Safe Space

Safe Space episodes:

• 10.04.2019

  Buying An (Affordable) House and How To Feel (Again)

  Vice News reporter Steven Zhou returns to the podcast for a conversation with Financial Post reporter and host of the Down to Business podcast Emily Jackson. The panel tackles the big tricky question of housing affordability: do election promises matter?...

  
• 09.27.2019

  Canada's Hot Corny Dad and The Case Against Halloween

  Co-host of Black Tea Melayna Williams and co-host of the Critics vs. Fans podcast Mike Sholars drop by the studio to recap the blackface scandal, the week that was and to answer who is corniest: Justin Trudeau or Chance the...

  
• 09.20.2019

  An Ally in Blackface and the Power Rangers of Policy

  It's the first episode of the fifth season and the heady first weeks of the election! Macleans journalist Anne Kingston, Broadbent Institute policy analyst Brittany Andrew Amofah and Yellowhead Institute research fellow Courtney Skye are on the panel to talk...

  
• 06.07.2019

  Climate Change, Fake News and Kangaroos

  In an all-star fourth season finale recorded live at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, the panel takes on climate change, climate strikes and the Green New Deal with former environment commissioner Dianne Saxe, NDP candidate Matthew Greene and National...

  
• 05.17.2019

  A Green Season and Bringing Common Sense to Periods

  Author and commentator David Moscrop and investigative journalist for the National Observer Fatima Syed join the panel to discuss climate change, the future of the Green Party and why Canada might need a nuclear bomb. 

  
• 05.10.2019

  Drake The Saviour and Our Best Takes, Live

  Listen to an unaired conversation about Drake and the role he plays in politics with writer Sarah Hagi and Globe and Mail columnist Denise Balkissoon. Also: we're doing a live show this month so listen to our best takes from...

  
• 05.03.2019

  Harper's Favourite Show and the Simpsons' Trip to Canada

  Editor of the Newfoundland and Labrador Independent Drew Brown and Canadian Press reporter Holly McKenzie-Sutter join the panel to talk about the Simpsons joke that has one province talking. Also, we talk about Murdoch Mysteries and a "sham" of an...

  
• 04.30.2019

  What The SNC?

  iPolitics reporter Marieke Walsh helps us understand everything that's been going on with the SNC scandal that's been rocking Canadian politics. 

  
• 04.26.2019

  Running for Co-Prime Minister And Raccoon Fight Club

  PEI has voted so journalist and podcaster Justin Ling joins the panel to explain the Green Party's chances, the Progressive Conservative win and what a better version of politics could be. Chatelaine senior writer Sarah Boesveld guest co-hosts with some...

  
• 04.19.2019

  Grandma's Flat Tummy Tea and the End of Big Lettuce

  Buzzfeed News disinformation reporter Jane Lytvynenko and MobileSyrup reporter Shruti Shekar break down the new rules and regulations about your favourite social media sites. Also, instead of an Alberta election update, we celebrate Queen Bey. 

  
• 04.12.2019

  An Abundance of Todds and the End of Big Oil

  Writer and activist Bashir Mohamed joins ABToday reporter Catherine Griwkowsky to catch on all the high, lows and hopes of the upcoming Alberta election.

  
• 03.29.2019

  A Lack of Collusion and Taxing Dr. Dre

  Democracy Now digital editor Ishmael Daro returns to the podcast with an update on the Mueller report and what Democrats are doing while writer Sarah Hagi asks if any of it matters. Also joining is Globe and Mail columnist Denise...

  
• 03.22.2019

  Bercow's Brexit and One Big Dumb Question

  Globe and Mail columnist Doug Saunders takes you through the big week in Brexit. Analyst Oksana Kischuk looks at the money being thrown at millenials in Budget 2019. And the panel comes to a rare agreement. 

  
• 03.15.2019

  The Yoga-fication of Getting High and The Rock's Black Canadian Dad

  Vice Canada reporter Manisha Krishnan catches us up on the last five months in marijuana legalization - who's winning, who is losing and what, if anything, we've gained. Toronto Star sports reporter Morgan Campbell breaks down the cheating scandal rocking...

  
• 03.08.2019

  Quebec's Immigration Stand and John Tory's Reggae Band

  Le Devoir columnist Emilie Nicolas walks through Quebec's big plan on immigration. Broadcaster and activist Desmond Cole joins the panel to talk about The Problem With Dancing With John Tory. And Vicky declines a do-over.

  
• 03.01.2019

  Broken Plans and Driving In Cars With Defence Lawyers

  On a very special episode of Safe  Space we feature three podcasts from The Docket, The Read Road and the Intrepid podcast.

