Short Cuts

#971 Just For Death

March 14, 2024

The laughter has stopped at the Just For Laughs festival, as ownership applies for creditor protection and cancels the Montreal and Toronto 2024 festivals.

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#969 Mulroney: One of Canada’s Most Divisive Prime Ministers

March 7, 2024

As the obituaries and puff pieces roll in, the Canadian media seems to have forgotten that Brian Mulroney was - in fact - divisive. Correcting the record on “Conservative Titan” Brian Mulroney. 

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#967 The VICE Guide to Losing $5.7 Billion

February 29, 2024

Vice Media was once valued at 5.7 billion dollars - This week it closed its doors.

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#965 The Oliphant in the Room

February 22, 2024

Liberal MP Rob Oliphant was caught being critical of the Trudeau government’s policy on the Gaza war in a leaked phone call with a constituent.

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#963 For Whom Bell Trolls

February 15, 2024

Is radio not a viable business anymore? Bell Media said this in a release in the wake of massive layoffs.

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#961 No Sex Please, We’re Albertan

February 8, 2024

The Alberta Premier has a UCP leadership election this year, and apparently she needs transphobic voter support more than she cares about keeping the government out of classrooms and kids’ pronouns.

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#959 Internet Censorship (Taylor’s Version)

February 1, 2024

How much information should the public get when it comes to the motivations of a suspected shooter attacking a government building?

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#957 The Missing Piece for International Students

January 25, 2024

From cash cows to scapegoats, has there been a change in how we talk about international students?

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#955 What Celebrity Chef Mary Berg Did

January 18, 2024

I know you want to read about what celebrity chef Mary Berg did, but DON’T click on the link - it’s clickbait!

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#953 Burning Down the Jewish Deli Is Not Kosher

January 11, 2024

Canada’s major newspapers take a stance on antisemitic attacks happening in Toronto.

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#951 Who’s Behind A Fake Trudeau Sex Scandal?

January 4, 2024

There’s a really popular Canadian politics YouTube channel with hundreds of anti-Trudeau videos. Something seemed a little fishy though. Jesse, Jonathan, and Karyn start pulling at a thread that ultimately takes their search to the other side of the world.

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#949 MKUltra

December 28, 2023

Is it even possible to “brainwash” anyone?

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#947 Rising Hate and Sweet Google Money

December 21, 2023

Islamophobia and antisemitism are on the rise in Canada - but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that teenagers becoming radicalized and making homemade bombs is not okay. 

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#945 Blurred Faces and the 24-Hour Frenzy of Shohei Ohtani

December 14, 2023

With so much going on in the world, how could we possibly cover it all on one Short Cuts? By breaking it up into digestible chunks of varying levels of importance, that’s how!

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#943 Newspocalypse Now

December 7, 2023

CBC makes huge cuts - with plans to eliminate 600 positions. Is it time for a good hard look in the mirror to figure out what its future could look like?

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#941 Danielle Smith’s Edge of Sovereignty

November 30, 2023

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.

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#939 Secondhand News From Gaza

November 23, 2023

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.

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#937 The Jeffrey Epsteins of Canada

November 16, 2023

As sexual assault convictions stack up for Peter Nygard, another alleged predator is walking free in Montreal.

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#935 A Liberal Plot Against Trudeau?

November 9, 2023

The new refrain in the press gallery is that Trudeau has got to go. How seriously should we take this?

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#933 Buffy Sainte-Marie: Coincidence or Likely Stories?

November 2, 2023

It was impossible to look away once CBC released the story and Fifth Estate documentary questioning Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Indigenous identity. How well did the CBC do in its reporting?

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#931 An Apple a Day Gets Pierre Airplay

October 26, 2023

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre goes international by chomping on an apple.

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# 929 Stumbling Through the Fog of War

October 19, 2023

As the conflict in Gaza and Israel continues to escalate, Pacinthe Mattar sits down with Jonathan to consider the ways in which narratives are shaped, journalists are obstructed, and parameters of discussion get enforced.

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The Worst Week (So Far)

October 12, 2023

The violence that erupted in Israel and Gaza this past weekend has spawned a hurricane of misinformation.

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#925 Elon Musk Saves Canadian Podcasts!

October 5, 2023

Elon Musk accused Justin Trudeau of “trying to crush free speech in Canada.”

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#923 Springtime for Hitler in Ottawa

September 28, 2023

A “Ukrainian who served in Nazi unit” was applauded in Canadian Parliament - let’s just call a Nazi a Nazi.

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#921 No Going Back With India

September 21, 2023

If it weren’t for the Globe and Mail, would Prime Minister Trudeau have publicly accused India of being involved in the killing of Hardeep Nijjar?

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#919 Cirque du Pierre Poilievre

September 14, 2023

Oh what a circus, oh what a show, as a newly reenergized Conservative Party of Canada holds its first convention with Pierre Poilievre as leader.

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#917 Mr. X, Mr. Ford, Mr. Mutton

September 7, 2023

We’re beginning to see the consequences of the Greenbelt scandal. Why does Premier Ford refuse to take accountability? 

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#915 Parents, Peterson and the Pronoun Panic

August 31, 2023

With more provinces jumping aboard the prejudiced pronoun panic, Jesse and Karyn pick apart the misleading narratives that are helping fuel it.

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#913 Yellowknife’s Cabin Radio Fever

August 24, 2023

With Canadians in the North and West fleeing their homes to escape the encroaching infernos, wouldn’t it be great if there were places online they could congregate to share news? 

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#911 Pierre Don’t Care

August 17, 2023

Does Pierre Poilievre touting conspiracy theories count as news?

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#909 What’s-a Meta with Canadian News?

August 10, 2023

With Meta making good on its threat to expunge news from Facebook and Instagram, Canada’s publishers and broadcasters pin their hopes on the Competition Bureau to set things right. (We’re doomed?)

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#907 Hang the Grocer

August 3, 2023

Grocers sure are making it easy for us to be mad at them.

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#905 The Blame Game: Reckoning With Anti-Racism Training

July 27, 2023

When anti-racism training goes wrong. Really, really wrong.

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#903 Canada: Your New Home On The Streets

July 20, 2023

Canada created a new pathway to permanent residency for a large number of Ukrainian refugees, as a group of asylum claimants from other countries were sleeping in the streets of Toronto.

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#901 CBC Crypto Spoof, Danielle Smith Gets a Win and More

July 13, 2023

On this week’s episode we’re trying something new and hitting 5 stories in one for a Super Short Cuts!

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#899 Google, Interrupted

July 6, 2023

Google and Meta respond to Bill C-18 by threatening to block Canadian news.

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#897 PostStar Royco

June 29, 2023

Toronto Star owner Nordstar and Postmedia are in talks to merge - a death knell to Canadian print media.

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#895 We All Died In a Tiny Submarine

June 22, 2023

Do the billionaires on the missing Titan submarine deserve sympathy or scorn?

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#893 Transphobia: The Right Finds Another Target

June 15, 2023

Ah crap, the far right is fixated on queer people again.

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#891 It’s BBQ Season in Canada!

June 8, 2023

Wildfires are coming at us from all sides. How can local reporters get at the root issues?

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#889 Little Reich On The Prairie

June 1, 2023

Despite Danielle Smith’s involvement in numerous scandals, she won a majority in Alberta’s election. Albertan Dani Paradis helps us understand why.

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#887 What, Me Inquiry?

May 25, 2023

The Special Rapporteur is back with a hotly anticipated release - No Public Inquiry!

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#885 Poilievre on Drugs

May 18, 2023

Jesse Brown and co-host Manisha Krishnan dismantle a 10,000 word piece in the National Post claiming safe supply programs are killing people and fuelling a new opioid crisis.

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#883 We Need to Talk About Kevin Vuong

May 11, 2023

Amidst escalating tensions between Canada and China, an independent MP thinks he’s found the shadowy hand manipulating his fate.

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#881 Death of the Viral News Site

May 4, 2023

BuzzFeed is going bust and Vice is headed for bankruptcy - is it the end of viral news sites?

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#879 Fox News Gets Tucker’d Out

April 27, 2023

From his perch at the top of the far-right ecosystem, Tucker Carlson regularly soaked up stories from Canada and half-jokingly called for forcible regime change here. But when it comes to demagogues who suddenly find themselves with time on their hands, even the half-jokes might merit another look

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#877 CBC Is in a Fight for Its Life

April 20, 2023

We’re talking the CBC leaving Twitter after being labeled “government-funded media”, while Pierre Poilievre thanks Elon Musk for what he was already going to do. The real losers here are the Canadian public. 

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#875 How to (Remotely) Blow Up a Pipeline

April 13, 2023

From Minecraft to statecraft, Jacobin’s Luke Savage joins Jonathan to chart the bizarre course of a U.S. intelligence leak with potentially explosive implications for Canada. And seemingly inspired by the Musk-fragrant “Twitter Files,” a Conservative MP went on a fishing expedition for examples of the Canadian government over-policing social media. Does turning up a single really solid instance count as a success?

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#873 Danielle Smith’s ‘Perfect’ Phone Call

April 6, 2023

A story about criminal charges, a potential lawsuit against the press, leaked tape suggesting a huge overreach of power — could a certain populist politician have finally gone too far? We’re talking about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. And enough is enough in Quebec — a defiant open letter in Le Devoir demanding an end to the toxicity in political discourse, signed by hundreds of scholars and writers.

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#871 The Han Dong Situation is Bad Either Way

March 30, 2023

Either Beijing has corrupted our democracy at the highest level or agents in the Canadian security apparatus are subverting the PMO by illegally leaking information that's either mistaken, exaggerated or both.

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#869 Stormy Days For Donald Trump

March 23, 2023

The Toronto Star’s Allan Woods joins Jonathan to look at the prospect of Trump fundraising off a mugshot, and how a Montreal fire might finally accomplish what years of journalism and advocacy have not, pushing authorities there to take action against illegal Airbnbs.

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#867 The Fall Of Silicon Valley Bank, For Dummies

March 16, 2023

Co-host Sean Silcoff walks us through the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and what it might mean for Canadians. And the Supreme Court Judge who mysteriously went missing from the bench for weeks and the alleged misconduct unearthed by journalists.

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#865 Is China Trudeau’s Last Scandal?

March 9, 2023

The story about Chinese interference in our elections continues to evolve and the opposition leader has seized on it.

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#863 Ukraine’s Night Train to the Front Lines

March 2, 2023

As we cross the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, former Canadaland producer Sarah Lawrynuik returns to Short Cuts to talk with Jonathan about why she became a freelance war correspondent, taking night trains to the front lines.

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#861 Pierre, Take The L

February 23, 2023

Rouleau has rolled out his verdict and Prime Minister Trudeau is vindicated. What precedent does this set?

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#859 John Tory and His Sin City

February 16, 2023

A tasting menu of scandals from Ontario’s municipal and provincial governments, with a newsroom scandal thrown in for kicks.

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#857 How The Westons Won

February 9, 2023

Following the melting of the No Name price freeze, Loblaw had a bit of its own public meltdown. Meanwhile, the country’s largest newspaper chain continues its own perpetual self-dissolution, leaving damp puddles where once stood proud big-city dailies.

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#855 Don’t Call Quebec Racist, They’re Sensitive About It

February 2, 2023

Quebec’s overblown backlash to the appointment of Amira Elghawaby as special representative on combatting Islamophobia in response to her analysis of a poll from back in 2019. And is the government telling us to only drink two alcoholic beverages a week? Sarah Hagi co-hosts.

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#853 The Indulgent Consultant

January 26, 2023

McKinsey is on everyone’s lips, but it’s just one of the many consulting firms the government is spending millions on. And as the provinces and federal government battle it out when it comes to healthcare, whose side are we supposed to be on? Nora Loreto co-hosts.

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#851 Liars, Deniers and Bears, Oh My!

January 19, 2023

Will Chat GPT put journalists out of their job? Probably not.

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#849 G.I. Justin

January 12, 2023

Is PM Trudeau a stealth warmonger? Co-host David Pugliese explains why it is so difficult to wrap one’s head around military spending. And Jordan Peterson’s latest drama over a banal request from the College of Psychologists of Ontario’s request for social media training after complaints over inappropriate tweets.

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#847 We Need A Name For This Awards Show

January 5, 2023

The Shorties! Or Cutties! Or Shortcuttys! A special awards show highlighting variably consequential media weirdness from the year past. Dani Paradis co-hosts.

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#845 COMMONS: Against the WIND

December 29, 2022

WIND Mobile, now known as Freedom, was a small company that tried to break through Canada’s telecom oligopoly. It did not have an easy ride.

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#843 God Save the Tweets

December 22, 2022

Why Twitter should be run more like a newsroom and a look at the Twitter Files. And the latest in CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme story and who was left out of the narrative. Jan Wong co-hosts. 

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#841 Trauma-informed Journalism: A Choice and a Voice

December 15, 2022

Former crime reporter Tamara Cherry — who now works as a specialist-for-hire on trauma-informed practices — joins Jonathan Goldsbie to consider what allegations swirling around Leah McLaren’s memoir have taught us about what could be called “trauma-indifferent” writing.

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#839 Happiness Is A Banned Gun

December 8, 2022

Hunters are mad about the new big list of guns to be banned by the Liberals - but why should we care if it helps reduce gun violence? And the not so credible Blacklock’s reporter’s story about being evicted from the Press Gallery. Grant LaFleche co-hosts. 

