The 519 Podcast

Episode 13: Ghost Town part 1, Texas Road

There is no shortage of ghost stories and tales of haunted houses across Southwestern Ontario. In part one of our series, 'Ghost Town,' we look at the infamous Texas Road in Amherstburg, scene of countless paranormal incidents. 

Episode 12: Vaccine vacancy

There have been few debates in recent memory that have split people along partisan lines more than the debate over why Canada and Ontario haven't vaccinated more of their citizens. 

So where does the fault lie?

Is it at the feet of Prime Minister Trudeau for not getting enough vaccines quick enough, or is it at the feet of Premier Ford for the way vaccines have been distributed. 

Like most things, the answer is more complicated. 

So, host Craig Needles decided to speak to a couple of people with different perspectives: London North Centre Liberal Peter Fragiskatos and Professor Amir Attaran, a frequent critic of both the federal and provincial response to the pandemic. 

Episode 11: A 4/20 look at retail marijuana

We're now into the third year of marijuana legalization in Canada. And while the easy access to pot has been great for consumers, has the legal marijuana market been a boon for all who have opened pot shops?

In this episode of the Blackburn News Podcast, host Craig Needles speaks with marijuana retail store owners about what has worked and what barriers to success are still in place for pot shop proprietors. 

Episode 10: #StopAsianHate

Since that start of the pandemic, many Canadians of Asian descent have reported being the victims of racism. They've had to hear some people refer to COVID-19 as the "China Virus" or the "Kung Flu," while some have even been accosted on our streets. 

But as host Hayley Cheng examines in Episode 10 of the Blackburn News Podcast, anti-Asian racism has always been a part of Canadian life. 

Episode 9: Trafficking 401 part 3

The old saying is that it is the world's oldest profession. 
 
But most women's advocates will tell you, it's not a profession at all.  
It's something that many women are forced into either by pimps and traffickers, or by circumstances that are often beyond their control. Things like extreme poverty, addiction, or mental health issues. 
 
Whatever the reason a woman ends up in the sex trade, there is one truth that stands above all others. 
 
Sex trafficking is driven by one thing. 
 
Demand. 
 
The demand from men to be able to buy sexual services for money. 
 
That's the focus of the third and final episode in our series Trafficking 401, hosted by Craig Needles. 

Episode 8: Trafficking 401 part 2

It's often said that no young girl dreams of growing up to work in the sex trade. It's certainly not something any parent would want their child to do when they get older. 
But sadly, scores of young women in this country are lured into it. And once they get in, it is very hard to get out. 
One of those women is "Natalie." In part two of our series, Trafficking 401, host Craig Needles speaks with "Natalie" about her experiences being sex trafficked. 

Episode 7: Trafficking 401 part 1

It is an undeniable part of our region's reality. Sex trafficking is happening here, and it's far worse than most people probably think. Young women, controlled by pimps, are being trafficking along the 401/402 corridor and forced to sell their bodies to men in hotel rooms in Windsor, London, Sarnia, and elsewhere.  
On this episode of the Blackburn News Podcast, we present the first part of a three-part series of sex trafficking in southwestern Ontario, called Trafficking 401. 
In later parts, we'll hear from survivors of sex trafficking and a woman who runs a so-called "John School" for men who've been busted in prostitution stings. 
In this first episode, host Craig Needles talked to police and the head of the London Abused Womens Centre about why this region seems to be such a magnet for traffickers. 

Episode 6: the Tilbury fighting pitbulls

Five years after police broke up a dog fighting ring in Tilbury, Ontario, we check in on where some of the seized dogs are now and how they were rehabilitated to the point where they could be adopted. This episode of the Blackburn News Podcast is hosted by Hayley Cheng. 

Episode 5: diversity in politics

In November of 2015, when asked why his cabinet was 50% female, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "Because it's 2015." A little over five years later, why are those in the halls of power still overwhelmingly male and white? Host Craig Needles examines that question with former London city councillor Cheryl Miller, Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky, and political insider Shobhita Sharma. 

Episode 4:#buttergate: why is your butter harder than it used to be?

Have you noticed your butter isn't as soft as it used to be, even at room temperature? In Episode 4, host Craig Needles takes a look at #buttergate with Sylvain Charlesbois of Dalhousie University and Daniel Lefebvre, Chief Operating Officer of Lactanet.