Today we are bringing you a great episode from our friends at Canada’s National Observer. Canada’s National Observer teamed up with DeSmog, an online investigative that describes itself as an antidote to science denial and misinformation, on The Takeover project. This project was produced in collaboration with I-SEA and the Trace Foundation. We went to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London, a right-wing networking event organized by former U of T professor Jordan Peterson...
Jul 01, 2025•52 min•Ep. 1185
Do you know your hammer from your hanger? From the Netherlands to Japan competitors from around the world share one dream. To make it to the world championship of Canada’s greatest game. So for one day each year they travel thousands of miles to Tavistock, a small town in southern Ontario, to play the game the author of Anne of Green Gables loathed, the game so many of the rest of us love. They come to battle over the board, to play Crokinole. Our reporter, James Nicholson, calls it the Coachell...
Jun 30, 2025•43 min•Ep. 1184
Why not all opinion pieces are created equally. A decade ago the National Post had an all-star roster of opinion columnists, but now they publish more advocates than ever. Stephen Marche joins to dig into the current state of opinion writing. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Stephen Marche Further read...
Jun 27, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1183
“ When talking about immigration, you shouldn't use the word sweep because it implies that immigrants are something undesirable to be swept away. Notably, they don't say the same thing about homeless people.” -Alex Skopic Protestor or Protester? Anti-Vaxxer or vaccine hesitant? Riot or Uprising? Every word in the news carries weight, and every choice behind those words shapes how we see the world. Style guides dictate not just grammar and spelling, but power, perspective, and politics. The Assoc...
Jun 26, 2025•7 min•Ep. 3
Carney gets a pass in the “No Kings” moment. A flurry of omnibus bills include significant government overreach, but the Canadian coverage is reluctant to call out Carney. Should we be outraged or is this really in the best interest of Canadians? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Stephen Marche Further ...
Jun 25, 2025•27 min•Ep. 1182
Mark Carney promised one Canadian economy . Now, his signature bill is one step closer to law as Bill C-5 rocketed through parliament with some amendments. The changes haven't quelled concerns from Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who broke ranks in the final vote. Host Noor sits down with MP Erskine-Smith to talk about why he voted no, and what he really thinks of Carney’s CEO-style politics. And, you’ll hear concerns from the Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak about...
Jun 24, 2025•31 min•Ep. 1181
There’s a secret club in Canada. And trust me, you don’t want to be a member. If you’re in this club, your first response when you hear news about bombs and death and carnage in the Middle East is not to hop onto Twitter or Facebook to post your political opinion about it. Your first response is to make a long-distance phone call to try to find out if your family and friends over there are still alive. Lebanese Canadians are in this club, Palestinian Canadians are in this club, Jewish Canadians ...
Jun 23, 2025•40 min•Ep. 1180
Rescinding an almost 50-year-old coal mining moratorium to get out of lawsuits, Greenbelt FOI code words, mayoral power-fuelled bike lane challenges…the latest transparency breaches from provincial and municipal governments across Canada are almost too numerous to count. Does democracy mean nothing in this country? Host: San Grewal Credits: Jess Schmidt (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Direc...
Jun 20, 2025•27 min•Ep. 1179
From chatting about pancake toppings, to kissing boys, to fixing America’s public schools, kids are turning to podcasts to say what’s on their minds. But is that a good thing? Child podcasting is exploding, but children in entertainment is fraught with complexities. Are they being controlled by exploitative parents, production companies or shadowy forces? This week, the team dives deep into the world of tweens cosplaying adults on mic. Host: Sam Konnert Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Producer), T...
Jun 19, 2025•5 min•Ep. 2
Remember when you were a little kid and the first 100 days of school was a huge landmark? Well, yesterday Carney celebrated that milestone in his Liberal party leadership — but instead of learning the alphabet and how to get along with his classmates, he cancelled the carbon tax, tried to rush two problematic bills through parliament, and reinvited the already uninvited Modi to G7. Where are this guy’s Value(s) headed? Host: San Grewal Credits: Jess Schmidt (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate...
