“The people who want to play morality police and decide who does or doesn't get to speak, they're not qualified arbiters of anything.” - Caryma Sa’d
MoreAre dentists defrauding the Canadian government?
MoreThe Millenium Bug was supposed to bring the world to a halt, but governments claimed they squashed the problem. Was it all a panic over nothing?
More“My job is to smuggle black market babies out of Canada and into the US. I’ve been at it off and on for the past 5 years. Maybe there’s an easier way to make a bankroll, but I don’t know it.” - Eugene Moyneur (ex-wrestler, ex-bodybuilder, baby-smuggler)
More“Elon flipped out. He saw Substack as sort of like the number one competitor to X at the time. He banned discussion of the word Substack. And to this day, there's a lot of people who when they want to talk about Substack on Twitter, they write like, S star star B, like, like we're Voldemort or something.” - Chris Best, Substack co-founder and CEO
MoreDocuments reveal how Canada’s airline watchdog was pressured to bend the rules and leave Canadians holding the bag.
More“In an effort to put everything into question, we run the danger of losing any kind of firm footing on which to build a more just and equitable society. So the logical end game of a certain project of questioning is total bafflement or the destruction of everything.” - Professor Mark Kingwell
MoreHow did a garbage company become the “best” source for news in this major Canadian city?
More“Artificial intelligence was considered the realm of lunatics and wackos and eccentrics. So they couldn't get hired at really elite universities in the United States. [The] University of Toronto hired them, and then it turned out they were really right and all the elite people were really wrong.” - Stephen Marche, author of “Was Linguistic A.I. Created by Accident?”
MoreIsrael’s Ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, sits down with Jesse for a candid and intense discussion about how Israel’s actions during the war are impacting Canadians.
MoreIt was the largest art fraud in history. The sheer volume of rip-offs numbering in the thousands. And the scheme that shocked the art world sprang from, of all places, Thunder Bay. How did the fraudsters hatch such a plan from such an unlikely place? And what part did a cold case murder play in finally exposing their cultural crime?
MoreCue the sad trombone sounds for Rebel Media, who just lost an appeal to qualify for federal journalism tax credits. Where will they get funding from now?
MoreCanada’s former ambassador to Israel, Norman Spector, joins to unpack the narratives and larger geopolitical context of the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
MoreA small Canadian firm wants to build the largest goldmine in Brazil. But there’s no shortage of questions, allegations, investigations and legal battles swirling around the proposed project. Are local subsistence miners making false claims to drive Canadian competition off their land? Are Canadian mining executives violating human rights for an estimated $8 billion payout? Why is the UN investigating? What should the role of the Canadian government be in all this?
More“...they finally found budget for security on July 7th of 2023, within a couple of hours of a local mother in our neighborhood being shot and killed during a dispute between three drug dealers outside of the injection site. That's when they got security. They found the budget after the shooting.” - Derek Finkle
More“The pain was like… my body knew that something was wrong.”
MoreCanada’s official visa process has not helped a single person leave Gaza.
MoreWe head there to find out.
MoreThe songs stuck in Anya’s head turned out to be a mystery disease, but for years, doctors were at a loss to cure her.
MoreJustin Ling has kind of had it.
MoreHe’s given Donald Trump tips on removing makeup stains from his suit collars, advised Boris Johnson on how to not dress like a schlub, and now The Menswear Guy sets out to rank the sartorial splendor, or lack thereof, of Trudeau, Poilievre and Singh.
MoreAirlines suck. But you don’t have to take it lying down.
MoreWe’re bringing you a special sneak preview of Inside Kabul, an Award Winning podcast from Radio France.. Canadaland is proud to premiere the English-language adaptation of this urgent and intimate podcast
More“I can look up online and track snow plows in real time, but I don't know which ambulance is in service. I don't know what the paramedic staffing level for Montreal is, but I can tell you where the snow plows are. There is something seriously skewed.” - ex-paramedic Hal Newman
MoreEmail leaks from medical experts throw new light on mysterious neurological disease in New Brunswick.
MoreJulian Assange, Edward Snowden, TOR, you’ve heard the names before. But why won’t anyone talk about Jacob Appelbaum?
More25 years ago, one Canadian scientist wrote a book that detailed the history and science of gay animals: Biological Exuberance. And then he disappeared…
MoreInvestigative reporter Molly Thomas was hell-bent on not letting the plight of women in Afghanistan fall from the headlines. But the battle to tell that story wasn’t where she first thought it was.
MoreThis story started out like every other Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women case. But something happened that would change the trajectory of the case, the people, and even political leaders in Manitoba.
MoreHot Docs, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Just for Laughs, just the latest cultural institutions to join a long list of Canadian arts groups facing existential threats. Why is this all happening now?
MoreReporter Alexi Mostrous will tell you all about how a Canadian private intelligence practitioner and investigator, set him off on a quest to find out who trolled Amber Heard.
MoreWhat happens if pretendians start to outnumber actual Indigenous people?
MoreIt’s the biggest media success story you’ve (maybe) never heard of.
MoreAs the conflict in the Middle East continues to heat up, many Canadian diaspora communities have been affected and talked about in recent months. But as Iran starts to take a more central role, what is the temperature around the dinner table of Iranian-Canadians?
MoreA former police chief was arrested in Thunder Bay on April 12, 2024. But there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
MoreHas journalism been left holding the bag for Big Media’s bad bet?
MoreWhat is behind the near complete collapse of Canada’s role in peacekeeping around the world?
MoreThe story that no one asked for, but must be told. The story of one of Canada’s most popular entertainment exports ever. An oral history of the hit show, Just For Laughs Gags.
MoreOf all the private intelligence firms in the English-language world, there appears to be just one whose speciality is tracking activists. And it has a branch office in Calgary.
MoreAndy Mills’ podcasting work for The New York Times won a Peabody Award and a Pulitzer Prize citation. Then he lost it all.
MoreTwenty years of school gets you what… An unpaid internship? An e-bike to deliver ramen? And some sort of side hustle? How did we get here? Today we look at work in Canada.
MoreIf the polls are anywhere near correct Pierre Poilievre is on track to be our next Prime Minister. And he may be in that job for a long time. So today we’re going to dare to speculate: what would years of Conservative rule look like?
MoreWhen an Opioid Crisis hits a First Nation it’s different than in a city. In the city the addicted are mostly strangers. But in Pikwakanagan, if you see somebody behaving strangely on the reserve, you know them. You know your neighbor's business. You are your brother's keeper. So addiction is not just about the pain of losing somebody you love. It's about desperately hoping to save someone you love or protect someone you love.
MoreIn Sherbrooke, Quebec, a doctor watches the war in Gaza unfold through photos and videos from his family on the ground.
MoreIn part two of his interview with former Big Tobacco lawyer, Max Krangle, Jesse asks if porn's business model can save the news industry?
MoreTent cities are becoming a common sight in city centres across the country. Is this just the new normal?
MoreThe Canadian government doesn't want anyone to smoke. Or do they?
MoreOften underreported or ignored by national media, the unique and complex issues facing the people who call Yukon home rarely get the attention they deserve.
MoreStories of big news breaking when everyone else is on vacation
MoreWe asked people to call Jesse and argue about… whatever, in the true spirit of this festive season.
MoreWhat was the mystery illness that sent a young woman into Dr. Anthony Feinstein’s treatment room? How did her stroke-like symptoms lead to a whole new field of psychiatric study? What does it have to do with journalists working in conflict zones?
MoreWhat is going on with Canada’s international relations? With all the recent stories about India and the Two Michaels time in China coming to the front again, reporter Sam Cooper helps break it all down.
MoreCanadaland publisher Jesse Brown has been asked to stop talking about antisemitism.
MoreJournalists report the news. They hear about a story, write it up, verify the facts, and then hit “publish”. Except for the times when they publish someone else’s story…
MoreNine sudden death cases of Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ontario were investigated so poorly that they had to be reinvestigated. But were they able to get it right this time?
MoreFor over five years, Canadaland has been investigating Thunder Bay, Ontario. Specifically, we have been trying to figure out why there were so many unanswered questions around the deaths of Indigenous people in this one Ontario town.
MoreIt’s easy to imagine medical science and research being done from the safety of a lab with all the proper controls in place. But sometimes, it all starts with one person, going underwater, and exploring caves for unique and mysterious sea creatures.
MoreWhile at a production of the hit Broadway musical Come From Away in 2019, reporter Justin Brake is confronted with an old story about his family’s history, a story that challenges his sense of identity. He decides to find out what was true in that story, and what was false.
MoreCanadaland’s official tenth anniversary celebration took place last Thursday at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, as part of the Hot Docs Podcast Festival. Today we bring you a condensed version of that event. Featuring appearances from all of the Canadaland hosts you know and love. Oh, and Jan Wong interviews Jesse for once… wait for it.
MoreThe CBC once produced a podcast series that was an international hit. The broadcaster-turned-podcaster who made it, Connie Walker, recently won a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody award for her work. Except she won those awards NOT for the CBC, but for Gimlet and Spotify. What happened?
MoreThere’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.
MoreA radical form of reconciliation is emerging in Saskatchewan.
MoreWhat connects Fidel Castro and a stocky Belgian named Georges to the worst campaign of political violence in modern Canadian history?
MoreHave the business practices of one of the world's biggest liquor monopolies damaged wine writing? And, is the environment created by this vacuum in the world of journalism being abused by some high profile writers?
MoreWhen some Canadians look south of the border, sometimes all they can think is: thank god I’m Canadian. But can a Coffee Crisp, or the pronunciation of the letter Z, really save us from the rise of fascism?
MoreIt’s possible that Chantal Hébert’s journalism once held Canada together. She joins Jesse for a discussion about what’s appropriate in political news coverage, and what (if anything) needs to change.
MoreCanada’s biggest grocery chains spent nearly 2 billion last year buying up their own stocks.
MoreForeign Interference by the Chinese government into Canadian politics is probably the biggest news story of the year, and yet we know so little about it. What was the interference? Why did it occur? Did it work? Who was involved?
MoreWhat’s it like to podcast in a country where freedom of expression can land you in jail?
MoreJesse Brown might think himself quite the question master, but today the tables have turned and our guest host, Jonathan Torrens, investigates the inner workings of this show's host.
MoreWhat does Toronto’s response to the refugee crisis actually look like? We follow asylum seekers at 129 Peter Street as they search for a place to spend the night.
MoreFrom Mr. Rogers to Mr. Dressup to Degrassi, some of the most iconic names in children’s television got their start in Canada, so why don’t we remember just how good we were at being first and being best in children’s television?
MoreWhen Canada’s elite feel threatened, there’s one company they turn to.
MoreCanada stands with Ukraine. Ukraine is our friend and ally. Ukraine is like us, they are a democracy, fighting for their sovereignty and their freedoms - including freedom of the press - from a hostile, despotic invader who respects none of those liberties. And as Ukraine fights Russia for those freedoms, Canada is sending over money, weapons, and….journalists. But Ukraine tried to send one back.
MoreMarc joins Jesse for a conversation about his plans to emigrate to Vancouver and the differences between Canada and the U.S. when it comes to fascism, comedy, and Jews.
MoreFor years, there were concerns that two people at the centre of subsidized housing in Vancouver were married. For years, the province brushed it off. Until now.
MoreMystery disease patient count exceeds 200, says New Brunswick doctor. CANADALAND gains an exclusive interview with Dr. Alier Marrero, the doctor at the heart of the mysterious neurological disease investigation.
MoreIn the mid-2010s, BuzzFeed News seemed like the most exciting place in media: an almost cloyingly whimsical carnival of abundance where journalists were actually happy. At a time when everything else appeared to be crumbling, it burst with hope and possibility. Last month, after just a few years of layoffs and withering, it shut down for good.
MoreThis week Jesse cross-examines poet turned investigative journalist, Michael Lista, on the business, craft, and morality of the true crime beat.
MoreThe ad tech giants, Meta, Google, and their ilk, are, well, giants. Is Cory Doctorow the David to this Goliath? Will his plan to take down the giants work?
