Some Politics is Local

For this week’s episode, in global politics, we talk about Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. What has happened so far, what will happen next and the politics of it all - we will discuss! For provincial politics, we have a hot-take on Alberta's 2022 budget. The roller-coaster is going high (especially given the first topic of the pod) - we'll discuss how this bodes for Jason Kenney's government.

For BookReport this week, Mike read (with his ears, of course) Embarassment of Critches, by Mark Critch - the second part of the memoir from This Hour Has 22 Minutes lead, Mark Critch.

For this week’s episode, in federal politics, we talk about the decision of the Liberal government to activate the Emergencies Measures Act in order to combat the occupation in Ottawa and the blockades around the country.  We talk about why they did it and the politics - for all of the Federal political parties as well as the Premiers most impacted.  For provincial politics, its our first installment of the 'Ides of April' in Alberta, where we track events to see how Jason Kenney is likely to do at his April 9th leadership review.

For BookReport this week, David read (with his eyes - like a nerd) the award-winning novel Bewilderment by Richard Powers.

We have a dual ShowReport this week on Veep, the HBO comedy series staring Julia-Louis Dreyfus which features her as the first female Vice President of the United States.

For this week’s episode, we (once again) have a double-dose of federal politics - with a bit of provincial mixed in for good measure! In the first segment, we (once again) discuss the politics behind the Ottawa trucker convoy. In addition, we talk about the blockade that has been formed in Coutts, Alberta. We wrap up the episode by talking about the sluggish rise and fall of Erin O'Toole as the Conservative Party leader.  What does this portend for the party - and the future of democracy in Canada (Mike's words)?  We will discuss!

No Report this week given the week was so chock full of politics.

For this week’s episode, we have a double-dose of federal politics! In the first segment, we discuss the politics behind the cross-Canada trucker convoy that will soon be converging onto Ottawa. What is the upside and potential downside of politicians supporting these folks? We'll discuss! We then have a HOT TAKE on the leaked post-mortem report on what went wrong with the Conservative Party in the last federal election.  For MiniSeriesReport this week, Mike watched (for a 2nd time) the HBO miniseries documenting the adult life of John Adams, second President of the United States. He also takes the time to compare those rebels that claimed the country from the British against those 'patriots' from January 6th.

For BookReport this week, David read (with his eyes, like a nerd) An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, which is a novel writing about 1920's America that is just as plausible today.

For this week’s episode, we welcome our first EVER guest to the podcast, Kathleen Bancroft. In the episode, we focus exclusively on 'Covid Across Canada' and each talk about one big related story that we think matters. The conversation is pretty wide-ranging - hitting on everything from Quebec's new 'antivax tax', different provincial policies on school openings, as well as whether firings due to not being vaccinated are ethical/legal.

No Report this week because we had such a good time chatting with Kathleen.

In this week’s episode, it's all about remembering the January 6th insurrection that took place at the US Capitol building last year. In it, we talk about what our views were at the time (we recorded a special Hot Take episode last year as events were unfolding), where the current political landscape is in the US, and what is likely to come with the 2022 midterms and 2024 GOP nomination.

No formal report this week but throughout our podcast we cite two really great podcast episodes that just came out analyzing January 6th from the New York Times 'The Daily'. The first one relates to the story and state of mind of a typical January 6th insurrectionist. The second podcast is an in depth interview with Liz Cheney - the most powerful Republican that has stood up against Trump on January 6th (and the Big Lie, more generally).

In this week’s super-special, year-end special, David and Mike take questions from the Dear Listeners! These (great) questions relate to everything from how well Kamala Harris is doing as VP to whether Erin O'Toole will hold on to the Conservative leadership or not? We wrap the show up with 'hot-take' predictions for each level of government from each of David and Mike. As we've said, this is probably a great way to know what definitely won't happen in 2022.

No Report this week in order to make room for every more great questions and (likely) poor predictions.

In this week’s episode, for Global politics, we talk about Russia's latest moves on the Ukrainian border and what might come next in this pseudo-skirmish with NATO. Is Putin just talking in a puffed-up way to impress his Generals? We'll discuss! For Local politics, we talk about whether or not Calgary should put more money into the arena deal and trying to overturn Quebec's infamous Bill 21. We also talk more generally about Mayor Gondek's style of leadership that is emerging.

For DocReport this week, Mike watched the National Film Board (NFB) documentary on Flora MacDonald's run for the federal Progressive Conservative Leadership in 1976, entitled - Flora: Scenes From a Leadership Convention.