Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

A young mom accepts a ride into the city from a stranger, and is never seen again. Two years later, her body is discovered south of Edmonton. Seven years after that, the RCMP apologizes for bungling the investigation. To this day, there's been no arrest, no charges, and no peace for her family.  3:00 | Investigative journalist Jana Pruden takes us into the unsolved murder of Amber Tuccaro.  CHECK...

Brent's heard enough from the teachers, and Lynette sounds the alarm on underfunding education. Stick around for Jespo's rant after a night at the theatre in this edition of The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com When you visit the DQs in Palisades, Namao, Newcastle, Westmount, and Baseline Road, be sure to t...

Ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we connect with two people blending Indigenous and Western knowledge to make a big difference in their communities. Later in the episode, we hear from a Real Talk subscriber in grade 12 re: Jason Schilling's "education in crisis" comments on our September 26 episode. 1:50 | Linea Xaysana and Twylla Soosay explain how tradition and technology...

Alberta's set to spend nearly $9 billion on new schools, but teachers say it won't fix a system in crisis. Meantime, voters in B.C. are deadlocked leading up to one of the most bizarre elections the province has ever seen. We try to make sense of it all in this episode of Real Talk.  2:35 | Alberta Teachers' Association president Jason Schilling explains why 90 new schools won't fix Alberta's clas...

G-Money says Jagmeet Singh stole a page right outta the WWE playbook. RMC has a message for the "American right wing wannabes" in Ottawa. First Class Teacher calls Premier Danielle Smith to the carpet. Jackson's furious about vandalism on September 11 at a firefighter memorial. It's The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanj...

Not everybody nerds out on politics as much as we do. This episode is for those folks (and the nerds like us). We talk "real life" angles on the US presidential election, Jagmeet Singh confronting a heckler, Justin Trudeau's Liberal leadership journey, and the chopping waters around the B.C. election.  2:30 | Beyond A Ballot hosts Amanda Alvaro and Rachael Segal talk to us hours before launching S...

Why do we allow politicians to drive wedges between us? Why do we listen when they try to convince us cities are the enemy of rural communities, and vice versa? It's a divisive-yet-effective political strategy in countries like Canada and the USA. Is this the new normal?  2:20 | Dr. Kathy Cramer is an internationally-renowned expert on the urban-rural political divide. The University of Wisconsin-...

agmeet Singh goes toe-to-toe with a protestor outside Parliament, after being called a "corrupted bastatrd". Was it the right move, or could the federal NDP leader pay a political price?  2:20 | Shannon Phillips, Ken Boosenkool, and Tyler Meredith get into the top political stories in Canada, including Justin Trudeau's future, Pierre Poilievre's "Axe the Tax" campaign, Danielle Smith's upcoming le...

Lindsey's got a hot take on Trump at the debate, Concerned Citizen's not sold on the UCP hospital plan, and Jo-Jo and Debra are all fired up about the Green Line LRT project. It's The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com When you visit the DQs in Palisades, Namao, Newcastle, Westmount, and Baseline Road, make s...

The way music is made, distributed, monetized, and enjoyed is dramatically different than even five years ago. We get Real with CCMA nominees JJ Shiplett, Hailey Benedict, and Dan Clapson ahead of a big weekend in Edmonton. MORE ON JJ: https://www.jjshiplett.com/ MORE ON HAILEY: https://www.instagram.com/thatsmehaileyb/?hl=en MORE ON DAN: https://www.thebluejaysessions.com/ Jespo and Johnny recap...

You have to assume Andrew Knack has his next move planned out...but what is it? We sit down with the long-time Edmonton councillor just hours after his announcement he won't run again in Ward Nakota Isga.  4:00 | Is Knack considering running for Mayor? Is the rumour mill correct about him joining Naheed Nenshi's team with the Alberta NDP? We talk polarized politics, "left wing" councils, cancelled...

Russia's paying Canadian influencers to sway public opinion. Danielle Smith's government just delivered a death blow to a multi-billion dollar transit project. Jagmeet Singh says he's ready for a fight...but is he?  3:00 | We put today's top political stories in front of Max Fawcett, lead columnist for Canada's National Observer. We talk Russian interference in Canada, the upcoming debate between...

