Sick Man Talking Podcast

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the Canadiana Roller Rink. For a generation of kids growing up in Aurora, Newmarket, and the surrounding area, the Canadiana Roller Rink was more than just a a place to skate. It was a place almost everyone seemed to pass through, and decades later it’s still one of those places people immediately start talking about when it’s mentioned. Along the way he e...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about space. He follows the history of how human beings have looked up and tried to figure out what exactly is going on up there - from early humans sitting under the night sky making sense of patterns, to ancient astronomy, Greek cosmology, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, telescopes, modern space exploration, and where all of that leaves us now.  Along the way he...

In this episode, the Sick Man examines an old Chinese parable called “We’ll See”. If nothing else, this is a great episode for sleep therapy.  What started off as a powerful philosophical meditation on an old Chinese parable about how good and bad events may not mean what we think they mean, quickly spiralled out of control to the point where the Sick Man’s audio engineer phoned him and literally...

In this episode, Fake Cop returns in an absurd satire of the 1976 film Taxi Driver. Working nights as a deeply unqualified Uber driver in Newmarket, Ontario, Fake Cop descends into obsession as he battles unleashed dogs, a collapsing Uber rating, local politics, hockey players, and his own increasingly questionable grip on reality.  A tale of loneliness, delusion, civic responsibility, room-temper...

In this episode, the Sick Man returns with the shocking and explosive finale of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy.  The Toucan Man is still on the loose and Fake Cop can’t find him. So he does something he hates more than anything: he gets introspective.  So he’s going to do what he usually does: double down in the worst possible direction. Going deeper. Not into the streets, but into whatever the hell...

In this episode, the Sick Man returns with part two of the shocking, explosive, new Fake Cop Trilogy.  Will Fast Bobby return with information about the Toucan Man? No idea. Will Fake Cop finally confront his role in the death of his son? He doesn’t really know how to, so probably not. Will the Bonanza survive the night? Unlikely. Most importantly, will any of this actually lead somewhere … for on...

In this episode, the Sick Man returns with part one of the shocking, explosive new Fake Cop Trilogy. Will Bobby find information on the Toucan Man? Probably not. Will Fake Cop finally confront his role in the death of his son? Probably not. Most importantly, will he finally get rid of that body in the trunk? Same answer.  This is the Last Breakfast. Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show Produ...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about a story we all think we know; Pandora, the box, and the moment everything went wrong. But instead of telling it the usual way, he slows it down and looks at what actually happened in that moment. Not just what escaped … but what stayed behind, and why that matters. How does hope actually survive? From there, he moves into the modern world and the “boxes” w...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the ancient Greek concept of hubris; an excess of pride that distorts judgment and pushes individuals and systems beyond their limits; how certainty can override caution, and how ambition, when left unchecked, begins to reshape reality in ways that can’t be ignored. Using myth, literature, history, and personal experience, this episode looks at hubris as b...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the invisible choreography of modern life.  Navigating bureaucracies has reached the level of an Olympic sport. Government agencies, banks, corporate offices, and customer service all insist you follow rules that change while you’re watching. Let’s explore the absurd perfection of these systems and what it means to try to stay human in a world that already...

In this episode, the Sick Man steps onto the ice to talk about one of hockey’s strongest traditions: fighting. How it began. How it survived. Who does it. And why the sport that prides itself on speed and skill still makes room for a man whose job description includes punching people in the face.  Along the way, he examines the culture that produced it, and the enduring legend of the “Polite Canad...

In this Very Special Episode, the Sick Man talks about the summer of 1987, and his very first job working for a printing factory in Toronto’s Financial District.  Before there was ambition, before there was a crash, before there were podcasts recorded in basements, there was ink. Industrial ink. The perfume of capitalism. And there were cigarettes. Lots and lots of cigarettes.  A coming of each st...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about childhood myths from the 80s; paying extra attention to one that still haunts him.  He also flips the 80s on their head, and presents them from a different perspective.  TRIGGER WARNING FOR GEN X LISTENERS: I know Generation X doesn’t believe in trigger warnings, but this one is necessary. This is the Lost Nut.  Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show P...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about fear; why it happens, what it does, why we need it, and how it has evolved. He then shares some of his own personal fears, many of which are irrational, contradictory, or just plain weird.  This is the Fear Episode. Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show Producer: Greg O’Brien   Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman Music: Brad Cartner   Officer Wilfert: Adam...

