Brian Crombie Radio Hour

NEWSTALK Sauga 960 AM

A high-profile businessman and political strategist, Brian Crombie brings his straightforward and highly informed perspective to his new show – The Brian Crombie Hour on Sauga 960AM Tuesdays and Thursday evenings at 7 pm. His vast experience working on Federal, Provincial, and Local politics and at the high levels of the business world, Brian gives us a glimpse inside the political war rooms and behind the boardroom doors. A man constantly on the move, Brian easily navigates between issues here in Canada and abroad. While politics and business dominate his time, Brian also explores his other great interest, The Arts. Whether it's politics, business, or the Arts, there will be no shortage of guests for his weekly roundtable. Politics of the day, emerging businesses, Economic issues, or the hottest trends in the Arts- they will be all under Brian’s microscope to get his own political opinions and thoughts. Every hour will end with a robust round table debate with an incredible array of guests from all across the political, business, and arts spectrum.

  1. 6d ago

    Brian Crombie Radio Hour - Epi 1720 - Choices, Consequences & The Way Back: Gun Violence, Addiction and Redemption

    What happens when fear keeps people silent? And when someone’s life goes off course, what does it really take to find a way back?On this episode of The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian brings together two very different conversations connected by questions of choice, consequence, community, recovery and redemption.Canadian writer and producer Lynne Stoltz discusses Sons 2 the Grave, her film exploring gun violence, community and the difficult choices confronting young people growing up around violence. At the centre of the story is Marcus Jennings, an 18-year-old basketball phenom whose murder leaves friends struggling with what they know—and what they fear could happen if they speak.The conversation explores the code of silence, the importance of sports, mentors, jobs and community programs, and whether preventing violence requires giving young people meaningful alternatives before they make life-changing decisions. Lynne also discusses her developing project, Sons 2 the Grave: Chasing Redemption, examining life after incarceration and what genuine redemption requires.Then broadcaster, writer and therapist David Berner joins Brian to discuss nearly six decades of experience with addiction and residential treatment. Drawing on his work helping establish X-Kalay, David argues that recovery requires more than removing drugs or alcohol. People also need housing, meaningful work, relationships, purpose, dignity and a place in their community.Brian and David explore addiction, harm reduction, abstinence, personal agency and what it means to help someone build a life worth returning to.Two very different stories lead to one fundamental question:When a life starts going in the wrong direction, what helps someone find the way back?

  2. Oct 1

    Brian Crombie Radio Hour - Epi 1719 - Are You Functioning — or Flourishing? Rethinking Mental Health with Renato Discenza

    You go to work, pay the bills and meet your responsibilities. From the outside, everything looks fine. But are you actually flourishing—or have you simply become very good at functioning?Brian Crombie is joined by Renato Discenza, qualifying registered psychotherapist and founder of Discern Counselling, for a conversation about mental health, relationships, loneliness, purpose and why people don't have to wait for a crisis before asking for help.After decades in business, executive leadership and healthcare—including serving as CEO of Invest Toronto—Renato returned to university later in life to study counselling psychology. His experiences volunteering on crisis lines during COVID reinforced a simple lesson: sometimes what people need most is someone willing to listen.Brian and Renato explore why people routinely take preventative care of their physical health but often approach mental health only when something has gone seriously wrong. They also examine the other side of growing mental-health awareness: the importance of distinguishing mental illness from ordinary but difficult human experiences such as sadness, grief, worry, disappointment and heartbreak.The conversation turns to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), social media, loneliness, relationships and the difference between having hundreds of digital connections and having someone you can actually call at 2 a.m.At the heart of the episode is Renato's distinction between functioning and flourishing. A person can have a successful career, financial security and a family while privately feeling anxious, lonely or without direction.Flourishing requires deeper questions: Are you living according to your values? Are your relationships meaningful? Does your life have purpose? And do you actually like the life you've built?Brian and Renato also explore meaning, faith, spirituality and navigating major life transitions—including Renato's own decision to leave one successful chapter behind and begin another.Because therapy isn't always about fixing something that's broken.Sometimes it's about understanding yourself well enough to decide what you want the next chapter to become.

