The Line Podcast

In this episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on March 15th, 2024, Jen explains to Matt at surprising length the latest culture war flashpoint, based around “people with vaginas.” Having to contemplate this drives Matt into wishing that he was a majestic sea creature, simply living a peaceful life below the waves. They also discuss donuts.From there, they move onto how police in Canada seem determined to lose control of the communities they are responsible for policing, and talk about how relatively new — in historical terms — our concept of policing even is, and how quickly we could lose it. Which we seem determined to do. They also talk about how wealthy communities are going to simply find a way to bypass police dysfunction by buying the extra security that they need, which, in Toronto, they are already starting to do.From there, G&G move onto former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi’s entrance to the race for NDP leader. And that leads — one could say inevitably — to discussion of Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 U.S.-led coalition ground and air offensive in the Persian Gulf region, which stove, successfully, to drive Iraqi forces out of occupied Kuwait. Don’t worry, it makes sense. Just listen. They touch on a few things, but keep coming back to donuts. Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:If none of these options appeal, there are many others that you can find here, and we are sure there will be one that suits your fancy.Thanks for listening to us!And don’t forget! Next month, we’re recording one of these episodes live in Calgary. Click the image below to get your tickets!Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on March 8, 2024, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss the Durham byelection results, which Matt doesn't think matter ... but that he does find interesting (and he suspects they'll be of interest over at Liberal Party HQ, too). The intrepid editors also gab about state-capacity issues in Canada, and the blunt comments made by Bill Blair about the state of the Canadian Armed Forces. G&G also highlight the challenges of building infrastructure projects in Canada and the lack of prioritization and decision-making. Our governments seem to almost actively avoid making decisions, and instead prefer to just make tiny incremental announcements so that they always seem engaged with the issues of the day, even though they aren't trying to actually fix them.From there, they move onto the Online Harms Act and why Jen isn't reassured by what we've learned since last week. Matt suggests that we could probably go a long way toward cleaning up the internet if there was even the slightest bit of deterrence for those acting badly on it. Lastly, they react to some breaking news (and a rumour) coming out of Alberta.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:If none of these options appeal, there are many others that you can find here, and we are sure there will be one that suits your fancy.Thanks for listening to us!Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In this week's The Line Podcast, recorded on March 1, 2024, Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney discuss evil, death and growing old. All cheerful stuff. First they offer quick thoughts and condolences on the passing of former prime minister Brian Mulroney. Then they delve into the Liberals' proposed Online Harms Act, and conclude that while most of it is reasonable and does attempt to deal with legitimate and pressing concerns — threats of violence, child pornography, “revenge porn” and the like — the Liberals have gone off the rails in their attempts to reign in "hate speech" by reviving Section 13, a loathed and rejected provision that this country had already spent years litigating, and ultimately throwing up. The Online Harms Act will further empower Human Rights Tribunals to crack down on "hate speech" with a threat of serious fines. The bill also introduces house arrest for pre-crime — it would allow authorities to impinge upon the liberties of individuals whom they believe might commit hate speech. The dynamic duo go on to discuss the latest information about the Chinese infiltration of the Winnipeg-based National Microbiology Lab, and the abuse of terms like "national security" to cover for embarrassment, folly, and failure. Then they lay into the latest drama from the ArriveCan scam — in which the federal government managed to spend $59 million on a phone app that now involves a PPC candidate and CEO who was apparently using his full-time job at the Department of National Defence as a side hustle. Amazing country, this. Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:If none of these options appeal, there are many others that you can find here, and we are sure there will be one that suits your fancy.Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Oh yes, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre — ostensible defender of limited government and freedom — is coming for your goon caves. (Google it, if you have to, but not at work.) More specifically, the CPC leader is supporting bill S-210, which seeks to age-gate porn, blocking access by minors. Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney clash on the issue; both agree that this makes for terrible, albeit emotionally popular, policy. They disagree about whether it will make for good politics. Then they go on to discuss the imminent Online Harms Act — bookies have high odds on that one being a total disaster. From there, your hosts veer to Poilievre's opposition to "biological males" in female spaces like sport leagues, washrooms and changerooms. Interestingly, the duo note, this position is not panning out to be even a two-day news story when only a few years ago, such statements would have destroyed a politician. Hey, so, that special offer we’ve created to get you to sign up? That’s expiring soon! If you like what you’re hearing here, and want to help us do more, sign up while you can.The Line then chat about Dr. Phil on Joe Rogan. Did a Canadian parliamentarian really argue that there are no "parental rights" in Canada? Is that true? They then admit to having conflicted feelings over the fall of Vice, which announced this week that it would be no more. Is this a case of "go woke, go broke?" For a final ramble, Jen Gerson gets into Alberta's moratorium on renewable energy but, frankly, we admit, the jerking-off segment of this podcast is better. So yeah. Come for the politics. Stay for the masturbation references.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Hey, what’s this? Another podcast? What gives?Never fear, Line listeners — Gurney and Gerson will be back to their usual tricks on Friday. But we’ve been meaning to roll out an additional podcast for a while — less back-and-forth banter, more us just straight-up interviewing someone with genuine expertise in something that’s hot in the news. We were going to roll this out in a more formal way in the spring, but we had a great opportunity to come up to chat with special guest Patricia Treble, Canadian royal watcher and writer at the Write Royalty Substacak. So why wait? Let’s just soft launch the new pod and sip some tea.HEY, you! Yeah, you! While you’re here! In our last dispatch, we included a special offer. The Line, like all other subscription-funded outlets, always faces some degree of monthly churn. Our leading cause of subscriber loss is actually credit-card expiries, if you can believe it. To help entice some of you back, or to maybe get you signed up in the first place, we are offering this time-limited special offer. Sign up today and keep those credit cards up to date! A small but mighty independent journalism company thanks you! In this special episode, they discuss King Charles III's cancer diagnosis, what that means for the operation of government, and when a regency could be declared. Paired with news that Catherine, Princess of Wales, underwent abdominal surgery in hospital, the newfound transparency represents a sea change for the Royal family, which has historically been far more reticent to discuss their health matters. Then Gerson and Treble dive into all things Harry and Meghan because — well — they cannot help themselves. In the wake of the King's terrible cancer news, the Sussexes’ attempt a rebrand with a new website. And Meghan announces a deal with a podcasting production firm Lemonada. Is a comeback on the make? Lastly, Netflix dropped its teaser trailer for Scoop, a movie that is set to explore the downfall of Prince Andrew thanks to his notorious relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. If you're a fan of Royal Tea, do consider joining us for a cuppa. (As always, you can find the video version on YouTube, if you prefer to watch as well as listen. If you head on over there, remember to like and subscribe!)As always, thanks for listening to our podcast! Please subscribe to us one of the apps, noted below, if you want to, or continue to listen to us here. If you do use another app, please leave us a glowing review. It helps!Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

