CANADALAND

To put it lightly, Canada’s relations with India and China have lately been a mess, with allegations of assassination, retaliation, interference, and spying. And that was before a recent Globe report raised new questions about why China detained the “Michaels,” and before U.S. prosecutors charged an Indian national in a “murder-for-hire conspiracy” apparently connected to the killing of a Sikh activist in Surrey. 

Today’s conversation with Sam Cooper, the reporter who broke the story about alleged Chinese interference in Canadian elections, will take you inside the mess — and help make sense of it.

Host: Jesse Brown 

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Jonathan Goldsbie (News Editor), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Further reading: 

• Spavor blames fellow prisoner Kovrig for Chinese detention, alleges he was used for intelligence gathering — The Globe and Mail
• How geopolitics caught up with Canada — Financial Times

Sponsors: Oxio, Douglas, Squarespace

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

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Margaret Atwood returns to talk about getting in trouble, being treated in the media as some sort of prophet, and whether there are times when authoritarianism could in fact help us solve major problems. 

This conversation was recorded in September, 2023

Sponsors: Communauto, Better Help, University of King’s College

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

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Danielle Smith’s Sovereignty Act is like trying to get away with amending the Constitution via a hastily-scrawled Post-it note, flimsily affixed while no one’s looking. Spare a thought for the poor Alberta reporters who have to explain that, on top of their normal work of attempting to make energy policy engaging.

And if 10 years is a long time in the life of a digital media company, how do we describe 20 for an indie magazine?

The Narwhal’s Drew Anderson co-hosts.

Host: Jonathan Goldsbie

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guest: Drew Anderson

Further reading: 

• Alberta invokes Sovereignty Act over federal clean electricity regulations - CBC News
• Danielle Smith wants a fight over climate policy — whether we need it or not - CBC News
• Canada's fossil fuel industry is banking on carbon capture to lower emissions. Is it a viable solution? - CBC News
• Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Killed at Historic Pace - The New York Times
• Federal government reaches deal with Google on Online News Act - CBC News
• Important Announcement About the Future of Shameless – Shameless
• Spacing’s 20th Anniversary Party! – Spacing

Sponsors: Douglas, oxio, Athletic Greens, Toronto Symphony Orchestra

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

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Canadaland publisher Jesse Brown has been asked to stop talking about antisemitism. 

He's also been asked whether he will denounce Israel, or if he is in fact a Zionist. 

In this opinion piece, Jesse tries to clear things up once and for all. 

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Journalists report the news. They hear about a story, write it up, verify the facts, and then hit “publish”. 

But, occasionally a story comes in from someone else and then they, more or less, just hit “publish”.

Public relations professionals are master spin doctors. They know how to get the story they want to tell, which may or may not be true (or at least not the full truth), published in major newspapers and sites across the country.

Everyone does this: governments, corporations, institutions, police departments, and so on. And as the number of journalists in the country continues its slow decline, the number of people working in PR has increased by nearly eight times in the past thirty years. With that disparity, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to verify and dedicate time to every story that comes in.

Journalist Cecil Rosner sits down with Jesse and Karyn for a rich discussion about the power that PR firms can hold in setting the narrative in what the public should think and believe.

Host: Jesse Brown 

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Jonathan Goldsbie (News Editor), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Further reading: 

• Manipulating the Message: How Powerful Forces Shape the News — Dundurn Press

Clarification (December 12, 2023): In the conversation, host Jesse Brown remarks that he’s “never read a story from PressProgress that would embarrass or contradict the agenda of the NDP,” adding, “Maybe they can correct me on that.” Taking Jesse up on this offer, PressProgress editor Luke LeBrun draws our attention to five stories critical of policies from British Columbia’s NDP government, and, stressing the outlet’s journalistic independence, notes they have “no rules forbidding our journalists from criticizing the NDP or any requirement that they must dogmatically align with the NDP’s policies or messaging on anything.”

Sponsors: Oxio, Communauto, Squarespace, University of King’s College

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

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Une mobilisation citoyenne à grande échelle a lieu au Canada pour inciter le gouvernement Trudeau à demander un cessez-le-feu entre Israël et la Palestine. Jonathan McPhedran Waitzer se joint à Emilie pour discuter de la place des personnes alliées au sein des mouvements sociaux, soulignant particulièrement le rôle des personnes juives solidaires avec le peuple palestinien. Dans un deuxième temps, Jonathan, membre de l'équipe d'organisation nationale de Ressources en mouvement, met en lumière cette communauté de jeunes disposant de privilèges de classe qui luttent pour des changements systémiques au Canada. 