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#837 Hoisted On Their Own Qatar

December 1, 2022

The potential hypocrisies of condemning human rights abuses in Qatar during the FIFA World Cup. And the increasing difficulty of writing critically about Israel. Shree Paradkar co-hosts.

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#835 Poilievre’s Toxic Lie About Safe Supply

November 24, 2022

Poilievre's toxic lie about safe supply. And the confusing and contradictory CSIS intelligence on China and the Freedom Convoy. Garth Mullins co hosts.

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#833 Trudeau’s Dismissive Chinese Dad

November 17, 2022

The tense relationship between Canada and China after allegations of interference in our federal election. And do we need a mask mandate to prevent mask laziness and save our kids? Steven Zhou co-hosts.

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#831 Never Gonna Give (Twitter) Up

November 9, 2022

Unpacking the changes at Twitter and how chaos is Elon Musk's product. And what would it take for Canadians to change their mind on the use of the Emergencies Act? Douglas Soltys co-hosts.  

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#829 Hate Crimes Against Nazis

November 3, 2022

The curious case of a journalist charged with the vandalism of a Nazi statue. And the first order of business for 10 newly elected politicians in Hamilton is to boycott the local newspaper. Jeremy Appel co-hosts. 

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#827 Southern Exposure: Featuring Cenk Uygur

October 27, 2022

Like the next-piece box in Tetris, the United States often offers a preview of political trends that will soon come to Canada. So with dozens of 2020-election deniers set to be elected to Congress next month, what does that bode for our own near future?

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#825 Low Blow, Loblaws!

October 20, 2022

Loblaws takes the heat over a tone-deaf price freeze.

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#823 A Star Is Torn

October 13, 2022

A controversial comment about Burqas in a Toronto Star column crossed the editorial line. And business drama at this Toronto paper. Jonathan Goldsbie hosts with co-host Sarah Hagi.

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#821 Quebec Election Pop Quiz

October 6, 2022

Emilie Nicolas and Toula Drimonis break down the Quebec election for those outside of the Quebec bubble

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#819 Shocking Revelations On The Saskatchewan Stabbings

September 29, 2022

There have been major developments in the Saskatchewan stabbing story, but most journalists have moved on - except for Global reporter Ashleigh Stewart. And why do reporters try to elicit emotional responses from victims of natural disasters? Ashleigh Stewart co-hosts. 

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#817 Bots Have Feelings Too

September 22, 2022

A recent encounter between Pierre Poilievre and David Akin of Global News demonstrates the tactics politicians have been using to avoid accountability. And how the popular #TrudeauMustGo campaign is being dismissed as bots and treated as if it doesn't exist. Nora Loreto co-hosts.

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#815 Our Royals, Our Elves

September 15, 2022

Canadians have greeted the death of Elizabeth II with a mix of sadness and ambivalence, hostility and indifference. Film writer Will Sloan joins Jonathan Goldsbie to look at how media has grappled with evolving attitudes toward the monarchy, and how it’s covered the rare sort of development that’s both wholly inevitable and the biggest breaking news in the world. They also go deep on a cartoon elf.

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#813 A Manhunt in the Prairies

September 8, 2022

An on-the-ground account of what it has been like to cover the Saskatchewan stabbing spree.

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#811 LaFlamme Wars

September 1, 2022

The Lisa LaFlamme story continues to smolder in the headlines. And Canada turns into a denunciation nation when it comes to weighing in on Chrystia Freeland's verbal attack. Priya Sam co-hosts.

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#809 The End Of NOW

August 25, 2022

The remaining staff at Toronto’s NOW Magazine haven’t gotten a regular paycheque in months. But as the beloved alt-weekly disintegrated around them, they kept on putting out issues. Norm Wilner, who spent 14 years as NOW’s film writer, joins former colleague Jonathan Goldsbie on Short Cuts to consider the slow decay of a publication that served as the city’s internet, before the internet was a thing. They also look at the Toronto Star’s successful battle to overturn a strange publication ban masking the identity of an upper-crust private school.

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#807 Keeping LaFlamme Alive

August 18, 2022

What's really behind Lisa LaFlamme's abrupt departure from CTV National News? And John Derringer's years of alleged workplace abuse at Toronto's Q107 and the straw that broke the camel's back for ending his show. Teri Hart co-hosts.

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#805 Healthcare In Crisis

August 11, 2022

How many ways must healthcare break down before you can call it “collapsed”? And how can journalists be better supported when they receive threatening hate mail? Moira Wyton co-hosts with Jonathan Goldsbie.

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#803 Hockey Blight In Canada

August 4, 2022

The dam has broken on hockey's toxic culture. And a new BC Supreme Court ruling threatens confidential sources. Laura Robinson co-hosts.

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#801 Pope? Nope.

July 28, 2022

The media actually did a pretty good job of covering the Pope's apology. And Wendy Mesley's re-branding as a woman of ill repute. Karyn Pugliese co-hosts.

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#799 Hot Off The Press

July 21, 2022

Our changing perception of the Nova Scotia mass shooter's partner Lisa Banfield. And thwarting the apocalypse through journalism. Sarah Lawrynuik co-hosts. 

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#797 Wet Hot Antitrust Summer

July 14, 2022

Three telecoms in a trench coat and other Canadian oligopolies. And we need a new playbook when it comes to engaging with Pierre Poilievre. Vass Bednar co-hosts

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#795 Lucy and Linda’s Law

July 7, 2022

A Supreme Court decision that hasn't gotten much attention in Canada. And the National Post is calling for an end to the bullying of reporters, meanwhile its own columnists are attacking their own. Jan Wong co-hosts.

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#793 You Don’t “Both Sides” Human Rights

June 30, 2022

Do we need to give equal weight to both sides of the abortion debate? And the Freedom Convoy returns, maybe. Jonathan Goldsbie fills in for Jesse and Rachel Cairns co-hosts.

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#791 Imperfect Behaviour

June 23, 2022

A scandal in Canada's sacred sport. And can journalists do more to unpack the crypto craze and crash? Emilie Nicolas fills in for Jesse and Julian McKenzie co-hosts.

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#789 Correction? Recession? Celebration!

June 16, 2022

In the midst of a climate crisis, why do we continue to report business news as usual? And is Minister Mendicino being mendacious over the Emergencies Act when he says police advised the government to invoke it? John Woodside, climate reporter for Canada's National Observer co-hosts. 

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#787 The Youtuber Uprising

June 9, 2022

Finding misinformation in the Quebec government's misinformation campaign on Bill 96. And why Tiktokers are speaking out against Bill C-11. Lela Savić co-hosts.

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#785 Reckoning With Reckoning

June 2, 2022

Denials of the unmarked graves at residential school sites push through to the mainstream. And a new report shows that journalists' mental health is in jeopardy. Dani Paradis co-hosts. 

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#783 Doug Ford Because We Hate Ourselves

May 26, 2022

A glowing opinion piece about Doug Ford has us wondering how he miraculously overturned his sinking approval ratings. And why Jesse can't report on the Online News Act anymore. Stephen Maher co-hosts. 

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#781 Pierre World Order

May 19, 2022

The many, many opinion pieces on why Pierre Poilievre shouldn't fire the head of the Bank of Canada. And why some Canadians insist on bragging about how we're better than America while ignoring the hate being brewed here. Ryan Thorpe co-hosts.

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#779 The Last Hoser

May 12, 2022

The canucksploitation is egregious in Mike Myer's new Netflix show the Pentaverate. And the chairman of Post Media absolutely had to write an opinion piece in the National Post defending Patrick Brown. Jesse's back in the saddle and Mel Woods co-hosts.  

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#777 Tragedy To Our South, Unfinished Business At Home

May 5, 2022

With the imminent upheaval of abortion rights to the south, Canada’s media reflects on the state of things here at home. And going by headlines, you’d think Canada’s ban on gay men giving blood was repealed - but you’d be only somewhat correct.

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#775 The Tweets Hereafter

April 28, 2022

You can probably guess why this one is about Twitter, but why does Short Cuts talk about it so very often? Also, what is the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and why do we not talk about it more?

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#773 Pierre Poilievre: The Anti-Trudeau

April 21, 2022

How Pierre Poilievre cultivated his attack-dog charm. And should we care about what the new CEO of the Toronto Star tweets? Jen Gerson co-hosts.

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#771 Greasy Alberta

April 14, 2022

Welcome to AlbertaLand, where it's cold and greasy. And how the media is bored with the sixth wave. Dani Paradis co-hosts. 

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#769 The Ukraine War Correspondent In Edmonton

April 7, 2022

Fact-checking the war in Ukraine. And the ‘Pay Me for Clickbait Act’ - sorry, the ‘Online News Act.’ Olena Goncharova co-hosts.

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#767 We Will Never Know The Truth About Portapique

March 31, 2022

The public inquest into the Portapique massacre is far from revealing. Will we ever get the answers to the many, many questions still remaining? And journalists are being blocked from covering events at the Indigenous delegations’ visit to the Vatican. Paul Palango co-hosts. 

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#765 The Best Politics Show In Canada

March 24, 2022

Short Cuts is off this week, so instead we bring you our latest episode of the best politics show in Canada, The Backbench.

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#763 I Would Do Anything For Ukraine (But I Won’t Do That)

March 17, 2022

Canadian MPs wax poetic about how President Zelensky inspires them… but is that really going to change anything? And how defamation lawsuits help cover up the truth and keep journalists silent. Jan Wong co-hosts. 

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#761 Patrick Brown Settles For Less

March 10, 2022

Patrick Brown has had his name cleared - according to an anonymous source. And the media loves a good war story. Karen Geier co-hosts. 

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#759 In Our Feelings About Ukraine

March 3, 2022

Why do stories coming out of Ukraine feel different from other wartime coverage? And we look at the uneven media treatment of those who are impacted by war.

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#757 A Kinder Gentler Machine Gun Hand

February 24, 2022

Overcorrecting an overstatement creates confusion; how nice were the police in Ottawa really? And the emergency is over! Though the media seemed to suggest there wasn't really one anyways.

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#755 Freedom Is Un-Canadian

February 17, 2022

The kinder, gentler Emergencies Act should not be underestimated. And framing the convoy as foreign-funded and US-inspired does more harm than good. Writer Nora Loreto co-hosts.

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#753 Wrong 2: Wrong Harder

February 10, 2022

Angry, bias-confirming echo chambers seem evident this week when it comes to the Freedom Convoy. And "a Toronto star at the Toronto Star" dies this week and Jesse dares to speak ill - or at least some truth - about the dead. Maclean's senior writer Paul Wells co-hosts. 

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#751 Honk If You’re Horny (For Freedom)

February 3, 2022

The media may have missed the Freedom Convoy plot yet again. And as several Canadian artists pull their music from the platform, Spotify wades into publisher territory as they work towards content advisories for select podcasts.

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#749 Truck Nutz

January 27, 2022

How many anti-vax trucker convoys were there?! And people are making the case to break up the CBC again.

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#747 Fordman And The Tiny Shovel

January 20, 2022

The hunger for stories about Toronto's snow backfires. And when a story is about a hostage situation at a synagogue, why is there reluctance to call it antisemitism?

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#745 Rebel Nurses

January 13, 2022

Healthcare workers against pandemic restrictions tell on themselves by suing for libel. And two Haitian journalists die reporting for a Montreal online radio station. 

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#743 Variant Positions

January 6, 2022

Publishing record COVID case counts might not be that helpful anymore. And a woman quits the CBC to start her own thing and Jesse isn't sure how to feel about it. 

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#740 Bad News For People Who Hate Good News

December 23, 2021

Justin Trudeau tells-all in his revealing year-end interview, oh wait, he just stuck to the same old talking points. And yes, we’re still going on about Omicron.

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#738 Erring on the Side of Panic

December 16, 2021

The media is scaring the bejesus out of us about the Omicron variant, but being on perpetual high alert can backfire. And the case against feeding the hungry. Writer, activist and podcaster Nora Loreto co-hosts. 

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#736 Diversity In Indigenous Opinions

December 9, 2021

The Indigenous delegation headed to the Vatican was canceled and the media seems most focused on a papal apology. And is coverage of the Ring of Fire simply echoing the Conservative party lines?

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#734 News You Can’t Use

December 2, 2021

The latest COVID variant offers mixed messaging about the severity of the virus. And an obituary to memorialize an alleged murderer does not sit right with Jesse and at least one of our listeners.

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#732 Stop Arresting Journalists

November 25, 2021

The struggle against Coastal Gaslink was bigger news this week because journalists got arrested. And even CBC can't seem to avoid the wrath of covering WE Charity. Canadaland contributing editor Danielle Paradis co-hosts. 

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#730 Rain, Rain, Marie Henein

November 18, 2021

As British Columbia assesses the damage from the downpour, what is the media's role when disaster strikes? And Jian Ghomeshi's lawyer is back in the news over a controversy but is Jesse too close to the story to critique it?

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#728 Can Desmond Cole Be Cancelled?

November 11, 2021

A veteran Black columnist at The Star calls out Desmond Cole's activism out of nowhere. And CBC officially closes the comment section on Facebook. Writer Ish Aderonmu co-hosts.

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#726 The Right To Be Awful

November 4, 2021

The 'saying-stuff business' gets some clarity from different courts regarding what one can and cannot express online; the results may surprise you. And former prime minister Jean Chrétien gets the media to let him off the hook for his involvement with residential schools for a brief moment. 

