The Canadians

Ian MacKenzie is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, storyteller, and host of The Mythic Masculine podcast, where he explores masculinity through mythology, psychology, storytelling, and the traditions of initiation and brotherhood.

We begin by exploring Ian’s journey into the mythopoetic men’s movement and the influence of thinkers and storytellers such as Robert Bly, Carl Jung, and Joseph Campbell. From there, we discuss the role of mythology in human life, the value of men gathering together, and whether modern society has lost important traditions that once helped young men find their way into adulthood.

Our conversation also explores some of the more challenging questions surrounding masculinity today, including gender identity, transgender inclusion in men’s spaces, and the growing influence of the manosphere and figures like Andrew Tate.

Throughout our discussion, we return to a larger question: as society places increasing emphasis on individual freedom, rationality, and technological progress, what might we be losing in our search for meaning, community, and belonging?

Ian’s Links

The Mythic Masculine:

https://www.themythicmasculine.com/podcast

Article on The Manosphere:

https://themythicmasculine.substack.com/p/the-lost-boys-of-the-manosphere-and

Filmmaking Archive:

https://www.ianmack.com

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on September 14, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

We ask leaders to defend us, represent us, and fight for us. But perhaps one of the most important things a leader can do is help us see ourselves more clearly.

In this solo minisode, Jared Michael reflects on tribalism, self-reflection, and the kind of courage required to challenge your own side. He explores why healthy societies need leaders capable of separating legitimate grievance from blind certainty, acknowledging uncomfortable truths, and helping their own communities recognize where they may be wrong.

A reflection on leadership, humility, and why the ability to self-correct may be one of the deepest forms of social strength.

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Recorded on August 19, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

David Thomas is a lawyer and former chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, a position he held for seven years. He has also worked as a mediator with the BC Human Rights Tribunal and is now a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

We discuss what Canada’s human rights tribunals were created to do, how they actually work, and David’s concerns about the direction they have taken. From there, we explore increasingly lengthy proceedings, financial awards, disputes involving speech, and whether the process itself can become a form of punishment.

This is a conversation about human rights, equality before the law, and whether Canada’s human rights tribunals remain an important institution in need of reform, or whether the problems run deeper than that.

David’s Links

Articles at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute:

https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/cm-expert/david-thomas/

Website:

https://www.davidthomas.ca/

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on August 19, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Heather Exner-Pirot is a political scientist, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and one of Canada’s leading voices on energy, natural resources, and the North.

We discuss Canada’s extraordinary resource wealth, the changing politics around developing it, and what resource projects can mean for Indigenous and remote communities. From there, the conversation broadens into questions of economic growth, national ambition, and Canada’s place in a changing world.

This is a conversation about what Canada has, what we’re willing to build, and the kind of country we want to become.

Heather’s Links

X:

https://x.com/ExnerPirot

Articles:

https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/cm-expert/heather-exner-pirot/

Macdonald-Laurier Institute Energy Program:

https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/category/issues/energy-policy-program/energy/

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on August 10, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Tara Henley is a veteran Canadian journalist, author, and host of the independent current affairs podcast Lean Out. After nearly a decade at the CBC, she resigned from the public broadcaster in 2022, raising concerns about the direction of the CBC and mainstream journalism more broadly. Her latest book is The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity.

We begin by exploring Tara’s diagnosis of what went wrong: the economic collapse of the traditional media business model, the rise of activist journalism, changing newsroom culture, and the profession’s move away from objectivity. From there, we discuss the CBC, political and intellectual diversity inside newsrooms, and whether rebuilding public trust requires the media to acknowledge where it has gone wrong.

This is a conversation about journalism, objectivity, and a larger question facing an increasingly fragmented country: is it still possible to create journalism that Canadians across the political spectrum can trust?

Tara’s Links

The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity:

https://www.amazon.ca/Trust-Spiral-Media-Needs-Objectivity/dp/1509570934

Lean Out Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/lean-out-with-tara-henley/id1605838486

Lean Out Substack:

https://tarahenley.substack.com

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on August 4, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Jimi Fritz is a writer, musician, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and the author of Rave Culture: An Insider’s Overview. A longtime traveler and legendary rave promoter, he has spent decades documenting and participating in one of the most influential—and perhaps most misunderstood—youth movements of the late twentieth century.

