CANADALAND

Ep. 229 - The Manosphere

30 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How did an online subculture of lonely men inspire the murders of 10 people in Toronto?   After 10 people were killed in the Toronto van attack, a Fa...

SHORT CUTS #164 - All Eyes On Us

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 develo...

Ep. 228 - What's The New York Times Doing In Canada?

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

More than a year after their expansion into Canada, the New York Times is prospering here. And they're doing it with only three reporters. But what ex...

SHORT CUTS #163 - The Indoctrination Of Alexandre Bissonnette

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ni...

Ep. 227 - Journalism On Trial

16 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We talk to two Canadian journalists who are facing legal consequences --including jail time-- for doing their jobs. VICE reporter Ben Makuch is headin...

SHORT CUTS #162 - Not Paid To Be Classy

12 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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

Ep. 226 - The Great Satan Of The CBC

09 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Richard Stursberg was the most hated CBC executive in recent history. What advice does he have for Catherine Tait, the CBC's new president? And what d...

SHORT CUTS #161 - Never Underestimate Hatred For Toronto

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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. L...

Ep. 225 - Satirical News Site Fast-Tracks Reconciliation, Everything Fine Now

02 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Fontaine "set fire" to his journalism career last December, when he launched Walking Eagle News. After 20 years of covering tragedy and injustice...

SHORT CUTS #160 - Oh, So I'm The Idiot

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 availabl...

Ep. 224 - How To Un-F**k The Internet

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley still believes in the dream of The Internet. Remember that dream? Before Russian troll-bots, “fake news,” Cam...

SHORT CUTS #159 - You Can Beat Me With a Hose

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 crimin...

Ep. 223 - The Misery Beat

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In an age of sensationalized true crime podcasts and Netflix docudramas—and with no end in sight—can longform crime reporting reach beyond morbid ...

SHORT CUTS #158 - The Conspiracy Provisions

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Another populist businessman turned politician defeats a more-qualified female candidate. Will the Competition Bureau actually do anything other than ...

Ep. 222 - How To Slander Friends And Libel People

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Patrick Brown announced last month that he would be suing CTV, after they published a report of his alleged sexual misconduct — but whether or not ...

SHORT CUTS #157 - The Haunted Dungeon Of Q

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 wh...

Ep. 221 - Indie Journalists On The Government News Bailout

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After two years of reports and stuffy consultations, the slow-moving train-wreck that's been the "news bailout" has made its way into the proposed 201...

Short Cuts #156 - Rogue Indian Elements

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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?...

Ep. 220 - We Need To Talk About Reddit

26 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After years of dodging emails about the internal politics of the country's largest subreddit, r/Canada, Jesse finally jumps down the weirdo-message-bo...

Short Cuts #155 - Patrick Brown Totally Has Sisters

22 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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

Ep. 219 - Where Is Rock Bottom? Live From Saskatchewan, Before The Trial (Rebroadcast)

19 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On February 9, Gerald Stanley — the farmer accused of killing 22-year-old Cree man, Colten Boushie, in Battleford, Saskatchewan — was acquitted of...

SHORT CUTS #154 - Patrick Brown vs. His Reputation

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Ep. 218 - Robert Jago: Decolonizing Canada In His Spare Time

12 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After ending the campaigns of several Tory candidates with his muckraking during the 2015 federal election, Macleans dubbed Robert Jago, "the most da...

SHORT CUTS #153 - Paikin Care Of Business

08 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Denise Balkissoon co-hosts. Topics: Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie: why must the news media disrespect and blame dead Indigenous kids? And the alleg...

Introducing OPPO, with Jen Gerson vs Justin Ling

06 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Subscribe to our new politics show here (Apple Podcasts):  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/oppo/id1344871955 Or here (RSS): http://oppopod.libsyn...

Ep. 217 - The CANADALAND Guide to Jordan B. Peterson

05 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Why did an obscure Canadian psychology prof suddenly become an international media star? It's a much better question than "is he right or wrong?"   —...

SHORT CUTS #152 - Slow News Week

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ontario's political scene lately - why so boring?! Jordan Peterson was a guest on CBC. The media's angle on the ongoing coverage of Toronto's accused...

Ep. 216 - As If It Never Even Happened

29 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One year ago today, a 27-year-old white man, named Alexandre Bissonnette, walked into the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City and opened fire on ov...

