Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

It's our final episode of 2023! Enjoy what is arguably The Most Entertaining Real Talk Round Table of the Year. 2:30 | Jenny Adams, Sarah Hamilton, and Katherine O'Neill give us their top news stories - in Alberta, across the country, and around the world.  1:07:10 | We're shaking things up in the final Flamethrower of 2023, presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! Jenny, Sara...

It's a recurring conversation in Canada, if not around the world: is Canadian oil more "ethical" than oil from elsewhere, is activity in Alberta's oil sands "clean" enough...and does any of this actually matter on the international stage? A couple of episodes ago, David Knight Legg argued the world needs more Alberta for three main reasons. In this episode, our guests fact check those three points...

What does the future look like for workers, job seekers, employers, entrepreneurs, and property owners? Is it really a doomsday scenario for downtowns? When will we see restored confidence in new business ventures? Will employers ever expect a full "return to work" scenario? We explore the most relevant and interesting trends in this episode of Real Talk.  1:45 | Heather Thomson, Puneeta McBryan,...

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu is responsible for one of the most horrific collisions in Canadian history. He was handed an eight-year sentence in 2019 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in the April 6, 2018 crash that killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey club and injured 13 others. Now, he faces deportation to India. Is that justice served?  3:00 | But firs...

Why can't people figure out how to zipper merge? When did conservatism become radicalism? And what the hell are we going to do about sick kids on mattresses in hospital hallways? Real Talkers fire up their Flamethrowers, courtesy the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park: Newcastle, Westmount, Palisades, Namao, and Baseline Road.  FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com 

As long as oil rides high, Alberta's flush. But while the province is on pace for a $5B+ budget surplus, property taxes are on the rise in virtually every community, as everyday folks struggle to pay their basic monthly bills. As you'll see early in this episode, our Real Talk Round Table is sounding the alarm.  3:20 | Mayor Tyler Gandam (Wetaskiwin), Councillor Andrew Knack (Edmonton), and Counci...

Hospitals are bursting at the seams. Patients are waiting a year and a half for surgery. Doctors, nurses, and paramedics are walking away from careers they once dreamed of having. Meantime, Ottawa's spending billions on a new dental care plan - but Canadians have a ton of questions. We get the straight goods from Alberta doctors and dentists in this episode of Real Talk.  0:30 | But first...today'...

In just six weeks, Premier Danielle Smith's government hit the (nuclear) reset button on healthcare delivery, invoked the Sovereignty Act over federal clean electricity regulations, kinda sorta committed to a referendum on an Alberta Pension Plan, and took a record-setting delegation to COP28 in Dubai.  5:50 | The Discourse hosts Cheryl Oates and Erika Barootes lay out the biggest stories to come...

This episode is all about optics. How bad is it when the federal NDP leader (the "working class" party) rocks a Versace tote bag in public? How about when the mayor of Calgary pulls out of a Hanukkah celebration? And why are everyday moderates leaving The Left?  5:24 | National Post columnist Tristin Hopper takes on the politics of Hannukah in 2023, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's expensive taste (25:0...

Should Mayor Jyoti Gondek have told a little white lie to get out of Calgary's annual menorah lighting at City Hall? How many more university presidents need to resign across the United States? Have climate change doomsday prophets lost the room?  3:50 | Charles Adler gives us a healthy dose of Canadian Common Sense - the language around climate change (7:20), Mayor Gondek's menorah lighting snub...

Tom's demanding an explanation around Alberta's attendance at COP. Cheryl's giving Ryan an award (not a compliment). Michael the Conservative says people need to vacate their echo chambers. Angela's clapping back at a recent email targeting Westlock town council. They've all fired up their Flamethrowers, presented Fridays on Real Talk by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park!  FIRE UP YO...

Alberta's been in the spotlight for much of COP28. The province sent the biggest provincial delegation in Canada's history at COP. It also received a "Fossil of the Day Award" by the Climate Action Network (not a good thing). We welcome three Albertans who attended the UN Climate Change Convention to find out why they went, what they said and saw there, and what they hope comes of it all.  2:10 |...

