NOW and NEXT
Welcome In! This is NOW & NEXT. Story Studio Network's Chief Executive Producer Dave Trafford pokes holes, pokes fun and provokes the "second thing that comes to mind" on the big stories of the week. His regular contributors include a bi-weekly visit by the Now and Next C.A.S.T (Comms and Strategy Team!) Lindsay Broadhead brings her comms experience and insights base on her time leading teams at the Toronto Region Board of Trade and, most recently, the Chief Communications Officer at the City of Toronto. Bob Reid applies his earned experience as a major market journalist and a Senior Advisor to the Premier of Ontario to his analysis of the communications "Touchdowns and Fumbles". Anne Marie Aikins is a "media relations maven", a sought after pundit and speaker, and a strategic comms adviser specializing in public transit in Ontario.
Episodes
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests: Anne-Marie Aikins (AMA Communications), Bob Reid (Broadway Strategy), Lindsay Broadhead (Broadhead Communications)
In the final episode before a summer break, host Dave Trafford and the NOW AND NEXT C.A.S.T., (Comms And Strategy Team), tackle growing concerns over Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s leadership. The panel digs into the controversy around pool closures during a major heat...
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests: Anne-Marie Aikins (AMA Communications), Lindsay Broadhead (Broadhead Communications), Bob Reid (Broadway Strategy)
Summary:
In this episode of Now and Next, host Dave Trafford is joined by our C.A.S.T. (Comms And Strategy Team) Anne-Marie Aikins, Lindsay Broadhead, and Bob Reid for a dynamic conversation that begins with a reflection on the 30th anniversary of Ontario’s Common Sen...
Host: Dave Trafford
Guest: Scott Clancy, Retired Major General, RCAF
Episode Summary:
This episode of Now and Next dives deep into the national security implications of King Charles’s historic throne speech, which outlined the Carney government’s legislative agenda. Retired Major General Scott Clancy returns to evaluate whether Canada is finally ready to meet the moment on defense and sovereignty—particularl...
**Host:** Dave Trafford
**Guests:** Lindsay Broadhead (Broadhead Communications), Bob Reid (Broadway Strategies), Anne Marie Aikins (AMA Communications)
In this wide-ranging roundtable episode, the Now and Next team dives into a pivotal moment in Canadian politics and public leadership. With Mark Carney’s first throne speech and question period as Prime Minister, the panel reflects on a noticeable shift i...
Now and Next (May 14, 2025)
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests:Anne-Marie Aikens (AMA Communications), Bob Reid (Broadway Strategy)
As the long May weekend approaches, Dave Trafford returns with the Now and Next Comms And Strategy Team (C.A.S.T.) roundtable.
The conversation begins wit the posthumous reinstatement of Pete Rose into MLB Hall of Fame consideration; a Florida Panthers executive’s inflammatory Twitter spat, and Canada’s growing b...
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests: Lindsay Broadhead, Anne-Marie Aikins, Bob Reid
As the federal election dust settles, Dave Trafford is joined by the NOW and NEXT C.A.S.T (Comms And Strategy Team) to dissect the results, implications, and missed opportunities across Canada’s political landscape.
The panel delves into voter behavior shifts, the polarization amplified by social media, and the changing allegiances o...
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests:
- Anne-Marie Aikins (AMA Communications)
- Bob Reid (Broadview Strategy)
- Lindsay Broadhead (Broadhead Communications)
Guests: Lindsay Broadhead, Bob Reid, Anne-Marie Aikins
Episode Summary:
On this special Liberation Day edition of Politically Speaking, Dave Trafford convenes his regular comms and strategy roundtable—Lindsay Broadhead, Bob Reid, and Anne-Marie Aikins—to dissect Canada's precarious position in the wake of mounting trade tensions and looming U.S. tariffs.
Against the backdrop of misinformation, political spin, and in...
We're three days into the federal election campaign in Canada and the latest polling aggregators have seat modelling suggesting Mark Carney's Liberals are in a position to win a strong majority.
But hey! It's early yet.
One thing we do know is it's shaping up to be a very close race between the Liberals and the Conservatives.
Veteran pollster John Wright joins Dave Trafford to take the pulse...
John Wright and Dave Trafford break down the election call in Canada.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has set April 28, 2025 as Election Day in Canada.
AND...Donald Trump and his trade tariffs are THE BALLOT QUESTION.
Who can handle Trump?
Who can manage the cultural and economic angst of Canadians?
It's THE C.A.S.T. - our Comms and Strategy Team: Lindsay Broadhead, Bob Reid, and Anne Marie Aikins.
"Elbows Up!" isn't just a cute slogan, it's a posture Canadians are assuming on a number of levels knowing tough times are coming thanks to the stupid antics of the useful idiot and his White House minions.
Also, Olivia Chow rings the right bell banning US companies from doing business with the City of Toront...
Sitting in on the Roundtable with Paven Bratch, Rowena Santos and host John Moore.
Lots of Trump and tariff talk:
- Trump says he respects Doug Ford as the premier heads to Washington DC (copy below)
https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/donald-trump-calls-doug-ford-a-very-strong-man-as-premier-continues-u-s-media/article_615de6ce-fe73-11ef-9f9f-a7c549...
He set a new tone for the party while setting his sights on CPC Leader Pierre Polievre in anticipation of a soon-to-be-called federal election and he set the stage for the coming trade war with Donald Trump's America.
Jo...
So we explore it against the backdrop of the Trump tariffs, Pierre Poilievre's commitment to beefing up our defence in the Far North, and the seriousness of the Annexation rhetoric.
Scott Clancy is a retired Major General, having served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He finished his military career as Directo...
Christie passed away five years ago on Feb. 12, 2020.
This episode of the pod features an Edward R. Murrow award winning radio documentary called Embedded in Kandahar. It was based on Christie's Governor General award winning book "Fifteen Days" and produced for Newstalk 1010 CFRB i...
We've lined up the Traveling Wilburys SUPER GROUP of political commentators in Ontario to dissect, discuss, analyze and scrutinize this provincial campaign.
In this DAILY edition of On the Ledge - your Ontario Politics Podcast:
• We expect Doug Ford to run a front runner’s campa...
The NEXT NORMAL, with David Hardy Lisa Taylor, CCDP and Ujwal Arkalgud, is the first podcast series produced under the Story Studio Network banner. It launched in 2021.
It explored the foundational shifts in culture, in politics, education, healthcare, and economics - all forced upon us by the COVID 19 pandemic.
The immediate effects of the pandemic may be in the rearview mirror but the r...
Our C.A.S.T (Comms and Strategy Team), featuring Anne Marie Aikins, Bob Reid, Lindsay Broadhead and Brad Ross, dives into a range of pressing issues.
The discussion covers he political turbulence and leadership challenges in Ottawa and Washington, budget concerns at Toronto City Hall, and effective crisis communication in the face of the Los Angele...
Nobody saw it coming. But the Prime Minister should have expected it - considering he FIRED Freeland from Finance mere days before she was expected to table the Fall Economic Statement.
The strangest thing in a weird political week us Trudeau wanted Freelan...
Our Comms and Strategy Team (C.A.S.T.) presented this edition of the podcast LIVE at the Public Affairs Association of Canada conference in Toronto. It was held in November at the waterfront campus of George Brown College.
We riffed on the emergence of podcasting a powerful weapon in the comms and stategy arsenal for brands and organizations in a day and age when "earned media" is increasingly more difficul...
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