MoreThe newspapers of the past looked very different than they do today: openly partisan stories were published alongside reports about Martians and the diseases caused by jazz music. It was a different time - or was it?
MoreFor nearly a decade, Research in Motion was the global leader in smartphones with its iconic QWERTY-keyboard-having Blackberry. Through a mix of guerilla marketing and an unexpected boost in sales after 9/11, the rather simplistic email device was transferring some of the world’s most closely guarded secrets, from government officials, business leaders, and celebrities through some servers in Waterloo, Ontario. What was the cause of its demise? The iPhone? Google? Hubris?
MoreWho started the first successful podcast network in Canada? What do 1950s TV and Radio have to do with podcasting? Jesse Brown sits down with Terry O’Reilly, host of Under the Influence, to talk about all things podcasting and advertising.
MoreCanada’s recent decision to close unofficial border crossings, such as Roxham Road, doubles down on the idea that migrants seeking asylum are just as safe in the US as they are in Canada. But there’s a body of evidence saying it’s not — and that’s been clear for decades.
MoreWe have laws against criminal harassment, but police rarely enforce them against Internet abusers. This is the story of one journalist who refused to let her harasser go…
MoreHow Bill C-18, the Online News Act, will make news less available.
MoreSenator Paula Simons fears that the Online Streaming Act will make Canada a “cultural backwater.” A key amendment she proposed was rejected by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez. Will the Senate take on the Trudeau government and defeat the bill?
MoreDo people watch Canadian film and television? What even is CanCon? Will Bill C-11 fix any of that?
MoreThere aren’t a lot of dedicated spaces for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in Nova Scotia. One community group wanted to change that — but instead were betrayed.
MoreIan Runkle, firearms lawyer, makes the pro-gun case to Jesse, following a political victory for gun rights advocates.
MoreThey said they’d found a way to save journalism. They did not.
MoreThe Chinese state has infiltrated Canadian democracy at all levels, according to a bombshell report from investigative reporter Sam Cooper of Global News. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued a stern denial, throwing cold water on the story. Who's telling the truth? And exactly what is Beijing up to in Canada? Sam Cooper explains his work.
MoreCANADALAND has obtained thousands and thousands of pages of internal documents that take us behind the scenes of that investigation that once caught the attention of the nation, before being dropped like a hot potato.
MoreMarc joins Jesse for a conversation about his plans to emigrate to Vancouver and the differences between Canada and the U.S. when it comes to fascism, comedy, and Jews.
MoreKanye West, Dave Chappelle and Kyrie Irving have breathed new life into the antisemitic trope that Jews control the media. Is Jew-hatred from Black cultural icons more dangerous than the usual bigotry? And why is it so difficult for Jewish and Black communities to hear each other when it comes to racism? Emilie Nicolas joins Jesse to lay out a framework for better conversations.
MoreSarah Polley has come forward with memories of a violent sexual encounter with Jian Ghomeshi when she was 16. But why is the press tongue-tied about describing the alleged violence? Sarah sits down with Jesse to discuss how to safely run towards danger, and whether it’s even possible to ethically use child labour in the production of TV and film.
MoreStories of big news breaking when everyone else is on vacation.
MoreThe largest National Park in Canada is Wood Buffalo, currently celebrating its 100th anniversary. But the people who inhabited it for thousands of years before that want it back. Brandi Morin travels to Wood Buffalo (and to Fort MacMurray and to Fort Chipewyan) to tell the real story of the Dene, the Cree, and the land they were expelled from to make way for Wood Buffalo National Park.
MoreIt’s the holidays, and on your TV or radio you’re inevitably hit with ads telling you that this is the season of giving - it’s time to donate to a food drive. Conservative politicians, Liberal politicians, banks, broadcasters, grocery stores: they all are united in this message. With the promotion of food banks from virtually every institution and elected official in the country, you might conclude that they are the best solution to food insecurity. Except - they’re not. Food bank use in Canada is at an all-time high, and experts, community organizers, even staff at food banks say that the growing need just shows how our government has failed to address poverty and hold corporations to account.
More*A note to listeners: Today’s episode deals with sexual violence inflicted on minors and won’t be suitable for all listeners. In 2006, RCMP Const. Joseph Kohut kicked down the door to his ex’s home in Prince George, B.C., and left with certain belongings. His ex said that one of the things Kohut took was a videotape showing him sexually harassing an underage Indigenous girl. Kohut had already been investigated for sexual misconduct after a local judge pled guilty to sexually assaulting several Indigenous minors. Kohut’s ex, also a Mountie, reported the alleged theft of evidence. So what happened next? Reporter Jessica McDiarmid tells the story of 16-years of entropy and indifference within the RCMP.
MoreThanks to David Wallace and Richard Marsh, the Klondike Papers blew up online - and nothing garnered more attention than Wallace’s claim that there was a plot to get rid of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Could it be true? Cherise and Jesse try to get to the bottom of what actually happened, and in doing so discover a complex network of Brethren business with extensive political connections around the globe.
MoreRichard Marsh was born into the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. He got out of the group he calls a cult and has made it his mission to expose the Brethren for their alleged abuses. Now he’s on the run from Brethren members who’ve been searching for him for years. The man hired to hunt Marsh down? David Wallace.
MoreMeet David Wallace, political fixer and dirty tricks operative. After a career in the shadows, he’s turned whistleblower, leaking his files and sparking a conspiracy theory. But why? And can he be trusted?
MoreKate Beaton has written the best book about the oil sands, ever. It's a nonfiction comic book called Ducks, and it's about class in Canada as much as it's about anything. She talks with Jesse about what it's like to be a migrant worker in your own country.
MoreThe Beachcombers was a wildly long-running series, by any measure. With 387 episodes, the CBC dramedy had more installments than CSI, and five times as many as Schitt’s Creek. For nearly two decades, it was just always there — until one day it wasn’t. Since the last episode aired in 1990, The Beachcombers has largely been forgotten, its title reduced to a punchline. But there’s one place that can’t forget. Producer Sophie Woodrooffe pays a visit to Gibsons, BC, the town that takes The Beachcombers more than a little seriously.
MoreEvery year, hundreds, possibly thousands, of crimes are happening in the woods of British Columbia. Sometimes the law catches them, but more often than not, they don’t. So, what exactly is happening in BC’s forests?
MoreLisa LaFlamme was but one CTV News employee. Dozens more speak to us about a toxic workplace where abuse, bullying, and burnout have allegedly been normal. This culture comes from a deliberate corporate plan. In one case, the consequences may have been fatal.
MoreEvery pop culture reference to Sasquatch or Bigfoot can be traced to one Macleans Magazine article from 1929, written by Indian Agent J.W. Burns, who stole the story of Sas’qets, a core part of Sto:lo cultural identity for thousands of years. Robert Jago is a Sto:lo writer and Sasquatch enthusiast who set out to take Sasquatch back. But the process of cultural appropriation turns out to be more complicated than passing a physical object back and forth, and Jago tells a unique story of how the Sts’ailes people kept their culture alive in the face of genocide, by appropriating appropriation.
MoreA new Netflix documentary documents the violent life and death of John McAfee, a silicon valley magnate who became a murder suspect and the target of an international manhunt.
MoreThis week we revisit our interview with Kid In The Hall, Bruce McCulloch.
MoreAfter we turn off our microphones, here at CANADALAND, the story keeps going. Here are updates on three stories we told you over the last year and a half.
MoreThis week, we revisit a mystery plaguing New Brunswick. Early on-set dementia, muscle atrophy, hallucinations -- in a word, a nightmare. But a mystery that still has yielded few answers.
MoreGovernments all over Canada keep building infrastructure that is innately harmful to Canadians and the climate. What might better, more sustainable cities look (and sound) like?
MoreJesse Brown might think himself quite the question master, but today the tables have turned and our guest host, the Jonathan Torrens, investigates the inner workings of this show's host.
MoreJody Porter was a reporting powerhouse at the CBC and advocated for human rights and Indigenous rights in Northwestern Ontario for decades. But she had complicated feelings about her work toward the end of her life. Jody passed away on July 19, 2022 and we are re-airing a conversation where she talked about these complicated feelings she had about her legacy. This interview originally aired in 2020.
MoreCindy Blackstock was always aware that Indigenous children in Canada were treated differently, that their mistreatment and deaths were accepted as the status quo. This is the story of what she did about it.
MoreWhat's in a word? Especially when that word carries with it the pain of hundreds of years of racism? This week we talk about how the controversy over the public use of the N-word plays out differently in French and English in this country.
MorePatrick Brown was disqualified from the Conservative's leadership race. But what does that mean? And why are these internal politics always so... stabby?
MoreRaging wildfires are now a normal part of summertime in Canada. Climate change comes at you fast, but the impact of these fires is far from equal across different regions. Those most likely to have to flee their homes are Indigenous people, and this disproportionate risk is only growing. The number of evacuees from First Nation reserves doubled over the last decade. Producer Sarah Lawrynuik travels to a remote Manitoba community to look at what fire has done to one community, and examines the implications for tens of thousands of other people in the years to come.
MoreFunding cuts, tuition increases and staff layoffs. What's going on with post-secondary institutions in Alberta?
MoreSteven Newmaster, a botany professor, once shone a light on the nutritional supplement industry and called them frauds. Now, the light is being shone on him by his colleagues. And boy, buckle up because this story is a wild ride.
MoreA wave of retail and service sector workers are unionizing their workplaces, pushing back against anti-union practices. Why is this happening now? And can workers win in the long run?
MoreOstensibly the idea was to do media criticism. That is what the article, The Year Of The Graves, in the National Post set out to do: correct errors in how the discovery of unmarked graves was reported. But that was not its impact.
MoreA field report from coast Salish territory on the irreconcilable conflict between the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project. There are 73 remaining Southern Resident Killer Whales in existence. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation consider the survival of these orcas and the survival of their people to be the same thing. The government insists a compromise can be met. The Tsleil-Waututh reject this notion, and many are prepared to die in defense of their "wolves of the sea". Brandi Morin reports.
MoreA look at the wonderfully bizarre history of Vancouver’s warring Italian-language newspapers.
MoreOperation Medusa has become the most celebrated battle in recent Canadian history. It was hailed as a stroke of military genius that may have vanquished the Taliban once and for all. But that was never the whole story.
MoreWith the seemingly imminent repeal of Roe v. Wade in the United States, it's time to refamiliarize ourselves with Canada's long-fought history for abortion access.
MoreCanada might be a water-rich country, but that doesn't mean we don't have problems with water security. This week, we look at water issues in the most arid part of Canada, the Prairies, and see how climate change and city planning are both exacerbating the problem.
MoreWhat do the war in Ukraine, toilet cleaner, and the dying news industry have in common? In short: online ads.
MoreIs it Indigenous stewardship ownership or is it becoming just another holographic bumper sticker? What does landback mean to you, and to your nations and homelands? And is there room for settlers in this movement? This is the first episode of a new 6-episode podcast called Canadalandback! In it, we talk about what landback means, we host our first roundtable discussion and take you inside a land-based education program.
MoreCanada is two years into its news media bailout. How the policy has had both good, bad and unintended consequences.
MoreCanada is two years into its news media bailout. Transparency was promised, instead we got secrecy.
MoreHow much trouble can one tweet cause? It turns out if it's about sexual assault, or even about someone else who's talking about sexual assault, it can land you stuck in court proceedings... for years.
MoreSo many journalists would look down their noses and sneer at the likes of BlogTO, Narcity or MTL Blog. But while hard news is struggling to find a funding model that works, BlogTO just sold for $15 million.
MoreSarah Polley has come forward with memories of a violent sexual encounter with Jian Ghomeshi when she was 16. But why is the press tongue-tied about describing the alleged violence?
MoreBefore there was an invasion in Ukraine, there was an information war. A deep-dive into the inner workings of Russia's information chaos machine.
MoreThe Ottawa Police Service has been plagued by officer misconduct. Now a leaked video shows that there may have been concerns about the former chief’s behavior before he was hired by the force.