SHORT CUTS #151 - You'd Think A Serial Killer Would Be A Bigger Deal

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In which we discuss the media's bizarre long-term silence on the disappearances from Toronto's gay village, the Rogers-Vice Canada fallout, and Toront...

Ep. 215 - They Asked Me To Join The Militia

22 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Conspiracies! They're out there... and Vice Canada's Mack Lamoureux is getting to the bottom of them. You name it, he's covered it: The Berenst(a)ein...

SHORT CUTS #150 - Creeping Sharia, Bitches!

18 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On coverage of the hijab cutting hate crime that never was and the job of journalists in reporting stories of sexual harassment. Naheed Mustafa joins ...

Ep. 214 - Black Mirror Canada

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you thought Bill C-51 was concerning, boy do we have an update for you! Bill C-59 is the Liberal government’s national security reform bill, an...

SHORT CUTS #149 - CanLit is Crawling With Creeps

11 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Novelist and poet Zoe Whittall joins Jesse to talk creepy professors, racist letters, and predatory men. @zoewhittallSupport CANADALAND: https://canad...

Ep. 213 - How Facebook Bought-Off Canada For Peanuts

08 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Governments around the world are cracking down on Facebook. But not Canada's. Forget taxes and regulations — Trudeau's Ministers are getting photo-o...

SHORT CUTS #148 - We March On Loblaws At Dawn

04 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Canadian grocery store billionaires duped us for 14 years— Vive la gift card!! Joshua Boyle, former Taliban hostage, faces 15 charges including se...

The Imposter - Aliya Tries Comedy

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of this season of The Imposter, Aliya will do a live comedy set onstage at Second City.   But first—she needs to learn how to tell a jok...

The Imposter - I Pity The Country Part 1

28 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Imposter's "I Pity The Country" sits alongside Radiolab and The Heart on Constant Listener's 8 best podcast episodes of 2017. You can read that li...

COMMONS - Invisible Victims: How Police Botched The Robert Pickton Case

25 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Over the holidays, we're presenting some of the best episodes from across CANADALAND Media.   "If the police don't want you to see a file, you're nev...

SHORT CUTS #147 - Officially Suspicious: The Sherman Deaths

21 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman were found dead in their Toronto home. As we parse through language in the press like "suspicious" an...

Ep. 212 - Meet the New Partisan Press

18 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

PressProgress calls itself "Canada’s most shared source for progressive news and information." They get real scoops, using the traditional tools of...

SHORTCUTS #146 - Terrible Documentary Silenced by Basic Decency

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A terrible BBC documentary about transgender kids was pulled from CBC scheduling. A journalists' materials were seized from a Niagara Regional Council...

Ep. 211 - Inside A Right-Wing Meme Machine

11 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

After working in media, PR and politics, Jeff Ballingall understands the political power of Facebook. His top Facebook page gets more engagement than ...

SHORT CUTS #145 - News From The Upside Down

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Globe and Mail recently launched their re-designed newspaper much to the dismay of old people everywhere. Editor-in-Chief David Walmsley claims th...

Ep. 210 - Why Newspapers Don't Have To Die

04 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

After 34 newspapers were abruptly killed by Postmedia and Torstar last week, Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey made the case that it was just part of an inev...

SHORT CUTS #144 - I'll Kill Your Newspapers If You Kill Mine

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of Canadians lost their community news this week, after two news giants traded 41 newspapers and shut nearly all of them down. Postmedia CEO Pa...

Ep. 209 - The Man Behind The Paradise Papers

27 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Gerard Ryle is the director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, who are behind the Paradise Papers, the Panama Papers and ot...

SHORT CUTS #143 - Goddamnit, Fine, Let's Talk About Jordan Peterson

23 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A Master's student was reprimanded for showing her students a public TV clip of psychology professor/YouTuber Jordan Peterson explaining why he refus...

Ep. 208 - Ahead Of The Times: Jezebel Reporters On Louis CK

20 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Reporters Anna Merlan and Madeleine Davies were investigating and writing about Louis CK well before the New York Times story came out. And they faced...

SHORT CUTS #142 - The Erotic Adventures Of Bill Morneau

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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

Ep. 207 - Village Of The Sprawling Phoenix: New Models For Local News

13 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Is local media doomed? We speak to three entrepreneurs who are making a go of it with three very different models.   Dave Bidini publishes the West E...

