Unpacking the News

As a conflict fueled by climate change, the international arms trade and a Libyan civil war enters its fifth year, Canada's Back™ and as many as 250 members of the Canadian military will see action in the northwest African nation of Mali by late summer. But is there a connection between seemingly selfless international peacekeeping involvement and Canadian gold mining investment? On this episode,...

John Carl Baker, frequent Jacobin contributor and a fellow with anti-nuclear think tank The Ploughshares Fund in Washington, DC joins host Andre Goulet to talk about the surprising possibility of peace in a dangerous geopolitical moment. Plus, what insights Daniel Ellsberg’s new book ‘The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner' can give us about recent historic events on the Korean...

Are we getting the full story behind Trans Mountain? Does the pipeline still make economic sense? Can it survive legal challenges from First Nations, municipal governments and the province of B.C.? And is it a good investment for Canada, or is it a costly white elephant that will haunt the country for years to come? Ricochet editor Ethan Cox is joined by National Observer editor Mike De Souza and...

What if the inter-provincial Trans Mountain pipeline dispute doesn’t represent a failure of democracy or the rule of law? What if it actually shows a system working the way it’s supposed to? Political theorist David Moscrop joins host Andre Goulet to explain why, far from a constitutional crisis, this is what functional federalism looks like in action. Plus: exploring the self-interests and politi...

In a special episode of Unpacking the News, Ricochet’s Yasmin Hotter Ishay is joined by author and teacher Rivka Cymbalist of the Montreal Doula Collective for a conversation exploring the social and financial challenges facing refugees, the non documented and Indigenous women in securing access to alternative maternal care. This interview was recorded on March 12th, 2018. Mastered by Chris Hernan...

Why hasn't an amnesty provision been included in federal marijuana legalization legislation for the tens of thousands of Canadians with criminal records? Who are the politicians and police most connected to an expanding Canadian cannabis-industrial complex? And what would weed reparations look like? In this conversation, Vice senior editor Manisha Krishnan joins host Andre Goulet to take aim at th...

In a conversation exploring the relationship between racism, disinformation and Canadian media consolidation, Jagdeesh Mann of Vancouver's The Georgia Straight joins host Andre Goulet to discuss how the recent narrative connecting federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to a non-existent Khalistan separatist movement is being driven by an Indian government smear campaign against diasporic Sikh human righ...

In this conversation, Steven Denney of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and a Senior Editor at SinoNK.com joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the South Korean diplomatic delegation's visit to Pyongyang and why the staggering potential human cost of a war on the Korean peninsula is unthinkable. Plus: what was up with last January's weird Vancouver summit on Security and...

This week's guest thinks that the Bell Media-led campaign demanding the creation of an official federal government anti-piracy committee is a radical proposal that will lead to the censorship of legitimate online content and speech. In this conversation, OpenMedia's Katy Anderson joins host Andre Goulet to explain why she thinks the FairPlay coalition's proposed law will threaten freedom of expres...

In a heart-warming and romantic Valentine’s Day conversation, writer/comedian Charlie Demers joins host Andre Goulet to aim Cupid’s arrows at the breathtaking cynicism and broken promises of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Find Charlie’s Juno-nominated comedy album ‘Fatherland’ on iTunes, where you can also subscribe to his monthly podcast ‘Well Reds’, Canada’s premiere leftist literary review. Jan...

This week's guest suggests that the federal government’s new housing plan falls short of providing adequate policy proposals for Canada's ongoing housing crisis and, unless Justin Trudeau can get the provinces to go along with the initiative, the Liberal Party's much-anticipated National Housing Strategy is unlikely to be implemented. In this conversation David DesBaillets of l’Université du Québe...

As we approach the one year anniversary of one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history, the debate surrounding a proposed National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia in Québec has been instructive. In this conversation, National Observer reporter Clothilde Goujard joins host André Goulet to discuss the unbearable whiteness of being Québec’s media elite, the anti-Muslim provocati...

