Our news editor, Jonathan Goldsbie, ventured out to find his inner Polkaroo by way of an exhibit on the history of Canadian children’s television programming at Toronto’s Myseum. As he’d heard rumours that our publisher Jesse Brown and intrepid reporter Cherise Seucharan were actually children themselves, once upon a time, he invited them along. Skinnamarinky dinky dink, Skinnamarinky doo, Now you can listen too! Host: Jonathan Goldsbie Credits: Jonathan Goldsbie (News Editor), Trista...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr•Ep 904•Transcript available on Metacast Originaire de Shediac au Nouveau-Brunswick, Xavier Gould nous partage des extraits de son tout premier livre des fleurs comme moi, un recueil de poésie témoignant de son vécu en tant que jeune personne queer en Acadie. Au courant de cette discussion avec Emilie, Xavier partage ses réflexions autour de la transidentité, l’humour et la langue. Ensemble, elles se demandent : quel impact a eu la montée des conservatismes transphobes sur les communautés queer rurales au Canada ? Originally from Shedi...
Jul 22, 2023•39 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Canada created a new pathway to permanent residency for a large number of Ukrainian refugees, as a group of asylum claimants from other countries were sleeping in the streets of Toronto. We discuss the political calculations involved in supporting displaced people. We also try to make sense of the ups and downs of the Bank of Canada. Host: Erica Ifill Credits: Kevin Sexton (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Nicholas Keu...
Jul 20, 2023•32 min•Ep 903•Transcript available on Metacast “When you can’t afford to lose” is not just Navigator’s trademarked slogan; it’s also its core business proposition. Although it offers a range of services, from market research to communications, Navigator is best known as the firm to which Canada’s rich and powerful turn when facing a crisis that could cost them that wealth and power. Its highest-profile clients have included Michael Bryant and Jian Ghomeshi. More recently, it’s been a player in the controversies around Hockey Canada, the Spec...
Jul 17, 2023•53 min•Ep 902•Transcript available on Metacast The Trudeau government won’t back down on Bill C-18 – except now they are. We also talk about the crypto crime that never happened, a threatening cop, Danielle Smith’s ‘vindication’ and updates to the Burns Lake Tribunal Hearing. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Guest: Dani Paradis Further reading: Caving on Bill C-18: Government Outlines Plan...
Jul 13, 2023•37 min•Ep 901•Transcript available on Metacast Last month the Globe and Mail reported that Anton Skyba, their photojournalist in Ukraine, applied to the Ukrainian government to have his press credentials renewed - and was denied. Ukrainian security services accused him of holding a Russian passport, demanded that he take a lie-detector test, and questioned whether his work as a journalist was aligned with Ukraine’s “national interests.” It was not an isolated incident. Last year, Ukrainian Security - the SBU - sent a list of names to t...
Jul 10, 2023•23 min•Ep 900•Transcript available on Metacast Le 9 juin dernier, la ministre responsable de l’habitation au Québec propose le projet de loi 31 qui, entre autres amendements, vise à permettre aux propriétaires de refuser une cession de bail sans motif sérieux. La cession de bail étant un outil important au Québec pour prévenir les augmentations de loyers déraisonnables, cette proposition du gouvernement caquiste a suscité un débat sur le droit au logement et la réalité des locataires. Emilie et Nora Loreto, co-animatrices de l’épisode, discu...
Jul 08, 2023•41 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Google and Meta respond to Bill C-18 by threatening to block Canadian news. And the first woman to head up the Assembly of First Nations is out after just two years, due to some combination of any or all of her own alleged misconduct, a conspiracy to depose her, and/or run-of-the-mill misogyny. Host: Jonathan Goldsbie Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Karyn Pugliese Further reading: ...
Jul 06, 2023•37 min•Ep 899•Transcript available on Metacast Marc joins Jesse for a conversation about his plans to emigrate to Vancouver and the differences between Canada and the U.S. when it comes to fascism, comedy, and Jews. Further reading: Marc interviews Lorne Michaels: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_653_-_lorne_michaels Jesse interviews Hart Pomerantz: https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/hart-pomerantz/ The late, great Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xpl9ClEpcY Gavin McInnes’ fa...
Jul 03, 2023•33 min•Ep 898•Transcript available on Metacast Toronto Star owner Nordstar and Postmedia are in talks to merge - a death knell to Canadian print media. Jesse and co-host Jaskaran Sandhu unpack the killing of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey - possibly at the hands of the Indian government. AND an expose of alleged misbehaviour at a middle school in Brampton. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Jaskaran Sandhu &n...
