Not even Spotify’s ‘new and improved’ analytics could stop us from the annual half-year in review listing the top episodes. Episode 27 tells you the trends revealed by the choices of our listeners!

Part 1- A brief of Marty’s travels meeting families and fans around Southern Manitoba hosting the cards of Canadian Wrestling’s Elite – on Canada Day in West St. Paul, stormy skies threatened but stayed away from the ring until right after the show.

Then, the emerging importance of our last podcast about potential Arlington Bridge liability costs. The unusual way the demolition process has unfolded, and City rules that seem to prevent whistleblowers like Terry Wachniak from sounding an on-the-record alarm, has amplified the concerns of many voters that City Hall is failing basic accountability expectations despite “following the rules” – an example of a self-inflicted election issue by the Mayor and Councillors.

15.30 Part 2- A rundown of the most streamed and downloaded episodes for each month of 2026 thus far.

Leading the pack in 2026 so far was January’s winner, ⁠Springfield Councillor Mark Miller Explains RM Split From WMR⁠

““It wasn’t misinformation – you were providing accurate information… they did not consult. I’m thankful you were on top of this from Day One… I will not vote for anything that allows the City of Winnipeg to have veto power.”

That exclusive interview demonstrated how ahead of the curve we have been on the entire subject of regional planning and the collapse of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region. While CRTC-approved newsrooms ignored the story, we continued to dig in, and tracked the decaying orbit of the group since the uproar about the since-shelved Plan20-50.

Now that it has shrunk to only eight member municipalities from 18 – which likely increased the burden on Winnipeg taxpayers – and continues to be unable to hold proper public information sessions, the justification for the  City holding a WMR membership without holding a council vote to do so will inevitably emerge as another accountability issue before October.

The leading episode for February stands at second overall in the 2026 rankings, “You Can’t Even Go Shopping Without Fearing For Your Life”:

“Crime is running rampant in our city,” wrote West End business owner Michael Paille. “We should not have to put our staff through self-defense courses just to work in retail… Where is it safe? The city feels more like Gotham every day.“

That feeling has spread to even more neighborhoods since the snow has melted.

Listeners will hear about the other four monthly leaders and an assessment of those topics- police chief Gene Bowers and his handling of public safety and homeless encampments; the impact of a Safe Consumption site on public safety turning Councillor Vivian Santos against locating the SCS in North Logan; and an interview with an early challenger to a sitting member of Mayor Gillingham’s Executive Policy Committee.

All our most listened-to episodes thus far have previewed key and serious subjects that will be top-of-mind for voters on October 28th.

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SPECIAL SPORTS NOTE — “Dr. Marty Goldstein” will be setting aside his microphone and lacing up his wrestling boots in a late-career challenge for the Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight wrestling championship on Friday July 10 at the Rookie’s Sports Bar in Transcona. Champion Bryce Bentley is staking his belt against Marty lasting for a special 5 minute time limit. The Boys of Summer event starts at 7.30 PM.

The following week on Saturday night July 18, Marty intends to carry the championship belt into a CWE tag team attraction match at the Ukrainian Labour Temple pitting Bentley and his mouthpiece Kelly Russell against Marty and popular young star, Josh ‘Cheeks’ Holliday.

The CWE Cruel Summer spectacular has high-energy action in store right from the opening bell and is an unmatched entertainment value in Winnipeg.

If you are interested in getting tickets for either of those cards and seeing it for yourself, please email martygoldlive@gmail.com

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