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...

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 - The...

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...

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 Credits: Tristan...

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...

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 crisis -...

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,...

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),...

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 with...

BuzzFeed is going bust and Vice is headed for bankruptcy - is it the end of viral news sites? And the press has been reporting for years the name of a prominent and powerful man accused of abusing Indigenous children - but now it’s illegal for us to do so.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Karyn Pugliese   Further reading:  How Mark Zuckerberg broke Meta's workforce - Washington...

Ads are everywhere in our life and they seem to keep creeping into more and more places. Movies, games, sponsored “news” content, and of course, the digital tracking that follows your every online move to sell you something you’ve already bought. (You know, you can never have enough washing machines.) For eighteen years, Terry O’Reilly has been studying and explaining human nature through the lens of advertising. His first show, called O'Reilly on Advertising, started on CBC in 2005 followed...

From his perch at the top of the far-right ecosystem, Tucker Carlson regularly soaked up stories from Canada and half-jokingly called for forcible regime change here. But when it comes to demagogues who suddenly find themselves with time on their hands, even the half-jokes might merit another look. And speaking of people who managed to maintain a mainstream platform long after their views took dark, paranoid turns, Toronto Sun columnist Tarek Fatah passed away. APTN’s Dani Paradis joins...

The recent expansion of the Safe Third Country Agreement — which started as a 9/11 era deal that Canada negotiated in order to exert more control over immigration levels — prohibits asylum seekers from entering at unofficial ports of entry.  The agreement allows Canada to share responsibility for asylum seekers with the US, because the US is “safe” for refugees.  But there are years of documented evidence suggesting the US is not actually safe, including two Supreme Court rulings, reports...

Deux lettres ouvertes ont été publiées récemment. Une appelle à la prudence avec la recherche en intelligence artificielle, l’autre à une accélération de sa législation par le gouvernement fédéral, via le projet de loi C-27. Montréal rassemble certains des meilleurs chercheurs mondiaux en IA. Aujourd'hui, Emilie s'entretient avec Benjamin Prud'homme, directeur exécutif de IA pour l'Humanité - Mila, l'Institut québécois d'intelligence artificielle. Ensemble, ils démystifie les enjeux éthiques...

We’re talking the CBC leaving Twitter after being labeled “government-funded media”, while Pierre Poilievre thanks Elon Musk for what he was already going to do. The real losers here are the Canadian public.  And Barry Hertz’s Globe and Mail takedown of the 11th Canadian Screen Awards - a cringe-y, dull, and insulting showcase of what not to do when highlighting Canadian productions.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Ren Bangert (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer),...

canadaLANDBACK is a co-production by Canada’s National Observer and Canadaland. The landback movement isn’t just about getting land back. It’s more than that. It’s a reclamation of culture too.  We take a deeper dive into Indigenous versus Canadian law, examine how Canada is hoarding land. Our guests are Métis artist, activist and thinker Christi Belcourt and Anishinaabe artist and knowledge keeper Issac Murdoch, who took land back and established the culture camp Nimkii Aazhibikong. Onaman...

From Minecraft to statecraft, Jacobin’s Luke Savage joins Jonathan to chart the bizarre course of a U.S. intelligence leak with potentially explosive implications for Canada. And seemingly inspired by the Musk-fragrant “Twitter Files,” a Conservative MP went on a fishing expedition for examples of the Canadian government over-policing social media. Does turning up a single really solid instance count as a success? Host: Jonathan Goldsbie Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Tristan Capacchione...

The University of Victoria campus used to be overrun with rabbits. It now has few, if any, rabbits. So what happened to them? Where did they go? Whatever you’re thinking, you’re probably correct. Andrew Hynes and Amanda Watland take us down one of Canada’s strangest rabbit holes. Happy Easter! Produced by Andrew Hynes and Mary Decker, a version of this episode was originally presented on CFUV’s U in the Ring podcast on August 1 and 8, 2019. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Tristan Capacchione...

A story about criminal charges, a potential lawsuit against the press, leaked tape suggesting a huge overreach of power — could a certain populist politician have finally gone too far?  We’re talking about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. And enough is enough in Quebec — a defiant open letter in Le Devoir demanding an end to the toxicity in political discourse, signed by hundreds of scholars and writers.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor...

Jody Vance has dealt with harassment for most of her career as a broadcast journalist, but starting in 2015 one of her harassers was different, constantly sending hateful, vile emails. When COVID hit, the problem only got worse as the harasser started targeting more of her guests and B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. Who was this person and how do you bring an anonymous online tormentor to justice?  On March 10, 2023, after seven years of vitriolic emails, Jody finally had...

Either Beijing has corrupted our democracy at the highest level or agents in the Canadian security apparatus are subverting the PMO by illegally leaking information that's either mistaken, exaggerated or both. Both scenarios are troubling. And the national crime spree that we can’t legally talk much about - youth crime & reporting bans. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor & Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest:...

If news can’t be searched for on Google or shared on Facebook, is it even really online? Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is currently before the senate. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says that this Bill will help save small newsrooms and local journalism outlets by giving them the power to negotiate with tech giants, deals for payment of news content that is shared on their platforms. But Meta and Google’s response has been simple: they just won’t allow Canadian news on their platforms....

The Toronto Star’s Allan Woods joins Jonathan to look at the prospect of Trump fundraising off a mugshot, and how a Montreal fire might finally accomplish what years of journalism and advocacy have not, pushing authorities there to take action against illegal Airbnbs. Host: Jonathan Goldsbie Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) Guest: Allan Woods   Further reading:  Conrad Black: Donald Trump should...

The best newspaper in Canada is a podcast. Every Monday, we bring you original reporting on the most interesting story in the country. Every Thursday, we bring you analysis of the Canadian media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.