Lean Out with Tara Henley

For all of the mainstream media’s coverage of Donald Trump, there’s not a very deep understanding of the Republican Party under that president, or, indeed, the forces that led up to his election. In the liberal press, there just has not been that much curiosity about the nuances of the American conservative movement — and the historical and political forces driving it. But my guest on the program...

As the pandemic winds down, another public health emergency rages — and it is not getting as much attention. I’m speaking, of course, about the opioid crisis. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer of health, recently tweeted that the latest data shows that in 2021, 7,560 people died of opioid-related overdose. On average, 21 people died and 17 were hospitalized every day. My guest on the pro...

The realignment of left and right is something that we talk about a lot on this podcast, as we try to make sense of the current moment. This political shakeup is producing new politics, new alliances, and new conversations.    To keep up with the pace of such shifts, Lean Out is now expanding to two episodes a week, to better document these developments in real time. I’ll still be interviewing an...

Last week, amid growing pressure, the Canadian government suspended vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international air and rail travel — as well as for the federal civil service and the federally regulated transportation sectors. But this debate is far from over, as the government stated that it will not hesitate to reimplement vaccine mandates in the future. The question is: Is such a p...

There was big news out of the United States last week for those who follow the ongoing debate over the state of free speech. FIRE , the preeminent free speech organization for higher education, is expanding beyond campus. And the organization has been renamed the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. My guest on the podcast today says its expanded mandate is a result of 2020, the worst...

The pandemic, as we know, has been a different experience for different people. Some of us, the laptop class, isolated and worked from home. But others of us, the essential workers, were out there every day doing the work that it took to keep society from collapsing. The stories of the working class have often gone untold, but my guest on the podcast today has dedicated himself to interviewing wor...

“Men and women exist. Occasionally we even like each other. We exist because of these two simple truths.” These are the opening lines of a powerful new book that dives into the crisis in contemporary heterosexuality. It’s been called a feminist defence of masculinity, and it is a clear-headed and compassionate look at where we’ve gone wrong. Nina Power is a British writer, philosopher, and fellow...

Some months ago, I discovered a podcast that gripped me from its very first episode. It seemed to reach deep into my psyche, touching on all the things that I care about most. That podcast is Banished, from Substack’s Booksmart Studios , and it is a deeply thoughtful and nuanced look at the rising tide of censorship and intolerance. Its host is a remarkable academic who is fiercely committed to op...

Over the last few years, many of us have had the feeling that things were just not adding up, that the narratives in the mainstream media simply were not making sense. Well, my guest on the podcast today had that experience earlier than most, years back, with online feminism. And it sowed the seed that became her most recent book. Meghan Daum is an essayist and the author of six books. She’s a for...

How free is Canada as a country? That’s a question that my guest on the podcast today tackled in a book back in 2020 — concluding that our freedom was actually pretty precarious. Philip Slayton is a Canadian lawyer and a former dean of law at Western University. He’s also a former president of PEN Canada, and a bestselling author. His latest book had a huge impact on me. It’s called Nothing Left t...

“We’re liberated, and we’re miserable.” That’s the title of a chapter in Christine Emba’s new book, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation — and one I think a lot of people will relate to. The sexual revolution held lots of promises of freedom and liberation, but in many ways, it just hasn’t delivered. We’re in the midst of a sex recession. Marriage is in decline. And, according to a Pew survey, nearly hal...

When Antonio Michael Downing set out to write his memoir, he gave himself some instructions: “Tell it plainly. Let the sweet be sweet. Let the sour be sour. Let the truth ring its own bell.” It’s a wonderful North Star for writing, and one that led to his critically-acclaimed book, Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming . In it, the Canadian author and musician recounts his childhood in Trini...

In the fall of 2015, my guest on today’s podcast had just arrived at Yale. He was an Air Force veteran and a former foster child. So, when a crisis erupted over campus “safety” and emails about Halloween costumes , he was a bit perplexed — and it became a formative moment in his academic career.   Rob Henderson is a PhD student in Psychology at the University of Cambridge, and a rising academic st...