We begin by exploring the origins of rave culture, the music that defined it, and the unique experience that kept people returning to dance floors around the world. From there, we discuss community, belonging, psychedelics, spirituality, and why the movement was so often misunderstood by authorities and the media.

This is a conversation about community, transcendence, and what one forgotten cultural movement might still teach us about the enduring human search for meaning and belonging.

Jimi’s Link’s

Website:

https://www.jimifritz.ca/

Rave Culture: An Insider’s Overview:

https://www.amazon.ca/Rave-culture-insiders-Jimi-Fritz/dp/0968572103/

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on July 7, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Trevor Herriot is a Saskatchewan naturalist, conservationist, and award-winning author. Through decades of writing and conservation work, he has explored the relationship between people, place, and the natural world.

We begin by discussing Canada’s native prairie grasslands, the historic role of bison, and the surprising partnership between ranchers and conservationists in protecting these increasingly rare landscapes. From there, our conversation broadens into questions of spirituality, humility, our relationship with nature, and whether modern society has become a little too certain of what it knows.

This is a conversation about conservation, belonging, and the landscapes that shape who we are.

Guardians of the Grasslands (12-min documentary):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CG4ROvCu0Y

Nature Saskatchewan:

https://www.naturesask.ca/

Trevor's Links

Website:

https://www.trevorherriot.com/

Public Pastures - Public Interest:

https://pfrapastureposts.wordpress.com/about/who-we-are/

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on May 27, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Former BC cabinet minister Selina Robinson joins The Canadians for a conversation about identity, democratic values, and what it means to be Jewish in Canada today.

We begin with the controversy that brought her political career to an abrupt end before exploring the rise of Jew hatred following October 7th, the lived experience of belonging to one of Canada’s smallest minority communities, and the difficult relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

From there, we turn to broader questions about anti-racism, colour-blindness, equality versus equity, and whether class and poverty—not race or ancestry—should once again become the primary focus of progressive politics.

Selina Robinson served as a BC MLA from 2013 to 2024 and held several senior cabinet positions, including Minister of Finance during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is the author of Truth Be Told.

Selina’s links

Truth Be Told:

https://www.amazon.ca/Truth-Be-Told-Selina-Robinson/dp/1069165107

Website:

https://www.selinarobinson.ca/

Substack:

https://selinarobinson.substack.com/p/on-retirement

X:

https://x.com/SelinaMRobinson

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on May 19, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Aaron Pete is a First Nation Chief, law graduate, and host of the Nuanced podcast. Through hundreds of conversations across Canada’s political, cultural, and ideological divides, he has earned a reputation for approaching disagreement with curiosity rather than certainty.

We begin by exploring what shaped Aaron’s approach to dialogue and what he has learned from speaking with people across the political spectrum. From there, we discuss reconciliation, Indigenous governance, economic development, land and title, and why he believes Indigenous policy should ultimately be judged by whether it helps communities become healthier, stronger, and more prosperous.

This is a conversation about listening well, thinking carefully, and searching for practical paths toward reconciliation.

Aaron Pete/Tim Thielmann debate on reconciliation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3Ktn4iEkc

Aaron’s links

Website:

https://aaronpete.com/

X:

https://x.com/Aaronpete_

Nuanced:

https://www.youtube.com/@NuancedwithAaronPete

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Conversation recorded on May 14, 2026

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Modern society has become very good at communication and increasingly poor at understanding.

In this solo minisode, Jared Michael explores the difference between listening and simply waiting for our turn to speak. He reflects on disagreement, dehumanization, curiosity, and why recognizing another person’s humanity may be one of the most important skills a healthy society can cultivate.

A reflection on listening, not as a communication technique, but as an act of recognition, empathy, and perhaps even love.

The Canadians Links

Website:

https://www.thecanadianspodcast.ca/

Support Page:

https://buymeacoffee.com/thecanadians

Follow us on X:

https://x.com/TheCanadiansPod

Subscribe on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/75wxT42gEPMiOBGTFFU4D4

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/bad-canadians/id1785300184

Subscribe on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCanadiansPod

Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.