Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to John Ibbitson about his book, The Duel: Diefenbaker, Pearson and the Making of Modern Canada published by Signal in October 2023. One of Canada’s foremost authors and journalists, Ibbitson offers a gripping account of the contest between John Diefenbaker and Lester Pearson, two prime ministers who fought each other relentlessly, but who between the...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to David MacKenzie about his book, King and Chaos: The 1935 Canadian General Election, published by UBC Press in June 2023. In 1935, Canadians went to the polls against a backdrop of the Great Depression and deteriorating international conditions. This election was like no other, as five major parties competed for voters who were used to a traditional sl...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to James Naylor, Rhonda L. Hinther, and Jim Mochoruk about their book, For a Better World: The Winnipeg General Strike and the Workers' Revolt, published by UMP in September 2022. Canada’s largest and most famous example of class conflict, the Winnipeg General Strike, redefined local, national, and international conversations around class, politics, re...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Richard Menkis and Pierre Anctil about their book, the 2023 volume of the Champlain Society, In a ‘Land of Hope’: Documents on the Canadian Jewish Experience, 1627-1923, published by University of Toronto Press in 2023. The first of two volumes, In a Land of Hope presents a uniquely complete overview of Canadian Jewish history up to 1923, from prim...

Larry Ostola talks to Patrice Dutil about his book, Statesmen, Strategists & Diplomats: Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Making of Foreign Policy, published by UBC Press in June 2023. Statesmen, Strategists, and Diplomats explores how prime ministers from Sir John A. Macdonald to Justin Trudeau have shaped foreign policy by manipulating government structures, adopting and rejecting options, and im...

Greg Marchildon talks to John M. Dirks about his book, A Co-operative Disagreement: Canada-United States Relations and Revolutionary Cuba, 1959-93, published by UBC Press in August 2022. John Dirks investigates efforts at the senior and working levels of Canada-US diplomacy and bureaucracy to find mutually advantageous ways of cooperating, despite their respective approaches to revolutionary Cuba....

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Jonathan Swainger about his book “The Notorious Georges: Crime and Community in British Columbia’s Northern Interior, 1909-25”, published by UBC Press in 2023. In The Notorious Georges, Jonathan Swainger explores how the local pursuit of respectability collided with caricatures of a riotously ill-mannered settlement frontier of Prince George, Britis...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Tim Cook about his book, Lifesavers and Body Snatchers: Medical Care and the Struggle for Survival in the Great War, published by Penguin Canada in 2023. Based on deep archival research and unpublished letters of soldiers and medical personnel, Lifesavers and Body Snatchers is a powerful narrative that reveals how medical services supported the sol...

In this podcast episode, Simon Nantais talks to Myra Tawfik about her book, For the Encouragement of Learning: The Origins of the Canadian Copyright Law, published by the University of Toronto Press in 2023. For the Encouragement of Learning addresses the contested history of copyright law in Canada, where the economic and reputational interests of authors and the commercial interests of publisher...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Ken McGoogan about his book, Searching for Franklin: New Answers to the Great Arctic Mystery, published by Douglas & McIntyre in 2023. Arctic historian Ken McGoogan approaches the legacy of nineteenth-century Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin from a contemporary perspective. Franklin’s expeditions were monumental failures, yet, many still see the R...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Kent Roach about his book, Wrongfully Convicted: Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes, and What Canada Must Do to Safeguard Justice, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2023. In Wrongfully Convicted, Kent Roach raises awareness about wrongful convictions in Canada at a time when DNA exonerations are less frequent, and the memories of most famou...

In this podcast episode, Simon Nantais talks to Russell Field about his book, A Night at the Gardens: Class, Gender, and Respectability in 1930s Toronto, published by University of Toronto Press in 2023. In A Night at the Gardens, Russell Field delves into the history of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and the social mores and norms that influenced both its architecture and operation. Drawing on arch...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Keith Mercer about his book, Rough Justice: Policing, Crime, and the Origins of the Newfoundland Constabulary, 1729–1871, published by Flanker Press in 2021. In Rough Justice, Keith Mercer examines the history of policing and crime in early Newfoundland. It focuses on the period between the appointment of the first constables on the island in 1729 t...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to Gary J. Smith about his book, Ice War Diplomat: Hockey Meets Cold War Politics, published by Douglas and McIntyre in 2022. In Ice War Diplomat, Canadian diplomat Gary J. Smith gives his behind-the-scenes insight into the 1972 Summit Series at the height of tension during the Cold War. Caught between capitalism and communism, Canada and the Soviet Unio...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Edward Dunsworth about his book, Harvesting Labour: Tobacco and the Global Making of Canada's Agricultural Workforce, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2022. In Harvesting Labour Edward Dunsworth examines the history of farm work in one of Canada’s underrecognized but most important crop sectors—Ontario tobacco. Dunsworth takes aim at...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Patrice Dutil examines the reach and impact of the Ku Klux Klan in Canada from its beginnings t...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. My name is Greg Marchildon. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes of 2022. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: In this episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Allyson Stevens...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon talks with Greg Kealey (professor of history emeritus, University of New Brunsw...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon talks with Dennis Mollinaro about his book An Exceptional Law: Section 98 and t...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon talks with Ian McKay (Wilson Institute for Canadian History) about his book (wi...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Patrice Dutil discusses the uses of the War Measures Act in twentieth century Canada with Xavie...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon interviews Matthew Betts, the editor and principal author of Place-Making in th...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Daniel Meister, the author of The Racial Mo...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Benjamin Hoy, the author of A Line of Blood...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Patrice Dutil discusses the life and military career of James Wolfe, the commander of British t...