MoreThere's a lot of chaos and division in Canada right now. In this episode, it's back to the basics: having conversations.
MoreWhat's the word for the scrooge of Valentine's Day? CANADALAND, I guess. Today's episode looks at four stories that show how broken the divorce process is.
MoreCANADALAND has spent a lot of time in Thunder Bay and the events of the last month have forced us to once again turn our focus back on the city as the police force is said to be "on the brink of collapse."
MoreIt’s a story about deception, coverups, and some say, about murder. This is a story about Groundhog Day. The true story of Wiarton Willie.
MoreCanada has a nuclear problem... a nuclear waste problem. The hunt for a place to park radioactive waste has been ongoing in one form or another since 1978, but by 2023 it seems a solution will be within reach.
MoreThere's a mystery disease that's plaguing people in New Brunswick. People as young as 18 are seeing the results of full-blown dementia. Desperation is taking hold for families that feel answers are still a long way away.
MoreA CBC employee resigned from the public broadcaster because she says it's become too woke. The article she wrote about her departure has caused quite the buzz since it dropped. But who is Tara Henley? And is it all warranted?
MoreAfter we turn off our microphones, here at CANADALAND, the story keeps going. Here are updates on three stories we originally brought you in 2021.
MorePeople might take holidays, but the news doesn't. The best, worst, and funniest stories from reporters working Christmas in the newsroom.
MoreHe's the academic expert people love to hate. But he considers stirring the pot his moral duty. This week, CANADALAND brings you a profile of Amir Attaran.
MoreMarch 16, the day the restaurants died. Or did they? Food industry writer, Corey Mintz, dissects what COVID-19 and the rise of third-party delivery apps have meant for the industry and our culture surrounding food.
MoreAmber Bracken and Michael Toledano are freelance journalists who were arrested by RCMP officers on the morning of Nov. 19, 2021 while they were covering the demonstrations of Wet'suwet'en people and hereditary chiefs against the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
MoreDid an Instagram account kill a vulnerable teenager? 6ixBuzz has unparalleled clout in Toronto with young audiences and it used that influence to make "Debby Gang" or "Debby Parkway" (real name Alexis Matos) a certain brand of local celebrity — the kind that is repeatedly filmed when spotted on the street, and is then is the subject of mockery and scorn.
MoreFailure to protect hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Violent arrests at Wet'suwet'en and Fairy Creek. And now, Portapique. In recent years, controversy has hounded Canada’s storied national police force.
MoreOn the heels of COP26, Jesse heads back to school as he and his new senior producer, Sarah Lawrynuik, duke it out over whether climate change is either a) boring or b) the most exciting story ever told. Sarah takes Jesse through the psychological factors at play, the history, the politics and the morality of the climate crisis, while making her case for the latter. Will Canadaland move forward with stories about climate change? Listen to find out.
MoreA new breed of hyper-connected, steroid-abusing, gender-bending, "entitled" thugs are changing the landscape of organized crime in Canada, according to veteran crime reporters Peter Edwards and Luis Najera. Also, the Mexican Cartels are here with them.
MoreWho are the Rogers family? How did they get so powerful? Why have they turned against one another? And what does it matter? We've spent a week immersed in Rogers history to bring you this unofficial narrative of Canada's telecom overlords.
MoreMadeline, a BC woman who describes herself as being on a “death clock”, is one of many Canadians facing that choice. And legislators are now pushing for a further expansion of MAiD - while disability supports remain unchanged.
MoreRaging wildfires are now a normal part of summertime in Canada. Climate change comes at you fast, but the impact of these fires is far from equal across different regions. Those most likely to have to flee their homes are Indigenous people, and this disproportionate risk is only growing. The number of evacuees from First Nation reserves doubled over the last decade. Producer Sarah Lawrynuik travels to a remote Manitoba community to look at what fire has done to one community, and examines the implications for tens of thousands of other people in the years to come.
MoreVirologist Angela Rasmussen listened to a recent Canadaland about the origins of COVID-19 and says we had it all wrong. Today she walks Jesse through the science and explains why the lab-leak theory remains highly improbable, what she feels previous guest Elaine Dewar got wrong, and how journalists should cover science during a pandemic and otherwise.
MoreIt’s a question that has dogged the PPC since its inception. A question that leader Maxime Bernier blasted journalists for even coming close to asking.
MoreThe lab-leak theory has more evidence supporting it than ever before. Journalist Elaine Dewar has written a new book documenting little-known scientific evidence and acts of deception and obfuscation from Chinese, American, and Canadian officials. So what exactly were they all trying to hide?
MoreIs it possible to police the police at Fairy Creek?
MoreNon-disclosure agreements are incredibly common. But they protect abusers, and block journalism. They are also, as it turns out, often unenforceable. Zelda Perkins, who blew the whistle on Harvey Weinstein, has joined forces with law professor Julie Macfarlane to launch a global campaign against NDAs, called Can't Buy My Silence.
MoreWith the election coming in two weeks, Jesse sits down for an interview with Tiffany Lam, producer of The Backbench, to discuss what kind of politics show her and Fatima are making and how a politics show can be fun, accessible and nutritious. The interview is followed by the most recent episode of The Backbench. Subscribe to The Backbench to be informed about the important issues of this election.
MoreLast year there were 540,000 international students in Canada according to Immigrations Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC. Many of these students came to Canada with one goal - permanent residency.
MoreCraig Kielburger was the Greta Thunberg of the 90s – a 12 year-old kid from the suburbs who dreamed of freeing the world’s children from slavery. His activism made him famous, and he was endorsed by Oprah, the Pope, the Queen, and the Clintons. His campaign became a global movement and a powerful brand. But right from the start, there were uncomfortable questions about money and exploitation. Decades later, it all came crashing down. But the seeds of WE’s self-destruction were planted right from the start…
MoreShad's Hip-Hop Evolution is an incredible piece of journalism that nobody is talking about.
MoreIn late 2020, FBI agents showed up at the New York home of activist and journalist Masih Alinejad, and told her that agents of the Iranian regime were plotting to kidnap her. Months later, an indictment from the US Department of Justice revealed details of the plot - including surveillance of her home and family, and a plan to take her to Venezuela by boat. But it also mentioned three people in Canada were also targets.
MoreTeachers accused of abusing Indigenous children at Catholic schools are among us. John Furlong is quoted regularly in the press as the man leading a possible Vancouver bid for the 2030 Olympics. It's as if the people accusing him of physical and sexual abuse don't exist. Today we hear Jesse's original 2014 conversation with journalist Laura Robinson, who broke the Furlong story, and an update about all that has happened since, and why the upcoming tribunal on the case may be different.
MoreRyerson University (aka X University) has a Journalism department in turmoil over student grievances. As similar reckonings sweep Canada's other J-Schools, Jesse sits down with departing Ryerson Prof Karyn Pugliese and former Undergraduate Director Lisa Taylor to discuss why they both left their posts. Then, reporter Cherise Seucharan talks to Ryerson alum Sarah Krichel and student Reah Singh, an organizer of the open letter that became national news.
MoreTravel Writer and Journalist, Marcello Di Cintio talks to Jesse about his one year journey around Canada, in search of the secret stories etched in the minds of Canadian taxi drivers.
MorePornhub is a massive Canadian website that few talked about until the New York Times called it out for profiting from the exploitation of children and rape victims. Now government is rushing to regulate all online pornography. But the NY Times piece has its origins in an anti-porn crusade from an anti-gay, racist evangelic church. Sandra Wesley, executive director of the sex worker advocacy group Stella, says that bad laws will harm sex workers, and that the "moral panic" over porn could even kill them.
MoreNews stories are frequently updated, clarified or corrected online, after they've been published. But when there's no disclosure that a story has been changed, something's usually up.
MoreAs reports of Chinese government influence in Canadian media gain traction, South China Morning Post reporter Ian Young reveals an incredible tale from the past.
MoreQueen's University quickly rejected the findings of an anonymous report accusing six people associated with the school of misrepresenting their Indigenous identities. That prompt dismissal has raised questions about the non-status Ardoch Algonquin group, and the controversial academic from the U.S. who co-founded it.
More"Coercive control" is how cults like NXIVM entrap followers and how abusive partners dominate their victims.
MoreFrank Magazine publisher Andrew Douglas and reporter Paul Palango discuss their bombshell story, and what the RCMP may still be hiding about Gabriel Wortman.
MoreThere have been dozens of arrests at Fairy Creek... but not much footage to show for it.
MoreA repost of one of the most popular Canadaland episodes ever, from way back in 2014.
MoreThe Canadian Armed Forces has known that they have a problem with sexual misconduct for over two decades. Why can't they figure out how to stop it?
MoreFarm workers aren't the only temporary foreign workers who have been largely forgotten and failed during the pandemic.
MoreIn 1972, the government funded an absurd study to measure the impact of cannabis on productivity.
MoreEver since the Canadian government announced recommendations that adults from Indigenous and racialized communities should be given priority for a COVID-19 vaccination, accusations of reverse racism have filled comment sections and social media posts. Now, racial minorities with vaccine priority are facing racism and other structural barriers to getting the jab.
MoreFilmmaker Daniel Lombroso spent four years following Lauren Southern, Richard Spencer, and Mike Cernovich with a camera, as their stars rose and the bigotry and xenophobia they championed went mainstream.
MoreThe Landlord Credit Bureau lets landlords review their tenants and report their payment habits.
MoreSeaWestNews calls Alexandra Morton “BC’s loudest anti-salmon farming activist,” and her writing “rambling” and “conspiracy-laden.”
MoreThe culture war icon is back with a new bestseller.
MoreIsraeli-Canadian lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe's latest gig is working for Myanmar's military junta.
MoreA Haitian senator’s wife paid $4.25 million—all money down—for a house in Laval, Quebec. Meanwhile in Haiti, people have been protesting against corruption, kidnapping, and a president who they say is over-staying his term in office. How do we talk about Haiti without reproducing unhelpful tropes and stereotypes?
MoreIn Australia, the news disappeared from Facebook. And Jesse got very worried about the future.
MoreLifeSiteNews may be the biggest Canadian news outlet you’ve never heard of — a kind of Breitbart for traditionalist Catholics.
MoreMichelle Latimer was the buzziest Canadian director and showrunner of 2020. But it all came crashing down in December when a CBC investigation called into question her Indigenous identity claims.
MoreThe Indian government doesn’t take criticism lightly, whether it’s from Prime Minister Trudeau... or Rihanna.
MoreThe New York Times’ wildly popular podcast Caliphate came into question after its central character, a Canadian man who claimed he’d joined ISIS and committed executions, was charged with perpetrating a terrorist hoax.
MoreComics journalist Joe Sacco tells Jesse about how he draws stories out of people— then draws them onto the page.
MoreMany people who broke into the Capitol broadcast their crimes across social media. Twitter, Facebook and other platforms responded by deleting accounts, but other people rushed to preserve and organize all their posts from the assault on the Capitol, as well as photos and videos from journalists present.
MoreWith COVID-19 cases in Canada on the rise, what about the people who can’t stay home?
MoreThe pandemic has widened the digital divide, leaving people from Iqaluit to rural Alberta and Ontario fuming at ISPs like Xplornet.
MoreHere's an episode of the podcast Crackdown, hosted by Garth Mullins.
MoreA teenage boy and his friends start robbing banks in Toronto. A future Prime Minister is deported from Montreal. A Black Panther in Baltimore goes to prison for four decades.
MoreThe holidays, as we know them, are cancelled.
MoreA man imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for years was released over a decade ago, after the U.S. decided he wasn’t an “enemy combatant” after all.
MoreThe Westons might be Canada’s Jeff Bezos, argues Vass Bednar, and not just because they’re very rich.
MoreWhen artist Aydin Aghdashloo was accused of sexual misconduct, the Iranian-Canadian community's response was divided.
MoreA conversation with the late National Post columnist and court reporter.
MoreKarl Dockstader and Sean Vanderklis update us on the 1492 Land Back Lane occupation and explore why federal government inaction just makes things worse.
MoreThe CBC's Jody Porter discusses covering the trial, and what she's learned about telling other people's stories.
