Closer Look - Insightful, credible, unfiltered conversations that matter
In cities and towns across Ontario — and at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill — our journalists work for you. Their mission is to dig for answers and tell you what they find. This new podcast from Village Media — ‘Closer Look’ — is all about the stories we tell. Every weeknight, hosts Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith go beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.
- Update frequency
- every 8 days
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 139
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Hurry! Don’t miss our interview with ‘rock star’ curler Jennifer Jones
Tonight on Village Media's 'Closer Look' podcast: One of the greatest curlers of all time stops by our house for a sweeping conversation about her legendary career and new autobiography…
Chronic concern: This Ontario town smells like pot all the time
Tonight on our new 'Closer Look' podcast: After multiple legal challenges, years of complaints and thousands in fines, the Town of Pelham is still grappling with the stench from local c…
Homeless encampment becomes a ‘heinous’ crime scene
Tonight on Village Media's 'Closer Look' podcast: Barrie Police have charged a man with murdering and dismembering two people following an investigation inside a controversial homeless …
Who should take the heat for sweltering classrooms?
Tonight on Village Media's new daily podcast: Amid a summer heat wave, parents are calling on the province to create new regulations to deal with scorching temperatures in daycares and …
CLOSER LOOK: Let’s talk about Doug Ford’s tunnel vision
Tonight on Village Media's new daily podcast: We dig a little deeper into Premier Ford's big idea to construct a massive, congestion-easing tunnel underneath Highway 401 in Toronto.
For …
CLOSER LOOK: What happens when your mayor is under OPP investigation?
It's not everyday that the OPP launches an investigation targeting an Ontario mayor. But that's exactly what happened this week in North Bay, where Mayor Peter Chirico has been dogged b…
‘I’m not going anywhere’: Bonnie Crombie tells us why she should keep her job
Tonight on Village Media's new daily podcast: Ontario's Liberal leader concedes that 'mistakes were made' during the last election, but she has every intention of steering her party int…
Steve Paikin has a new agenda keeping him busy
Tonight on 'Closer Look': One of Canada's most recognized and respected journalists talks to us about his beloved Red Sox, his new podcast, and why he's excited to once again team up wi…
We learned some things about the chief fundraiser for Doug Ford’s PC party
Tonight on Village Media's new daily podcast: What our Queen's Park team at The Trillium discovered about the chair of the PC Ontario Fund — and how Premier Ford reacted to the investig…
Car thefts are suddenly way down across Ontario
Tonight on Village Media's new 'Closer Look' podcast: One month after masked men tried to steal a vehicle out of Doug Ford's driveway, a new report finds a major decline in reported aut…
Lots of worry kicking around about World Cup we're hosting with U.S.
Remember back in 2018, when the United States, Canada and Mexico celebrated their successful bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup?
Now that the big event is less than a year away — and U.S.…
Major project? Maybe it’s time to finally fix Ontario’s northern highways
Donald Trump’s tariffs have triggered a lot of talk on this side of the border about building big — and the race is now on to kick-start major infrastructure projects aimed at strengthe…
CLOSER LOOK: How scammers are using AI to rip you off
Back in June, police in Barrie issued what has become an all-too-common warning: beware of fraudsters.
But this particular story was especially shocking. A local senior had fallen victim…
Nate Erskine-Smith tells us why Bonnie Crombie needs to go
Bonnie Crombie is set to face a leadership review at the Ontario Liberal Party’s annual general meeting in September — and one former rival has some well-publicized thoughts about what …
CLOSER LOOK: Is Canadian fentanyl really ‘pouring’ over the U.S. border?
As trade negotiations drag on, U.S. President Donald Trump continues to insist that tariffs are justified because Canada isn’t doing enough to stop fentanyl from “pouring” over the bord…
Trump looms large as Ford hosts fellow premiers in cottage country
Canada’s premiers are gathered in cottage country this week for a series of meetings that all revolve around the same man: U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, chair o…
Canada’s steel industry is fighting for its life
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced new measures this week to help support Canada’s struggling steel industry, which has been battered in recent months by Donald Trump’s trade war.
The …
In a perfect world, every kid would go to summer camp
For Erin Sharpe, summer camp turned out to be a defining moment in her life. The weeks she spent as a teenager at YMCA's Camp Wanakita taught her real-life lessons about teamwork, resil…
Decades later, Terry Fox’s brother finishes his own cross-country journey
Darrell Fox was only 17 years old when he accompanied his older brother, Terry, on what would become the most famous run in Canadian history.
Last week — 45 years after Terry Fox was for…
The pandemic is long over — get back to the office
In cities and towns across Ontario — and at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill — our journalists work for you. Their mission is to dig for answers and tell you what they find.
This new dai…