SHORT CUTS #141 - Team Kill Rich People

09 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

CBC's flagship TV newscast The National is revamped with a four-host format and released into the world. The Paradise Papers reveal what the Toronto...

Ep. 206 - Jeremy Scahill: Mistrust First, Then Verify

06 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

“Objectivity for the sake of objectivity often means make sure that the powerful always get their say. And sometimes Caesar shouldn’t have his say...

SHORT CUTS #140 - Weekend With Bernie

02 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A series of media scoops have shown that some politicians are actually rich people who want to keep their money. Bernie Sanders comes to Canada to tel...

Ep. 205 - Out Of My Depth With Adam Gopnik

30 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Gopnik lived out a certain Canadian fantasy. He left the country and became a prominent New York intellectual. He writes about the move in his ne...

SHORT CUTS #139 - Distorted Sermon, Coercive Mattress

26 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Quebec passes a racist law. A bunch of media outlets ran a story that used video manipulation and questionable translation to make it look like an im...

Daniel Dale

23 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale has become one of the most-watched journalists in Washington in part by simply enumerating Donald Trump's lies (Dale c...

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

19 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservative Party leader walked away from a scrum when pressed about his campaign manager working in far right media company The Rebel's office d...

My Awkward Date With Sarah Polley

16 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah Polley talks about how she helped Jesse break a major story.  And she discusses domestic abuse, sexual harassment and assault, and the culture ...

SHORT CUTS #137 - Sour Gas, Racist Soap

12 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

An "unprecedented national collaboration" between The National Observer, Global, The Toronto Star and more exposes the dangers of sour gas in Saskatc...

It's The End Of CanCon As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

09 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The way we make culture in Canada is finished. The CanCon system was built around radio frequency and cable subscriptions. That's done.  Heritage Min...

SHORT CUTS #136 - Will You Denounce Terry Milewski's Moustache?

05 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Co-host Omar Mouallem lives in the Edmonton neighbourhood where the terror attack took place over the weekend. He discusses what he saw in the news ve...

Ep.201 - Saudi Arabia Is Using Canadian Weapons Against Its Own Citizens And Nobody Seems To Care

02 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When we found out the Trudeau Government was selling armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, despite their terrible human rights record, there was little ...

SHORT CUTS #135 - It's Important To Kick These People When They're Down

28 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This American Life ponders the question:Is Gavin McInnes actually racist? We help them find the answer.   The Globe and Mail launches a project to te...

Ep.200 - Blame Michael Enright

25 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Enright got Jesse his first job in radio. He was also CANADALAND’s first ever guest, drinking bourbon and talking sh*t about the Canadian m...

The Wab Kinew Situation

21 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Indigenous writer and activist turned politician Wab Kinew scored a historic victory last weekend by decisively winning the leadership of the Manitob...

Ep.199 - TIFF Is A Monster That's Eating Itself

18 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

For one week every year, the Canadian press transforms into movie industry experts. Our newspapers run glossy red carpet photos of Hollywood stars and...

We Support You, Hostile Idiot!

14 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 prob...

Ep.198 - Punching Nazis... With The Law!

11 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Who thought we'd have a Nazi problem in 2017? Richard Warman did. Years before the current "Should I punch a Nazi" debate took off, he was taking neo-...

Enough About Antifa, Let's Fight Fascists

07 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Post columnists pen truly offensive shit; another media outlet lays off workers; Donald Trump has us all scrambling.  Another day, another 81¢ (...

I Don't Speak Sports

05 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It's clear that sports journalism is facing many of the same issues as other facets of the industry: declining ad revenues, job insecurities, and too ...

Mommy, Where Do Feelings Come From?

31 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

Ezra's Very Bad Week

21 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It's been, to put it mildly, a shit week for Rebel Media's self-styled 'Rebel Commander' Ezra Levant: - Following the tragedy in Charlottesville last ...

SHORT CUTS #130 - Rebel Meltdown

17 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A growing list of contributors and politicians are cutting ties with far right website The Rebel after their coverage of the white nationalist prote...

Bleeding Edge Outrage Meme Generators

14 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The term 'fake news'has been popularized, bastardized, and now wholly appropriated. What was previously defined as 'A deliberate untruth published st...