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#724 Transploitation

October 28, 2021

Anti-trans narratives found its way into three different media organizations this past week. And everybody appears to hate Rogers - even the Rogers.

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#722 Vax Test Dummies

October 21, 2021

Asking how much fuel in drinking water is safe is just not the right question. And mannequins in the ICU beds of a CBC story sparks a fact check from Reuters.

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#720 Fine Dining Struggles

October 14, 2021

The woes of fancy restaurants across Canada have been percolating - Who are we supposed to relate to? And the saga of the New York Times hit podcast comes to a close. Writer and restaurant-owner Jen Agg co-hosts. 

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#718 Truth And Recreation Day

October 7, 2021

Jesse was not on board with #CdnMediaFailed when it came to the story on Trudeau in Tofino. And attacks on journalists might be more of a Canadian problem than we care to admit.

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#716 Michaelmania

September 30, 2021

The release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig shows what China really thinks about Canada. And Maxime Bernier asks his followers to "play dirty" with reporters. Jan Wong co-hosts.

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#714 Norm Macdonald Called Me a Motherf*cker

September 23, 2021

We look back on the coverage of an absolutely underwhelming, demoralizing election. And we contend with a troubling aspect of Norm Macdonald’s legacy.

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#712 We Get What We Deserve

September 16, 2021

Trudeau is getting upset and it seems to be working for him. And the English leaders' debate was widely derided. Was it deserved?

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#710 Semen Retention Soldiers

September 9, 2021

After protestors threw gravel at the Prime Minister during a campaign stop, we ask: has this gotten too much coverage, or not enough? And we scrutinize a budding conspiracy about Michael Spavor, the Canadian entrepreneur detained in China.

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#708 Angry Idiots, Explained

September 2, 2021

Many journalists are condemning the unruly protestors following Trudeau on the campaign trail. But is that our role? And co-host Jen Agg talks about how she became the centre of a major story after dealing with her own unruly protestors at her restaurants.

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#706 Chopped And O’Tooled

August 26, 2021

Twitter became the centre of the election this week when they put a "manipulated media” tag on one of Chrystia Freeland’s tweets, which contained an edited video of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole. And is science journalism at a crisis point in Canada? An analysis finds Canada’s biggest newspapers gave about half as much coverage to the IPCC’s major recent climate report as US ones did.

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#704 Abandoning Afghanistan

August 19, 2021

Recent stories about Canada's role in the War in Afghanistan fall short. And if Justin Trudeau is Veruca Salt, who then is Erin O'Toole? Photojournalist and author Paul Watson co-hosts.

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#703 Election Fever, Please Intubate

August 12, 2021

Co-host Pauls Wells may be the only person aside from Trudeau who wants an election right now. We look ahead to the campaign and debates to come. WE is back in the news. And The Rebel has another defamation case dismissed.

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#701 EN FRANÇAIS SVP!

August 5, 2021

Une journaliste scientifique a porté plainte à Radio Canada et a reçu beaucoup de haine. Et est-ce que les journalistes répondent finalement aux militants?

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#699 The Invisible Enemies of Alberta

July 29, 2021

A draft of the anti-Alberta inquiry was leaked and didn't find what it thought it would. And Facebook is partnering up with The Globe and Mail and Jesse wants in. Writer Sandy Garossino co-hosts.

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#697 Church Burnings & Cultural War Bullshit

July 22, 2021

The resignation of BC Civil Liberties Union's executive director sparks controversy on both mainstream and social media. And National Post might be successfully carving out its place in the Canadian podcast space.

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#695 Election Meme Pregame

July 15, 2021

The election hasn't even been called yet but our major parties' social media strategies already deserve some attention. And as more Canadians get vaccinated, how will COVID beats evolve? Freelance journalist Nora Loreto co-hosts.

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Hudson’s Bay Identity Theft

July 8, 2021

Twitter conversations seem more interesting than the media's coverage on Canada's first Indigenous Governor-General. The Bay tries to empower BIPOC while stealing one's likeness without consent. And Canada's new "guiding principles" for diverse content online feel off to Jesse.

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#316 Happy Independence (From Moral Responsibility) Day!

July 1, 2021

The media is fixated on whether to celebrate Canada Day as the Lower Kootenay First Nation announces the discovery of another 182 unmarked graves in BC. And after recording, Lytton BC began evacuation and we’re trying to understand what a heat dome is.

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#315 But What Does The Statue Think Of His Beheading?

June 24, 2021

The Toronto Star published a "Saturday Debate" about Egerton Ryerson's legacy that contradicted the TRC - and they knew it. And it appears a police dog's life mattered more than a Métis man's in Alberta.  Canadaland French-language correspondent Emilie Nicolas and Canadaland contributing editor Danielle Paradis take over in Jesse's absence.

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#314 End Times For Shock Jocks

June 17, 2021

Ed the Sock doesn't seem okay since Bell announced it would reboot MuchMusic. CBC won't let their audience comment on their articles on Facebook anymore. And a Global radio host loses his job for using a racial slur - Is the era of edgelord talk radio over? Vice Senior Editor Manisha Krishnan co-hosts.

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#313 White Terror And The Media

June 10, 2021

Muslim-Canadians call out the media for harming their community. And the controversy around CBC cancelling Kim's Convenience goes international. Freelance journalist and The Backbench's host Fatima Syed co-hosts.

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#312 Holding Space For Grief

June 3, 2021

The discovery of 215 residential school children in a mass grave spurs this week's discussion on how journalists report stories about Indigenous people. And in the wake of this news, a Bill that could empower Indigenous children is largely eclipsed. 

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#311 Standoff At Fairy Creek

May 27, 2021

Covering BC's anti-logging protests raise issues about journalists' decorum, access, and how stories about land protectors are framed. And Native Twitter gets a CNN pundit fired for spewing racist views about Indigenous people. 

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#310 The Truth About Media Coverage Of Israel (Pt. 2)

May 20, 2021

CIJA has called-out Canadaland for not adequately denouncing last week's guest. Meanwhile, controversy over coverage of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Canada. And filmmaker Michelle Latimer launches her inevitable comeback campaign, damn the consequences.

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#309 The Truth About Media Coverage of Israel

May 13, 2021

Reporting on the occupation of Palestine is "all stick, no carrot." And Canada's National Newspaper Awards is more like the Golden Globes than we thought.

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#308 Rogers and Trump

May 6, 2021

Torstar publishes pro-gambling content now. And the Rogers family vacation at Mar-a-Lago.

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#307 The Quebec Variant

April 29, 2021

Media reacts to a perplexing Court decision on Bill 21, Quebec’s law banning some public servants from wearing religious symbols. And Rebel News is facing new scrutiny.

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#306 Nudes From Parliament

April 22, 2021

As provinces fail spectacularly to control the third wave of the pandemic, is the press adequately holding them to account, or making things worse? And what are the ethics of publishing a a picture of a nude MP accidentally caught on Zoom?

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#305 Is There A Vaccine For Burnout?

April 14, 2021

GraceLife Church and Montreal riots against public health directives had us wondering why mainstream narratives are about vaccine hesitancy focus so much on racialized communities.

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#304 Pitchforks And Needles

April 7, 2021

An uprising of frontline workers forces change to COVID policies. And with a major merger in the works, a telecom giant makes the case that less competition is good for Canada.

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#303 That’s A Wrap For Randy’s Tap

March 31, 2021

CBC puts an end to Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap after 16 years of self-indulgent, uninspiring radio. What will take its place? And it turns out one of the reporters who's most friendly to Doug Ford is in a relationship with the Premier’s director of media relations.

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#302 Picky With The Sticky

March 24, 2021

Are all of these stories about vaccine efficacy doing more harm than good? And Canadian politicians are following a road paved by Trump, singling out critics for scorn.

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#301 Jason Kenney Vs. Bigfoot

March 18, 2021

What's the best way to cover allegations of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces - or just generally, really? And the Alberta government has some harsh words for an animated Bigfoot movie.

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#300 Do You Like Pink Slips And Scram? HuffPost! BuzzFeed! Canned, I Am

March 11, 2021

HuffPost Canada is dead. The Ryerson School of Journalism faces a crisis. And a very serious, important conversation about Dr. Seuss.

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#299 Hard News, Loose Slots

March 4, 2021

Torstar gets into the gambling business. Americans get caught up on the WE scandal. And documents suggest Canada’s two major newspaper chains discussed shutting down each others’ papers before they swapped them.

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#298 The Times, They Are a-Cronkin’

February 24, 2021

Canada's vote to call China's treatment of Uyghurs a genocide exposes an online wave of China apologists on the far left. And the New York Times brings back Cortland Cronk in an attempt to prove that Canadians are actually not very nice.

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#297 Vax Canadiana

February 17, 2021

Canadian media have lost the plot around the vaccine rollout. And a Montreal-based website makes the list of COVID-19 conspiracy theory superspreaders.

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#296 The Great Flattening

February 11, 2021

Our digital worlds are collapsing. Jon Kay is on Fox News complaining about Seth Rogen, while celebrities are sharing the stage with normal people on Clubhouse to talk about ramen. What is Clubhouse anyway? And why did China ban it? Plus, a student journalist files a human rights complaint against his school paper, claiming they fired him over his Catholic beliefs.

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#295 Dog Shampoo

February 3, 2021

Reddit did not actually stand up to Wall Street and prove the power of the little guy. Jon Kay briefly sparks joy. The Canadian government is working to radically transform the internet and Facebook wants in.

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#294 You Can’t Even Spare Jessica Mulroney?

January 28, 2021

Sponsored messaging from Alberta says climate journalists are helping to stage a covert revolution. And media empires strike back to protect their own.

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#293 A Fired CBC Reporter Is Vindicated

January 20, 2021

Reporter Ahmar Khan tried to blow the whistle on systemic racism at CBC... and they fired him. Maclean’s publishes a big, powerful list.

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#292 The Putz Putsch

January 13, 2021

Premiers activate shitty dad mode. And tech companies clamping down on Trumpism could have unintended consequences.

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#291 Holy Shit! (No Shit)

January 7, 2021

A pro-Trump mob invades the U.S. Capitol building, the hunt continues for Canadian politicians who ignored COVID travel advisories and we reflect on whether Julian Assange has gotten a raw deal from the press.

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#258 Christmas in the Newsroom

December 23, 2020

Stories of big news breaking when everyone else is on vacation.

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#290 Justice Is Served, Portions Are Small

December 16, 2020

They're lobster criminals, not lobster vigilantes. Does the CBC’s President live in Brooklyn or just sleep there in a house she owns? And Brayden Bushby's verdict offers a moment to reflect on who deserves humanity.

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#289 Canada’s Secret Porn Stash

December 9, 2020

The New York Times says Canada needs to stand up against child exploitation on PornHub — but their columnist's suggestions could create new problems.

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#288 A Working Class Hero Is Something To BBQ

December 3, 2020

A petulant sandwich slinger gets attention as restaurants struggle across the country. A Global News Radio host quits over threatening messages about herself and her baby, while the company says dealing with trolls is part of the job.

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#287 Welcome To The Worst

November 26, 2020

A couple of Manitobans make a show of the media lying. Keean Bexte uncovers a socialist incubator. And copaganda tries out podcasting.

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#286 Off The Reconciliation Train Again

November 19, 2020

Addressing the drinking water crisis in First Nations communities is not rebuilding post-war Europe. And mandating Indigenous content on Canadian broadcasters could get baked into the Broadcasting Act.

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#285 Facebook Fangoria

November 12, 2020

Beware of the FANG! And how to cover Chinese infiltration — or anti-Chinese infiltration?

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#284 There Is No Going Back To Normal

November 5, 2020

We may not know yet who won the U.S. election, but the results aren't reassuring. At least some of the Canadian coverage was soothing. And Prime Minister Trudeau takes a stance on free speech — but only in French.

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#283 Newspaper Seeks Wealthy Idiot

October 29, 2020

National Post doubles down on their right to publish status quo opinions. And Bell Media confuses self-promotion with local community engagement.

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#282 Reconciliation In Flames

October 22, 2020

Hulk smash colonialism! And public health messaging crosses a line when trick or treating directives are unclear.

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#281 Anti-Maskers: How To Cover the Uncovered

October 15, 2020

Media’s anti-masker intrigue has Canadaland staff divided.

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#280 The Socialist Coup You Can Trust

October 8, 2020

A trifecta of powerful (potentially socialist) forces rally behind #NationalNewspaperWeek — or not. And the bias of coherence muddles COVID-19 messaging.

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#279 Did The New York Times Get Catfished?

October 1, 2020

RCMP charges a podcast star with not being a terrorist. And Edmonton radio host chooses the wrong put-down. Al Jazeera journalist and filmmaker Laila Alarian co-hosts.

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#278 Lobster Politics

September 24, 2020

Mi’kmaw fishermen earning a ‘moderate livelihood’ seems to be too much for Nova Scotia’s settler lobster harvesters. And CBC leverages its credibility for its new corporate clients. APTN video journalist Trina Roache co-hosts.

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#277 Conservative Cuties

September 17, 2020

Erin O’Toole wants to protect children from a movie he has never seen. And former CBC journalist Terry Milewski resurfaces from retirement to insult an entire ethnicity - again. Former Executive Director of the World Sikh Organization Jaskaran Sandhu co-hosts.