This week’s guest thinks that the fallout from a recent decision by John Horgan’s government will be a neoliberal ball and chain for the British Columbia NDP. Robert Billyard of the Canadian Views website on the Site C Dam decision, the hypocrisy of Justin Trudeau’s billion dollar Bahamian island vacation and why Jagmeet Singh needs to make seeking a seat in parliament a priority.

In the conclusion to our year-end conversation, Ricochet co-founder Ethan Cox and Jacobin Podcast Coordinator and Associate Editor Micah Utrecht join host Andre Goulet to submit projections and predictions for the year to come, including: * anticipating the death of the Kinder Morgan pipeline * watching Alberta and B.C. NDP efforts to balance resource extraction with social democratic governance *...

It’s fun, games and Four Loco on this special year-end episode of Unpacking the News. Ricochet Media’s Ethan Cox and Jacobin Magazine’s Micah Utrecht join host Andre Goulet for a kitchen table conversation on the best and worst of 2017, including: * the rising global challenges of climate change and wealth disparity * the US Supreme Court’s war on union organizing * the disappointments of Prime Mi...

Independent journalist and activist Gurpreet Singh on the right-wing forces, at home and abroad, facing NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. Insight on Terry Milewski’s aggressive record of anti-Sikh journalism at the CBC. Plus: when will our celebrity Prime Minister begin leveraging his international profile to counter the rising tide of hate and extremism? All this and more on episode 38 of Unpacking the N...

This is the first in an ongoing series featuring content produced by the News Collective at CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal. These episodes, highlighting perspectives on issues and current events in the province and around the country from the grassroots, are being rebroadcast for the first time and made available as an exclusive podcast through Ricochet Media. This piece features a series of interviews,...

Bill 62, Québec's notorious religious neutrality law, is a clear attack on the rights of Muslim women in the province. But Montréal lawyer Sibel Ataogul, co-founder of l'Association des Juristes Progressistes, also sees the law as an ideologically useful tool for the province's political elites. Does pandering to xenophobia allow Phillip Couillard’s Liberal government a freer hand in implementing...

On this episode, journalist Kathryn Jezer-Morton joins host André Goulet to discuss interculturalism, Québec secularism and the political factors motivating the introduction of the transparently Islamophobic Bill 62. Plus Valérie Plante and Projet Montréal's surprising municipal election win is a big victory for progressives in the provincial metropolis and an encouraging sign for Leftists across...

Lifelong political grifter Jason Kenney is the freshly-minted leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta. But as Kenney’s UCP prepares to leave the political wilderness and re-take it’s place as the natural governing party of Alberta, unforeseen challenges may lie ahead. In this conversation, playwright Brad Fraser joins host Andre Goulet to discuss Kenney’s problematic political and publi...

On this episode activist and academic Christo Aivalis argues that, despite a 3rd-place finish, Niki Ashton’s campaign for the NDP leadership succeeded in pulling the ideological conversation within the Party firmly to the left. We also dig into some of the leadership race results and discuss the potential of a Jagmeet Singh-led federal NDP.

On this episode, a conversation with activist and academic Christo Aivalis on Andrew Scheer's decision to go all in on the Conservative Party’s association with Rebel Media. We also discuss his research on a young Pierre Trudeau and the CCF and uncover some surprises regarding the history of social democratic politics in la Belle Province. Tune in next week for part two of our conversation as we p...

Consider the numbers: More than 25,000,000 South Koreans live within range of nearly 14,000 pieces of conventional North Korean artillery. The likely human cost of a new Korean war is unthinkable with projections of 100,000 dead within 24 hours of the beginning of hostilities. The unstable reality television host in the White House with full access to the nuclear codes has added a chaotic element...

In 1968, a student-led initiative to bring improved medical services to Montreal’s working-class Point-Saint-Charles neighbourhood began. In collaboration with local residents, students from McGill University’s medicine, nursing and sociology programs established a new kind of community-based clinic connecting health and social problems with root causes. In this special report, Ricochet’s Yasmin H...

In a recent piece at the National Post, Rex Murphy identifies Antifa as the contemporary face of Canadian fascism. But this week's guest thinks that Murphy’s comments against the anti-fascist activists are despicable, and that his position provides political cover for racist thugs In this conversation Mike Palacek, President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, explains why fighting back again...