MoreRebel News personality Keean Bexte is suing Canadaland for defamation.
MoreMSNBC host and journalist Ali Velshi has been traveling to U.S. swing states talking to voters in the lead-up to the presidential election.
MoreA reporter was offered money to kill this story.
MoreJonathan Torrens talks about the CBC, what really happened on Trailer Park Boys, and about that one song you love to hate.
MoreQuebec's distinct culture reacts differently to global movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.
MoreThe New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel calls corporate social responsibility’s bluff.
MoreRestaurants have suffered huge losses during the pandemic.
MoreThere’s a broad undertaking to shake up who gets arts funding, and who governs it.
MoreThe Toronto Star’s new internal ombud tells us what the job is, discusses power and race in the newsroom, and responds to that reply all email.
MoreThe Epoch Times’ COVID-19 special edition raised controversy when it landed in mailboxes across Canada in April. The paper was accused of spreading misinformation and fomenting anti-Chinese racism.
MoreThis week marks a month since the start of a land occupation to block a residential development at the edge of Caledonia, Ontario — and the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve.
MoreCrackdown covers the war on drugs from the trenches, and these war correspondents are drug users.
MoreThe history of Canada’s weirdest and most prolific interviewer
MoreLast week’s House Finance Committee hearings into the WE Charity scandal yielded few new insights into why the government awarded it a massive sole-source contract or how the organization itself operates. Thankfully, the press has continued to turn up information that MPs have not.
MoreA new law in Alberta is Jason Kenney’s latest front in the oil war.
MorePeter Aldhous reported a decade ago that a Canadian lab’s prenatal paternity test was “unreliable."
MoreIt’s a scandal that could—but probably won’t—take down Justin Trudeau.
MoreWe really didn’t expect to find ourselves writing about the WE organization again. But then it became part of the biggest politics story in the country, and we obtained a recording of a strange conversation between one of its founders and a person who was then a senior employee in the group’s Kenyan operations.
MoreThe history of policing back to John A. Macdonald, the killing of Dudley George at Ipperwash in 1995, and its impact on two Indigenous journalists
MoreAdrian Harewood is a news anchor at CBC Ottawa News and the host of weekly current affairs show, Our Ottawa.
MoreLord Tim Bell worked for a rogues' gallery of international clients, and co-founded one of the most powerful PR companies in history.
MoreInfoLab imagined newspapers' transition from print to digital, creating multimedia digital news in the basement of The Hamilton Spectator back in the early '90s.
More"In the psyche of the white Canadian is this same desire to see Black people in positions of either service or as comedic foils"
MoreThe pandemic could be an "extinction event" for American newspapers and so their publishers want their own government bailout. Meanwhile Canadian papers want money from Google and Facebook, too.
More“My biggest fear is that not enough will change, and not enough lessons will be learned.”
More"I had a confrontation with someone in the line up for a grocery store... and that moment of slow honeyed ease was totally interrupted."
More“I’m going to be very careful about how much I leave my property until there’s a vaccine.”
MoreThe child welfare system is failing Indigenous children, and APTN's Kenneth Jackson can't stop covering it.
More"After this pandemic, we can create a new normal that's better for everyone."
More“The job of fiction is to intrude on reality and instead we’re living in a situation where reality is intruding on the fictional.”
More“In the silence you start to wonder…how are we going to find each other again?”
MoreIn the face of a global pandemic, it’s hard to focus on anything else.
More"The wild oscillations of feeling are abnormal for me."
More“I never believe in going down without a fight…I’m a triple fire sign.”
MorePrime Minister Trudeau said naming the Nova Scotia mass shooter was giving him "the gift of infamy"
More"I fucking hate Zooming... and having to look at my own face."
More"I guess like a positive abnormal and unusual thing I did was propose to my girlfriend, which was pretty cool."
MoreA conversation with Kenny Hotz, a man at odds with his industry, his audience, and himself.
More“Pushing for a world where we accept the risks of having a body… That’s where we need to go.”
More"I want my friends and family to be safe from this"
More"The chances of getting infected by somebody walking or running by you outside— they're virtually nil"
MoreJournalists across Canada tell us how Covid-19 has changed how they bring us the news.
More"It'll probably be like a mega-hedonistic orgy after this."
MoreWhen journalist Eva Holland lost her mom, she went on a quest to understand the science behind her phobias, and conquer them.
More"My ten-year old got his first octopus all by himself"
More"If we are looking like we are one of the girls just dancing having fun, it's probably performative"
MoreThe Deplorables that surrounded the Trump presidential campaign have all but disappeared from the mainstream web.
More"I got scolded by the deputy mayor of Los Angeles for not including Funyuns in my tweet"
MoreReporter Justin Ling speaks with prisoners across Canada terrified of COVID-19 sweeping through the prison population.
More“When this is all over, I never want to Zoom again.” David Sax’s new book is coming out in the midst of a pandemic.
More"I've been watching old NBA games and breaking them down on Instagram Live."
More"Put on normal clothes, remember to stretch... That doesn't help. You're still in the prison of your own mind."
More“If it really goes down, I can always shoot a moose.”
More"My life is never exactly normal. But it's normal for me."
MoreCOVID-19, Cineplex, and the end of moviegoing as we know it
More“So they told us – music is free, so it’s all about the shows now. You gotta make the shows, you gotta sell things at the shows. Now we don’t have shows.” Socalled on Bandcamp (link). *** UPDATE (03/22/20) This episode has been edited because the original version included uncritical talk of grocery shopping and dog-walking during self-quarantine, which goes against public health advice. This content shouldn’t have been included because it arguably normalized potentially dangerous behaviour. We regret the error. *** Mental Health resources for the COVID-19 Pandemic: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19
MoreWhat feels most weird right now? Doing normal things
MoreWe are facing an unprecedented shutdown of services and businesses across the country. Health columnist Andre Picard was an early voice calling for Canada to “shut it down” in the pages of the Globe and Mail. He talks to us about how COVID-19 compares to other epidemics he’s covered, the media coverage so far and why he was pushing for social distancing before the government embraced it.
MoreDoes the New York Times' success come at the expense of local news?
MoreA behind-the-scenes look at our new investigative podcast
MoreThe history of Canada’s weirdest and most prolific interviewer
MoreUnpacking the RCMP’s recent crackdown on journalists covering the conflict on Wet’suwet’en territory
MoreEvery year, Bell shines the spotlight on mental health for Let’s Talk Day. So we’re taking a look at their prison phone contract, which advocates say exacerbate mental health problems for inmates.
MoreHow the CBC is losing friends and alienating Canadians
MoreWhy did the Toronto Star try to stop Paul Watson from reporting on a story?
MoreIs Canadian media propagating the Communist Party lines?
MoreReporter 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.
MoreThe Sahotas are Vancouver’s most notorious slumlords. For decades they’ve let their buildings rot, leaving their tenants to live in filth and desolation. But the Sahotas are not like any other dynasty you’ve ever heard of. Their story is far stranger, and far darker, than anything you can imagine.
MoreDid The Globe And Mail's editor do anything wrong?
MoreCanada's newsrooms are whiter than ever.
MoreHow the media can fail when covering Indigenous people.
MoreA conversation about the similarities between journalism and porn becomes a tense disagreement about online shaming.
MoreHas the rise of the far-right in Canada been exaggerated?
MoreMeghan Bell wants to tax the rich. She's also one of them.
MoreMajor announcement about what's next for Canadaland on this episode.
More102 Indigenous children died in Ontario’s child welfare system because of underfunding and an indefensible inequality of services.
MoreShad's Hip-Hop Evolution is an incredible piece of journalism that nobody is talking about.
MoreCheryl Thompson joins to help walk us through Canada’s history with blackface and why this story is not about race.
MoreAre we really considering CanCon for the internet?
MoreComedian Bruce McCulloch talks about the legacy of Canada’s weirdest sketch show, Lorne Michaels, and the CBC.
MoreAlberta's premier wants a referendum on ... what exactly? And Justin Ling wants you to calm down about climate change "muzzling." Plus, meet some intriguing candidates to keep an eye on.
MoreCanoe-borne bandits strike an underwater town. A new generation of wealthy lobstermen is minted. An island disappears. And hellfire engulfs a highway jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. Just another normal day amidst Canada’s climate catastrophe.
MoreA respected doctor put women’s health and lives in danger for money and the public almost didn't hear about it.
MoreOver the past couple of years, a few Canadian media outlets and writers have become obsessed with trans people, painting their campaign for human rights as a menace to society. This coverage has hit a peak with the story of Jessica Yaniv, a trans woman who’s taking multiple beauticians to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal after they refused to wax to her genitals. Where did this obsession come from? And why has this particular story taken off?
MoreReporter Anna Mehler Paperny talks about her book "Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person"
MoreSteven Page, former frontman and founding member of Barenaked Ladies, talks about his career, why he chose to leave a beloved and wildly successful band, and the fickle realities of Canadian stardom.
MoreGlen Assoun spent nearly 17 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. But even after his sentence was overturned, the evidence that freed him remained sealed. Reporters fought successfully to have that evidence released. What they found not only raises questions about the investigation, but reveals the outright deletion of evidence pointing to another killer.
MoreHear about how journalists have failed when covering mysterious things in the sky.
MoreYou asked. We answered.
MoreThere are countless reporters covering politics in this country, but only one person has spent their career reporting on and analyzing health care.
MoreTwenty-two people spoke to us confidentially about working for WE. But Josh Keenan went on the record.
MoreSomething strange has been going on for the last little while and we’re ready to talk about it.
MoreGreed, money, and revenge culminate with a gruesome murder on the driveway of a Vancouver mansion.
MoreJonathan Torrens talks about the CBC, what really happened on Trailer Park Boys, and about that one song you love to hate.
MoreCanada's news bosses are some of the most influential people in the country. They decide what is news and what isn't. We think it's time someone talked to them about that.
MoreInfoLab imagined newspapers' transition from print to digital, creating multimedia digital news in the basement of The Hamilton Spectator back in the early '90s.
MoreBut will the $2.5 million judgment against the far-right twice-defeated mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston actually stop him spreading hate online?
MoreThe new podcast Narcos PQ hands the mic to those who bring Canada its drugs: bikers, drug mules, outlaw chemists.
MoreDigital media has been gentrified into a mall, says the digital rights activist and author.
MoreA popular pundit has a curious connection: her company worked for China.
MoreAnd if so, can government regulation crack down on hate speech and election interference on social media without crushing free speech?
MoreFormer CBC exec Richard Stursberg tells Jesse all about it.
MoreCrackdown covers the war on drugs from the trenches, and these war correspondents are drug users.
MoreThe CANADALAND interview with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who targeted the press before it was cool.
MoreWhen Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese called the government to follow up on a tip, he heard back from the PR arm of Irving Shipbuilding. And then the president of that company called, and threatened to sue him.
MoreWho do you turn to when the news fucks up? It turns out there's a council for that.
MoreCanada's most ubiquitous TV host talks about his many, many gigs, from MuchMusic VJ to CNN interviewer -- and why he's turned to YouTube for the latest one.
MoreThis week marks 175 years of The Globe and Mail. You can read all about its accomplishments elsewhere. Writer Jamie Bradburn takes us through the paper's darker moments.
MoreIn the past year or so, the podcast industry has seen an explosion --or bubble, depending on who you ask-- with companies like Entertainment One, Corus, and Rogers making big plays in the market. Who are the big players? What are they trying to do? And are their podcasts any good?
MoreThere's a lot to learn from what politicians and journalists can and can't tell us, their lowly constituents and readers. We read between the lines of the news coverage of the SNC-Lavalin scandal with BuzzFeed News' Paul McLeod. Then, Macleans columnist Anne Kingston helps translate politicians' passive-aggressive, condescending, or coded messages, passed to us through resignation letters, speeches, and even Twitter likes.
MoreIn English media, there are whole organizations and departments devoted to debunking fake news. But in Quebec, a lot of the work falls to one guy: Jeff Yates. He talks to guest host Brigitte Noël about the unique challenges of combatting fake news in French and why he thinks it's time to destigmatize sharing bogus stories.