Here’s a question: Does every human being deserve to have love in their life? The American prison system — through its policies — often answers that question with a “no.” But the human need for companionship, affection and care runs deep. Every year, some of the roughly two million people behind bars fall in love with people on the outside. And the way that the prisons treat these bonds says a lot...

On the Lean Out podcast, we’ve talked a lot about the haves and the have-nots. My guest today has another way of thinking about this. He calls it the “front row” and the “back row.” The front row is in power. It values education, credentials, and consumerism. But the back row values different things. Things like family, faith, and place. Chris Arnade is a writer and photographer who covers poverty...

There’s a lot of things that we don’t talk about in our society right now. And one of those things is fatherhood. The role of fathers — and the power of their presence, and care — is not explored that often, or in much detail. But my guest on the podcast today says that needs to change. Shaka Senghor is one of my favourite writers. He’s a tech executive, a New York Times bestselling author, a form...

If you’re a regular listener of the Lean Out podcast, you know I’m pretty concerned about the state of the left . Here’s a clip of the kind of thing that drives me crazy , from a 2019 conference of the Democratic Socialists of America. In it, the forum is derailed by interruptions from delegates who recite their pronouns and then demand that audience members stop whispering (it upsets those who ar...

In today’s media environment, there’s often a lot of unanswered questions. Because narratives are so powerful — and because the press is so polarized — there’s often pieces of information that don’t quite fit with any given story. One fact I’ve been wondering about for some time: How Donald Trump managed to increase his support among Black voters in the 2020 election. Why haven’t we heard more dis...

If you’re currently lost in a downward spiral of doomscrolling, you are not alone. The news out of Ukraine is almost too much to bear, especially coming on the heels of a national crisis, wrapped in a global pandemic. But my guest on the podcast today says things have been bad like this for some time. That, in fact, our civilization is in a form of decline. Andrew Potter is an associate professor...

With the violence in Ukraine dominating headlines, the world is feeling dark — and uncertain. So today on the podcast, we’re going to spotlight a story of hope. Chris Hedges is a former war correspondent for the New York Times and a Pulitzer Prize winner. He’s also a Presbyterian minister and a bestselling author. In his latest book, The Class: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison , he...

Things are not feeling particularly sane right now. Not in the world, not in the media. And not in this country, as we continue to navigate debilitating political polarization. It feels difficult to know where to start, let alone how to connect across divides. But my guest on the podcast today is hopeful. Profoundly so. Mónica Guzmán is the Seattle journalist we met last month, in a Q&A conversati...

In recent weeks, many Canadian commentators have expressed shock that the country is experiencing a wave of populism. But Toronto author Jeff Rubin is not surprised. In fact, he predicted it, in an opinion piece for the New York Times in 2019 . Jeff Rubin is the former chief economist at CIBC World Markets, and a former senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. His lates...

As we all think through the class tensions that have surfaced in Canada, it’s a good time to take a closer look at an ethos held by many of those shaping the dialogue. This group of decision-makers and opinion shapers, which includes the media, is often referred to in leftist circles as the professional managerial class. Catherine Liu, professor of film and media studies at the University of Calif...

It’s hard to imagine better timing for a book release. This week — as our culture finds itself embroiled in numerous debates around speech — Danish lawyer Jacob Mchangama has published a brilliant new book that provides historical perspective. Jacob is the founder and executive director of Justitia , a human-rights think tank based in Copenhagen. Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Medi...

Those of us in the media who’ve lived and worked in Vancouver know just how harrowing the opioid crisis can be. A short walk through the city’s Downtown Eastside reveals a level of human suffering that would make anyone stop in their tracks. Still, those of us who have covered the crisis also know what a hard sell the issue is. Mainstream outlets are often reluctant to dive into the epidemic. And...