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#276 – Scandalized Philanthropists and A Criminalized Journalist

September 10, 2020

Breaking news on WE. An Indigenous journalist is criminalized for doing his job. And mass panic appears to be on the newly minted curriculum. One Dish One Mic’s Karl Dockstader co-hosts.

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#275 Bring Me The Head Of John A. Macdonald!

September 2, 2020

Does anyone really care about indignities to the legacy of John A. Macdonald?

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#274 Reply-All Rosie

August 27, 2020

What might Jesse and Erin O’Toole have in common? And newsrooms continue to struggle with what it means to respond to this summer’s reckoning with racism. Chatelaine Executive Editor Denise Balkissoon co-hosts.

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#273 – Anti-Rebel, Prorogue

August 20, 2020

Prime Minister Trudeau just needs a quick reset. And Postmedia stands in solidarity with Rebel News. Former CAJ President and Ryerson journalism professor Karyn Pugliese co-hosts.

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#272 – Anonymously Awesome!

August 13, 2020

The Prime Minister’s Office leaks secret intel on how amazing it is. And Quebec’s French print papers somehow continue to thrive. The Logic’s Martin Patriquin co-hosts and explains Quebecor’s secret ingredient.

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#271 Bottom Of The Barrel

July 30, 2020

The Kielburgers testified before the House of Commons finance committee, updates on the Nova Scotia shooting, and the plan for a Nazi colony in Cape Breton. 2020, am I right?

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#270 Mr. Brown Goes To Ottawa

July 23, 2020

Jesse testified before the House of Commons Finance Committee about Canadaland's reporting on the WE organization, and, while accusing a Black person of anti-Blackness, The Globe and Mail itself has been accused of anti-Blackness.

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#269 We Do Some Accounting

July 15, 2020

We have some questions about WE’s government contract and their internal accounting. And the story of how a Canadian media outlet suppressed assault allegations against Peter Nygard.

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#268 Harper’s Is Still Lurking

July 8, 2020

The press seems to have given the Rideau Hall intruder the white glove treatment, and why on Earth did so many people sign that letter from Harper’s Magazine?

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#267 Propaganda, Fascism And Murder: An Alternative History Of The Globe And Mail

July 1, 2020

The Globe and Mail is now 176 years old. You can read all about its accomplishments elsewhere. Writer Jamie Bradburn takes us through the paper's darker moments.

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#267 Consequence Culture

June 25, 2020

Can you really be “cancelled” if you still have a platform? A look at Margaret Wente, Wendy Mesley, and the Mulroneys. And was the Nova Scotia shooter an RCMP informant?

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#266 The Reckoning

June 17, 2020

Journalists across Canada are speaking out about their experiences with racism in the newsroom. And as Wendy Mesley is suspended from hosting duties, it’s time to reevaluate the language used in news meetings.

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#265 Newsroom Mutiny

June 3, 2020

Protests have erupted around the world in response to police violence against Black people. Police are openly targeting and arresting journalists. Trump is violating the rights of his people. And Canadian media has failed to cover or even grasp this historic moment.

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#264 Smelly Rogue

May 28, 2020

Torstar was just sold for $52 million, droves of people were chastised for going to the park, and Jesse opens himself up to some rare scrutiny.

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#263 A Case For Bad Art

May 21, 2020

The incredibly controversial painting of Justin Trudeau, François Legault’s problem with anglophone media, and the story about Gaza that CBC disappeared.

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#262 Racist Vegan

May 13, 2020

Bryan Adams pulls a Morrissey, an Indigenous ceremony is broken up by the RCMP, and Ghomeshi attempts another comeback.

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#261 Billionaire Welfare Slackers

May 6, 2020

When police searched journalists’ offices in the Alberta legislature, we wondered how government reporters were faring in the age of COVID-19. And after securing millions from the federal government, Canada’s big newspaper chains are finding new ways to ask for more money.

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#260 Celebrity Malfunction

April 29, 2020

The more we learn about the shooting in Nova Scotia, the worse it becomes. And did the star-studded Stronger Together COVID-19 special show us anything but how completely anachronistic celebrity has become during this pandemic? Seriously. Did anyone watch it?

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#259 Our Press Can’t Handle The Nova Scotia Shooting

April 22, 2020

The confluence of the pandemic, reliance on police for information, and slashed newsroom budgets means that reporting on the Nova Scotia shooting was all but doomed from the start. And a tweak to government media subsidies makes more organizations eligible for the funding.

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#258 Snitch Nation

April 15, 2020

Do the same rules apply to Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer as to the rest of us? Do the rules matter any more? Could this finally be the end of conspiracy theories?

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#257 Speaking Moistly

April 8, 2020

For weeks, we’ve all been trying to flatten the curve. But how do we measure our success if the numbers informing that curve aren’t reliable? And how do the big newspaper chains justify taking government wage subsidies at the same time as laying off staff?

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#256 Good Faith, Bad Information

April 1, 2020

Has the messaging about whether to wear a face mask been contradictory? How do you report on sports in a world without them? And a roundup of the bad COVID-19 coverage from the last week.

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#255 This Op-Ed Could Kill People

March 25, 2020

COVID-19 coverage continues, for the most part, to be even-handed. But that’s not why you listen to this podcast. A look at what’s going wrong in Canadian reporting, as well as the personal and economic impact the pandemic is having on newsrooms.

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#254 Wave Of Isolation

March 19, 2020

In a time like this, we’re so flooded with information that good, quality journalism matters more than ever. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t stuff to make fun of. Plus, how are newsrooms coping with the realities of a contagious virus?

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#253 Panic! At The Discoronavirus

March 12, 2020

As COVID-19 is declared a global pandemic, how are Canadian media handling the coverage? And what opportunities can moments of crisis provide for a shift in business reporting?

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#252 Canada Is Working Exactly As Intended

March 4, 2020

A front-page story tells us that Canada is broken. Is it, or is this exactly how the country was designed to work? And, as a senior editor leaves the CBC, our national broadcaster pivots to audience.

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#251 Heard It Through The Pipeline

February 27, 2020

Do journalists need to be protestors to get better access to Wet'suwet'en solidarity actions? Plus, the Teck Frontier oilsands mine withdraws its application and who the media is blaming will shock you - or not.

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#250 Wet’suwet’en Coverage Is Still Pretty Bad

February 20, 2020

Jason Kenney’s War Room sets its sights on that white whale of fake news: The New York Times. And as protests spread, reporting on Wet’suwet’en remains fairly feeble.

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#249 Christie Blatchford’s Complicated Legacy

February 12, 2020

Jordan Peterson’s familial PR team, Christie Blatchford’s legacy, Ezra Levant’s civil disobedience, and the campaign to discredit national protests.

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#248 Return Of The Conservative Rapper

February 5, 2020

The Heritage Minister doesn't seem to understand his own plan for regulating the internet (or not), so we break it down for you. And a group that doesn't exist just ran a major political ad campaign in the country's top newspapers. The National Post's Chris Selley co-hosts.

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#247 Coronaviral

January 30, 2020

Have we learned anything about reporting on viruses since SARS? And what can a new documentary about Idle No More teach us about our present state of reconciliation?

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#246 Come From Huawei

January 22, 2020

What was up with those "protesters" outside Meng Wanzhou's extradition hearing? And could monarchical migration have an impact on privacy in Canadian media?

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#245 I Wanna Live Like Commonwealth People Do

January 15, 2020

We examine the controversy around stating a plain fact about flight 752. Then, a Royal welcome. With co-host Nora Loreto.

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#244 Iran So Far

January 8, 2020

We’ve heard so much from south of the border about Iran, but how are Canadian media treating this conflict? And The Fifth Estate delivers some spurious reporting on “Birth Tourism” and Antifa.

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#290 What It’s Like To Want To Die

January 2, 2020

Reporter Anna Mehler Paperny talks about her book, Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person, which covers her search for answers about depression and her personal experiences.

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#243 The Media Hit Jobs on Andrew Scheer and Jody Wilson-Raybould

December 18, 2019

Everyone knows that Andrew Scheer resigned because of his tuition scandal; what this podcast presupposes is: maybe he didn’t? And the manufactured outrage surrounding Jody Wilson-Raybould’s office.

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#242 Inside Jordan Peterson’s Antisocial Network

December 11, 2019

A look inside Jordan Peterson’s new social media platform, which bans photos, memes, and emojis in the name of anti-censorship! Also, The Toronto Star turns to public shaming. Freelancer John Semley co-hosts.

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#241 History Will Judge Us For Our China Takes

December 5, 2019

Leaked audio from a NATO summit reveals Trudeau’s totally reasonable reaction to Trump. Did an Edmonton school board try to shut down a radio interview advocating for a student? The Globe and Mail’s China coverage is... inconsistent.

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#240 Purified By Hatred

November 27, 2019

More details have emerged about Warren Kinsella’s secret work to expose Maxime Bernier as a racist. And what’s at stake as the CBC renegotiates its licence to broadcast in Canada?

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#239 StarMetro Hunger Games

November 21, 2019

Torstar announced the closure of five papers across Canada, CBC tried to consolidate broadcasts across its radio stations in the North, and Don Cherry returned with an expertly produced podcast.

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#238 What Don Cherry Means To Me

November 14, 2019

Don Cherry drafts his first Quillette essay: “The Day the Social Media Mob Came for Me.” Also, opinion writing in Canada post-Margaret Wente is pretty much the same.

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#237 Shitty Media Management

November 7, 2019

A national news media start-up hires then fires its staff in a month. Also, Elizabeth May has harsh parting words for the media.

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#236 The New York Times’ Trauma Porn Beat

October 31, 2019

The New York Times’ Canada bureau chief goes up to visit an Inuit community three times so she must know what she’s talking about… right? Also, podcasting is getting way too popular.

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#235 Creepy Hologram Prime Minister

October 24, 2019

Thank God, it's over - last sound off about how dull the 2019 election coverage was, we promise. Plus, Star Metro journalists cry fake news at activists pretending climate propaganda is the real thing.

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#234 The CBC’s Very Dumb Lawsuit

October 17, 2019

The CBC sues the Conservative Party of Canada for copying them! Plus, Toronto journalists and writers push back on the kind of space public libraries should be. 

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#233 Our Revolting Democracy

October 10, 2019

That debate. The rumour mongering. The memes. Does Canadian democracy have to suck this hard? A lament. And PostMedia finally responds to our investigation - or somebody’s.

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#232 National Paper Won’t Cover National Climate March

October 3, 2019

Canada's national paper seems shy about printing news on the national climate march. Also, another blackface scandal - at Global News. Plus, a discussion on if numbers flatten Indigenous folks' stories.

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#231 How Did Trudeau Get a 20-Year Pass On Blackface?

September 26, 2019

Trudeau in blackface, 3 times: how did we miss that? And Canada’s reporters bravely declare their independence - from their own union.

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#230 SNC-Aladdin

September 19, 2019

A bonus segment on Trudeau's "make-up" with guest co-host, Arshy Mann. Plus, one reporter’s real life story on the gift of poutine from Trudeau. And this week’s news has been about the three worst people in Canada: Faith Goldy, Maxime Bernier, and Ezra Lavant. Why?

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#229 Sorry, Immigrants!

September 12, 2019

The Vancouver Sun is very, very sorry about publishing that inflammatory anti-immigration screed. They'll tone it down a little next time. Also, why is election coverage so... boring?

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#228 Disaster Porn, Boat Crash, Netflix PM

September 5, 2019

Sexy Hurricane Headlines: “Dorian Relentlessly Pounds Bahamas” - What is up with the disaster porn? And Justin Trudeau’s Malaysian ancestry, and other things we learned on Netflix.

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#227 Scandal? What Scandal?

August 22, 2019

Is the press protecting the liberal party? And the debate about climate change somehow continues and Elections Canada suggested we might not be allowed to have it. Former crown prosecutor and National Observer contributor Sandy Garossino co-hosts.

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#226 Postmedia’s Hard Right Turn

August 14, 2019

More cuts at Canada's largest newspaper chain; this time to journalistic independence, open discourse, and a healthy work culture. And was the swearing, spitting Scheer supporter part of a media hoax? Former National Post reporter Rebecca Tucker co-hosts.

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#225 – Barbaric Caucasian Practices Hotline

August 8, 2019

Is it time to start reporting the strange behaviour of young white men? Why do we still have columnists? And a study of Canadian media consumption shows that the real threat to media literacy is Canadian media consumption.

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#224 Teenage Nazi Manhunt

July 31, 2019

The hunt is on. Newsrooms across the country are chasing down everyone from psychiatrists to Survivorman himself to speculate on the fate of two murder suspects. And are the journalistic standards of Doug Ford's state-funded propaganda channel slipping?? We take a closer look with Wag the Doug's Allison Smith.

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#223 Jessica Yaniv, Transphobic Fever Dream

July 24, 2019

From Canadian news sites to InfoWars, a BC trans woman has become a fixation of conservative media. And new details emerge from the national media bailout that exclude -- surprise! -- nearly anyone who isn't a newspaper.

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#222 SandyAndNoraLand

July 17, 2019

Sandy Hudson and Nora Loreto take over CANADALAND for this episode about the paltry coverage of Canada's migrant detention policies and the devastating loss of leftist Twitter’s most stalwart defender, Lindsay Shepherd.