  
• 02.22.2019

  A Questionable Convoy and The Maximum Price for Brunch

  National Post reporter Tyler Dawson explains the convoy of protestors that rode from the West to the Hill. And a new plan to change police oversight in Ontario unravels years of negotiations and protesting. Plus Buzzfeed News reporter Lauren Strapagiel...

  
• 02.15.2019

  Strong Men Crying and The Right To Be Fake

  Toronto Star reporter and expert lie detector Daniel Dale walks the panel through President Trump's lies. Hill Times deputy editor Charelle Evelyn breaks down the details of a big allegation and a controversy that you need a flowchart for. Featuring...

  
• 02.08.2019

  Angering The Heritage Minutes and White Confession Month

  Political commentator Supriya Dwivedi and Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson join Vicky on the first episode of the fourth season to talk about the Conservative Heritage Minute parody video, advertising strategy in this election, the election protection task force...

  
• 06.22.2018

  White Pride Honeypot & Show Us The Feet Sweetie

  This week, because it’s our last show of the season, we’re doing things a little differently. Instead of just looking at the past week in news, we’re going to be discussing a bunch of stories from the past year —...

  
• 06.15.2018

  A Parade for Cops & Britney Spears the Economist

  Financial Post reporter James McLeod and Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Sandy Hudson join the panel this week to talk about the drama from the G7 and protesting police at Pride. 

  
• 06.07.2018

  Justin Trudeau's Relationship Advice & The Patrick Dempsey of Canadian Politics

  We're back after a one-week break, and boy is there a lot to catch up on. First, an update on the federal government's decision to buy a pipeline, and why it could blow up in Justin Trudeau's face. Then, a...

  
• 05.25.2018

  When The Government Comes Knocking On Your Door

    Across Canada, Indigenous and Black children are apprehended by provincial child welfare agencies at much higher rates than their white counterparts. Children can languish in the system, separated from their families for years, even as the parents try desperately...

  
• 05.18.2018

  Unfairness In Sport and Hating Fireworks

  Toronto Star reporters Morgan Campbell and Fatima Syed join the panel this week to talk about why the province of Ontario is refusing to release a videotape from a jail where a man died, and the new unfair rule in...

  
• 05.11.2018

  Conservative Woodstock and the NDP's Branding Problem

  In under a month, Ontario will elect a premier. In one year, Alberta will do the same. The two provinces are different in so many ways - economies, cultures, cities - but in other ways, Alberta and Ontario are facing...

  
• 05.04.2018

  Who's Cashing In On Legal Weed?

  Canada is legalizing weed... allegedly. We've been told it will be legal at some point in 2018 but we still don't have a firm date. And there are also serious concerns about how the Liberals' approach will shape the industry,...

  
• 04.27.2018

  Angry Young Men and Cops Who Don't Kill You

  This week we talk about the horrific vehicular attack in Toronto that killed 10 people, what we know about the suspect, and what can be done about angry young men. Then, with the weather warming up again, we talk about...

  
• 04.20.2018

  A Reckoning in Quebec and Barista IT Support

  Alexandre Bissonnette is in court for killing six people in a Quebec City mosque in January 2017. We discuss what has come out during his sentencing hearing, and whether it changes our understanding of the case. Also, what led a Starbucks...

  
• 04.13.2018

  Pipeline Politics and Clark Kent's Rural Upbringing

  This week, the whole show is devoted to the fight over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that has pitted the Alberta and federal governments against BC, local municipalities, and First Nations who object to the project. To help make sense...

  
• 04.06.2018

  Systemic Racism and Facebook Leaks

  Toronto Star race and gender columnist Shree Paradkar and The Week tech columnist Navneet Alang are making their triumphant returns to Safe Space. On this week's show, the gang talks about why Canada can't talk about systemic racism (or at...

  
• 03.30.2018

  Why Does Canada Jail Immigrants?

  Canadians like to think of their country as a safe haven for people fleeing persecution from other parts of the world. But when people fall through the cracks of the immigration system, they can end up behind bars — sometimes...

  
• 03.23.2018

  Mission to Mali and Anti-Black Lattes

  Chatelaine senior writer (and our first threepeat guest) Sarah Boesveld is joined by VICE News reporter Hilary Beaumont to talk about Canada's peacekeeping mission to Mali, harassment on the hill and what, if anything, is still good about Facebook.

  
• 03.16.2018

  Andrea Horwath's Witness Protection Program and Champagne Drinking Elites

  Ontario's Progressive Conservatives have a new leader after a chaotic 6-week campaign to replace Patrick Brown. The party chose Doug Ford. What? Jessica Smith Cross, editor of QP Briefing, walks us through what this means for the PCs, Ontario, and...