MorePaula Simons did something that makes a lot of journalists cringe. She went into politics. The former Edmonton Journal columnist is now an independent senator. She speaks about crossing over, using social media to pull back the curtain on Canadian politics... and the Senate's secret snack machine.
MoreWhat do warnings of globalism, support for pipelines and calls to execute Trudeau have in common? They're all part of the rhetoric of the Canadian Yellow Vests. CANADALAND producer David Crosbie investigates how a French working class protest against a fuel tax has inspired a right-wing, populist movement holding recurring rallies across Canada.
MoreCanada's in a bad way with China. Has the media prepared us to deal with the growing superpower?
MoreSomething like the half of all activity on the internet is fake. Yes, there are bots. But there are also fake websites that cater to bots. And then there are the ways real people adjust their behaviour to try to game the bots. Where does this leave the idyllic internet we were promised?
MoreA bunch of new partisan political websites are fighting for the narrative in the run-up to the federal election. Reporter Graeme Gordon is here to tell you which organizations to look out for on your Facebook and Twitter feeds, what their political objectives are, and who's paying for them.
MoreStories of big news breaking when everyone else is on vacation.
MoreBlazing wildfires. Pipeline stand-offs. Unpredictable floods. Men in suits arguing... One of our era's most urgent, high-stakes stories is also the hardest one to get right.
MoreThe Canadian federal government plans to issue nearly $600M in tax credits and incentives to bolster the country's media industry over the next five years. What will this mean for the independence of the Canadian press? And will CANADALAND be applying for funds?
MoreThunder Bay podcast host and creator Ryan McMahon reflects on the year-long production process, and he, Jesse and Connie Walker — host of CBC's award-winning podcast Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo —speak at ImagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival about the challenges that come with telling such sensitive, complex stories through the true crime genre.
MoreAfter 25 years at the CBC, tech columnist Jesse Hirsh decided to risk it all. During an interview about Facebook, he turned the tables, asking why CBC continues to promote Facebook after we've seen what that company has done to undermine democracy. CBC refused to post the segment online, raising questions about what you can and cannot say on our public broadcaster.
MoreThe Kielburgers' WE Movement has enjoyed more than 20 years of glowing press. They also have partnerships with 38 media organizations and a history of aggressive responses to criticism. Reporter Jaren Kerr speaks with Jesse about his investigation of WE's media relations.
MoreGuest host Karen K. Ho explores how ethical concerns are becoming a core component of many big business stories, and what some reporters are doing to expand business journalism’s audience and sources.
MoreFor a long time, CANADALAND was (proudly) the number one podcast in the country — but that's no longer true.
MoreGoogle's sister company, Sidewalk Labs, has partnered with every level of government to build the first-ever 'smart city' in Toronto — but with several high-profile resignations and mounting privacy concerns, will this project ever break ground?
MoreCraig Kielburger founded WE when he was 12 to fight child labour. Now, the WE brand is used to promote products made by children. Reporter Jaren Kerr presents the findings of his 4-month long investigation.
MoreNext week, recreational weed will become legal across Canada. In anticipation, mainstream media has begun taking cannabis coverage seriously. Overnight, nearly every major outlet across the country has hired full-time reporters to cover it — but before we celebrate industry growth, how sustainable is this beat?
MoreGuest Host Sheila Heti (Motherhood, How Should a Person Be?) speaks with fellow "autofiction" author Rachel Cusk (A Life's Work, Aftermath, et al).
MoreSara Mojtehedzadeh may very well be Canada's only full-time labour reporter.
MoreGuest Host Chip Zdarsky (Spectacular Spiderman, Sex Criminals) is joined by Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) co-founder and longtime friend, Chris Butcher. They discuss the state of the Canadian comic book industry, what it’s like to work for Marvel, TCAF’s far-reaching influence, The Beguiling, and the void that Koyama Press’ departure will create in the comic publishing world. Image by Ramon Perez and Chip Zdarsky.
MoreConfusion over "off the record" played a pivotal role in global affairs this past week. So — how does this oft-misunderstood agreement actually work, and why do so many powerful people continue to misuse it?
MorePaul Tadich compares his time working at Global TV to a "news sweatshop".
MoreBuzzFeed’s Paul McLeod has covered politics in both capitals.
MoreFood journalist Corey Mintz speaks with Jesse about how influencers, marketing and Instagram have impacted food writing and eating.
MoreThe newspaper business is in rapid decline. Can non-profit status save newspapers in Canada?
MoreThe book world has been thrown into turmoil by sexual assault allegations, inter-generational fighting and questions over Indigenous ancestry. Is this inside baseball for a tiny industry, a microcosm of the culture wars or a battle over who gets to tell Canada's story?
MoreAlmost every news story about cannabis is accompanied by a stereotypical stoner pic.
MoreOn The Media was one of the main inspirations for CANADALAND. This week, Jesse meets them.
MoreCanada's broadcast regulator has put forward a proposal to tax everything from porn to podcasts to help pay for CanCon.
MoreHow do you cover celebrities in a country that's so bad at making them?
MoreWhy is CBC so bad at giving credit for stories that other news outlets broke?
MoreLast week, Israeli forces killed over 60 people and injured thousands more at a protest in Gaza. How did Canadian media cover it?
MoreWhile journalists worry about Facebook algorithms and digital advertising, every other industry gets to be excited about technology. So today, we try our hardest to find the positive tech stories for the news industry.
MoreNo outcome other than an approval was ever possible.
MoreHow did an online subculture of lonely men inspire the murders of 10 people in Toronto?
MoreMore than a year after their expansion into Canada, the New York Times is holding its own against our native media. And they're doing it with only three reporters. But what exactly is their goal here?
MoreWe hear from two Canadian journalists currently facing legal consequences for doing their jobs. The outcomes of these cases could set precedents for how the press is allowed to operate.
MoreRichard 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 does he have to say about his own infamous legacy?
MoreTim Fontaine "set fire" to his journalism career last December, when he launched Walking Eagle News.
More"It's the wild west out there right now, and for lots of people that means it's really dangerous and their experience is horrible."
MoreGuest host Omar Mouallem speaks with the Globe and Mail’s Jana Pruden about her unique work as a crime reporter. In an age of sensationalized true crime podcasts and Netflix docudramas—and with no end in sight—can long form crime reporting reach beyond morbid fascination? For those journalists who cover crime, what are their responsibilities as reporters interviewing the accused? How do they know if they’re being used by calculated manipulators, and if they are, should they still report it? You can read Jana’s story, Fear On The Family Farm here.
MorePatrick Brown announced last month that he would be suing CTV, after they published a report of his alleged sexual misconduct — but whether or not Brown actually goes through with the lawsuit is yet to be seen. Being threatened with a defamation lawsuit is arguably a rite of passage for journalists. The fear of libel hangs over every newsroom, so this is a risky business — but maybe it’s not as risky as we like to act like it is. Media litigation lawyers Justin Safayeni and Adam Wygodny speak with Jesse about how often people sue for libel, the precedence of the 2009 Grant vs. Torstar ruling, and how ‘anti-SLAPP’ laws in Ontario are helping to protect journalists.
More"I don't want to be trusted by the government."
MoreAfter years of dodging emails about the internal politics of the country's largest subreddit, r/Canada, Jesse finally jumps down the weirdo-message-board rabbit hole.
MoreOn February 9, Gerald Stanley — the farmer accused of killing 22-year-old Cree man, Colten Boushie, in Battleford, Saskatchewan — was acquitted of second-degree murder. In the wake of the verdict, Jesse revisits a conversation he had in Saskatoon with Betty Ann Adam (Saskatoon StarPhoenix), Rob Innes (Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan), and Mylan Tootoosis (PhD candidate, University of Saskatchewan). This show was recorded live at Winterruption in Cosmo Seniors Centre on January 20th, 2017. The original airing of this episode was produced by Katie Jensen. UPDATE (March 26, 2018): This episode has been edited to remove a comment from panelist Betty Ann Adam, who said: “When there’s a comparison made to Rodney King, that is kind of ridiculous, when you consider that 50 people died in those riots that went on for five days, and a billion dollars’ worth of property damage occurred. Thousands of businesses were destroyed. Now, in Canada, Indigenous people don’t do that en masse. As Mylan said, the people here signed treaty, and generally speaking, Indigenous people respond to oppression and racist policy with dignity and forbearance. We have had some fiery orators as leaders, who have spoken truth in fiery language. But it hasn’t led to burning buildings.” While Adam has since clarified that she meant to reject Pastor Mark Kleiner’s declaration that “Colten Boushie is the Rodney King of Western Canada” because “that comparison invites expectations of violent reprisal, something settler Canadians fear from Indigenous people, but which has no modern basis in fact” — she recognizes that her phrasing could lead listeners to infer that she was “pronouncing a judgement on the response to the Rodney King verdict.…I absolutely did not intend the remarks as a negative comparison with any race.”
MoreAfter ending the campaigns of several Tory candidates with his muckraking during the 2015 federal election, Macleans dubbed Robert Jago, “the most dangerous blogger in Canada”. The next year, Jago broke the Joseph Boyden scandal, and this past January he exposed Senator Lynn Beyak for publishing racist letters on her website, which resulted in her ousting from the conservative caucus. Jago has quickly risen as an incisive, evocative voice in Canadian media. He’s a regular contributor to The Walrus and CANADALAND — but he says he doesn’t plan on giving up his day job anytime soon. So. Who is this guy? Robert Jago joins Jesse. — This episode of CANADALAND is brought to you by Endy.
MoreWhy did an obscure Canadian psychology prof suddenly become an international media star? It’s a much better question than “is he right or wrong?” — This episode of CANADALAND is brought to you by our newest sponsor Endy and by Freshbooks.
MoreOne 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 over 40 worshippers. Azzeddine Soufiane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Ibrahima Barry, and Abdelkrim Hassane were murdered. Five others were badly injured, including Aymen Derbali. A year later, what — if anything — has changed? Many, like activist Syed Hussan, feel it has slipped from our collective conscious. Hussan recently went to the scene of the massacre in Quebec City, and wrote about it, in an effort to combat our country’s “collective forgetting.” We attempt to make sense of a senseless act — and look at how the media played a role before, during, and after the massacre. Hussan and The Imposter‘s Aliya Pabani are urging Canadians to remember and share where they were on January 29, 2017. You can learn more about their #RememberJan29 project here.
MoreConspiracies! 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 Bears. Hollow Earth Theory. Iraq Stargate… But what happens when these twisted narratives stop being just kooky, and start getting scary? As extremist right-wing groups grow their presence in Canada, and around the world, there’s a personal cost to covering conspiracists. Mack’s eight-months-long investigation into Canada’s armed, anti-Islamic “patriot” group — ‘the III%ers’— is alarming: “Connected to the anti-Islam sentiment is a sense of paranoia in the group, one that is reinforced by the sharing of debunked news stories and far-right wing commentary from sites like Rebel Media or Infowars. The members of the group, like their counterparts worldwide, are distrustful of mainstream news and often stray into extreme conspiratorial territory.” Mack Lamoureux joins guest host Omar Mouallem. For more on extremist right-wing groups in Canada, check out COMMONS’ deep dive from this past July. Photo by Mack Lamoureux. — This episode of CANADALAND is brought to you by PayTM.
More"From mass dissemination of false information, to impersonation, leaking foreign documents in order to influence political and legal outcomes... the possibilities for the types of activities contemplated in [Bill C-59] are limited only by imagination."
MoreForget taxes and regulations — why scrutinize Facebook when you can partner with them?
MoreThis week, we're presenting some of the best work from across our network. In this series of The Imposter, host Aliya Pabani decides that to learn more about comedy, she's going to learn how to be a comedian.
MoreThis episode of The Imposter was featured alongside shows like The Heart and Radiolab as Constant Listener's best podcasts of the year.
MoreOver the holidays, CANADALAND is presenting the best work across our network. Here's a recent episode of COMMONS about Robert Pickton, marginalized communities and police accountability.