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#221 Fuck You For This One, Québec

July 10, 2019

The secularism bill banning public workers from wearing religious symbols finally passed in Québec. Google News gathered together the heads of major media companies for a meeting and (surprise!) didn’t tell the public. And VICE reporter Ben Makuch lost a legal challenge to keep private background material from the RCMP.

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#220 That’s What You Get When You Draw A Political Cartoon That Doesn’t Suck

July 3, 2019

A Canadian cartoonist drew a provocative image of Trump, blithely ignorant of the fatal consequences of his border policy. After it blew up online, the cartoonist was let go from the company who'd published his work for 17 years. And what was with that viral clip of Trudeau getting "snubbed" at G20?

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#219 The Pleasure Of Margaret Wente

June 26, 2019

Pour one out for Margaret Wente: she's leaving the Globe. The Irvings tighten their grip on New Brunswick news, and some Toronto councillors are learning not to cross Warren Kinsella.

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#218 Whose Pipeline Is It Anyway?

June 19, 2019

What better way to recognize a climate emergency than by approving the Trans Mountain Pipeline? Why did the Raptors’ president get carded after his team won? And what's with U.S. media suddenly paying attention to Indigenous people in Canada?

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#217 United Conservative Postmedia War Room

June 12, 2019

Rest assured, Canadians! Jason Kenney is here to protect you from the evils of the Green Left. A look at the Alberta government's anti-environment "War Room," plus the imminent Raptor Rapture.

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#216 The Word For This Is Genocide

June 6, 2019

The majority of our media is bending backward to avoid acknowledging Canadian genocide. Why? And Lindsay Shepherd travelled to Ottawa to complain about her weeklong Twitter ban: a look at the online hate hearings and the right's war on free speech.

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#215 What Sort Of Monster Would Disparage Anna Maria Tremonti?

May 29, 2019

As one of Canada's most beloved radio personalities leaves the job she's held for 17 seasons, who could possibly have anything negative to say? Also, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott have finally revealed their schemes to... run as independents. And should media unions have a say in deciding who gets federal media funding?

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#214 Lord Ballwasher of Crossharbour

May 22, 2019

Lord Conrad Black, First of His Name, The Unedited, King of Columns, Breaker of Laws, Flatterer of American Presidents, and Father of the National Post. Did Canada’s favourite criminal Lord just schmooze his way into a pardon from Donald Trump or is the American justice system to blame? Also, speaking of ancient things, Canada’s dusty old privacy laws are back in the spotlight thanks to the government’s new digital charter.

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#213 Misfit Manchild Edgelords

May 15, 2019

It's Nazi season in Canada! From the "controversial" flag in Saskatchewan to the neo-Nazi working in an Ontario city hall, Canada's working hard to normalize racism. And Mark Norman apparently had it worse than Omar Khadr. Who was in Guantanmo Bay. As a minor.

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#212 Newfoundland 2: The Newfoundlanding

May 8, 2019

In the prurient rush for lurid details about Bruce McArthur and his victims, maybe it’s time to re-examine the way we consume true crime. And the ongoing saga of the Mark Norman affair becomes even muddier.

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#211 Your Body Is A Newfoundland

May 1, 2019

Was the recent Simpsons episode about Canada offensive? Was it even funny? And, finally, the mainstream media seems to be paying attention to the rising threat of white terrorism in Canada.

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#210 Raccoon Thirst Trap

April 25, 2019

Who among us hasn't stabbed a lecherous raccoon with a dessert fork? And Omar Khadr gave his first big interview on Québec television; where was English media on this one?

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#209 Don’t Call Me Jason

April 17, 2019

Journalism that exposes racism, homophobia, and election fraud: does any of it matter? All of this and more in a look at the Alberta election. And then a check-in with the Globe and Mail's Thunder Bay bureau.

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#208 Oh My God, They Killed Kenney

April 10, 2019

Jason Kenney's United Conservative Party is imploding before our very eyes — but the Albertan electorate doesn't seem to mind much. And who does Justin Trudeau think he's fooling with a libel threat? Definitely not Andrew Scheer.

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#207 Tape Your Calls!

April 3, 2019

If there's one lesson we can take away from what's happened with Jody Wilson-Raybould, it's to tape all of your calls. And what's more important to the Trudeau Liberals: reconciliation or cold hard donations?

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#206 Justin & Gerry, Jody & Jane

March 27, 2019

Collusion? Obstruction? Why can't Canadians stay focused on the domestic scandal? And what does the dawn of Apple News+ mean for Canadian media?

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#205 Scheer And Loathing

March 21, 2019

Andrew Scheer’s first statement about the terrorist attack by a white supremacist in New Zealand failed to mention a few things... like Muslims and white supremacy. Also, the federal budget was announced and so were the details of that controversial media bailout.

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#204 Pressure-Cooked Octopus

March 13, 2019

While we're all busy talking about the propriety of the SNC-Lavalin affair, it bears revisiting the company's sordid past. Also, how is the media culpable for whitewashing reconciliation? And Pizzagate comes to Canada.

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#203 Philpottcalypse Now

March 7, 2019

Gerry Butts breaks his silence on SNC-Lavalin. And the thing that Andrew Scheer can get away with, but Jagmeet Singh cannot.

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#202 Jody Wilson-Raybould Ain’t Nuthin To Fuck With

February 28, 2019

The former Minister of Justice testified before the House of Commons justice committee this week and it was like nothing we've seen in recent memory. And what did Howie Mandel do to make so many Canadian comedians so upset?

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#201 Short Butts

February 21, 2019

Reports of a massive protest convoy driving across the country have been greatly exaggerated ... except for the whole racism part. And a probing examination of all the Butts stuff in Ottawa.

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#200 My Bloody Lavalin

February 13, 2019

How did the Canadian press cover the biggest scandal yet to hit the Trudeau government? Will the SNC-Lavalin affair blow over? With this level of potential corruption, will anyone care or remember at election time?

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#199 The Sun Never Sets On The Netflix Empire

February 7, 2019

Is Netflix threatening Canadian culture through neo-imperialism? Never mind the copyright infringement, was the Conservative Party's Heritage Minute any good? And did the new Indigenous Languages Act accomplish anything? 

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#198 The Criminals We Deserve

January 30, 2019

What's with our ongoing fascination with serial killers? What do we lose when Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to his charges? What does all this say about Canadian society? Plus, Jesse reveals the details of a top-secret media bailout meeting.

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#197 Smells Like MAGA Teen Spirit

January 24, 2019

Did a viral video actually show all the ugliness, racism, division, and indecency of the current moment, or did it show all the ugliness, racism, division, and indecency of the current moment? And look out! Big Government is coming for your Netflix.

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#196 Naughty Daughter

January 17, 2019

As the Trudeau government trumpets its track record on supporting women's rights abroad, newborn children continue to be separated from their parents right here in Canada. And how did Jagmeet Singh's most recent round of media appearances go?

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# 195 A Baby Country In Diapers

January 9, 2019

Is reconciliation still a possibility when the Canadian government marches armed police onto Indigenous land? It's time for Canada to grow up. And Canada's first female PM seems to have the best Twitter game of them all.

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#194 Rex Murphy Vs. A Dead Guy

January 2, 2019

The Canadian government owns up to treaty obligations after 168 years, Maclean's staff puts in a bid to buy the magazine, and Rex Murphy kicks a journalist while they're dead.

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#193 Hate Laundry

December 19, 2018

Two big Toronto papers got some things horribly wrong. The Sun has been censured by the National NewsMedia Council for its fictitious goat-slaughtering story, and The Sun and Star both recklessly outed a sex worker for no justifiable purpose.

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#192 Ontario Proud and Prejudice

December 12, 2018

Did Canada make the right call by arresting Huawei’s CFO? Or was it the perfect time for a little “creative incompetence.” And new details about Ontario Proud’s "grassroots," people powered funding reveal the people are mostly corporations. 

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#191 Justin Trudeau’s [Redacted] Trip To India

December 6, 2018

What does the heavily redacted – er, revised – federal report on Trudeau’s trip to India tell us about the internal machinations of the government? And what does a Supreme Court ruling about journalists’ sources mean for the profession?

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#190 Is It Time To Pull The Plug On Legacy Media?

November 28, 2018

Will federal media subsidies save a dying industry or merely protract the inevitable? And how did the Anglophone press react to the Ford government’s Francophone cuts?

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#189 The Media’s The Problem

November 22, 2018

Despite bringing the horrifying events at a private school in Toronto to the attention of police, the media have been getting some backlash from parents. A CBC columnist dared to call out the CBC on its Facebook practices, and Jesse makes some connections on the CANADALAND conspiracy cork board.

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#188 The Paunch Resistance

November 14, 2018

The most controversial Maclean's cover in years, Ontario Proud's leaked fundraising documents, and Justin Trudeau becomes the latest champion of the free press.

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#187 Member Of Parliament

November 7, 2018

Debunking the Munk Debates, Tony Clement's sordid social media habits, and Ontario Proud goes national.

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#186 Hate Isn’t The Problem

November 1, 2018

The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was the deadliest instance of anti-Semitic violence in American history. Is the kind of rhetoric that motivated the shooter here in Canada? And what's with the CBC giving investment advice for the decimation of the Amazon rainforest?

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#185 Our Friend With A Bone Saw

October 24, 2018

Despite mounting human rights violations and the seemingly state-sanctioned murder of a journalist, Canada continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia. Plus, how are municipal elections in Canada supposed to compete with period pieces?

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#184 The Toronto Sun Is Going To Get Somebody Killed

October 17, 2018

The entirely credible reports of a Toronto Sun "investigative columnist" ritually sacrificing scapegoats, and the pivotal role Facebook played in the creation of video at the expense of news.

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#183 It All Comes Down To Weed And Wrestling

October 11, 2018

The miraculous refinery explosion in New Brunswick, Faith Goldy tricks the press again, and the changing landscape of cannabis coverage.

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#182 Why Mr. T Can’t Teach Math In Quebec

October 3, 2018

What does the election of a right-leaning populist party in Quebec mean for the future of the province? And how do you pronounce USMCA? It sounds a lot like NAFTA.

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#181 Crown Fetish

September 27, 2018

Exploring Maxime Bernier's ties to the Koch Brothers, Andrew Coyne's love for the monarchy, and proof, if you needed it, that Jordan Peterson is full of shit.

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#180 Nice Work, Twitter Mob!

September 19, 2018

A series of essays by men accused of sexual misconduct, in which they attempt to defend themselves, have appeared in the press lately. Jesse and co-host Anne Kingston tackle that essay in the New York Review of Books, as well as the publisher of Harper's performance on the CBC.

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#179 Last Man Notwithstanding

September 12, 2018

A look at how the Ford government's notwithstanding invocation has been covered by the press, as well as a look at the spurious media diet of the alleged Fredericton shooter.

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#178 How Not To Interview Faith Goldy

September 6, 2018

Jesse talks to Graeme Gordon about his controversial interview with former Rebel personality, current Toronto mayoral candidate, and avowed white supremacist Faith Goldy. Plus Trump's "off the record" drama with Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale.

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#177 The Dumb Fight Ahead

August 23, 2018

Maxime Bernier fights diversity, then fights journalism. Justin Trudeau yells at a racist. Andrew Scheer wants you to know some people sometimes say something... or something. And a dumb debate ensues after a protestor assaults a Sun photographer.

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#176 The House Of Sad

August 8, 2018

Saudi Arabia leads the charge in exposing the human rights violations of Jordan Peterson, Alex Jones becomes the latest casualty in the Info Wars, and a review of Doug Ford's foray into the news business.

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#175 Conspiracy And Speculation In The Danforth Shooting

July 25, 2018

The mass shooting in Toronto's Danforth neighbourhood quickly headed into dangerous conspiracy territory. And should members of government be forced to endure Twitter trolls?

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#174 Tackling The History Of Slavery, Québécois Style!

July 12, 2018

What's Wrong With White People Pretending To Be Musical Black Slaves? Answer: Everything. And the 18 year old story of the then goateed dude-bro, now prime minister, copping a feel at a west-coast beer fest that we don't to talk about. Ever. again.

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#173 The Aesthetics Of Rigour

June 27, 2018

Why should you trust the press when politicians have Twitter? And we read the Steven Galloway "article" in Quillette so you don't have to; turns out there may have been a slight conflict of interest.

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#172 Be Like The Lamb That Jumps For The Knife

June 20, 2018

Rogers Media's questionable new approach to publishing (hint: there's just less of it), Scaachi Koul's journey into the heart of Rebel darkness, and Jesse's failed fortune cookie writing gig.

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#171 A He Said That She Said Story

June 13, 2018

Why is no one in Canada reporting on that Justin Trudeau groping allegation? How does The Globe & Mail go from publishing one of the most important pieces of journalism about sexual assault in recent years to publishing an alleged sexual assailant's version of events? And what can we learn from the New York Magazine profile of everyone's favourite hipster Ponzi scheme, VICE?

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#170 Doug Life

June 6, 2018

We have reached peak batshit in the Ontario election. Ford suing Ford, octogenarians in "physical altercations" with seventh-graders while illegally campaigning at schools, loopy NDP candidates – and that's just this week.  And no one, NO ONE, can believe that Trump is following through on his campaign promise to dissolve NAFTA. 

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#169 The Devil Wears Pravda

May 30, 2018

Never mind a Tesla in every Mars driveway, Elon Musk is going to save journalism, one truth at a time. The Toronto Sun has found Hitler's body – or his ghost, anyway. The NDP have it. And a far-right group muscled its way into VICE's Montréal office.

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#168 Daft Munk

May 23, 2018

Keeping the "debate" out of the Munk Debates, getting the best Canadian coverage from American press, and serving Anthony Bourdain the unpalatable best of Canadian media. 

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#167 Stephen Harper Would Like Some Attention

May 16, 2018

AMBER ALERTS. Stephen Harper's back! MP Christine Moore's ongoing public ordeal, and Doug Ford has found some standards (apparently). 

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#166 Doug Ford’s Magical World Of Make-Believe

May 9, 2018

An update on our investigation into possible bias at Ford Nation Live, a look at the ivory tower's imperative to let absolutely anyone speak their mind, and Erin Weir's expulsion from the NDP caucus.

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#165 Jokes About Politicians That Don’t Hurt Anyone’s Feelings

May 2, 2018

The Canadian version of the White House Correspondents Dinner will never offend you (because you've never heard of it), new developments in the Steven Paikin allegations, and CBC’s exclusive investigation into a year-old VICE investigation.

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#164 All Eyes On Us

April 26, 2018

Why were some people so determined to label the Toronto van attack as Islamist? How is it that U.S. media are capable of breaking key points of developing Canadian stories before their domestic counterparts? And how do you sift through online signal noise to report accurately in the midst of a high-profile event?

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#163 The Indoctrination Of Alexandre Bissonnette

April 18, 2018

A look at the media diet of Alexandre Bissonnette, charged with the January, 2017 terror attack at a Quebec City mosque that killed six and wounded nineteen, plus Facebook continues its Canadian outreach program.

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#162 Not Paid To Be Classy

April 12, 2018

Media coverage of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, a statement from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression sets off alarms, and a fond farewell to Rick Mercer.

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#161 Never Underestimate Hatred For Toronto

April 4, 2018

The Toronto Star goes national, the CBC finally has a female president, and Canada's left mourns the loss of one of its most stalwart intellectuals

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#160 Oh, So I’m The Idiot

March 29, 2018

Hot takes! If the CBC runs a picture of you without your consent, do they owe you a column? And why was one Canadian taxpayer-subsidized show available on Netflix everywhere around the world — except in Canada?

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#159 You Can Beat Me With a Hose

March 21, 2018

Is all of your Facebook data up for sale? What do the Cambridge Analytica revelations mean for Canada? When does journalism cross the line into criminal harassment? And if there hasn't been any major violence in 20 years, why are we all of a sudden freaking out about Khalistan so much?

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#158 The Conspiracy Provisions

March 14, 2018

Another populist businessman turned politician defeats a more-qualified female candidate. Will the Competition Bureau actually do anything other than raid some offices? And does the CBC hate Sikhs?

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#157 The Haunted Dungeon Of Q

March 7, 2018

Has Tom Power gotten an easy ride? Facebook finds a new way to manipulate the news. And with so many awful people on Twitter, how are they choosing who to ban?

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#156 Rogue Indian Elements

March 1, 2018

Why did CBC News let Justin Trudeau use them like a cheap tool? Why did Patrick Brown quit (this time)? And what's up with the newspaper bailout plan?

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#155 Patrick Brown Totally Has Sisters

February 22, 2018

Did CTV actually f**k up its Patrick Brown exposé? Can we reverse engineer his crisis communications PR strategy? When can we talk about anything else?

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#154 Patrick Brown vs. His Reputation

February 14, 2018

The Gerald Stanley verdict was a crucial moment - was the media equal to it? Was Patrick Brown set-up by CTV? And why is the newspaper bailout a thing again?

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#153 Paikin Care Of Business

February 7, 2018

Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie: why must the news media disrespect and blame dead Indigenous kids? And the allegation against Steve Paikin: hmmm...

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#152 Slow News Week

February 1, 2018

Ontario's political scene lately - why so boring?!

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#151 You’d Think A Serial Killer Would Be A Bigger Deal

January 25, 2018

"The amount of silence on this was bizarre."

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#150 Creeping Sharia, Bitches!

January 17, 2018

On the hijab cutting hate crime that never was and the job of journalists in reporting stories of sexual assault.

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#149 CanLit is Crawling With Creeps

January 11, 2018

Someone needs to call it out.

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#148 We March On Loblaws At Dawn

January 4, 2018

Canadian grocery store billionaires duped us for 14 years — Vive la gift card!

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#147 Officially Suspicious: The Sherman Deaths

December 20, 2017

On the suspicious deaths of billionaires and crying white girls.

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Terrible Documentary Silenced by Basic Decency

December 14, 2017

On CBC blunders and small town censorship. Joey Coleman co-hosts.

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#145 News From The Upside Down

December 7, 2017

The Globe and Mail expands into less, alt-right women are tired of the misogyny of alt-right men and a prominent Canadian liberal looks awfully silly on Fox News.

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#144 I’ll Kill Your Newspapers If You Kill Mine

November 29, 2017

It's a terrible week for local news, VICELAND is probably over and the Financial Post fans the flames of climate change skepticism.

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#143 Goddamnit, Fine, Let’s Talk About Jordan Peterson

November 22, 2017

We can't avoid it any longer.

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#142 The Erotic Adventures of Bill Morneau

November 15, 2017

Bill Morneau tries to turn down the heat through tales of his spicy past, CBC takes a stand for landlord rights and Jagmeet Singh gets into slam poetry.

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#141 Team Kill Rich People

November 8, 2017

CBC's The National re-launches, powerful Canadians get caught up in the latest financial leak and a racial confrontation at a Halifax concert becomes international news.

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#140 Weekend With Bernie

November 1, 2017

Canada's weekend with Bernie, Bill Morneau's conflicts of interest and the so-called "Ghomeshi Rules" that could change how the courts deal with sexual assault cases.

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#139 Distorted Sermon, Coercive Mattress

October 25, 2017

Quebec's Bill 62, the dangerous media manipulation of an imam's speech, Dalhousie's free speech controversy and a bizarre mattress saga that people are demanding we respond to.

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#138 Andrew Scheer Does Not Want His Name In Headlines With The Rebel

October 18, 2017

The Conservative Leader doesn't like being asked about his ties to The Rebel. Plus, coverage of Gord Downie's death and freed hostage Joshua Boyle.

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#137 Sour Gas, Racist Soap

October 11, 2017

A sour note on a huge investigation into sour gas, coverage of the Liberals' tax plan and the sneaky way CBC journalists can criticize the CBC.

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#136 Will You Denounce Terry Milewski’s Moustache?

October 5, 2017

Coverage of the Edmonton terror attack, the CBC's bizarre interview with Jagmeet Singh and media reaction to the new CanCon plan.

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#135 It’s Important To Kick These People When They’re Down

September 27, 2017

Some unsolicited advice for This American Life. And the Globe and Mail launches a project to teach kids about media manipulation... through media manipulation.

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SHORT CUTS – The Wab Kinew Situation

September 21, 2017

Indigenous writer and activist turned politician Wab Kinew scored a historic victory last weekend by decisively winning the leadership of the Manitoba NDP. Only days before the election, however, allegations of domestic assault surfaced. A former partner of Kinew filed charges in 2003. Those charges were stayed in 2004. How has the media handled this story, and who pushed the court records to the press? Was it, in fact, someone from his own party? The National Post’s Jen Gerson joins us.

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SHORT CUTS – We Support You, Hostile Idiot!

September 14, 2017

Jagmeet Singh gracefully responded to a racist idiot, which proves he can lead a major political party we guess. Also, racism is totally not a problem anymore, according to the most widely-read columnists in the country.

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SHORT CUTS – Enough About Antifa, Let’s Fight Fascists

September 7, 2017

Post columnists pen truly offensive shit; another media outlet lays off workers; Donald Trump has us all scrambling. Another day, another 81¢ (rounded for inflation). The team of our Commons podcast weighs in.

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SHORT CUTS – Mommy, Where Do Issues Come From?

August 31, 2017

Americans are debating the removal of monuments to problematic historical figures, so I guess we are too. Old folks don’t want to hear sad stories about feelings on their CBC. Young folks do, apparently. And the Globe And Mail is slimming for winter. BuzzFeed Social Media Editor Elamin Abdelmahmoud joins us.

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#130 Rebel Meltdown

August 16, 2017

Ezra Levant attempts to distance his far right website The Rebel from the alt-right, claiming he's just learned that the movement is for racists. And a long strike at Nova Scotia's largest newspaper ends, as some seriously shitty journalistic practices by replacement workers come to light.

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SHORT CUTS – Arctic DNA

August 10, 2017

Joseph Boyden has emerged from his winter burrow like a collared lemming (it’s an arctic mammal — look it up!) to plug his forthcoming book weigh in again on questions of his Indigenous ancestry. Despite his insistence that his connection to — and friendship with — Indigenous communities should automatically confer some sort of Indigenous status, he went ahead and got a DNA test anyway. Robert Jago wrote an excellent dissection of Boyden’s latest plea for acceptance/publicity stunt, while Eric Andrew-Gee dug into Boyden’s complicated family history in a Globe & Mail feature.   Also, with literally no Canadians waiting with baited breath, the CBC finally announced its cadre of Peter Mansbridge replacements. Rosemary Barton, Ian Hanomansing, Adrienne Arsenault, and Andrew Chang have collectively made the cut, while network mainstays Ernie Coombs, Bruno Gerussi, and Al Waxman remain in reserve in case any of the new lead anchors bolt for CTV. National Post journalist and Commons co-host Ashley Csanady joins us.   DULY NOTED: Ashley vents about three Toronto cops acquitted of sexually assaulting a parking enforcement officer; Speaking of Toronto cops, Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy doesn’t like that they’re being given Naloxone to prevent Fentanyl users from dying in front of them. Toronto mayor John Tory wrote the op-ed equivalent of a facepalm; A Google employee writes a 10-page memo explaining that Silicon Valley is rightfully a bro-fest because women are bad at math. Almost as egregious? A 10-page memo! Who has time to read a 10-page memo? A Toronto-based Business News Network reporter is stunned to discover Muslim women wear undergarments; Finally, Vice’s Canadian operation lays off 10 employees, including four members of its editorial team. Those with pink slips include: Sarah Hagi, Tamara Khandaker, Max Mertens and Amanda Roth, all talented writers.

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SHORT CUTS – MSM on FGM: WTF?

July 27, 2017

The Toronto Star built an entire exposé on female genital mutilation based predominantly around a mid-level civil servant’s email from three years ago. Also, CBC Comedy is so unfunny it’s funny. Or is that the other way around? Either way, a former member of Kellie Leitch’s team has made it his mission to bring it down. Writer/broadcaster, and producer Naheed Mustafa joins us.

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SHORT CUTS – Shopping Khadr To Fox News

July 19, 2017

The Conservative Party takes their latest wedge issue to the US media, a Quebec town won't let Muslims bury their dead and Trudeau lays out some hot summer jams. BuzzFeed's Elamin Abdelmahmoud co-hosts.

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COMMONS: The Rise of the Right

July 12, 2017

The COMMONS team digs into the rise of far right groups like the Proud Boys, Soldiers of Odin and the Three Percenters.

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#126 Child Soldiers, Proud Boys

July 5, 2017

Politicians and columnists twist Omar Khadr's story, an MP plagiarizes co-host Erica Violet Lee and the press responds to Indigenous activism at Canada150.

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#125 #Mansbridge150

June 29, 2017

The Toronto Star put the final nail in the coffin of Star Touch, its $20-30-million app for a device that most people don't have or use. And, after praising themselves for its bold innovation, quietly laid off 30 journalists.

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#124 Quote Governor General Unquote

June 22, 2017

Governor General David Johnston issued a mea culpa over his radio interview in which he refers to Indigenous peoples as immigrants.

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#123 Out Of (Teen) Vogue

June 15, 2017

Breitbart News has convinced concerned Christian families that Ontario’s new child protection laws will bring forth a queer totalitarian state.

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#122 Imagine If Your Daughter Was Eaten By Otters

June 8, 2017

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland stands up to the sole remaining global superpower like a newborn kitten taking on Galactus.

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#121 Parkdale Class War!!

June 1, 2017

The Conservatives have a new, dimpled, leader, Nova Scotians have more of the same, and British Columbians have an unprecedented lefty hybrid. How effective was media coverage of these three electoral events?

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#120 The “Trust” Committee

May 25, 2017

This week, The Guardian continued its exemplary coverage of Canadian university student unions.

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#119 Changing Of The Guard

May 18, 2017

Hal Niedzviecki and Jonathan Kay have left their jobs. Steve Ladurantaye's been shifted to a lesser role at CBC. And no, we're not finished talking about this yet.

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#118 The Hermit Kingdom Of British Columbia

May 11, 2017

British Columbia had an election where everybody won - or at least got an 'I Participated' ribbon.

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#117 Blatch Got Served

May 4, 2017

Is the media complicit in popping Harjit Sajjan's balloon?

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#116 To Hell With Weed, We Have A Fentanyl Crisis

April 27, 2017

The Prime Minister showed up at Vice to talk about the Liberal government's marijuana legalization plan, but was blindsided when frontline harm reduction worker Zoe Dodd confronted him on the opioid overdose epidemic going on across the country.

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#115 Trump V. Milk

April 20, 2017

The scandals continue piling up on B.C. Premier Christy Clark's administration, yet it doesn't seem to be getting a ton of press.

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#114 PariahCast

April 13, 2017

Jian Ghomeshi is back and the nation breathes a collective "Ewww...really?"

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#113 CANADA 150: Here’s Who’s Pissed Off So Far

April 6, 2017

CBC’s miniseries “The Story of Us,” is only two episodes in, but manages to upset literally everyone (except Joseph Boyden). Justin Trudeau endorses CBC’s Canada150 fiasco--and his favourite microbrew, Labatt150.

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#112 Quebec Is Butthurt Again

March 23, 2017

A screed against Quebec's 'pathologically alienated and low-trust society' in Macleans has drawn howls of protest from Quebeckers - but is it wrong?

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#111 Rebel Media’s Nazi Problem

March 16, 2017

Is Rebel Media's embrace of free speech leading to rampant anti-semitism and virulent racism?

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#110 CPAC And Chill

March 9, 2017

George Soros, the Koch Brothers, and the Reverse Vampires™ are out to overwhelm you with a barrage of news. Is there a way to discern kernels of truth in this "chaos machine?"

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#109 Kellie Leitch: Tracking Bullshit In From The Barn

March 2, 2017

Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch released a video this week that was somewhere between political platform and performance play. Also, Kevin O'Leary continues to draw a paycheque from CNBC while running for the same role.

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#173 Robyn Doolittle On Breaking The Story Of The Year

February 27, 2017

In the months after Robyn Doolittle's groundbreaking series of exposés about the scandal-ridden Toronto mayor Rob Ford, she left the Toronto Star for a new investigative role at the Globe & Mail. Then, mostly, silence. Her lack of bylines belied her hard work behind the scenes as she dug into what would become the story of the year: a 20-month investigation into police departments across Canada and their chronic underreporting of sexual assaults being filed.

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#108 I’m Done With You On This Topic

February 23, 2017

Refugees continue to stream across the Canada-U.S. border, presumably for photo-ops with smiling Canadian Mounties. Also, Milo Yiannopoulos finally finds the nail on which conservative Americans can hang him.

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#107 The Triumph Of Joe Trudeau

February 16, 2017

PMJT flew all the way to Washington, DC, for a handshake. Not sure if anything else of consequence happened while he was there. Really, the handshake was the key.

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#106 How To Exploit A Massacre

February 9, 2017

Rebel Media's at it again, this time  seizing on the initial narrative about the Quebec massacre's alleged 'second shooter' like a dog humping its favourite plush toy and refusing to let go.

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#105 I Miss Polite Canadian Racism

February 2, 2017

How did Canadian media cover the mosque shooting in Quebec? With some glaring errors. Here are some handy tips the next time all hell breaks loose. Also, how can the Liberal government critique the U.S. government’s draconian and likely unconstitutional new immigration policies without, you know, calling them out on it? And why are the alt-right up in arms about a proposed bill to examine systemic racism and Islamophobia? Buzzfeed News Curator Elamin Abdelmahmoud guests with Ashley Csanady while Jesse gets some much-needed rays.

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#104 Stunts And Manhunts

January 26, 2017

What can Harper-era journalism teach us about covering Trump? CBC Marketplace sold a white power t-shirt. The Rebel really loves manhunts. O'Leary says all his old television appearances were reality TV.

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#103 You Cannot Embarrass Us Into Voting Rationally

January 19, 2017

Christy Clark gets written up in the NYTimes for accepting $50,000 from the BC Liberals. Justin Trudeau enjoys identifying with immigrants on occasion. Student activists pull the old bait-and-switch on Justin Trudeau. Kevin O'Leary enters the Conservative leadership campaign.

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#102 Successful Pile Of Garbage

January 12, 2017

Buzzfeed released a dossier of compromising information about Trump. John Furlong is reinstated as a UBC speaker. Disclosures aren't Jon Kay's strong suit.

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#101 Joseph Boyden: Two Worlds, Two Debates

January 5, 2017

Joseph Boyden is a celebrated, award-winning indigenous novelist - who might not actually be native.

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#99 How To Cry At Work

December 22, 2016

CBC's The Current is providing helpful tips for women to succeed in the workplace, including how not to cry.

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#98 Ezra Issues A Fatwa

December 15, 2016

Journalist Haley Jarmain received death threats at a Rebel rally, and Ezra Levant doesn’t believe her. Should we rethink political journalism in the post-truth era?

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#97 Cuddler Of Democracy

December 8, 2016

Canadian protestors imitate angry Americans, the Liberals get into the online quiz biz and Toronto Life's profile of Star reporter Raveena Aulakh. Danielle Paradis of Metro Edmonton co-hosts.

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#96 #NotAllTyrants

December 1, 2016

VICE's Justin Ling joins Jesse to talk about Trudeau's praise of Castro, the RCMP's public relations maneuvering and the CBC's proposal to go ad-free.

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#95 CanLit Clusterfuck

November 24, 2016

Co-host Sheila Heti talks about signing, then retracting her name from a letter that's put the CanLit scene in turmoil. And should CBC go ad-free?

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#94 Stop Trying To Make Canadian Trump Happen

November 17, 2016

Writer & journalist Omar Mouallem joins Jesse to talk about Trump copycat Kellie Leitch, racism in Canada, and the RCMP spoonfeeding journalists.

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#93 Hurt Me Right In The Democracy

November 10, 2016

Vice's Justin Ling joins Jesse to talk about the US election, naughty CSIS, and CBC's lukewarm takes.

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#92 Cops Vs. Reporters

November 3, 2016

National Post reporter Ashley Csanady joins Jesse to talk about police surveillance of a journalist and the ongoing government inquiries into the future of media.

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#91 Was Shad Set Up To Fail?

October 27, 2016

Lawyer and freelancer Dee Roderique joins Jesse to talk about the rebrand of CBC Radio's q, the Globe and Mail's coverage of Indigenous men in the justice system and Jesse's polemic in The Guardian.

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#90 The United Nations Vs. Ezra Levant

October 20, 2016

The Rebel is denied press accreditation for the UN climate conference. Rogers' CEO is out. The National Post's Tristin Hopper co-hosts.

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#89 The Plight Of The Fragile White Man

October 13, 2016

White fragility on the radio and coverage of the government revoking citizenship with VICE Canada's Manisha Krishnan.

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#88 Print Divas And Wankers On The Web

October 6, 2016

Toronto Star's Paul Wells joins Jesse to talk about magazines going digital and journalists leaving Twitter.

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#87 Can’t Compete, Won’t Try: The Shomi Story

September 29, 2016

Freelancer Drew Brown joins Jesse to talk about the death of Shomi, Maryam Monsef's birthplace and Margaret Wente's adventures in Newfoundland.

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#86 Yaaasss Trudeau (Owl Sex)

September 22, 2016

BuzzFeed's Ishmael Daro joins Jesse to talk about Justin's trip to the UN and the latest owl sex controversy in the magazine world.

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#85 A Different Flavour Of Garbage

September 15, 2016

Freelance journalist and former Liberal speechwriter Colin Horgan joins Jesse to talk about a cultural death panel and the latest cockamamie scheme in Canadian media.

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#84 The Last Anchorman

September 8, 2016

Media writer Steve Faguy joins Jesse to talk about Peter Mansbridge leaving The National and changes to the rules of how TV is made and paid for.

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#83 Oh God, Fine, Let’s Talk About Israel

September 1, 2016

COMMONS hosts Vicky and Supriya join Jesse to talk about an MP publicly shaming a comedian, Canadian Press's flawed story on extremist literature in Mosques, and yes... Israel.

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#82 Greasy Jungle

August 25, 2016

Author and journalist Stephen Marche joins Jesse to talk about the Tragically Hip's final tour and the Rob Ford crack video.

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#81 The Prime Minister’s Nipples

August 11, 2016

The National Post's Jen Gerson joins Jesse to discuss the Prime Minister's nipples and layoffs at the Toronto Star.

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#80 Gerbils Are Eating Their Young

July 28, 2016

The world is doomed, a comedian is fined for a joke and the Ottawa Citizen tells us white privilege is not a thing.

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#79 Lone Wolf Tenor

July 14, 2016

Freelancer Matt Braga joins Jesse to talk about Pokémon Go and the state of investigative journalism in Canada.

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#78 White Pundits Matter

July 7, 2016

The pundits have been out in full force after Black Lives Matter disrupted the Toronto Pride Parade.

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#77 A Powerful Person Called Me A Boobie

July 1, 2016

Meet Aliya Pabani, the (new) host of The Imposter. Then, Jen Gerson Co-Hosts.

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#76 National Crisis: Strombo Needs Job

June 22, 2016

With serial TV host George Stroumboulopoulos leaving Hockey Night in Canada, Jesse and Ashley discuss Canadian media’s obsession with keeping established stars on air.

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#75 I Need to Talk Shit About John Ivison

June 16, 2016

Response to Orlando, John Ivison's basless column on Bill C-51 and a split at the National Magazine Awards.

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#74 Suicide, Silence and the Star

June 13, 2016

How the media handled a reporter’s death by suicide, controversy over a VICE documentary and the Chinese Foreign Minister berates a reporter.

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#73 Giant Novelty Spliff

June 1, 2016

Terrifying parents, covering pot laws and political conventions. The National Post's Chris Selley co-hosts.

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#72 In the Pocket of Big Opera

May 25, 2016

Paul Wells joins Jesse to talk about big opera, Kevin O'Leary and #elbowgate.

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#71 Duly Noted

May 22, 2016

The RCMP’s surveillance of journalists, Postmedia’s plea for government money and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau’s unscripted interview moment. Plus, a new segment. Omar Mouallem co-hosts.

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#70 Fort Mac Is Still There

May 11, 2016

Vincent McDermott and Cullen Bird of Fort McMurray Today talk about what the media got right and wrong in covering the wildfire.

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#69 Fort Mac is Gone

May 4, 2016

BuzzFeed Canada's Paul McLeod on the fire in Fort McMurray and VICE's exclusive access to Trudeau's visit to Shoal Lake 40.

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#68 Wente/Duffy/Ghomeshi Fatigue

April 27, 2016

Why Wente, Duffy and Ghomeshi all still matter. Jen Gerson co-hosts.

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#67 Quantum Leap Manifesto

April 20, 2016

Ex-Chronicle Herald columnist Lezlie Lowe talks about quitting the paper over its refugee schoolyard story, Trudeau's quantum computing spiel and how pundits have handled the Leap Manifesto.

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#66 How the CBC Bungled the Panama Papers

April 17, 2016

The CBC messed up the Panama Papers, the Liberals misled us about the Saudi arms deal, the Chronicle Herald stokes fears about refugees and the media looks at the Attawapiskat suicide crisis.

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#65 A Financial Column for Supervillains

April 6, 2016

BuzzFeed's Scaachi Koul and Islamic Monthly's Davide Mastracci on the Panama Papers, Jon Kay's about piece political correctness keeping down the poor and Heather Mallick's latest column on diversity.

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#64 The Ghomeshi Ruling

April 1, 2016

Anne Kingston joins Jesse to talk about the ruling in the Ghomeshi trial.

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#63 Why I Miss Rob Ford

March 25, 2016

Stephen Marche co-hosts on coverage of Rob Ford in life and death, CBC funding and CBC’s pledge to eliminate anonymous comments.

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#62 Lend Me Ten Bucks to Buy a National Newspaper Chain?

March 17, 2016

Jen Gerson on the sale of Postmedia, Toronto Star's publisher stepping down and the big pile of money the CBC's about to get.

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#61 Rap Amnesty for Wab Kinew

March 9, 2016

As Wab Kinew campaigns in Manitoba, the media has seized on his misogynistic rap lyrics from the past. A reporter for The Rebel claims she was doused in pee and the story only gets stupider the closer you look. And have we reached peak Justin Trudeau?

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#60 Trump Refugees Stay Home

March 3, 2016

On Americans threatening to move to Canada, Viceland and why skinny basic is awful.

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#59 LOOKING FOR NON-WHITE NON-MEN

February 24, 2016

About that thing with Scaachi...

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#58 Poondits

February 17, 2016

Music critic Chandler Levack joins Jesse to talk about The Rebel, Canadian coverage of the Grammys and a decline in news consumption.

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#57 #Ghomeshi: The Eggs Awaken

February 16, 2016

The Twitter eggs are emboldened by coverage of the Ghomeshi trial. Jen Gerson co-hosts.

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#56 Notes on the Ghomeshi Trial

February 11, 2016

NOT SORRY writer Vicky Mochama joins Jesse to talk about the Ghomeshi trial, press access to the Liberals and journalists not understanding satire.

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#55 Gregory Alan Elliott and the Future of Being Awful Online

January 28, 2016

Buzzfeed's Scaachi Koul joins Jesse to talk about the Gregory Alan Elliott harassment trial, James Forcillo's verdict in the killing of Sammy Yatim and the public insults between Postmedia's Paul Godfrey and Torstar's John Honderich.

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#54 Canada is Hip and Sophie Trudeau is a Disney Princess

January 20, 2016

Omar Mouallem discusses Canada's new hip status, Vancity Buzz's release of an unblurred photo leaked from police and job cuts at Postmedia.