Jun 18, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1178
Canada is hosting the G-7 in Alberta, one of the most consequential meetings yet. Is this Carney’s moment to become a world leader, reorient our economy, and possibly the world order? With the predictably unpredictable Trump, growing regional wars, rampaging wildfires, and some controversial invitations, there’s a lot of room for error. Could Carney play the role of global power broker? And the latest on Pierre Poilievre’s one-on-one phone calls, our rekindling relationship with India, and anoth...
Jun 17, 2025•35 min•Ep. 1177
A couple silver foxes from the Mink Mile took Jesse Brown for a ride. They said their names were Walter and Beverly. The Mink Mile, for those of you who aren’t from Toronto or don’t regularly drop three figures for socks, is a strip of upscale boutiques in the city’s downtown. Anyway, the characters claiming to be Walter and Beverly offered to sell Mr. Brown an elegant cardigan. But that’s not what he got. Credits: Host Jesse Brown Caleb Thompson (Post Production), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer...
Jun 16, 2025•40 min•Ep. 1176
A flock of BC ostriches becomes a far-right circus. Why do RFK, Dr Oz, and an American billionaire want to save our ostriches? A BC Ostrich farm garners international attention after resisting a call to cull over 400 birds following an Avian flu outbreak. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Jan Wong Photo...
Jun 13, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1175
Not all interviews go according to plan. Even on a show that has over 500 episodes and the host has recorded over a thousand interviews. So what do you do? Air it anyway? What if the content of that episode is questionable, objectionable, or problematic in some other way? Well, sometimes the simplest answer is to just can it. And that’s what happened a few weeks ago on the media criticism edition of CANADALAND. For the first time in its history, the show ran without its classic segment “Duly Not...
Jun 12, 2025•6 min
On the day of Trump’s spectacular public breakup with Elon Musk, news broke of phone calls and texts between Carney and Trump. Is a bromance blossoming? Jan Wong joins to unpack the ongoing conversations between Trump and Carney, and how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist. Plus, what else is Carney sneaking by us during his political honeymoon? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor...
Jun 11, 2025•29 min•Ep. 1174
The Liberals’ first piece of legislation, Bill C-2 is a sweeping 139-page omnibus bill. It would allow police to open and inspect mail from Canada Post, restrict cash transfers over $10,000, bolster surveillance, and expand what law enforcement can do…without a warrant. But it will also overhaul our asylum-seeking process. And with the riots below the border, we can’t but ask: are we going down the same path? Host: Noor Azrieh Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Noo...
Jun 10, 2025•38 min•Ep. 1173
You probably know Brian Reed from his award-winning podcast S-Town . Or from his other excellent podcast series, The Trojan Horse Affair . Finally, there’s his new show about journalism under Trump’s administration, Question Everything. Brian Reed and Jesse got together last week to interview each other. Jesse interviewed Brian about what happens to the free press when your government tries to crush it. Brian interviewed Jesse about what happens to the free press when your government tries to sa...
Jun 09, 2025•32 min•Ep. 1172
Canada’s ongoing grocery redemption arc. The “Buy Canadian” moment has supplanted the grocery “Greedflation” narrative for now, but the $500 million bread price-fixing settlement is a reminder that Canada still has a lot to fix around food. Host: Noor Azrieh Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate Producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Vass Bednar Additional music ...
Jun 06, 2025•35 min•Ep. 1171
We’ve got a Minister of A.I. Now what? Former Journalist MP Evan Solomon leads Canada’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, but it’s unclear exactly how A.I. fits into the Liberal government’s mandate. Vass Bednar explains why she’s still optimistic about Canada’s A.I. future. Host: Noor Azrieh Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate Producer and Fact Checking) Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor...
Jun 04, 2025•35 min•Ep. 1170
Political divides are growing, and it’s not just over basic issues anymore. Increasingly, people are feeling differences in basic conduct, morality, and how they approach discussions. These divisions feel too big to ignore. How do you go about fixing that divide? This week host Sam Konnert sits down with Ryan Broderick to iron things out. And the latest on the grand meeting of the Premiers in Saskatoon, Carney’s new chief of staff pick and Trump’s doubling of the steel and aluminum tariffs. Host...