  3. Sep 30

    Brian Crombie Radio Hour - Epi 1718 - When Does 1 + 1 Actually Equal 3? The Real Challenge of Making Mergers Work with Amanda David & Mark B

    When do two companies become more valuable together than they were apart?Brian Crombie is joined by Amanda David, a technology and transformation executive specializing in digital transformation, enterprise systems and post-merger integration, and Mark Borkowski, President of Mercantile M&A, for a practical discussion about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic partnerships.They explore the fundamental choice facing companies looking for growth: build it, buy it or partner for it? Amanda argues that businesses too often begin by choosing a transaction structure before clearly identifying the problem they are trying to solve. Mark examines the economics, governance, control and compatibility issues that can determine whether a deal ultimately succeeds.The conversation then turns to what happens after the agreement is signed. From integrating people, cultures and customers to combining technology, ERP systems, reporting structures and decision-making, closing a transaction doesn't create the promised value—integration does.Brian also reflects on his experience with the Molson and Carling O'Keefe combination and why complementarity, rather than simply cost cutting, can be the real source of the elusive 1 + 1 = 3.Plus, Brian addresses the recent discussion surrounding his interview with Mississauga Mayor and mayoral candidate Carolyn Parrish. He clarifies that the original interview was independently produced editorial content: Parrish and her campaign did not commission the interview, script or approve his questions, or exercise editorial control. After the interview originally aired, Parrish requested permission to rebroadcast it, which Brian granted as he does when guests wish to share or rebroadcast their interviews. Her campaign subsequently purchased airtime on another radio station to air the interview, and Brian states that he received no payment.From editorial independence to corporate partnerships, the episode ultimately examines the importance of clearly defining relationships, responsibilities and expectations.Because signing a deal is the easy part.The real test is what happens the morning after—and whether 1 + 1 really does equal 3.

  4. Sep 25

    Brian Crombie Radio Hour - Epi 1715 - River of Dreams: Women, Mental Health & the Power of Being Heard with Robin Blackburn McBride

    What if some of the people once labelled “insane” were actually people society simply refused to hear?On The Brian Crombie Hour, Brian is joined by Canadian novelist, poet and teacher Robin Blackburn McBride to discuss her new historical novel, River of Dreams—a story exploring women, mental health, intuition, family secrets and the consequences of having one's experiences dismissed.Set partly inside a psychiatric hospital in the 1920s, the novel follows Avery Conlon, a nurse with an unusual ability to perceive things others cannot. As Avery encounters women whose experiences of grief, trauma and loss have gone unheard, she quietly tries to help them—while knowing that revealing her own extraordinary perceptions could cause others to question her sanity.Robin also shares the deeply personal family history that helped inspire the novel: her great-grandmother spent decades institutionalized at the Protestant Hospital for the Insane in Montreal.The conversation expands beyond the novel to explore intuition, dreams and other ways of knowing. Is intuition simply the brain processing information beneath conscious awareness, or are there aspects of human perception that remain difficult to explain?Brian and Robin also discuss motherhood, women's voices, historical power structures and what can happen when people are finally given the opportunity to tell their own stories.Because sometimes the first step toward helping someone isn't diagnosing them.It's listening to them.

About

A high-profile businessman and political strategist, Brian Crombie brings his straightforward and highly informed perspective to his new show – The Brian Crombie Hour on Sauga 960AM Tuesdays and Thursday evenings at 7 pm. His vast experience working on Federal, Provincial, and Local politics and at the high levels of the business world, Brian gives us a glimpse inside the political war rooms and behind the boardroom doors. A man constantly on the move, Brian easily navigates between issues here in Canada and abroad. While politics and business dominate his time, Brian also explores his other great interest, The Arts. Whether it's politics, business, or the Arts, there will be no shortage of guests for his weekly roundtable. Politics of the day, emerging businesses, Economic issues, or the hottest trends in the Arts- they will be all under Brian’s microscope to get his own political opinions and thoughts. Every hour will end with a robust round table debate with an incredible array of guests from all across the political, business, and arts spectrum.

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