Protestors have taken to the streets across Canada to urge the Trudeau government to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. Jonathan McPhedran Waitzer joins Emilie to discuss the place of allies within social movements, highlighting the role of Jewish people in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Jonathan, a member of Resources Movement’s national organizing team, highlights the community of young people with class privilege who are fighting for systemic change in Canada.

Animation: Emilie Nicolas

Générique: Nancy Pettinicchio (Production), Tristan Capacchione (Production technique), Karyn Pugliese (Rédactrice en chef)

Coanimation: Jonathan McPhedran Waitzer

Pour en savoir plus :

• Comprendre la montée de l’antisémitisme – Pivot
• Ces Juifs qui s’opposent à Israël – Radio-Canada
• Site web de Ressources en mouvement 

Si vous appréciez ce podcast, soutenez-nous ! Vous obtiendrez un accès en prime à toutes nos émissions gratuitement, y compris les premières diffusions et le contenu bonus. Vous recevrez également notre lettre d'information exclusive, des rabais sur les produits dans notre boutique, des billets pour nos événements en direct et virtuels, et surtout, vous ferez partie de la solution à la crise du journalisme au Canada. Vous ferez en sorte que notre travail reste gratuit et accessible à tout le monde.  

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Rick Mercer started his career as a media critic of sorts. He broke into the national consciousness with a one man show taking on an establishment journalist, called Show Me the Button: I'll Push It (or Charles Lynch Must Die). He talks to Jesse about his path from angry young outsider to palling around with politicians on TV. He also talks about developing his pioneering blend of news and comedy in This Hour Has 22 Minutes and The Mercer Report, why he wouldn’t do Talking to Americans in the Youtube age, and why political satire in Canada is far friendlier than its American counterpart. 

This conversation was recorded in September, 2023

Sponsors: Oxio, The National Film Board of Canada

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As news breaks of a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, Emilie Nicolas and Mattea Roach discuss anti-Palestinian media bias in media as well as look at the deaths of over 50 journalists in the region. They also talk about dwindling faith in Canadian media as more layoffs rock the industry. 

Host: Emilie Nicolas

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guest: Mattea Roach

Further reading: 

• Israel, Hamas agree to temporary ceasefire deal where hostages, prisoners will be exchanged - CBC News
• CTV reports on Gaza with anti-Palestinian double standard, data shows - The Breach
• Forensic psychiatrist testifies at coroner's inquest into death of Soleiman Faqiri - CP24
• La précarité des médias affecte la confiance du public, estime Pascale St-Onge - Le Devoir
• The CAJ’s 2023 Canadian Newsroom Diversity Survey is the most comprehensive data set on gender and race in Canadian newsrooms - Canadian Association of Journalists
• Bill C-18 Bailout: Government Announces Plans to Pay For 35% of Journalist Costs for News Outlets as It More Than Doubles Tax Credit Per Employee - Michael Geist

Sponsors: University of Kings College, oxio, Article, 

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

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Ryan McMahon and Jon Thompson team up with Cherise Seucharan for the conclusion to Post Mortem, a two-episode dive into the connection between the police, the coroners, and the canary in a coal mine for death investigations across the province.

Host: Jesse Brown 

Credits: Jon Thompson (Reporter), Cherise Seucharan (Reporter), Ryan McMahon (Reporter), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Further reading: 

• Reinvestigation into nine Indigenous deaths to focus on ‘finding the truth’ — TBNewswatch, October 16, 2019
• Lawyer says families 'ignored' as Broken Trust final report on death reinvestigations expected within weeks — CBC News, Feb 15, 2022
• Reports on racism and a reckoning for Thunder Bay — TVO Today, Jan 17, 2019
• 2 police officers step on handcuffed man's back as doctor watches at First Nation nursing station — CBC News, Jul 10, 2017
• Thunder Bay Police Board chair apologizes to families after report urges more death reinvestigations — CBC News, March 16, 2022
• Thunder Bay TV series, Crave

Additional music by Audio Network

Sponsors: Oxio, Squarespace, Better Help

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As sexual assault convictions stack up for Peter Nygard, another alleged predator is walking free in Montreal. And an Ontario teacher under fire for teaching about socialist economics - in his economics class.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guest: Jan Wong

Further reading: 

• https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/the-girls-around-robert-g-miller
• The girls around Robert G. Miller - The Fifth Estate 
• 'It ruined my entire life': Woman says billionaire Robert Miller abused her in 1977, when she was 12 - CBC News
• Woman says she was 11 when Montreal billionaire Robert Miller sexually exploited her - CBC News
• Pierre Poilievre Under Fire After Video Surfaces of Homophobic and Transphobic Speech - Press Progress
• WARMINGTON: Marxism, trans rights, genocide over math, English, science in Mr. Cirinna's class - Toronto Sun

Sponsors: University of King's College, oxio, Athletic Greens, Indochino

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.