  
• 03.09.2018

  Checking In For Season 3

  Safe Space is coming back for another season, so Vicky and Ishmael are checking in and saying hello. New full episodes start March 16th! Follow the show on Twitter: www.twitter.com/itsasafespace

  
• 12.08.2017

  Lena Dunham's Lamby and Adidas-style Racism

  Writer Kyrell Grant and comedian Lauren Mitchell join the panel to talk about their favourite news stories of the year. 

  
• 12.01.2017

  Bad News Drip Drip and Segregating the Issue

  Daily Xtra reporter Arshy Mann and iPolitics Parliamentary reporter Beatrice Britneff are on the pod to talk about Canada's dying/murdered newspaper industry, as well as the value of a public apology for past wrongs committed by the state.  Follow Arshy...

  
• 11.24.2017

  Canada's Broken Prison System

  Reuters investigative reporter Anna Mehler Paperny joins Sharmeen Khan of the End Immigration Detention Network on the podcast this week to focus on the problems, reforms and future of Canada's prison system.  ...

  
• 11.17.2017

  Canadian TV and Blake Shelton's Sex Appeal

  Chatelaine senior writer Sarah Boesveld and writer/comedian Jordan Sowunmi are here to dive into nostalgia for classic Canadian TV and why there are so few great Canadian shows being made today. Then the panelists puzzle over how Blake Shelton became...

  
• 11.10.2017

  Leaking from Paradise & Mona Lisa Contouring

  Toronto Star investigative reporter Robert Cribb and J-Source managing editor H.G. Watson are here to talk about the Paradise Papers and how the global elite hide their wealth from the taxman, as well as whether the CBC's new version of...

  
• 11.03.2017

  Captain Alberta and the Pizza Wars

  National Post columnist Jen Gerson and Buzzfeed news reporter Jane Lytvynenko join the panel to talk about Jason Kenney's future in Alberta and whose job it is to keep foreign interference from ruining social media during elections.

  
• 10.27.2017

  Justin Trudeau and the Terrible Twos

  Two years after the 2015 election, Haudenosaunee comedian/policy wonk Courtney Skye and This magazine editor Erica Lenti join the panel to judge the Liberals from head to socks. 

  
• 10.20.2017

  Bill's Blind Trust and Jagmeet's Bare Feet

  iPolitics reporter Janice Dickson and morning show maven Supriya Dwivedi join the panel to talk about Bill Morneau's very bad week and Quebec's very bad legislation this week. 

  
• 10.13.2017

  Corny White People and Yeezys for Dads

  Hosts and producers of The Nod, Eric Eddings and Britanny Luse (formerly of For Coloured Nerds) are on the panel this week along with a special guest host, Sajae Elder, for an all-black power hour. They chat about Harvery Weinstein,...

  
• 10.06.2017

  The Dreadful Whiteness of the NHL and Black America's Quarterback

  Sports writer and activist Shireen Ahmed joins Toronto Star sports and business reporter Morgan Campbell are on the panel this week to talk about sticking to sports, Cam Newton and the greatness of arrogance. 

  
• 09.29.2017

  Mike Pence's Canada and the End of Anthems

  Ontario NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo and Macleans associate editor Murad Hemmadi join Vicky and Ishamel to talk about the future of Uber and what lies ahead in the federal NDP leadership race.   

  
• 09.22.2017

  Barbie Politics and the Wright Brothers of Pooping

  Writers Sarah Hagi and Ashley Csanady join Safe Space to talk about Barbie politics, the tax changes debate and the ongoing saga of Senator Lynn Beyak. Welcome back for season two!

  
• 09.15.2017

  Our Worst Takes, In Front Of A Live Audience

  Vicky and Ishmael were joined by comedian Monica Heisey (@monicaheisey) and sports writer Alex Wong (@steven_lebron) for a special edition of Takeaways, live on stage. Safe Space was one of five podcasts to take part in a live taping of...

  
• 09.13.2017

  Checking In For Season 2

  Safe Space is coming back for another season, so Vicky and Ishmael are checking in and saying hello. New full episodes start September 22nd. Follow the show on Twitter @itsasafespace.

  
• 06.09.2017

  The Third Hemsworth Brother and The Next British Prime Minister

  On the season finale of Safe Space, policy analyst Lauren Dobson Hughes (@ldobsonhughes) and HuffPo blogs editor Michael Scholars (@scholarsenic) join the panel to talk about changes to the Criminal Code. Canada's new foreign policy swagger and what's been happening in...

  
• 06.02.2017

  Stephen Harper's Heir And The Looming NDP Family Feud

  Policy wonk Brittany Andrew-Amofah and comedian Ryan McMahon are on Safe Space to talk about the changing of the political guard in Ottawa and in British Columbia, as well as the ongoing failure of the federal government to properly fund social welfare for...