KP hates Trudeau's Senate appointments, Lauren and Erin respond to our coverage of the Covid vaccine injury class action, Brenda's had it with horn honkers, and Travis wonders WTF is up with drivers crashing into trains. It's The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com When you visit the DQs in Palisades, Namao, N...

Buckle up: Cheryl Oates and Erika Barootes are back to break down the top political stories across the country, including Justin Trudeau's Senate appointments (2:40), Jagmeet Singh's publicity stunt, Danielle Smith's war with AHS, the future of Calgary's Green Line LRT, and the upcoming Saskatchewan election.  JOIN US SEPT. 7 at 5pm at the JASPER WILDFIRE BENEFIT CONCERT: https://www.eventbrite.ca...

More than 13,000 Canadians chose Medical Assistance in Dying last year. That's up 30% from the year before. People don't tend to talk much about MAiD, and there's still a lot of misunderstanding around what it is, who is requesting and receiving it, and what the approval process looks like. We focus on the facts around MAiD on this episode (35:10). But first...  4:12 | Jagmeet Singh says he's done...

Is Dr. Kristopher Wells the most controversial Senate appointee in Canadian history? That's what his critics say. In fact, the loudest ones are calling him "atrocious," "radical," and "dangerous". We go one-on-one with the educator, Pride Tape founder, and longtime LGBTQ2S+ activist two weeks ahead of his swearing-in. 3:40 | Premier Danielle Smith calls him a "left wing partisan,", suggesting his...

Was our August 28 interview with Covid vaccine class action lawyers Eva Chipiuk and Jeff Rath a mistake? Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur explains why he thinks it was (19:50). But first, we talk about the outpouring of public sentiment around Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau's tragic deaths (3:10), and Leon Draisaitl's record-setting extension with the Edmonton Oilers (14:30). FOLLOW BRUCE ON TWITT...

Covid vaccine class action lawyer Jeff Rath lit a fire under a bunch of you during his August 28 appearance on the show, to say the least. Real Talkers Ron, Nat, Megan, Mike, MJ, and Gregory are all fired up in this week's edition of The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com When you visit the DQs in Palisades,...

The future is now. The way we grow, purchase, and eat food could be drastically different in just a few years. Experts say the food-ag transition will be bigger than the global energy transition. What does that mean for you? For the environment? For the economy?  2:20 | Isha Datar and Dr. Sean Yam join Ryan in studio for one of the most fascinating Real Talk Round Tables we've ever presented. ISHA...

Alberta's got at least two disasters to manage, with the Jasper rebuild and an overburdened healthcare system dominating news headlines. We go straight to the source for updates from Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland and Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Paul Parks.  4:30 | Mayor Ireland talks to us about losing his home to wildfire, and the early stages of Jasper's rebuild. When will tourists...

Do you know somebody who experienced a negative health side effect from the Covid vaccine? Alberta lawyers are suing the provincial and federal governments, alleging "unlawful, negligent, inadequate, improper, unfair, and deceptive practices...in relation to the warning, marketing, promotion, and distribution of the Covid Vaccines."  3:15 | Lawyers Eva Chipiuk and Jeff Rath explain the premise of...

Alberta's rolling out controversial new Social Studies curriculum for K-6 students this fall. It's the culmination of a years-long journey to rewrite what and how students learn about the world around them.  2:40 | Dr. Carla Peck and Laurence Miall explain why teachers are calling out Alberta's new K-6 Social Studies curriculum en masse.  SAVE 50% on a one year subscription to Alberta Views with t...

Garth, Tobias, and Clay aren't exactly thrilled with PM Justin Trudeau's latest Senate appointment. It's an all-Adler edition of The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com When you visit the DQs in Palisades, Namao, Newcastle, Westmount, and Baseline Road, be sure to tell 'em Real Talk sent you! 

Like it or not, the world's weaning itself off fossil fuels. While that doesn't mean oil companies will be out of business next month, or your job will be eliminated next year, common sense suggests we'd better be ready for what's coming.  2:40 | Journalist Markham Hislop has been covering the energy beat for decades. We get into campaign politics and the carbon tax, a controversial new energy tra...

As we approach 1,000 episodes of Real Talk, we count down the top ten show stopping statements uttered on the show..  Find all these interviews and more highlights in our YouTube and podcast archives!  TELL US WHAT YOU THINK: talk@ryanjespersen.com  FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM: @realtalkrj  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL T...