Jun 29, 2023•43 min•Ep 897•Transcript available on Metacast Vancouver’s SROs are home to some of the most vulnerable people in the province, and some of the most challenging housing to run. So when Atira Women’s Resource Society stepped up to run several buildings, concerns that the CEO was in a relationship with the CEO of BC Housing, the provincial corporation in charge of that housing, were dismissed. In the years that followed, there was growing concern about the conditions of the SROs, and why Atira’s portfolio kept growing. Recently an e...
Jun 26, 2023•41 min•Ep 896•Transcript available on Metacast Avec May Chiu (coordinatrice de la Table ronde du Quartier chinois de Montréal et membre de l’Association des Chinois progressistes du Québec), Emilie se penche sur l’impact de l’actualité des derniers mois sur la communauté chinoise du Canada. Quels sont les impacts sur le terrain des enquêtes journalistiques du printemps sur l’ingérence de Beijing au pays ? La diversité des points de vue chez les Canadiens d’origine chinoise a-t-elle sa place dans les médias ? Comment protéger la démocratie ca...
Jun 24, 2023•37 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Do the billionaires on the missing Titan submarine deserve sympathy or scorn? While Canada and the US pull out all the stops to find it, days before, a boat off the coast of Greece capsized, killing 300, with minimal international attention. And we get into the behind-the-scenes of the CTV layoffs at Bell Media. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Ethan Cox Further r...
Jun 22, 2023•44 min•Ep 895•Transcript available on Metacast It was in the winter of 2021 that the world first became aware of a mounting number of patients being seen in New Brunswick with unusual neurological symptoms. A year later, the Government of New Brunswick released a report dismissing the entire issue, claiming there was never a cluster of patients to begin with. CANADALAND has obtained thousands and thousands of pages of internal documents that take us behind the scenes of that investigation that once caught the attention of the nation, before ...
Jun 19, 2023•39 min•Ep 894•Transcript available on Metacast After weeks of navigating accusations of conflict, special rapporteur David Johnston finally ran aground. If you’re trying to persuade people of your unimpeachable independence, maybe don’t hire a communications firm that’s connected to everyone? And, ah crap, the far right is fixated on queer people again. The Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo co-hosts. Host: Jonathan Goldsbie Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: C...
Jun 15, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the mid-2010s, BuzzFeed News seemed like the most exciting place in media: an almost cloyingly whimsical carnival of abundance where journalists were actually happy. At a time when everything else appeared to be crumbling, it burst with hope and possibility. Last month, after just a few years of layoffs and withering, it shut down for good. And if the quick life and death of BuzzFeed News represented the whole past, present, and future of media collapsed into a single decade, then BuzzFeed Ca...
Jun 12, 2023•55 min•Ep 892•Transcript available on Metacast Avec France-Isabelle Langlois (directrice générale d’Amnistie internationale Canada francophone) et Maïka Sondarjee (professeure adjointe à l’Université d’Ottawa, cofondatrice de Femmes expertes et auteure), Emilie se penche sur la haine (en ligne) à laquelle les femmes s’exposent de plus en plus lorsqu’elles prennent la parole publiquement sur les enjeux qui leur tiennent à cœur. Pourquoi est-ce que l’arène publique devient de plus en plus violente ? Comment les femmes se sont-elles adaptées et...
Jun 10, 2023•54 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Wildfires are coming at us from all sides. How can local reporters get at the root issues? And the implementation of Quebec's language law municipalities making fun of the new rules. Tim Bousquet co-hosts. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Tim Bousquet Further reading: Officials have known for years about the wildfire risks in Tantallon - Halifax Examiner Letter fr...
Jun 08, 2023•35 min•Ep 891•Transcript available on Metacast There's no beat more likely to get you an audience and a paycheck. It's trend-proof and recession-proof. Yes, true crime is freakishly popular right now, but it was never unpopular. Audiences have been showing up for gangster stories and murder stories and heist stories and scam stories steadily, for at least a hundred years, and probably a lot longer. It's big business. But it’s a business that can come with a personal cost for its practitioners. How can you dig into the darkest parts of the hu...
Jun 05, 2023•51 min•Ep 890•Transcript available on Metacast Despite Danielle Smith’s involvement in numerous scandals, she won a majority in Alberta’s election. Albertan Dani Paradis helps us understand why. And senior citizen sex shows, sex toy exhibits and art by Bryan Adams - you may not like it, but you’ve been paying for them, taxpayer! Well, no more. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Dani Paradis Further reading: Albe...