I n this episode, the Sick Man talks (melts down) about technology.  Who are these people? What are they doing to us? Why are they doing it to us? Do we have any choice in it? Will there be a Borg appearance? Then he traces his own history with technology, detailing his many psychological breakdowns, while suffering several more during the episode. This is the Technology Episode. Support the show...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about sleep deprivation. What it does, why it happens, and how it feels. He gives a history of his own problems, tracing them back to before birth, and reenacts a scene from a hospital room that just couldn’t contain him. This is the Sleep Deprivation Episode. Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show Producer: Greg O’Brien   Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman Music...

In this episode, the Sick Man talks about vengeance. He traces it back to Ancient Greece through an old myth, examines its philosophical and legal roots, questions whether it has any place in justice, looks at how it’s portrayed in film, and finally turns inward, confronting his own complicated relationship with it. What does vengeance actually do, and who does it really serve? Does it deliver wha...

In this episode, the Fake Cop returns in the explosive finale of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy.  Will he find the Toucan Man? No idea.  Will he continue getting used to his long-lost son? Maybe. Possibly. Temporarily.  Will he be able to keep his son safe in an increasingly dangerous world? Of course he will.  He keeps everybody safe around him. Well … kind of.  And most importantly - will he finall...

In this episode, the Fake Cop returns in the explosive second instalment of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy. Newmarket is dealing with a Froot Loops epidemic. The Fake Cop may be responsible. Will he fix it? Probably not. Will he take responsibility? No. Will he manage to save his own dumb-ass, loop-addicted son? Remains to be seen.  The batch has been sweetened. The hooks are in. The loops are now a...

 In this episode, the Fake Cop returns in Part 1 one of the explosive new Fake Cop Trilogy. He learns he has a long lost son - and for the first time in his life feels rattled.  How does a corrupt, immoral, anti-social man built on lies, intimidation, and bad decisions handle the unexpected responsibilities of a child? Not very well.  This is Fake Cop Family Ties. Support the show Host: Brad Cartn...

In this episode, the Sick Man launches a new series - or maybe not.  He’s not sure yet; it depends on a few factors, mostly his own laziness, because a lot of research went into this. But he’s doing at least one episode called If They Were Alive . Here, he takes famous historical figures and deposits them into the modern world. What would they be like? What would they be doing? How much money woul...

In this episode, the Sick Man drags Greek mythology through the streets of Newmarket. Join him on his mythic and totally absurd journey through suburban haze clutching his side, facing obstacle after obstacle,  terrifying monsters, a seductive sorceress, faceless bureaucrats, and questionable municipal spending, trying to reach his final destination - the gates of Southlake Regional Hospital.  Wil...

In this episode, the Sick Man returns to the land of Greek mythology to confront Oedipus - though he’d really rather not. Do we have free will, or are we just acting out a script we didn’t write? And most importantly, how will the Sick Man’s parents feel about this one? Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show Producer: Greg O’Brien   Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman Music: Brad Cartner   Officer W...

Back with his first episode since 1987, the Sick Man returns from his absence to talk about what he is doing, and why he is doing it. And it gets a little weird sometimes.  Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show Producer: Greg O’Brien   Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman Music: Brad Cartner   Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter     FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEWS AND DIRECTORIES  visit us on our MAIN WEBSI...

The Fake Sick Man has an announcement from the Real Sick Man.  Support the show Host: Brad Cartner   Show Producer: Greg O’Brien   Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman Music: Brad Cartner   Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter     FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEWS AND DIRECTORIES  visit us on our MAIN WEBSITE at  https://www.sickmantalking.ca/   or visit our HOST WEBSITE on BuzzSprout at  https://sickmantalkingpodc...