Jun 03, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1169
The election is done and dusted. Votes cast, tallied, and 343 newly minted MPs are on the job. But even though we, the media collectively, tried our best to vet everyone, some things slipped past us. There’s one candidate that we at Canadaland did not vet. That candidate won. And then she was named to Cabinet. She is now a federal minister. Only then did we get a tip about her. A tip that did in fact turn up information about her that was not yet known but which should be known. Host: Jesse Brow...
Jun 02, 2025•33 min•Ep. 1168
The American populist left has a roadmap for Canadian progressives. With the NDP wandering the political wilderness, the rise of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez points to where left-wing politics is headed. But will Canada’s progressive movement catch the wave? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Cenk Uygur Photo by Jim Heaphy, courtesy of Wikimed...
May 30, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1167
Canadians and Americans alike are afraid of crossing the border, and for political commentators like Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks travel requires extra precautions. What’s behind Trump’s puzzling decision to politicize border crossing for US citizens? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Cenk Uygur Further reading: Nervous About Crossing the Border? You Shoul...
May 28, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1166
Earlier this year, Jagmeet Singh laughed off the idea of losing. Now, he’s out and the NDP is in free fall. They lost official party status. They lost ground with key voters, organized labor, and their traditional strongholds in B.C. and the GTA. So, did the NDP learn anything from this catastrophic loss? To answer that question, host Noor Azrieh asks Heather McPherson, one of the 7 NDP MPs left. And, the latest on King Charles Canadian tour, who’s gonna babysit rowdy MPs in the House of Commons...
May 27, 2025•30 min•Ep. 1165
Canadian comedy legend Dave Thomas is here. What else is there to say? If you want to understand the last half century of comedy from SCTV to SNL to The Simpsons you only need to look to the comedic big bang moment when Thomas, Moranis, Levy and Martin converged on Toronto in the early 1970s. So Dave Thomas will tell you all about it, eh? Of course SCTV is only one of the hats (toques) the writer, actor, producer and director has worn. Thomas brings us up to speed on his latest venture, travelli...
May 26, 2025•41 min•Ep. 1164
A new study suggests that New Brunswick’s mystery brain illness doesn’t exist, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Recent headlines declare the mystery is solved, but the new study only raises more questions. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Laura Robinson Further Reading On Our Website Sponsors: oxio : Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADA...
May 23, 2025•28 min•Ep. 1163
What the coverage isn’t capturing about the Hockey Canada Trial. Five former junior hockey players are on trial for sexual assault, and the reporting is full of graphic details. Laura Robinson takes us inside the courtroom and explains what’s really happening. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor) Guest: Laura Robinson Further Reading On Our Website Sponsors: PolicyMe : He...
May 21, 2025•39 min•Ep. 1162
After a couple of weeks of pats on the back and trying to find Pierre Poilievre a new home, we’re finally seeing how Mark Carney’s government plans to tackle the country’s biggest problems and who he’s putting in charge to do it. Next week, King Charles is set to kick off parliament with the throne speech, and we’ll finally have MPs back in the House of Commons after months of parliamentary paralysis. We’re at the top of the hill before things start to inevitably crumble, so Host Noor Azrieh ask...
May 20, 2025•33 min•Ep. 1161
In 2005 Courtney Kocak was a “merch girl” on the Girls Gone Wild tour bus. She doled out the swag, T-shirts, thongs, drinks, to help get the GGW parties started. The GGW party on wheels rolled through places like Red Deer, Banff, Kelowna, and promised small town kids a “wild” time. By the time the tour was over Courtney and the bus crossed back across the border with boxes of release forms and video of marketable footage of young Canadian women flashing their breasts at the camera and having sex...
May 19, 2025•51 min•Ep. 1160
It's a new era for corruption in Canada, but the coverage isn’t keeping pace. Meanwhile, American outlets are breaking stories about Doug Ford and Brookfield. Why covering corruption isn’t worth the risk and the expense for many Canadian outlets, and why the reporting that does happen often doesn’t make a difference. U of T’s Dr. Jack Cunningham co-hosts. Host: San Grewal Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max c...
May 16, 2025•36 min•Ep. 1159
