The Orchardcast

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Scholar of right-wing populism Carmen Celestini recently released a book, God’s Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society, which details how the John Birch Society’s paranoid conspiracism influenced the trajectory of right-wing politics in the U.S.

Reaching the zenith of its political power during Barry Goldwater’s ill-fated 1964 presidential campaign, there’s a clear parallel with how Alberta Premier Danielle Smith navigates the far-right populists in her midst.

Related Links

* God’s Angry Men (Bloomsbury Press, 2026)

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Featured Stories

* Retired judge appointed to electoral boundary panel donated to UCP, Michelle Bellefontaine, CBC News

* Former Alberta judge tapped to chair panel redrawing electoral boundaries, Lisa Johnson, Canadian Press

* Carney government follows CUSMA letter with proposals to revive U.S. trade talks, Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star

* Some Palestinian student visas being expedited after long wait, David Baxter, Canadian Press

* Shopify paid Kenneth Law $149K for deadly poison sales to at-risk buyers, court records show, Thomas Daigle, CBC News

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Featured Stories

* Guilbeault to resign as an MP over Carney government’s climate policies, Vassy Kapelos and Stephanie Ha, CTV News

* Steven Guilbeault expected to quit Liberal caucus as early as Wednesday, sources say, Marieke Walsh and Stephanie Levitz, Globe and Mail

* Carney says House of Commons won’t weigh in on Alberta’s referendum question, Darren Major, CBC News

* Alberta separatist leader planning to challenge Danielle Smith’s leadership or change referendum question, Jason Markusoff, CBC News

* CANSEC Arms Fair Bars Multiple Independent Journalists From Attending, Alex Cosh, The Maple

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

You may know Adam H. Johnson as the co-host of the Citations Needed podcast. He has a new book out, How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza, which provides a rigorous, data-driven critique of how liberal American media outlets helped facilitate the Gaza genocide.

Related Links

* How to Sell a Genocide (Pluto Press, 2026)

* We Analyzed Thousands of News Articles: Here’s Proof of Pro-Israel Bias in Mainstream Media, The Intercept

* How the Media Sold a Genocide, Current Affairs

* How the corporate media helped fuel Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Mondoweiss

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe