Synopsis
Media criticism, news analysis and investigations with host Jesse Brown. The #1 Canadian podcast.
Episodes
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(Short Cuts) No Cop Crackdowns on Campus
02/05/2024 Duration: 41minCampus protests have migrated to Canada and McGill is asking the cops for help. Why calling in the cops is the wrong approach, despite what’s being said (and chanted) at these protests.Justin Trudeau seems to be popping up on podcasts everywhere these days. What to make of Trudeau’s podcast populism (and why it won’t work in 2024.)Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proolx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Justin Ling Further reading: Opinion: Police crackdowns won’t bring order to campuses - The Globe and Mail Judge rejects injunction request for removal of McGill encampment protest | CBC NewsTimeline: UCLA's night of violence before police moved in Catching Up With Columbia’s Student Radio Station After a Historic Broadcast - Mother Jones Why I'm Resigning From The Intercept - Ken Klippenstein (Substack)Police Seek Criminal Charges Against Journalist Covering Gaza Protest – T
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In the Shadow of the Shadow War
29/04/2024 Duration: 50minCanadian media coverage of the war in the Middle East has, unsurprisingly, focused on the impact on diaspora communities here in Canada. We have heard about Jewish Canadians, Palestinian Canadians, and we have heard in general terms about the many Muslim communities across Canada and how this is affecting them. But there's one diaspora community that is increasingly at the center of this conflict, who we have heard very little about. And that is the Iranian community.Today on the show, three members of the Iranian-Canadian community, Amir Attaran, Samira Mohyeddin, and Kahve Shahrooz, join Jesse to talk about their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences about what is going on in their community.Editor’s note: In the introduction to this episode, Jesse says, “Canada is home to the second largest Iranian diaspora community in the world. There are 400,000.” According to Tehran, Canada is home to 400,000 Iranian-Canadians but Statistics Canada puts the number at closer to 200,000. In either case, Canada is
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(Détours) Solutions climatiques, solutions journalistiques
27/04/2024 Duration: 38minAlors que l’année 2024 sera la plus chaude jamais enregistrée, on voit le public, épuisé par l'éco anxiété et une certaine fatigue informationnelle, se détourner des médias. Emilie Nicolas reçoit Étienne Leblanc, journaliste environnement et climat à Radio-Canada, pour échanger sur l’évolution de la couverture médiatique des changements climatiques depuis une vingtaine d’années et sur les solutions possibles afin de mieux communiquer sur le sujet. Even if 2024 is projected to be the warmest year ever recorded, audiences are tuning out the news, exhausted by eco-anxiety and media fatigue. Emilie Nicolas talks with Étienne Leblanc, environment and climate reporter at the CBC, about the past twenty years of climate change coverage and how to find solutions to better communicate on the topic. Animation : Emilie NicolasGénérique : Lucie Laumonier (Production), Tristan Capacchione (Production technique), André Proulx (Coordonnateur à la production), Karyn Pugliese (Rédactrice en chef) Coanimation : É
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(Short Cuts) Jennifer Pan’s Labyrinth
25/04/2024 Duration: 38minAs the hit Netflix documentary What Jennifer Did draws criticism for manipulating source materials, we talk to Karen K. Ho about the differences between True Crime and journalism. Umar Zameer is acquitted of murdering a Toronto police officer, but the way his case was handled by the media and politicians raises questions about the impact of public narratives in high-profile legal cases.Plus, Goldsbie sits court-side, and why Connie Walker deserves an apology.Want your audio story on CANADALAND? Submissions for the Local Correspondent Audio Contest are now open! To learn more, visit canadaland.com/audiocontest and follow @CanadaLabs on InstagramHost: Jonathan GoldsbieCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Karen K. Ho Further reading: Jennifer Pan's Revenge - Toronto Life (2015)‘What Jennifer Did’ producer denies using AI-generated photo - Toronto StarThat Other School Shooting - The New Yor
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Thunder Bay Police Chaos
22/04/2024 Duration: 21minOn April 12, 2024, news broke that Sylvie Hauth, the former police chief of Thunder Bay, was arrested and charged with a series of criminal offenses. But none of the news reports explained much about just what the hell was happening this time.Most of this story is still unknown, but this week, Karyn Pugliese, Ryan McMahon, and Jon Thompson will tell you what they can, what they have verified so far, and they will give you their best sense — let's call it a theory — of what the big-picture story is here.Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Jon Thompson (Reporter), Ryan McMahon (Reporter), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Jonathan Goldsbie (News Editor), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Sponsors: Douglas, AG1, oxio, CAMHIf you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at
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(Short Cuts) War Torn TikTok
18/04/2024 Duration: 30minDid we just dodge WW3? As Iran retaliated against Israel with an unprecedented barrage of drones and missiles, deciphering facts from fakes and misinformation seemed trickier than ever. Is this the new digital fog of war?Bill Maher somehow still exists, and now he’s roasting Canada for all the wrong reasons. What Bill Maher gets wrong about Canadian “Zombie Lies”?Plus, is Rick Ross an anti-semite? Jesse weighs in on the Drake beef. Want your audio story on CANADALAND? Submissions for the Local Correspondent Audio Contest are now open! To learn more, visit canadaland.com/audiocontest and follow @CanadaLabs on Instagram to stay in the loop.Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proolx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Rahim Mohamed Further reading: As Iran attacked Israel, old and faked videos and images got millions of views on X Fake Footage of Iran’s Attack on Israel Is Going Vi
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Slash and Burn: How Cheap Debt Killed the News
15/04/2024 Duration: 36minWe’ve long heard about how the news business is failing - layoff after layoff, media execs have claimed that they have had no choice but to make cutbacks.In Bell’s latest round of 4800 layoffs, CEO Mirko Babic defended his decision to a parliamentary committee, claiming the company was struggling in a tough economic environment - and that news was part of what was bringing them down.But is that the full story? Because before Google and Facebook ate up advertising dollars, the Canadian media companies of the 90s made a bad bet. And it failed to pay off. And now… the news industry is taking the fall. Further reading:Corporate ownership of media has failed Canadians, Marc Edge, Canadian Dimension, 2024Bell Media Has Cut 1 In 4 Positions Since 2020 as Parent Company Keeps Dividend Rolling, The Deep Dive, 2024 Media convergence, acquisitions and sales in Canada, CBC, 2010Convergence after the collapse: The ‘catastrophic’ case of Canada, Marc Edge, Media, Culture and Society, 2011Financiali
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(Détours) Haïti, vue de Port-au-Prince
13/04/2024 Duration: 42minEtienne Côté-Paluck, rédacteur en chef d’HAÏTI MAGAZINE et HAITI WEEKLY, des publications du collectif haïtien DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO, rejoint Emilie pour une discussion sur l’actualité de la crise qui se passe dans la ville et dans le pays.Etienne Côté-Paluck, editor-in-chief of HAÏTI MAGAZINE and HAITI WEEKLY, publications of the Haitian collective DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO, joins Emilie for a discussion about what’s actually going on in the country.Animation : Emilie NicolasGénérique : Tristan Capacchione (Production), André Proulx (Coordonnateur à la production), Karyn Pugliese (Rédactrice en chef) Coanimation : Etienne Côté-PaluckPour en savoir plus :Haïti MagazineHaiti WeeklySi vous appréciez ce podcast, soutenez-nous ! Vous obtiendrez un accès en prime à toutes nos émissions gratuitement, y compris les premières diffusions et le contenu bonus. Vous recevrez également notre lettre d'information exclusive, des rabais sur les produits dans notre boutique, des billets pour nos événements en direct et virtuels, et surtout,
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(Short Cuts) Justin Trudeau’s Chinese Democracy
11/04/2024 Duration: 44minA spectre is haunting Canada — the spectre of Communist China.Finally, a proper inquiry into election interference by China featuring testimony from Trudeau and his top aides, but, at this point, will anyone even care? Rebel News personality David “The Menzoid” Menzies is arrested yet again at a protest in Toronto, which raises larger questions about how police are selectively enforcing the law at contentious public rallies. Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Harrison Lowman Further reading: PMO, top ministers and senior officials received 34 briefings on foreign interference since 2018, CSIS says - The Globe and Mail PM tells foreign interference probe government's hands are tied on intelligence leaks to media | CBC News Prime Minister Trudeau tells foreign interference inquiry recent elections were ‘decided by Canadians’: Li
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Should Gaza Compel a Return to Canadian Peacekeeping?
08/04/2024 Duration: 32minCanadians have long thought of themselves as peacekeepers. But can we still make that claim today? Amid all of the the outrage towards our government over its relationship with Israel, are any protesters calling on Trudeau to send peacekeeping troops over there to intervene? When the guns finally fall silent there will likely be a call for some sort of peacekeeping force. But will Canada still be ready, or even willing, to resume our traditional role?There's really just one statistic worth sharing here to illustrate that Canadians have lost nearly all capacity for peacekeeping. In the mid 1990s, there were over 3000 Canadian troops deployed as UN peacekeepers around the world. Today there are 60. That means we’re now at 2% of our former capability. What the hell happened? We go looking for an answer for you today from Walter Dorn, professor of defense studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and the Canadian Forces College. Professor Dorn is an expert in arms control, international criminal law, j
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(Short Cuts) The Canadaland Guide to Staring Directly at the Sun
04/04/2024 Duration: 34minAs Canadians prepare for a rare celestial event–a total solar eclipse–Jesse has one message: don’t look up!On Monday, the price of carbon increased, and so did prices at the pumps. Carbon Tax savant Max Fawcett explains why it’s terrible politics, but still a great policy Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proolx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Max Fawcett Further reading: Why next week's solar eclipse has scientists so excited - CBC NewsPreparing for a total eclipse of the sun, 1979 - CBC [Video] Han Dong says international students voted en masse in his 2019 Liberal nomination - National PostSecret RCMP report warns Canadians may revolt once they realize how broke they are - National Post For sale by Canada: books by notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones - CBC NewsAxing serious climate action with lies. - Uncommons Sponsors: Douglas, Rotman, Athletic Gr
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An Oral History Of Just For Laughs Gags
01/04/2024 Duration: 30minQuestion: what is Canada's greatest contribution to the world of comedy? Is it Lorne Michaels and Saturday Night Live, which launched the careers of comedians like Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, and Norm MacDonald? What about Samantha Bee, who broke into the boys club of late night political satire? Nathan Fielder who may have redrawn the lines of reality itself, exposing the absurdity of modern life with his bizarre, intricate pranks? Professor Stephen Leacock, the Mark Twain of Canada?Or is it a hidden-camera, prank comedy show that has been seen by millions and millions of people from all over the world?Just For Laughs Gags has been running for almost 25 years, and it had no reason to stop, except that its parent company filed for creditor protection under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on March 5, 2024. What was Gags and what will be missed if it never gets produced again?Today on the show, we hear from the people that made it, and from people that were pranked by them.To learn more:Just for Laughs: Gag
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(Détours) Culbuter le malheur
30/03/2024 Duration: 44minIl y a du pouvoir dans la réappropriation de son propre récit - c'est pourquoi Beata n'a pas seulement écrit un mémoire sur son expérience de fuite du Rwanda, mais aussi un recueil de poésie. Elle a cherché à retrouver des images qu'elle croyait exister, capturées par la BBC, d'un convoi de camions dans lequel elle était cachée pour fuir le pays - ce qui l'a menée à en découvrir davantage.La conversation examine le rôle des médias occidentaux dans le reportage sur le Rwanda à l'époque. Où se trouvait la presse internationale pendant le génocide et pourquoi le récit était-il si incomplet ? Pourquoi ce génocide n'a-t-il pas été empêché malgré les avertissements plus d'un an auparavant ?There’s power in re-appropriating your own story - which is why Beata has not only written a memoir about her experience fleeing Rwanda, but a book of poetry as well. She sought to track down footage that she believed to exist captured by the BBC of a convoy of trucks she was hidden in to flee the country - which led her on a pat
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(Short Cuts) Organ-Transplant Radio Bingo
28/03/2024 Duration: 36minWhy are New Zealand libertarian think-tanks so into Canada’s Indigenous skyscrapers? In the midst of an ongoing housing crisis, is the Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw project the future of Indigenous land development?As Deadspin’s new ownership pivots to gambling referral, we consider how broadcast bingo supports Indigenous radio. Is “Radio Bingo” a replicable model for diversifying media revenue?Host: Jonathan GoldsbieCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Co-host: Robert Jago Further reading: There’s one government in Canada that’s actually beating back the housing crisis, and it’s not Justin Trudeau’s Liberals or Doug Ford’s Conservatives – Toronto StarVancouver’s new mega-development is big, ambitious and undeniably Indigenous – Maclean’sA Village Burned (2022) – Land Back (CBC Podcasts)A Canadian housing development shows how the value of indigenous land can be unlocked – The Post (NZ)Global Affairs confirms Canadian death in Lebanon, 8th s
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We Spied on the Spies who Spy on Activists