MorePressProgress looks like the news, but it's funded by a leftist think tank. Who are they and what are they trying to do?
MoreThis Facebook group gets more engagement than the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail combined.
MoreAnd why you can't just blame Google and Facebook for what happened last week.
More“I do think that people should be marching in the streets over this,” says ICIJ director Gerard Ryle.
MoreReporters Anna Merlan and Madeleine Davies were investigating and writing about Louis CK well before the New York Times story came out. And they faced a lot of criticism for it.
MoreIs local media doomed? We speak to three entrepreneurs who are making a go of it with three very different models.
More“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. Sometimes the truth is just true.”
MoreAdam Gopnik lived out a certain Canadian fantasy. He left the country and became a prominent New York intellectual.
MoreThe Toronto Star's Daniel Dale has become one of the most-watched journalists in Washington in part by simply enumerating Donald Trump's lies.
MoreSarah Polley talks about how she helped Jesse break a major story. And she discusses domestic abuse, sexual harassment and assault, and the culture that fuels it.
MoreHeritage Minister Mélanie Joly had the thankless task of crafting a new culture plan that was sure to disappoint. She is now being viciously attacked by the press.
MoreOver the summer, videos came out that appeared to show Saudi Arabia deploying Canadian combat vehicles against their own citizens. And it barely made a splash in the Canadian media.
MoreMichael Enright got Jesse his first job in radio. He was also CANADALAND’s first ever guest, drinking bourbon and talking shit about the Canadian media. For our 200th show, he’s back to talk about how the media has changed since that day.
MoreEvery year, Toronto hosts some of the biggest stars in Hollywood as they debut their new films. But is the Toronto International Film Festival actually good for the city?
MoreWho 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 attacked neo-Nazis with the law. And the media hated him.
MoreSports journalism is facing many of the same issues as other facets of the industry: declining ad revenues, job insecurities, and too much content vying for too few eyeballs.
MoreIt's been, to put it mildly, a shit week for Rebel Media's self-styled 'Rebel Commander' Ezra Levant.
MoreFollowing the election of Donald Trump, Craig Silverman wrote the defining article on fake news. Now he dives into hyperpartisan media -- websites that blend legitimate reporting with clickbait viral headlines to create a morass where you can't be sure what's real and what isn't.
MoreIn it: should you fuck your Prime Minister?; Why Canadians secretly love climate change; why we love the RCMP; and a peek at the Canada of the not-too-distant future. The stage show for our book, the CANADALAND Guide to Canada.
MoreNew facts about Andrew Potter’s abrupt departure from McGill after his Maclean’s diatribe about Quebec, and what happened after Leah McLaren’s column about attempting to breastfeed Michael Chong’s baby was spiked.
MoreMichelle Shephard has been covering Omar Khadr since the beginning. She talks to guest host Omar Mouallem about what the media keeps getting wrong about the story.
MoreRen Bostelaar posted nude pictures of women to 4chan without their consent. He avoided a criminal record by taking a peace bond. Is revenge porn legal in Canada?
MoreCanada 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 last few decades now-defunct publications like The Body Politic, Siren and Fab brought LGBTQ+ issues, interests and voices, to the fore. Daily Xtra, now the country’s only remaining national queer news source, ceased print in 2015 but continues publishing online. Despite queer people having more rights than ever before, queer media is all but disappearing. Is this solely a result of Canadian media’s general decline, or is the shift indicative of something more? It’s also been a year since Black Lives Matter Toronto (BLMTO) halted the country’s largest Pride parade in protest, with a list of demands in tow. The action sparked a harsh months-long backlash of editorials and hot takes by mostly white, straight columnists and pundits, ruthlessly condemning BLMTO. Has coverage of LGBTQ+ issues and news by legacy media changed or improved since BLMTO’s protest? Joining Jesse to dissect the ever-shrinking queer media and the state of representation in legacy media is Erica Lenti, editor-in-chief of THIS Magazine, Arshy Mann, reporter at Daily Xtra, and investigative crime reporter and Body Politic writer, James Dubro.
MoreThe newspaper industry is pleading for hundred of millions of dollars per year to help prop itself up.
MoreIraqi photojournalist Ali Arkady thought he was documenting the “good guys” — the non-sectarian forces fighting Daesh for the preservation of Iraq. Instead, Arkady witnessed abuse, torture, and murder committed by the Emergency Response Division. After fleeing Iraq with his family, Arkady partnered with the Toronto Star and ABC News to have his work see the light. He joins Jesse Brown on the phone from an undisclosed location in Europe alongside Mitch Potter, one of the three Star reporters who helped write this essential exposé.
MoreOr did we play ourselves? This most recent Conservative leadership race highlighted a number of deficiencies in Canadian media. Namely, why did the guy with virtually no chance of ever becoming Prime Minister, who skipped debates and ran much of his campaign from Boston, receive so much more press coverage than the guy who actually won the leadership? Did media just go for the low-hanging fruit, or did we allow ourselves to be manipulated by an expert huckster? CBC.ca’s Opinion Producer Robyn Urback has some opinions of her own and joins us for the episode.
MoreOne cardinal rule of journalism is that reporters never accept incentives, be that meals, gifts, or — God forbid — money, from the subjects on whom they’re reporting. This applies across the board except, we now know, in the travel section. Travel writers used to diligently follow this standard but, as newspapers and magazines were increasingly unable or unwilling to foot expenses, these journalists were forced to find alternative sources to fund their trips. This meant cozying up to hotel chains, airlines, and tourism bureaus. If travel writers are being subsidized by the tourism industry, can the readers trust the stories? Bert Archer is arguably Canada’s most prolific travel writer and teaches the practice and ethics of travel writing at the University of Toronto. He believes journalists can maintain their editorial independence — but must walk a careful line.
MoreThe 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, but how much of that is accurate and how much is due to lazy media that falls back on clichéd tropes? After all, Alberta gave us the first big-city Muslim mayor, the first provincial cabinet with gender parity, and hell, led the charge for women’s suffragism (okay, that was a century ago, but still…). Despite the province’s increasingly young and multicultural population, some still believe that the only real Albertan is a conservative Albertan. And that extends to the two men – Jason Kenney and Brian Jean – who inked a proposal to merge the Conservative and Wildrose parties last week. Are they, and their policies, reflective of a new, diverse Alberta? Joining Omar to unpack Alberta’s multifaceted conservative history is Calgary journalist and author Sydney Sharpe, whose 2016 book, Notley Nation: How Alberta’s Political Upheaval Swept the Country, documented the historic 2015 provincial election which saw the NDP sweep aside the governing Tories after an unprecedented 40-plus-year run. Also in studio is Duncan Kinney, former journalist and current Executive Director of Progress Alberta.
MoreWhen 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 starts when the artist is charged with a crime and the lyrics are parsed for clues to a case or for proof of bad character. Many of these defendants are convicted of their crimes, but should their music be a permissible tool? What is the threshold? And does the practice intentionally or unintentionally tap into the unconscious biases of jurors with the fate of young black and indigenous men in their hands? This roundtable discussion on the inclusion of rap as criminal evidence brings together three experts: University of California, Irvine criminologist Adam Dunbar, University of Toronto sociologist Jooyoung Lee, and lawyer Hilary Dudding, whose case, R. v. Campbell, could effect future trials in Canada. They join guest host Omar Mouallem for the episode.
MoreSince the late 1990s nearly 800 children in Alberta government care have died. Veteran Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons has been shining a light on this crisis since the start. In November 2016, Simons published a story that shocked the province. It was about a four-year-old girl named Serenity. Let down by a wide range of government and non-governmental services, Serenity was the victim of horrific abuse and neglect. Simons’ article, Her name was Serenity. Never forget it. spurred the Notley provincial government to convene an all-party committee to investigate the multiple failings of Alberta’s child welfare system. Her tireless coverage earned Simons honourable mentions from the National Newspaper Awards and the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom. She joins guest host Omar Mouallem for the episode.
MoreOn April 20, Toronto Star columnist and Newstalk 1010 host, Desmond Cole, gave a powerful deputation at a Toronto Police Services Board meeting. He then stood in protest, calling on the board to restrict police access to ‘carding’ data. The meeting eventually adjourned, and Cole was escorted out by police officers. For almost five years now, Cole has been using his platform as a journalist to report on and push back against ‘carding’—which disproportionately affects Black people—by the Toronto Police. Cole—former host of CANADALAND COMMONS—joins Jesse Brown to discuss recent criticism he’s received from fellow journalists and the public, how mainstream media has failed to highlight the damaging effects of carding, his new CBC documentary The Skin We’re In, which explores anti-Black racism in Canada, and the book he’s writing about Black Canadians.
More…The Chronicle Herald’s Mark Lever, that’s who. After pleading poverty for nearly 16 months while his reporters, editors, and photographers are strike, he came up with the bucks to buy 28 Atlantic Canadian newspapers from the floundering Transcontinental chain. This gives his company an effective monopoly in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. We speak with long-time Nova Scotia journalists (and former Transcontinental reporters) Stephen Kimber and Parker Donham about the rationale behind the purchase and whether this benefits news consumers in Atlantic Canada.
MorePostmedia, the largest newspaper chain in Canada is in its death throes.
MoreIs Quebec’s media – like its culture – distinct from the rest of Canada’s? Does national media do a decent job of covering Quebec issues and news? The Globe and Mail’s Montreal bureau chief, Les Perreaux and Laval University’s Centre for Media Studies’ director, Colette Brin, set the record straight on prejudices and assumptions many ‘ugly anglos,’ like Jesse, have about the province’s media culture.
MoreSomething special to announce today, new show on Thursday.
MoreWe’re seeing a simultaneous backlash against both the media and the Jewish community. And there’s a place where the two intersect. Is there an over-concentration of Jews in the media? Well, yeah, probably. So? We speak with Yoni Goldstein of the Canadian Jewish News, and Sam Bick and David Zinman of the Treyf podcast about Jewish media in Canada, and what its future looks like.
MoreLast month, the National Post broke a crazy story involving former staffers from Canada’s deepest-pocketed media upstart, up-and-coming members of Toronto’s music and modelling scenes, and an international drug cartel. Adrian Humphreys, crime reporter for the Post, joins us to dig deep into this caper.
MoreMichael Chong is trying to sell an inclusive, sober conservatism. Are conservatives buying it?
MoreThe newspaper industry in Atlantic Canada is far less than healthy. The largest-circulation paper, the Halifax Chronicle Herald, is more than 400 days into a crippling strike which sees most of its senior reporters and editors on the picket line while its replacement workers are plugging out disturbingly sub-par journalism. Elsewhere in the area, the rest of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have almost almost all of their daily and weekly newspapers cinched up between two companies: Brunswick News (owned by the Irving family, who employs approximately one-in-five New Brunswickers), and TC Media. Still, there are bright spots. Atlantic Canada is seeing a significant number of start-up journalism enterprises. Might there be a light at the end of the tunnel? Jesse joins Halifax Examiner publisher and editor Tim Bousquet and University of King’s College assistant professor Terra Tailleur to discuss. This live taping was a benefit for CKDU radio in Halifax – who carries CANADALAND every Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. AST.
MoreIn 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.
MoreLate last month the Public Policy Forum released its long-anticipated report on the state of Canadian newspapers. Somewhat unexpectedly, this was a bold and far-reaching document, exploring the changing face of media in this country. The principal author of the paper, former Globe & Mail Editor-In-Chief Ed Greenspon, joins Jesse to dig deep into its findings. Read the entire report (no, seriously, read it) here.
MoreIn 2008, political pundit Don Martin penned a negative screed against former NBC wartime correspondent and - at the time - Alberta provincial electoral candidate Arthur Kent, aka the Scud Stud. Convinced that Martin had violated basic journalistic ethics, Kent took him and the CanWest newspaper chain (later Postmedia) to court for defamation of character.
MoreOn this episode, guest host Ashey Csanady and Vicky Mochama look at CBC's recently launched comedy portal and wonders if it's relevant and, you know, funny.
