Graham Wagner wrote for The Office and Portlandia and studied philosophy because of Monty Python.
Hosted by Jesse Brown
In between, he spent ten years jobbing around Toronto’s comedy scene, writing for a grab bag of Canadian TV shows and enduring development deals. His girlfriend made him talk to Jesse.
CANADALAND 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.
Marc 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.
Kanye 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.
Sarah 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.
The 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.
It’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.
*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.