Jun 01, 2023•27 min•Ep 889•Transcript available on Metacast Big tech critic Cory Doctorow lays out a four-part plan to save the news media from big tech’s stranglehold. The plan: create a comprehensive new privacy law, open up the app stores to true competition, return to the internet’s founding principle of true end to end delivery, and finally, splinter Meta and Google into smaller independent competing companies. Would it work? How close are we to any of this? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce ...
May 29, 2023•42 min•Ep 888•Transcript available on Metacast Hockey is a hell of a lot of fun. But right now, the sport is going through a reckoning. Allegations of racism, corruption, sexual misconduct and so much more are rocking the game to its core. But the truth is that in Canada, hockey is more than just a sport. It’s a civic religion, with a billion dollar business attached to it. Over the next seven episodes, COMMONS will be digging into the cult of hockey, scrutinizing its doctrines and exposing its secrets. Featured in this episode: Ian Kennedy ...
May 27, 2023•26 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The Special Rapporteur is back with a hotly anticipated release - No Public Inquiry! David Johnston made his decision – rage and frustration ensued. And the Toronto Mayoral race heats up with Olivia Chow leading the polls. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Jan Wong Further reading: Matt Gurney: The Johnston report is one of the most depressing things I've ever read...
May 25, 2023•35 min•Ep 887•Transcript available on Metacast The odds were stacked against us, but here we are. This year Canadaland turns ten. To mark the occasion, Canadaland Founder and Publisher, Jesse Brown, shares why he started a podcast and how that morphed into a thriving media company. Jesse reflects on the impact our journalism has and continues to have, why the work the team does is more important than ever, and how our supporters have enabled it all. Canadaland is turning 10! From May 24 - June 2, you can get all the benefits of our $15/month...
May 24, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast While the press of today might not be reporting on aliens with the same fervour, many of the tropes from those days are still alive and well in modern-day journalism. Stories about how no one wants to work anymore, or how technology is killing the art of conversation, have been told for over 130 years… and counting. What are the tropes that keep coming back again and again? And are we really so different from the hysterical, partisan press of yesteryear? Host: Jesse Brown Credi...
May 22, 2023•30 min•Ep 886•Transcript available on Metacast Des feux de forêt font rage en Alberta alors qu’une élection provinciale est en cours. Emilie discute de l’état du conservatisme en Alberta, mais aussi la nouvelle génération d’intellectuels conservateurs au Québec avec Frédéric Boily, auteur et professeur de sciences politiques au Campus Saint-Jean de l’Université de l’Alberta. While forest fires rage in Alberta, a provincial election campaign is underway. Emilie discusses the state of conservatism in Alberta, as well as the new generation of c...
May 20, 2023•43 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Jesse Brown and co-host Manisha Krishnan dismantle a 10,000 word piece in the National Post claiming safe supply programs are killing people and fuelling a new opioid crisis. And three cheers for the new Canadian passport! Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Manisha Krishnan Further reading: Drug fail: The Liberal government's 'safer supply' is fuelling a new opioid ...
May 18, 2023•40 min•Ep 885•Transcript available on Metacast canadaLANDBACK is a co-production by Canada’s National Observer and Canadaland. Host Karyn Pugliese, producer Kim Wheeler, contributors Trina Roache and Cara McKenna reflect on the season, and — wait for it — Karyn and Jesse argue about whether or not journalism can change the hearts and minds of people. Contributors: Trina Roache, Cara McKenna, Jesse Brown Host: Karyn Pugliese, editor-in-chief, Canada’s National Observer Credits: Kim Wheeler (Producer) Sponsors: Rotman , Squarespace...
May 15, 2023•37 min•Ep 884•Transcript available on Metacast Amidst escalating tensions between Canada and China, an independent MP thinks he’s found the shadowy hand manipulating his fate. If a person asserts there’s been a plot against them but can’t offer any proof, does that count as a literal conspiracy theory? And has this government ever met a poorly-conceived policy for media regulation it didn’t like? Well, it has now! PressProgress editor Luke LeBrun joins Jonathan on Short Cuts. Host: Jonathan Goldsbie Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb T...
May 11, 2023•42 min•Ep 883•Transcript available on Metacast For nearly a decade, Research in Motion was the global leader in smartphones with its iconic QWERTY-keyboard-having Blackberry. Through a mix of guerilla marketing and an unexpected boost in sales after 9/11, the rather simplistic email device was transferring some of the world’s most closely guarded secrets, from government officials, business leaders, and celebrities through some servers in Waterloo, Ontario. What was the cause of its demise? The iPhone? Google? Hubris? Jesse chats...
May 08, 2023•47 min•Ep 882•Transcript available on Metacast 
