Blackballed With James Di Fiore

Paul Atkinson became a viral sensation during the convoy protest after he stood up to protestors outside of his home, becoming known as the Blue Jacket Guy. He now co-hosts the True North Eager Beaver podcast and is easily one of the nicest and smartest people James knows.

James and Paul discuss politics, mental health, politics, and music.

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Senator Leo Housakos is a staunch conservative Senator, but he has something in common with many progressives in Canada - he is against curtailing the rights and freedoms of online users, both as individual users and independent digital producers. Bill C-11 would give the CRTC sweeping powers over user generated content, and the government is ac ting like it would do no such thing...even though it says it will right in the legislation.

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Reality Winner served 5 years in prison for leaking classified documents detailing Russian interference in the 2016 election. She was made an example by the Trump administration and not pardoned despite Trump himself commenting on how harsh the sentence was.

Reality is now a cross-fit trainer and is looking at other issues to attach herself to in order to keep fighting against government action and inaction.

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Mental health is the second pandemic, or at least James seems to think so. He invites regular listeners of Backballed, along with top digital strategist/entrepreneur George Easton, to discuss the toll this pandemic, and also the state of the world we currently live in, on our collective mental health.

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Spencer Rice is known for his hilarious TV show Kenny VS Spenny, but these days he is all about politics. Spenny gives his two cents on living in a polarized society, the toxic impact of social media, and what the blowback might be if Trump is not allowed to run for president.

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Advocate, lawyer, and political cartoon creator Caryma Sa'd returns to Blackballed to talk about the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the monarchy, UFOs/aliens, her most recent political cartoons and the issues that inspired them. 

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Caitlin Erikson and Christina Hutchinson were former students from thre Saskatoon Christian Centre Academy, now known as the Legacy Christian Academy. Both former students and others have made allegations of abuse against the institution.

Tonight they tell their stories.

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Not many rappers have had the type of longevity that Halifax rapper Classified has enjoyed, especially in Canada.

Classified joins me to talk about his acoustic album Retrospected, the upcoming tour, and the tragedy of losing his friend, fellow Nova Scotian and battle rap champion Pat Stay.

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Nobody tweets like Eric Alper. Many of his followers begin and end the day on one of his positive or nostalgia-generating musings. He joins James to talk about music's cultural imprint, the difference in how we consume music from one era to the next, and how our tendency to establish an emotional connection to music remains intact.

Eric's ability to paint a compelling picture to demonstrate an affinity with the artist and the fan is worth spending the hour listening to this episode.

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Richard Marsh is the ex member of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church who was hunted down by the cult after blowing the whistle on an alleged NHS scam in the UK involving a PBCC company.

David Wallace is the guy the cult hired to hunt him down.

Gerald Chipeur is the former lawyer for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the former General Counsel for the Conservative Party of Canada, and the PBCC attorney who hired David Wallace to hunt down Richard Marsh.

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