25/03/2024 Duration: 43minWhen governments and corporations want to stay on top of the “threats” posed by protest movements — from climate campaigns to animal-rights advocacy — there’s one company that they tend to turn to: Welund. Founded in the UK in 2007, it expanded to North America about a decade later, setting up shop in Calgary (where it’s now called Foresight Reports). So who are they? And what does it mean when public-sector bodies farm out their intelligence gathering to a private firm?To find out, we put our own open-source intelligence skills to the test.Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Jonathan Goldsbie (News Editor), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Further reading:Secretive intelligence firm with Alberta government contract spying on journalist Brandi Morin — RicochetThe Private Intelligence Firm Keeping Tabs on Environmentalists — Mother JonesBAE spy named by campaigners is friend of leading
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(Short Cuts) The Musk of Censorship
21/03/2024 Duration: 39minAs Elon Musk rails against content moderation in a disastrous interview with Don Lemon, Jesse and Ivor Shapiro reconsider Canada’s new approach to online speech. Is the Online Harms Act as Orwellian as Margaret Atwood thinks it is? Also, immigration is coming up a lot in the news these days. Is the recent media discourse actually….mature?Clarification: When Jesse reads from Bill C-63 Online Harms Act 17 he says "A person may, with the Attorney General's consent, lay an information before a provincial court judge if the person fears on reasonable grounds that another person will commit hate speech." He meant to say Section 17 "refers to existing parts of the criminal code that govern hate speech."Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Ivor Shapiro Further reading: Trudeau’s Orwellian online harms bill - The Spectator (UK)Margaret Atwood, Elon Musk call out
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The Witch Trials Of Andy Mills
18/03/2024 Duration: 54minAndy Mill’s is the co-creator of The New York Times ground-breaking podcast, The Daily, and before that worked on the equally inventive and critically acknowledged podcast Radiolab. He’s also one of the very few journalists to gain the trust of J.K. Rowling for his series The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. Finally, he’s been the subject of critical reporting from Canadaland for his work on the Peabody Award winning series for The New York Times, Caliphate. That series was stripped of the Peabody and Mills himself was “cancelled” for a combination of the Caliphate controversy and a series of attacks on twitter for his past work-place behaviour.It’s a rare opportunity to speak with someone with a CV like Mills’ and even rarer for Jesse to have the opportunity to come face to face with someone who has been the subject of intense scrutiny from Canadaland’s reporting.To hear an extended version of this interview, become a supporter by going to https://canadaland.com/joinTo learn more:Califail — CANADALANDAndy Mills
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(Détours) Journalisme cathartique
16/03/2024 Duration: 49minAlors que la guerre à Gaza fait rage, Emilie Nicolas et Raed Hammoud font le point sur la couverture de cette guerre dans le cadre de leur travail au sein de l'écosystème médiatique québécois. Raed évoque également le travail documentaire de longue haleine qu'il a réalisé afin de créer des liens entre des personnes de différentes parties du monde, notamment ses séries documentaires T'es où, Youssef ? Immigrants de souche et Demain l'Afrique. As the war in Gaza wages on, Emilie Nicolas and Raed Hammoud take stock of what it’s been like to cover this war in their work in the Quebec media ecosystem. Raed also discusses the long form documentary work he has done in order to create connections between people in different parts of the world, including his docu-series T’es où Youssef, Immigrants de Souche and Demain L’Afrique. Animation : Emilie NicolasGénérique : Aviva Lessard (Production), Tristan Capacchione (Production technique), André Proulx (Coordonnateur à la production), Karyn Pugliese (Rédactrice
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(Short Cuts) Just for Death
14/03/2024 Duration: 38minThe laughter has stopped at the Just For Laughs festival, as ownership applies for creditor protection and cancels the Montreal and Toronto 2024 festivals. Toronto Comedian Sam Sferrazza explains how the Just For Laughs systems worked (and didn’t work) for Canadian comedy.Is there anything behind the Katespiracy? As a manipulated photo of Princess Catherine and her kids goes viral worldwide, Jesse wonders if any photograph… ever should have ever been trusted. Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Sam Sferrazza Further reading: Comedians reflect on Just For Laughs’ cancellation and the future of comedy - Globe and Mail2024 Just for Laughs comedy festival cancelled, company seeks creditor protection - CBC NewsThe end of SaltWire: What happened and what happens next? - Halifax ExaminerCanada’s foreign correspondents are almost extinct - The HubHot Docs president warns this year's festival c
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How Work Got So Sh*tty
11/03/2024 Duration: 27minLabour used to be a beat. A major beat for any newspaper. Which, you know, makes sense. Because what happens with work, with the world of work, that matters to so many more people than any other section in the newspaper, more than politics or foreign affairs or even business. But the age of the working person's newspaper is just about dead, and along with it, the labour beat.But maybe not to news audiences. We get constant emails from you asking us to take a closer look at work in Canada. The entire new season of our sister show Commons is called Work, and this week we hand the show over to the Commons team. Arshy Mann, Jordan Cornish, and Noor Azrieh are going to tell you about what they have found, about what it means to work and be a worker in Canada.Subscribe to COMMONS: Work in your favourite podcast app here!Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Pr