Arctic DNA

10 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Live From New York, It's CANADALAND

31 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week we present a podcast based on our stage show which was based on our book which was based on this podcast. Talk about coming full circle.  ...

MSM On FGM: WTF?

27 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Toronto Star built an entire exposé on female genital mutilation based predominantly around a mid-level civil servant's email from three years a...

Ep. 193 - Summer Dump

24 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We revisit a couple of stories that we haven't been able to follow up on to the level to which we'd hoped. At least not on the website, where our N...

SHORT CUTS #127 - Shopping Khadr to Fox News

20 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

Ep.192 - 15 Years Covering Omar Khadr

17 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When the vitriol started to fly over Omar Khadr's $10.5 million settlement and apology from the government, Michelle Shephard got frustrated with just...

COMMONS: The Rise of the Right

13 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist Evan Balgord has been covering fringe right groups like the Proud Boys, Soldiers of Odin, and the Three Percenters for the better part...

Ep.191 - Revenge Porn

10 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Ren Bostelaar posted nude pictures of women he knew to 4chan without their consent. He avoided a criminal record by apologizing and taking a peace bon...

SHORT CUTS #126 - Child Soldiers, Proud Boys

06 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

With resistance to Canada150, Indigenous women calling out a reporter at a press conference, and the Proud Boys disrupting a Mi'kmaq ceremony in Halif...

Ep. 190 - Queer Media

03 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Canada was once home to a small, but mighty collective of gay and lesbian newspapers and magazines that made up a radical alternative media. Over the ...

SHORT CUTS #125 - #Mansbridge150

29 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Ep. 189 - The Great Newspaper Bailout

26 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

After the release of the Public Policy Forum's Shattered Media report this past winter comes the latest beg for cash to prop up the newspaper industr...

SHORT CUTS #124 - Quote Governor General Unquote

22 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Governor General David Johnston issued a mea culpa over his radio interview in which he refers to Indigenous peoples as immigrants. Postmedia did no...

Ep. 188 - The Images Are Merciless

19 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Iraqi photojournalist Ali Arkady thought he was documenting the "good guys" -- the non-sectarian forces fighting Daesh for the preservation of Iraq. I...

SHORT CUTS #123 - Out Of (Teen) Vogue

15 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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

Ep. 187 - We Got Played

12 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Or did we play ourselves? This most recent Conservative leadership race highlighted a number of deficiencies in Canadian media. Namely, why did the gu...

SHORT CUTS #122 - Imagine If Your Daughter Was Eaten By Otters

08 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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

Ep. 186 - End Of The CanLit Hustle

05 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

McClelland & Stewart was the publishing house that, at one time, served as the home for the likes of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Cohen ...

SHORT CUTS #121 - Parkdale Class War!!

01 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservatives have a new, dimpled, leader, Nova Scotians have more of the same, and British Columbians have an unprecedented lefty hybrid. How ...

Ep. 185 - Travel Journalism's Dirty Little Secret

29 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

One cardinal rule of journalism is that reporters never accept incentives, be that meals, gifts, or - God forbid - money, from the subjects on whom ...

SHORT CUTS #120 - The "Trust" Committee

25 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week, The Guardian continued its exemplary coverage of Canadian university student unions. Hamilton police arrest two journalists attempting to...

Ep. 184 - Jason Kenney Is A Charming Man: Inside Alberta's Weird Conservatism

22 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Texas of the north. Racist rednecks, gun nuts, and pickup truck enthusiasts. That's the Alberta stereotype portrayed in much of the rest of Canada...

SHORT CUTS #119 - Changing Of The Guard

18 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Ep. 183 - Why Your Rap Lyrics Could Land You In Prison

15 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to rap, where does artistic licence end and confession begin? According to prosecutors in at least 30 cases from the last decade, it st...

SHORT CUTS #118 - The Hermit Kingdom Of British Columbia

11 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

British Columbia had an election where everybody won - or at least got an 'I Participated' ribbon. Also, Rebel Media wades into the French election l...

Ep. 182 - It Was Illegal To Print Their Names: Alberta's Lost Children

08 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Since the late 1990s nearly 800 children in Alberta government care have Veteran Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons has been shining a light on ...