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#53 Peacekeeper Arms Dealer

January 11, 2016

Naitonal Post's Jen Gerson talks about cuts at Postmedia, Canada's arms deal with Saudi Arabia and journalists changing industries.

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#52 Refugee Happy Smiles A-Ok!

January 7, 2016

The Trudeau government failed to hit the refugee targets promised during the election campaign, but maybe Canadians would rather just feel nice about ourselves again. Elsewhere, reporters are using cringeworthy semi-nude photos and salacious language to accompany stories on sex abuse. Buzzfeed's Lauren Strapagiel schools Jesse with magical results.

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#51 Vice Unite!/Star Comments/Choir Hoax

December 17, 2015

The employees of Vice Canada are starting a union drive. Toronto Star closes down online commenting. An Ottawa children's choir sings a welcoming Arabic song that draws mistaken assumptions on social and mainstream media. Ishmael Daro, Buzzfeed's Social News Editor, co-hosts.

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#50 Media B&E In San Bernardino/Bill 59/Bad For Shad

December 9, 2015

National Post writer and editor Jen Gerson on the ethics of reporting from the San Bernardino shooters' apartment, Bill 59, and Simon Houpt's critique of Shad.

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#49 Nannies/Indigenous Comments/Collateral Teen

December 3, 2015

The National Post's Ashley Csanady on the Prime Minister's childcare, the CBC closing comments on all stories about First Nations, the teenager at the center of a media firestorm and three puff-pieces in three papers about three powerful people.

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#48 Liberal Leaks/Newfoundland Goof/Furlong’s Comeback

November 25, 2015

Rosemary Barton states incorrect facts about Trudeau's refugee plan. Parliament Hill journos attempt to get into the ring with Cabinet Ministers but the Ministers are on another floor. CANADALAND gets NFLD's ATIP reform "spectacularly wrong." The National Post passes judgement on Furlong's accusers without actually speaking to the accusers. CANADALAND publishes their affidavits. Buzzfeed's Paul McLeod discusses.

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#47 Empathy Gap/Paris Errors/Domestic Backlash

November 18, 2015

What was it like in a Paris newsroom when the attacks happened? Did the media really ignore the Beirut bombing? Plus the photoshopped "terrorist" and the backlash here in Canada. Omar Mouallem joins, and France 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to CANADALAND's Jane Lytvynenko.

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#46 Canadian News Hall of Fame/Mansbridge’s Wedding Package/Whiny Telecom

November 12, 2015

Buzzfeed Canada's social news editor Lauren Strapagiel discusses the fabled Canadian News Hall of Fame, Peter Mansbridge's exclusive access to Trudeau, and Bell's pleas to eradicate fairness and restore oligopoly.

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#45 Trudeaumania?/Gender Parity/Mounties vs. Vice

November 4, 2015

Ben Makuch, Vice's national security reporter, discusses Trudeau's cabinet swearing in, CBC's The National's gender parity panel, why the Mounties are out for Ben, and J. Kelly Nestruck's brush with New Zealand sports reporting.

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#43 Which News Org Won The Election?

October 29, 2015

In this dissection of election media coverage, Macleans's Laura Payton peers in while Jesse holds the knife.

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#44 Shit List/Public Editors/Sammy Yatim

October 29, 2015

Journalist Carly Lewis on rape lists, the Globe & Mail's decision to withhold the publication of a Liberal government scandal on election day, The Star's botched response to a botched car sex story, and the truth about Sammy Yatim.

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#40 Munk Debate/Trudeau’s Hard Knock Life

October 22, 2015

Robert Jago of Some Random Political Blog and Simren Sandhu of The True North Times tackle the Munk Debate and Jon Kay's profile of Justin Trudeau.

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#42 End Game: Dirty Tricks

October 15, 2015

Mark Bourrie talks dirty campaign moves, Jeffrey Simpson's 10,000 word Globe and Mail piece, and the credibility of polls.

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#41 Ugliest Election

October 9, 2015

It's been a gross week in Canadian politics. CANADALAND editor Jane Lytvynenko discusses citizenship revocation, the "barbaric cultural practices" hotline, the ongoing Niqab controversy (the everlasting gobstopper of #exln42), and whether the media has the power to shape the election.

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#39 Fahmy/Weaponization of Public Affairs/Polaris

September 24, 2015

Freelance writer John Semley and food podcaster Jessica Walker discuss Mohamed Fahmy's long-awaited release from Egyptian prison, Chief of Defense Staff General Jon Vance's recent announcement of strategic DND leaks to journalists, and the Polaris Prize Gala.

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#38 Paul Watson/Election Hot Mess

September 16, 2015

Two guest co-hosts tackle a dozen topics. Freelancer Paul Watson and Buzzfeed Canada's Paul McLeod discuss Star Touch, the budget surplus, the refugee crisis, Cons buying Facebook Likes, and Paul Watson's much-anticipated Erebus piece.

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#37 Candidates Gone Wild/Mansbridge Sits In A Field

September 10, 2015

This week on Conservative Follies (with special guest Adrienne Batra of The Sun): An incumbent MP crashes out of the bushes to make a citizen's arrest, a candidate urinates in someone else's mug, and yet another candidate realizes that crank calling Pfizer is hard to come back from. Elsewhere, Peter Mansbridge wears an unseasonably warm polar fleece while interviewing three men about stuff we've heard before.

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#36 Maher Arar/Mohamed Fahmy/Flipped Advertorials

September 4, 2015

The media treated Maher Arar like shit. So why hasn't anyone apologized? Ottawa crank and iPolitics writer Andrew Mitrovica discusses this, plus John Baird's empty promises of Mohamed Fahmy's imminent release, and The Globe and Mail's groundbreaking upside down Mercedes Benz advertorials.

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#35 Duffy Fatigue/Black Monday

August 27, 2015

Author and journalist Mark Bourrie makes a triumphant return to make heads or tails of the public's Duffy trial apathy, alarmist Black Monday coverage, and Stephen Harper's traveling roadshow.

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#34 Election Distractions/Chris Hyndman

August 13, 2015

Vice's Hilary Beaumont on Nigel Wright's Duffy trial testimonial and the media's coverage of Chris Hyndman's passing.

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#33 Man In Blue Suit/Ezra Wants Attention

July 30, 2015

lnfoNews Kelowna's managing editor Marshall Jones on Stephen Harper's pointless photo op and Ezra Levant's feud with Catherine Porter.

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#32 #CPCJesus/Attack Ads

July 16, 2015

Maclean's Magazine's Paul Wells on #CPCJesus and recent federal attack ads.

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#31 So About That ‘Women Editors’ Thing…

July 9, 2015

Scaachi Koul lambasts Jesse for errors made in reporting on sexism at The Globe and Mail.

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#30 Vulgar Canada/We’re Better Than News

July 1, 2015

Guardian stringer John Barber on the Mother Canada debacle, the RCMP's Musical military Ride, and Kory Teneycke's revealing flub.

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#29 Terrorism is Over/The Crazy Bitch Defense

June 24, 2015

Freelance writer John Semley on the Toronto Star's Charleston headline and Laura Robinson's ongoing defamation suit against John Furlong.

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#28 The Trial of John Furlong/Smearing Snowden

June 18, 2015

Freelance writer Denise Balkissoon on Laura Robinson's defamation suit against John Furlong and the CBC's modified headline following the publication of Glenn Greenwald's exposé of a false Sunday Times report.

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#27 Evan Solomon/Harper Family Secrets

June 10, 2015

VICE staff reporter Hilary Beaumont on the CBC's firing of Evan Solomon and the RCMP's secret, sealed court documents that may contain allegations of RCMP wrongdoing and personal information about Stephen Harper's family.

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#26 Horny Press/Zehaf-Bibeau Video/Khadr Doc

June 3, 2015

Freelance journalist Adrian MacNair on the press' spring fever, the RCMP's release of 18 missing seconds of the Michael Zehaf-Bibeau video, and the CBC's Omar Khadr documentary.

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#25 Wynne Documentary/Bugingo

May 27, 2015

Jesse on White Pine Pictures's cancelled documentary about Kathleen Wynne, and La Presse journalist Isabelle Hachey on foreign correspondent François Bugingo.

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#24 Muzzled Scientists/Harper Pulls Out

May 20, 2015

Evidence For Democracy's Executive Director Dr. Katie Gibbs on the muzzling of federal government scientists and Stephen Harper's withdrawal from the consortium's federal leaders debate.

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#23 Alberta/C-51/The Brown Fallacy

May 6, 2015

The National Post's Jen Gerson on the victory of the NDP, the victory of Bill C-51, and the failure (says she!) of Jesse's logic.

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#22 Baltimore

April 30, 2015

Paul Jay runs the Real News Network from Baltimore, but he used to produce CounterSpin for CBC TV. He speaks with Jesse about riots and the media.

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#21 Senate Elections/Budget Boredom/RadioOnTheTV

April 22, 2015

Comedian/economist/"candidate" Scott Vrooman on the federal budget and CBC TV's "get 'er done" programming strategy.

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#20 Alberta Upset/Sex-Ed Optics

April 15, 2015

Jen Gerson of the National Post on the improbable defeat of the Conservatives in Alberta and the strategy behind anti sex-ed protests in Ontario.

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#19 New Hosts/Montreal Protests/Daily VICE

April 8, 2015

Desmond Cole and Andray Domise, the hosts of CANADALAND's upcoming weekly Politics podcast, talk about the Montreal student strike and VICE's daily newscast

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#18 Syria/Duffy/Furlong

April 1, 2015

Paul Wells on Canada's "expanded" mission against ISIS, the coming trial of Mike Duffy, and the media's shameful treatment of journalist Laura Robinson and her dozens of First Nations sources.

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#17 News by Bell/Topless Discourse

March 26, 2015

A Bell executive gets caught meddling with the news and the debate on Bill C-51 gets distracted by boobs. Conservative cartoonist J.J. McCullough co-hosts.

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#16 CRTC vs TV/is C-51 a Feint?

March 18, 2015

Novelist and Orphan Black writer Lynn Coady on the new CanCon rules and on the Conservative's barrage of extreme, divisive, distracting sound bites.

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#15 Terrorist’s Selfie/Trudeau’s Speech/Lang’s Whitewash

March 11, 2015

Colby Cosh talks about the Zehaf Bibeau video, Trudeau's "vision" speech and CBC's coverage of CBC's report on CBC's scandal.

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#14 Mystery Tunnel/Opinion Polls/Sex Ed

February 25, 2015

Scaachi Koul returns to discuss the panic over a hole in the ground in the woods, the trouble with opinion polls on policy issues, and the possibly phony debate around teaching kids what their junk is called.

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#13 White Terrorists/Legal Niqab/Desperate Harper

February 18, 2015

Andray Domise on the Halifax murder plot, Zunera Ishaq's badassery and why Harper can't find a better enemy than Radio Canada lefties.

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#12 Blocked by Mallick/Defamed by the Post/Closeted by the Media

February 11, 2015

Joe Clark returns to defend Heather Mallick, decry Terence Corcoran and shatter Ottawa's glass closet.

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#11 John Baird/Anti-Terror

February 4, 2015

Why is the media so incurious about John Baird's sudden resignation? Why is Baird being so vigorously lionized? Torontoist staff writer Desmond Cole talks with Jesse about this, and about what we're not allowed to discuss as we submit to new anti-terror laws.

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#10 Dean Blundell/Racist Winnipeg

January 28, 2015

Scaachi Koul of Hazlitt talks about tolerated abusers and intolerable headlines.

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#9 Two Annoying Jerks

January 22, 2015

Simon Houpt and Jesse talk about their own journalism

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#8 Amanda Lang/Charlie Hebdo

January 15, 2015

Sean Craig explains why his Amanda Lang expose is actually about how good CBC's journalism is, and Jeet Heer describes an unspeakable cartoon of Jesse's dad.

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#7 Charlie Hebdo/Ghomeshi/Keystone

January 7, 2015

Jen Gerson of the National Post joins to talk about chickenshit editors and why Keystone XL is just like Kim Kardashian.

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#6 Torture/Payola/Oscar Clip Journalism

December 10, 2014

Jan Wong returns to talk about Canada's war criminals, the CBC on the take, and the Globe and Mail fishing for awards

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#5 Joni Mitchell/CraveTV/Ben Levin

December 4, 2014

Emma Teitel returns as Dave Bidini mansplains class to Joni Mitchell, Bell's news orgs "report" on Bell's new product, and SUN news illustrates the Liberal-lesbian-pedophile meetup that wasn't.

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#4 Ghomeshi/Rehtaeh/Ferguson

November 27, 2014

Denise Balkissoon joins to talk about how insecure employment impacts journalism, why we need to say her name, and why there's no "Canadian angle" on Ferguson.

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#3 Harper & Putin/Book Prizes

November 20, 2014

Playwright Michael Healey on Harper's theatrical handshake diss and the problem with the Gillers

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#2 UnNews/Ezra Levant/Don Cherry

November 13, 2014

John Semley, contributor to the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star talks with Jesse about the media pageantry around Remembrance Day, reporting on viral videos, Ezra Levant's supposed boner and Don Cherry's shrinking box.

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#1 Parliament shooting/Amanda Bynes/Barbara Kay

November 6, 2014

Emma Rose Teitel of Macleans Magazine talks about the myth of superior Canadian breaking news coverage and the different rules the media has for crazy men and crazy women. Also, a folk song for cranky columnist Barbara Kay.

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