your brain cells are gone, they're gone forever but that simply isn't true. A study has been done that shows that intense exercise helps improve your memory and promotes the production of new brain cells in your hippocampus. This study has shown that this is beneficial to people who have had heart issues, diabetes, obesity and are older in age! Are you going to start High Intensity Training to preserve your memory? Guest: Dr. Jennifer Heisz, Professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University

There are buildings in our city that are going to start falling apart quite literally. If nothing is done to fix the Hamilton Convention Centre, bricks will start falling off its walls! Elevators and escalators at FirstOntario Centre are in need of repair but the repairs for these buildings will cost millions of dollars. When the current budget for these repairs is only about $800,000, what should be done? Guest: Larry Di Ianni, Former Hamilton Mayor & Politician - There was a time during baseball when it seemed like there were more people who were on performance enhancing drugs than were not. At the time, it wasn't illegal to be taking those drugs but the ethics side of this still stands. Should a player from the steroids era still be allowed into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Guest: Bubba O'Neil, Sports Anchor at CHCH - When you pay to see a band live, you expect to see the whole group but if they have a replacement member, are you really seeing the band? Is a band still a band so long as there is an original member? Sometimes the replacement member is better than the original member but that doesn't mean that you're seeing the actual band. Would you pay full price to see part of the original band and some replacements? Guest: Lana Pavlovic, Evening Host at 95.3 Fresh Radio

Wilfrid Laurier University has been the centre as a result of how they decided to go about disciplining a teaching assistant that showed a debate video of the very controversial Jordan Peterson during class. They published an official apology to Lindsay Shepherd, the teaching assistant, but it wasn't really an apology. The staff that committed such an aggressive and unfair interrogation of Lindsay Shepherd aren't being disciplined themselves! What do you think of Laurier's apology? - The Vanier Cup is coming to Hamilton to cap off Canada's universities' 2017 football season. The Western Mustangs will be playing against the Laval Rouge et Or at Tim Horton's Field here in Hamilton but one question remains, who will win? Is it going to be the Western Mustangs, a team that has gone to the Vanier Cup more times than any other Canadian university, or the Laval Rouge et Or, the defending Vanier Cup champions? Guest: Stefan Ptaszek, Former Head Coach of the McMaster Marauders - You've probably heard that the people of Zimbabwe are celebrating and you probably don't know why but that's alright. Scott wants to help get you up to speed with what has happened and what is happening now. To do this, he brought on Dr. Richard Saunders to shed some light on the situation in Zimbabwe. Guest: Dr. Richard Saunders, Professor of Political Science at York University

As they do every Monday, Scott and Don Robertson of the Dundas Real McCoys sit down to chat about the latest news from the world of sports, including an awful coaching decision that cost the Edmonton Eskimos a chance at the Grey Cup, Acadia's humiliating 81-3 loss to the Western Mustangs in the Uteck Bowl, and more. - Hamilton's municipal election is less than a year away and political "silly season" has kicked off. What exactly is "silly season"? Guest: Brad Clark, former MPP and Hamilton city councillor, former mayoral candidate, current principal at Maple Leaf Strategies