MoreYellowknife crime reporter John McFadden has been getting into problems with the local police for a while now. But that won't stop him from doing his job.
MoreIn the wake of Colten Boushie's death, Jesse discusses racial tensions in Saskatoon with panelists Betty Ann Adam, Rob Innes, and Mylan Tootoosis. Recorded live at Winterruption in Cosmo Seniors Centre on January 20th, 2017.
MoreWhen reporters are more relevant as unwilling political props than as chroniclers of facts, what happens to the job of journalism?
MoreMisha Glouberman has been hosting Trampoline Hall, a barroom lecture series created by author Sheila Heti, for 15 years. He and Jesse are almost, but not quite, friends.
MoreFeaturing the best moments from Canadaland's new arts & culture show, hosted by Aliya Pabani.
MoreFeaturing the best moments from Canadaland's new arts & culture show, hosted by Aliya Pabani.
MoreDo politicians and foreign dignitaries have better access to health care than everyone else?
MoreSuburbs frozen in the 1950s. Progressives in the middle of oil country. Jesse explores the eccentricities of Edmonton, past and present.
MoreFirst Nations reporting usually falls into the four D's: drumming, dancing, drinking, and death. Wawmeesh Hamilton is trying to change that.
MoreFake news sites won the American election. BuzzFeed Canada's Craig Silverman discusses how bogus Facebook stories blew credible news out of the water.
MoreLa Presse journalist Patrick Lagacé tells all about why the Montreal police spied on him and other journalists, and why the free press is under attack.
MoreEvery day at 12:36pm, Marc Weisblott sends out his "tabloid" newsletter. Is he a cultural critic? A media visionary? Or just a crank?
MoreJustin Brake caught the nation's attention by broadcasting the peaceful protests of Muskrat Falls. And then he got served with a court injunction.
MoreIs solutions-based journalism the future of Canadian news?
MoreWe lost almost half our staff this month. We need to pay better to retain our amazing team. Help us on Patreon and everybody but Jesse will get a raise.
MoreThe BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Bloomberg: all of them are increasing their presence in Canada at the exact same time that the Canadian media is cutting back like never before. Jessica Murphy, head of the BBC's new Canadian bureau and the New York Times' Canada correspondent Ian Austen discuss the influx.
MoreWhen Jean Charest was a paid agent of an energy company he had a secret meeting with the government pipeline regulator, who then lied about it.
MoreIf you share paywalled content, does that constitute copyright infringement?
MoreWhy does indigenous representation in settler media matter?
MoreThe Collapse of the News Business is Irreversible. So what will emerge from the ashes?
MoreLast winter, Canadaland invited journalists to The Revue Cinema in Toronto to discuss the films that made them want to become journalists.
MoreAnswers to some of the questions about reporter Raveena Aulakh's suicide. How much did the Toronto Star know about its "toxic" workplace and what did they do about it?
MoreCanada's tech sector is hemorrhaging talent. Between tax credits, targeted R&D programs, and Trudeau's cheerleading, can we stop the bleeding?
MoreThe Trudeau government is actually considering it.
MoreMedia scholar Karen Burrows discusses the impact on our power as media consumers.
MoreJohn Furlong has been accused of abusing dozens of First Nations children when he was a teacher in Burns Lake in the 1960s. Journalist Laura Robinson told this story and ended up on the wrong side of a defamation lawsuit.
MoreBaroness Von Sketch, CBC's new sketch show, is funny. What happened? Jesse asks Baroness writer, author, and standup comedian Monica Heisey about what went right and what may be changing in Canadian comedy.
MoreWhen disaster strikes, local television matters. But does anyone actually care about small-town daily news coverage anymore?
MoreIs the Communist Party of China influencing the Canadian-Chinese press? Journalist and paralegal Jonathan Fon joins Jesse for a discussion on the influence of Beijing.
MoreGlobal News anchor Chris Gailus is one of British Columbia's most renowned television broadcasters. He's been accused of sexually harassing his former makeup artist, Dawne Koke. Koke speaks to Jesse about her claims and about sexual harassment in the news business.
MoreHow did the Liberals win the election? Author Susan Delacourt knows.
MoreGawker is in trouble. Writer Stephen Marche, a frequent target of the gossip site, expands on his defense of the blog that smears him.
MoreCBC still has a bullying & harassment problem. Jesse and Jane discuss how they investigated it for their recent report, "Bullying & Harassment Claims Emerge at CBC's As It Happens, TV Sports, and HR."
MoreWhen it came to Canadian arts administration, Jeff Melanson was the king. Until his messy annulment papers from frozen food heiress Eleanor McCain alleged that he left more than just administrative damage in his wake from the National Ballet School, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Banff Centre for the Arts. Anne Kingston dives deep into the hushed world of Canadian arts institutions.
MoreLive from the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, cartoonists Ted Rall, Chip Zdarsky, and Rokudenashiko talk censorship, the surprisingly subversive power of cartoons, and the dying art of comics journalism.
MoreIn Newfoundland and Labrador, massive numbers of workers are getting laid off. Taxes are skyrocketing. The oil industry is collapsing. Meanwhile, journalist James McLeod has independently published a Sunshine List that exposes just how cosy the province really is.
MoreJustin Trudeau's government told us that selling weapons to Saudi Arabia was a "done deal" of the Conservative government, but reporting by The Globe and Mail's Steven Chase revealed that it was entirely within the Liberals' power to stop it. The Globe called the government hypocrites, the NDP called them liars. What about the public?
MoreFor the past year, Desmond Cole has been the media's go-to guy whenever a story about black Canadians would come up. Now, he discusses what's to come after hosting COMMONS.
MoreWhat happens when three lawyers argue with Jesse Brown?
MoreFreelance journalist Matt Braga joins Jesse to talk about spy shit - the Panama Papers, CSIS, C-51, and Ben Makuch's ongoing battle with the RCMP.
MoreThe Ethnic Aisle is a crowdfunded digital magazine tackling issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and race in Toronto and the GTA. Chantal Braganza is the managing editor of The Ethnic Aisle and a digital media producer at TVO. Guest hosted by Scaachi Koul.
MoreAdrienne Batra and Alex Pierson were SUN News TV hosts until the network suddenly went dark last month. Now, they join Jesse to come clean about what it was like to work at the most hated TV station in Canada.
MoreNOTE: Since this episode aired, The Imposter was put on hold, and has re-launched with new host Aliya Pabani.
MoreJeff Melanson was the Canadian arts & culture institution’s golden boy, a “rock star arts administrator,” feted by the press and given prestigious positions at Canada’s top art institutions. Then he made a mess during his tenure at the Banff Centre, and has since been accused by his estranged wife of all sorts of professional misconduct. What is happening at these institutions, and do we reward failure in Canada? David Silcox was the Globe & Mail’s art critic, president of Sotheby’s Canada, Arts Officer of the Canada Council, and author of several books about Canadian art. CORRECTION: Jesse misstates that Marsha Lederman’s profile of Melanson ran in 2012, when in fact it ran in 2014.
MoreThe media is fuelling our real estate obsession and Garth Turner, ex-Conservative MP turned real estate blogger, is pouring cold water on us.
MoreShould journalists have control over what other journalists have access to? Allison Smith is the publisher of Queen's Park Today, a daily news website that reports on Ontario politics. For the last four years, the Queen's Park Press Gallery - a group of journalists - has denied her membership on dubious grounds.
MoreDozens of women and girls have been murdered in the Halifax area over the past few decades. Tim Bousquet is capturing it all on his independent news site, the Halifax Examiner.
MoreIs it ok for an anonymous sexual assault allegation to destroy the reputation a beloved cultural hero?
MoreThe Toronto Star's HPV fail reveals a wider problem: the journalists who inform us about science are increasingly scientifically illiterate.
MoreGlen McGregor just left the Ottawa Citizen (along with 14 others) after breaking many major political stories of the last few years. So what's next for him, for the Citizen, and for print journalism in Canada's capital?
MoreMost Canadians don't hear about the stories Indigenous peoples tell within their communities. Mainstream media only covers the most tragic events affecting Indigenous communities — if it chooses to cover them at all. Now, alternative digital platforms have created an opportunity for these stories to travel outside the communities they are about.
MoreWhen Ken Alexander co-founded the Walrus in 2003, he wanted it to be a left-leaning literary magazine that also functioned as an educational charity. Now he says The Walrus has lost its way, strayed from its editorial mandate, abused its staff and violated its charitable obligations.
MoreLast week, Postmedia laid off 90 journalists from newsrooms across Canada, months after absorbing the Sun newspaper chain. What if a slow, painful death was the plan all along? The National Observer's Bruce Livesey weighs in on the implosion of Postmedia.
MoreNews Canada (NC) looks like a wire service, but distributes stories produced by the federal government.
MoreDo media unions protect journalists at the expense of journalism? Do they make it impossible for struggling news orgs to survive? Do they protect older workers at the expense of the younger generation? Nora Loreto, author and union activist, talks about what place organized labour might have in today's media.
MoreDo Canada's legacy news orgs have digital strategies? Do they make any sense? Is profitability online even possible?
MoreIt's a brutal time for the Canadian television industry and it's about to get worse.
MoreWhat is CANADALAND doing wrong? What are we getting right? Where should we be headed? Listen in and find out: we recorded our annual staff meeting/staff mixer.
MoreMarineland denies the allegations made in this podcast by Phil Demers, their former animal trainer. They have launched pending legal action against The Toronto Star, Phil Demers and others.
MoreHow will we know how bad things have gotten when most of the records have been erased? Anne Kingston discusses how Canada has thrown its data in the dumpster and become an international cautionary tale.
MoreIt's taken 40 years for the media to pay attention to the permanent crisis of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Karyn Pugliese, APTN's Director of News and Current Affairs, talks about what has finally changed and why it's taken so long.
MoreComedian Sugar Sammy might be the most famous Canadian you haven't heard of. He plays to sell-out crowds in Paris, India, South Africa, and night after night in Montreal. He has sold hundreds of thousands of tickets. Yet he has yet to break through in english Canada or in the States. Jesse asks him why, and waxes nostalgic for the time he and Sammy were at the same university.
MoreWho keeps the media in check? The newly-formed National Newsmedia Council, according to John Fraser and Don McCurdy. Can a bunch of journalists and public members wrangle the entire Canadian journalism industry?
MoreJoey Coleman was often the only reporter at Hamilton Ontario City Hall: a one-man digital newsroom, funded by his audience. His constant presence irritated a city councillor, who lost his temper and got physical. Joey didn't fight back, but he was the one punished: through a series of retaliations he was pushed out of the building and his news coverage became impossible. He joins Jesse to tell his story.
MoreWhat does it really mean to be represented, in the media or in government? Can one kind of minority stand-in for another? What is shadeism? Does the media demand that minorities conform to whiteness in order to get in front of a camera? Is Canada finally, truly ready to deal with race? Septembre Anderson takes it all on.
MoreThe Walrus is in meltdown: stories of office bullying, exploitation and workplace chaos are leaking from "Canada's best magazine". Three of the people at the centre of the controversy speak.
MoreKady O'Malley might be the 1st Canadian journalist who gets paid, primarily, to report the news via Twitter. Ottawa Citizen calls her Canada’s first mobile-focused political journalist. Jesse and Kady discuss social media journalism and the relationship between journalists and politicians.
MoreSteve Paikin just might be the best TV host in the country. But who needs TV hosts anymore?
MoreUniversity of Ottawa's Michael Geist breaks down the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), a proposed trade agreement that Stephen Harper has been toiling over in secret for the last five years - an agreement that will have huge impacts on Canada's internet freedom and copyright issues.
MoreLaura Robinson has lost her libel suit against John Furlong. The ruling, which could limit the media's willingness to report on abuse allegations, is based on erroneous information. Lawyer William McDowell discusses the possible impact.
MorePrize-winning author, Twitter enthusiast, and censored columnist Margaret Atwood schools Jesse on technology, dictators, and CanLit.
MoreA difficult interview with the controversial columnist.
MoreTime to check in with CANADALAND's supporters. How are we doing? What are we getting right & wrong?
