The Craig Needles Podcast

With some big planning applications in front of London city council in the next few weeks, there's questions about how people in the city will get around. Do we have the transit infrastructure in west London to build large residential complexes on Wonderland Road? Councillor Sam Trosow joins Craig to share his thoughts. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Amid some media sniping between London City Hall and the London Public Library, Craig chats with chief librarian Michael Ciccone about the issues between the two sides. What's going on with Sunday hours? Will library branches have to close? Is there enough cash to fix leaking ceilings and other issues? They tackle all those questions and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

It's the first ever Friday Round Table from the Covent Garden Market studio! Craig welcomes London budget chair Elizabeth Peloza, political insider Scott Collyer and former city councillor John Fyfe-Millar to the new recording space to talk about the issues of the week including questions about transit in west London, exactly how high London buildings should be and what could or should be done about the money being paid to suspended police officers. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by the Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

Ahead of The Forest City London Music Awards, founder and chair Mario Circelli joins Craig on the podcast. They talk about the awards, London's music culture and what we as a city could be doing better to grow that culture. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig welcomes London city councillor Steve Lehman, disability advocate Dr. Jeff Preston and former Green Party candidate Carol Dyck to the studio to breakdown the issues of the week. The panel discusses a potential homeless hub location on Wellington Road, the London Public Library's funding, Doug Ford's desire to see 100% of medical school spots in the province go to Ontario students and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by the Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

London North Centre Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos chats with Craig in the studio about the increase in carbon pricing on April 1st. Was this the right time to increase a tax as Canadians are dealing with an affordability crisis? They also discuss the federal government's $1-billion announcement on funding school lunches and whether that should be provincial jurisdiction. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

London city councillors are about to order a performance audit of the London Transit Commission. Routes, systems, executive performance and more will all be under the microscope. How's that going over at the commission? Commission chair Stephanie Marentette joins Craig for an honest discussion about whether the system is good enough (it isn't), what the big problem is (underfunding) and whether the LTC is ready to implement bus rapid transit (probably not). The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by the Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

On a special Saturday edition of the podcast, Ontario Liberal Party leader bonnie Crombie joins Craig in the studio. They discuss the upcoming Lambton-Kent-Middlesex by-election, Doug Ford's anti-fourplex takes, the housing crisis, Ontario Works and ODSP rates and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by the Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined in the studio by Y.O.U. Executive Director Steve Cordes, political insider Sarah Browning and PhD candidate A.J. Wray to breakdown the biggest stories of the week. They start with Doug Ford's comments on fourplexes in Ontario and how it may run counter to federal Conservative messaging. Then, they look at the proposed re-brand at the Thames Valley District School Board and what that says about the board's priorities and the proposed London Transit audit and what may come from it. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

The US is a step closer to banning TikTok. What will that mean in Canada? And for people who make their living on that site? And is TikTok really any worse than apps like Facebook, Instagram or YouTube? Craig welcomes Dr. Anabel Quan-Haase, from the Faculty of Media and Information Studies at Western, to the podcast to breakdown those questions and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

On this week's Friday Round Table, the Craig is joined by London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, Elgin-Middlesex United Way CEO Kelly Ziegner and London Home Builder's Association CEO Jared Zaifman to tackle the top stories of the week. The discuss whether building is happening fast enough in London, the province not giving the city housing funding, the potential sale of the LCBO and traffic safety in London. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Economist Mike Moffatt joins Craig to talk about the new report from the Task Force for Housing and Climate, called the Blueprint for Better and More Housing. Canada needs homes. And we need them fast. How do we get them? Mike goes over recommendations for federal, provincial, and municipal governments. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined by London Abused Women's Centre Executive Director Jennifer Dunn, ANOVA Executive Director Jessie Rodger and political insider Ryan Gauss. They talk about whether encampments are part of the "fabric" of London - as a city staffer said this week. Also, increased CCTV in the downtown core and whether a lopsided by-election loss in Durham is a sign of bad things to some for the Trudeau Liberals.

The Craig Needles Podcast and Classic Rock 98.1 have a new home! The new, extra studio is at the Covent Garden Market, in the heart of London's entertainment district. Market GM Amy Shackleton and John Fyfe-Millar, the market's board chair, joined Craig on the podcast to discuss the new partnership and the exciting days ahead. Then, Brian Lynch, a patient at the London Health Sciences Centre, joins Craig to talk about his male breast cancer diagnosis and the stigma surrounding that illness. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London.

The hot debate surrounding the city's budget is the big topic on this week's Friday Round Table. Craig is joined in the studio by London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, activist Mojdeh Cox and former Green party candidate Carol Dyck to break it all down. The group also discusses budget problems at the Thames Valley District School Board and Brian Mulroney's legacy. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

As debate over London's policing budget intensifies and council gets set to make a decision, London Police Chief Thai Truong and London Police Services Board chair Ali Chahbar join Craig in the studio to discuss the sticker shock felt by some in the community over the $672-million price tag. What will be the markers to show this sort of expenditure is successful? Do we really need a new training centre? Or a new LAV? Those questions and more in a wide-ranging conversation. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by the Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined in the studio by former city councillor Cheryl Miller, former council candidate Jeremy McCall and Blackburn Media News Manager Scott Kitching. They discuss the man who killed four members of Our London Family being found to be a terrorist, the final week of a tumultuous London budget process, and have a conversation about council debate surrounding graphic anti-abortion posters in London. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

On this week's Friday Round Table, Craig is joined on the panel by former Thames Centre Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliott, and political insiders Ryan Gauss and Nathan Caranci. They discuss the city's budget Hunger Games (Craig's words) and whether having agencies openly lobby council is a good thing. Then they look at the upcoming by-election in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex and whether it will tell us much about where Ontario voters are at ahead of the 2026 election. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

J Stevens is the new morning show host on Classic Rock 98.1! J and Rubino launches this week, and J sat down with Craig to talk about his new role, the state of the radio industry and how local radio still matters. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

Craig is joined by a panel of PhD candidate A.J. Wray, political insider Scott Collyer and former federal NDP candidate Shawna Lewkowitz. They talked about London's budget priorities - from police, to transit, to libraries - as well as the future of media after the news of another round of massive layoffs at Bell. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.