#18 VICE: An Oral History

February 3, 2014

CANADALAND

VICE's Montreal origin, remembered by those who were there.

Synopsis

Conflict and controversy as Gavin McInnes and others remember Voice of Montreal, a government-subsidized community newspaper in the 90s that grew into a global brand.

Guests

Gavin McInnes, Rupert Bottenberg, Lisa Gabriele, Robbie Dillon

People mentioned

Shane Smith, Suroosh Alvi, Rick Trembles, Terry Richardson, Ryan McGinley, Leslie Arfin

Topics discussed

Would VICE Magazine have happened without a Quebec welfare grant? What was it like working for VICE back in their Montreal days? Did VICE lie to its advertisers and cheat its contributors? Did the tone of VICE anticipate social media? How come no famous writers emerged from VICE? Why did Gavin McInnes claim “I invented hipsters”? How does Gavin McInnes feel about being erased from VICE’s official history?

More from this series

Is Jesse a Zionist? (editorial)

Canadaland publisher Jesse Brown has been asked to stop talking about antisemitism.

November 29, 2023

#940 How Flacks Spin Hacks

Journalists 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…

November 27, 2023

#938 Thunder Bay: Post-Mortem, Part 2

Nine 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?

November 20, 2023

#936 Thunder Bay: Post-Mortem, Part 1

For 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.

November 13, 2023

#934 The Aquanaut

It’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.

November 6, 2023

The Newfoundlander: Chapter 1

While 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.

October 30, 2023

#930 Alive At Ten

Canadaland’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.

October 23, 2023

#928 How Connie Walker Won

The 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?

October 16, 2023

All Podcasts

CANADALAND