MoreHart Pomerantz was Lorne Michaels's original partner, back when Michaels was still known as Lorne Lipowitz. Their top-rated CBC variety show, The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, was a precursor for Saturday Night Live before it was pulled from the airwaves after two short seasons.
MoreThe Ashley Madison hack was shitty and evil. But is reporting on it shitty and evil? Fortune Magazine's Mathew Ingram discusses where to draw the line.
MoreFirst, the National Post's Adrian Humphreys on working with Anonymous. Then, Jesse interviews #OpAnonDown about their recent leaks on CSIS foreign stations, their John Baird threat, and more.
MoreVeteran comedian Scott Thompson on why nothing happened after The Kids In The Hall, the biggest problems with the Canadian film & TV industry, and why gay men still have to be defanged to be accepted.
MoreAnthropologist and author Gabriella Coleman on Operation Anon Down and what it's like studying Anonymous from the inside.
MoreVeteran journalist Vivian Smith on institutional sexism, metaphorical pink and blue aisles, why some women choose to leave the profession, and how to fix it.
MorePaul Watson discusses his resignation from the Toronto Star, his upcoming article that the Star refused to publish, and his career spent reporting from hot zones.
MoreVICE's parliamentary reporter Justin Ling is mad as hell at the PMO, and he's not gonna take it anymore.
MoreCrime writer James Dubro discusses the symbiotic relationship between criminals and the press, and the four decades he's spent covering the mob in Canada.
MoreJournalist and Halifax Examiner founder Tim Bousquet talks about corruption, investigative journalism, and conflicts of interest in Halifax media.
MoreThe Tyee may be the oldest surviving "digital native" news site in Canada. Who funds it and why has it stuck around for so long while so many others have faded away? Founder David Beers explains.
MoreMusician Paul Lawton discusses FACTOR, NXNE, CMW, the Canadian music industry, and why the current system is broken.
MoreMathew Ingram, formerly of the Globe, explains why that plan won't work.
MoreSouth China Morning Post's Vancouver correspondent Ian Young speaks with Jesse about wealth migration, racism, and immigration schemes.
MoreGlobe and Mail video game critic Peter Nowak on the "fucking nonsense" of the gaming press.
MoreLast week a Conservative strategist fooled the media into thinking there was a popular, grassroots movement to boycott Tim Hortons on behalf of the oil industry. There was not. BuzzFeed Canada's politics editor Paul McLeod revealed the scheme, and talks to Jesse about how reporters get played by people in politics all the time.
MoreJosh Dolgin is one of Canada's most idiosyncratic talents. He is a rapper, a producer, an accordian player, a magician, a cartoonist, a puppeteer, and a cook book author. He is also Jesse's former creative partner, and this conversation should probably have taken place in private, if at all.
MoreJay Baruchel on the Canadian film & TV racket and how to smash it. Taped before a live audience at the Bloor HotDocs Theatre in Toronto.
MoreAboriginal people make up over 4% of Canada's population, but less than .5% of Canadian news stories have anything to do with them. What little we do hear from the media about indigenous people is often negative. APTN is the first, and perhaps the only aboriginal TV network in the world. Jesse visits their Winnipeg HQ and speaks to Karyn Pugliese, APTN's Director of News and Current Affairs.
MoreHarper cabinet member Tony Clement describes how government outsources social media monitoring of the public. Is it legal? He's not sure yet.
MoreLeah McLaren was telling the world about her private life before we all started doing it. She talks to Jesse about haters, journalism and acts of provocation.
MoreThe betrayed reporter is still fighting the Globe and Mail.
MoreIt's possible that Chantal Hébert's journalism once held Canada together. She joins Jesse for a discussion about what's appropriate in political news coverage, and what (if anything) needs to change.
MoreThe energy sector has flooded Canada's media with money, be it in ad dollars, speaking fees, charitable donations or "native content" partnerships. What this has bought, in effect, is a lack of critical mainstream discourse on oil and the environment. The National Observer has launched to counter this reality. Linda Solomon Wood is its founder, and she speaks to Jesse about her effort.
MoreJournalist Mark Bourrie has vowed to sue CANADALAND for an article about his dealings with Senator Mike Duffy. Instead, Mark and Jesse talk it out.
MoreVeteran investigative reporter Bruce Livesey was fired by Global News after they spiked his report on the billionaire Koch Brothers and their influence in Canada.
MoreCANADALAND has obtained two eyewitness accounts of the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard. Neither has been publicly released before. They tell a very different tale of the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard than what the media has previously reported. They are followed by an interview with Sheppard's father, Allan Sheppard.
MoreThe Irving Family of New Brunswick own more land than anyone in the world except for royalty and the Pope. How do they use their media monopoly to further their interests? What happens to those who try to compete with them?
MoreBefore he quit his job, Foreign Minister John Baird said journalist Mohamed Fahmy's release was "imminent". Now Fahmy is set to be retried in Egypt after over a year in prison.
MoreAs few as 5000 people watch Ezra Levant's SUN News TV show, yet Levant himself is a major presence in the Canadian media. Why is that? Jesse asks Ezra to explain his own prominence.
MoreA CANADALAND live taping from The Hamilton Public Library on the state of news coverage in medium to small markets. Panelists include crowdfunded local journalist Joey Coleman, media researcher Sonya MacDonald and CHCH's Donna Skelly.
MoreAndrew Coyne joins Jesse for a wide-ranging conversation before he begins his new job as editor of the National Post's Opinion and Editorial pages.
MoreCANADALAND is gearing up for a big year. Time to check in with those who listen to it and who pay for it: What should I be covering? How should I handle ads? Who should host the upcoming politics show? More questions, some answers, and an apology.
MoreThe President of Ecuador spent his state TV broadcast decrying a 26 year-old Canadian journalist. Then his operatives bullied her out of the country. Now, Bethany Horne tells her story.
More45 First Nations people allege experiencing or witnessing abuse by former school teacher John Furlong, President of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Journalist Laura Robinson broke the story.
MoreSteven Kerzner may be the most famous TV peformer you've never heard of. His hand has insulted some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Crouched just out of frame, he had a worm's eye view of the heyday of CityTV and Muchmusic, and he tells Jesse all.
MoreThe Irvings are secretive billionaires who have a monopoly on New Brunswick's news media. Journalist Jacques Poitras, author of Irving vs Irving, describes how the family subtly suppresses criticism and destroys competitors.
MoreJoe Clark has been aggressively challenging and sometimes attacking my work for years.
MoreRoberto Verì used to work for CBC's Q with Jian Ghomeshi. He witnessed harassment that he never reported, until now.
MoreAn on-stage interview with Pultizer-prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald on his troubled relationship with the Canadian media and what he knows but has yet to report on CSEC spying.
MoreJust a few thoughts about my investigation with the Toronto Star.
MoreNorman Spector is Canada's former ambassador to Israel. He was also the publisher of the Jerusalem Post. Conversations about Israel-Palestine are invariably bummers, but for Norman, Jesse makes an exception.
MoreCANADALAND is at a crossroads. The show won't continue without your support. But if each of the show's 10,000 listeners kicks in $1 a month, CANADALAND becomes an independent news org, a podcast network, and a daily news site.
MoreCarl Wilson changed the way music is discussed. His "poptimist" manifesto, Let's Talk About Love, made it okay to talk seriously about bubbly pop, and went pop itself- that rare work of criticism that becomes a bestseller. He rose to a top job in his field, senior critic at SPIN. But he almost instantly lost that job. He explains why, and talks about the rapid decline of music criticism itself.
MoreBaby Boomers are the wealthiest generation ever while young Canadians are increasingly poor and in debt. Yet the federal government spends four times as much on the average senior citizen each year as it does on the average 24-year-old. Eric Swanson of Generation Squeeze is fighting an uphill battle to even the scales.
MoreThe CBC, Ontario and Quebec say they want to tax Netflix to pay for CanCon TV. The Harper government says there will be no Neflix tax as long as they remain in power. They're all full of it. A Netflix tax is impossible. Journalist Steve Faguy explains why.
MoreCanadians can be funny, but can funny Canadians make a living? Comedian Rebecca Kohler on the state of stand-up.
MoreDavid Soknacki is the opposite of Rob Ford: he's skinny, sober and thoughtful. But is the political press too sensationalized for a candidate with substance to get noticed?
MoreHow is the press supposed to cover science in a country where the government stifles research that conflicts with its policies?
MoreCanada produces top animation talent but lousy animation content.
MoreThe Score is a digital-first, globally popular Canadian media company that's growing each year. So why did its well-loved feature writing team just get the axe? Former features editor Dustin Parkes explains.
MoreMuchMusic and dozens of other specialty channels collect millions of dollars a year from subscribers who didn't ask for them and don't watch them. Meanwhile, channels are laying off their staffs and producing less meaningful content than ever. Is it time to cut the cord on the protected cable business?
MoreVeteran journalist John Barber has written a fire-breathing, bridge-burning polemic on the state of Canada's newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, where he spent most of his career. He explains why he had to say it.
MoreTHE GRID may be remembered as the last newspaper ever launched in Canada. The people behind it share their thoughts on whether success was ever even possible.
MoreThe veteran CBC broadcaster as you've never heard him before. A candid, combative, and lubricated conversation about the state of journalism, the CBC, Canada in general, and Jesse's life choices in particular.
MoreThe CBC's new plan is to be a digital content company (that doesn't make content). Jeffrey Dvorkin used to run news at CBC and NPR. He tells Jesse what he would do if he were still in charge.
MoreA people-powered journalism startup from Montreal has quickly earned the support of hundreds of backers. So what is Ricochet and who’s paying for it? Editor Ethan Cox explains.
MoreInternet and wireless companies have supplied private data millions of times.
MoreThe CRTC is unbundling cable channels, but will anyone subscribe to cable TV in 5 years anyhow?
MoreThe CBC is being systematically disassembled, but its employees can't or won't speak up for it and make the case for public broadcasting.
MoreRobyn Doolittle and Jonathan Goldsbie talk about unreported smells and Rob Ford's mastery of modern media.
MoreThe Labour Ministry cracks down on free labour, starting with the magazine business.
MoreFormer Globe editor speaks about the recent shakeup.
MoreCSEC is shadier than the NSA. Nobody really knows what they are doing, including the Ministers who empower them and the judges who grant them warrants.
MoreJen Agg on the problems with Canadian restaurants.
MoreThe pundit won't talk, but his National Post editor will.
MoreThe CBC's chief conservative commentator has a glaring conflict of interest, reports investigative journalist Andrew Mitrovica.
MoreThe Author of How Should A Person Be on her own hype, GIRLS, and why she doesn't care about CanLit.
MoreVICE's Montreal origin, remembered by those who were there.
MoreHow did Stephen Harper dodge the Senate scandal? Why did the press let him?
MoreLaid-off National Post editor Jeremy Barker on newspaper budget cuts.
MoreFormer Montreal Mirror editor Rupert Bottenberg on the end of an era.
MoreAre our Universities exploiting thousands of kids?
MoreTV news is reductive, repetitive and usually ridiculous. Was it always like this?
MoreGraham Wagner wrote for The Office and Portlandia and studied philosophy because of Monty Python.
MoreStorage Wars Canada showrunner and documentary filmmaker Geoff Siskind on what's real, in life and in work.
MoreChip Zdarsky is a deranged and celebrated and banned comics artist who is also secretly Steve Murray, a newspaperman at the National Post.
MoreTucows CEO Elliot Noss on how Rogers, Telus and Bell are holding Canada back.
MorePlaywright & actor Michael Healey on why Canada's powerful never get what they deserve.
MoreActor/writer Matt Watts (The Newsroom, Michael Tuesdays and Thursdays) on "incest" and "hush money" at the CBC, among other problems plaguing our TV industry.
MoreHoward Bernstein helped create Ryerson's journalism internship program. Now he thinks it should be abolished.
MoreAriel Garten is the CEO of Toronto-based startup Interaxon, makers of the thought-controlled computing headband, Muse. She also used to date Jesse.
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