Ottawa's rolled out a "strict" framework to cap oil and gas emissions, and you'll never guess what: the prairie premiers hate it. The federal Environment Minister and Jobs Minister both join us (from Dubai and Ottawa, respectively) to talk COP28, Alberta vs. the feds, Cap and trade, carbon capture tech, and plastics bans. 1:30 | But first...make sure you don't miss the Real Talk Pond Hockey Classi...

Despite losing the election in May, the Alberta NDP has a lot of things going for it. The party won more seats in (typically conservative) Calgary than the UCP did. It earned more total votes across the province than when it formed government in 2015. While leader Rachel Notley hasn't yet resigned, it's widely expected she'll trigger the race to replace her in the new year. So...who will it be?  2...

Danielle Smith's critics say there's no way to justify Alberta sending a delegation to Dubai for the UN Climate Change Convention. Her supporters say that's where business is done, and Alberta would be foolish to miss out. In this episode of Real Talk, National Observer columnist Max Fawcett tells us where he lands, before getting into the Alberta NDP's upcoming leadership race and Pierre Poilievr...

Ottawa's increasing tax credits for journalism outlets. Alberta's got 100 representatives at COP-28. Everybody's got an opinion on what's a wise use of your tax dollars and what's a waste. We get into both stories - and talk about return on public investment - in this episode of Real Talk.   3:35 | The feds struck a deal with Google worth $100M/yr, but is it a win? Is the agreement a step in the r...

Real Talkers are all fired up about "natural stupidity," the Councillor Jennifer Rice controversy in Edmonton, political parties at the municipal level, the Alberta Pension Plan idea, and the town of Westlock voting on banning Pride flags and crosswalks.  The Flamethrower is presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park: Palisades, Namao, Newcastle, Westmount, and Baseline Road.

Nurse practitioners are being encouraged to open their own clinics, as part of Alberta's plan to address a growing shortage of family doctors. NPs are qualified registered nurses with additional education to take their skills to the next level. While the government's decision appears to be a no-brainer, not everybody loves it (most especially family docs).  2:55 | Athabasca U president Dr. Alex Cl...

Justin Trudeau's government is pushing heat pumps. Right around the time the Liberals paused the carbon price for home heating oil, they committed to working with provincial governments to subsidize heat pumps for lower-income Canadians. Premiers Scott Moe and Danielle Smith are the loudest critic of the plan, saying the technology isn't a serious counter to the cold of a Canadian winter.  4:12 |...

Danielle Smith is doubling down on her defiance of Ottawa's Clean Energy Regulations. Alberta's Premier invoked the Sovereignty Act, saying she'll fight the feds in court over a mandate to get Alberta's grid to Net-Zero by 2035. Meantime, Edmonton councillor Jennifer Rice is in the hot seat after burning through 19 (!) staffers in two years in what insiders call a "tyrannical" work environment. Bu...

Pollution and pensions plans are front and centre in this fiery edition of The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park!  FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com

Midlife is an interesting place to be. You may be caring for kids while caring for your parents. You've likely experienced love, and heartbreak, and wins, and losses. Midlife No. 2 is a collection of essays sharing Canadian reflections on critical midlife topics like housing, home, birth, death, race, identity, gruelling courses of medical treatment, and the COVID and post-COVID eras. All authored...

It's our third birthday! Thanks to the millions of you who've watched or listened to Real Talk ever since we launched, and those that have discovered this community more recently. Ryan and Johnny kick off this episode with a special shout out to Real Talkers just like you.  6:25 | Planet Earth's on pace for a three degree rise in temperature, with catastrophic consequences. Meantime, the carbon ta...

We don't know much about what an Alberta Pension Plan would actually look like. Up for debate: the amount Alberta could pull out of the national plan, whether or not contributions and draws would actually be higher or lower than with the CPP, who would influence where the funds would be invested, and how long the province's demographics would sustain an Alberta pension advantage. So, basically, ev...

CSIS says foreign states are targeting Canadians through social media. The general public is losing trust in institutions. Vaccination rates are way down. Many people simply don't know who they can trust. 3:00 | This is Professor Timothy Caulfield's wheelhouse. The professor of health law and science policy, author, TV host, and speaker joins Ryan in studio for a fascinating conversation about the...