This week's The Line Podcast, recorded on Feb. 16, 2014, sees Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson talk about federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault's bizarre statement promising no new federal funding for big new road projects. And, yes, we know that roads fall under provincial and municipal jurisdiction — as does housing, energy policy, health care, and a host of other issues in which the feds do not hesitate to involve themselves. Also, if electric vehicles aren't the answer, why are we investing billions of taxpayer dollars into subsidized EV factories, while also phasing out the sale of internal combustion engine cars, Mr. Guilbeault? Then the dynamic duo go on to discuss Gerson's bizarre testimony at the Heritage committee. We think they want the media to host a party to discuss the state of the media and to be invited — to which we say: "And who is paying the drinks tab, sir?"The NDP's Charlie Angus is proposing a new law to ban oil and gas advertising — which is making us re-think bans on tobacco advertising. Turns out, it was a slippery slope! Smoke if you get 'em?Lastly, The Line team talks about a pro-Palestinian protest that just happened to proclaim the joys of intifada in front of a historically Jewish hospital — and the resentment of being asked to ignore the evidence of our own eyes. Thanks for listening to our podcast! Please subscribe to us one of the apps, noted below, if you want to, or continue to listen to us here. If you do use another app, please leave us a glowing review. It helps!Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

We start talking about the big interview this week, agree it could have had value, but then wonder if the American provocateur still wishes he’d done it. We doubt it, but The Line's Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney talk about the goomba anyway.Then the pair discuss Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sticking to his guns by once again opposing a free trade deal with Ukraine on some dubious carbon tax pricing grounds. Is this evidence that Poilievre is in bed with Vladimir Putin? Well, probably not, argues Gerson; instead it suggests something weirder and in some ways worse.The pair also talk about Poilievre's opposition to puberty blockers, and discuss Alberta's trans policies. Apparently there are some gender affirming top surgeries happening in the province, as reported in the National Post this week. Gurney also notes that he thinks the Ottawa press types are finally starting to figure out how to interview Poilievre. He hopes to see more of that.The Line also talks about the layoffs at Bell Canada and the obligations highly protected industries like Bell ought to have to put some of their misbegotten profits into public good enterprises like journalism. But they don't, and probably won't have to. Lastly, The Line talks about Belleville, Ontario, and why Canadians are getting more and more angry listening to politicians talk about task forces and funding for problems — like opioid overdoses, discarded needles and stolen cars — that don't seem to get better.Thanks for listening to our podcast! Please subscribe to us one of the apps, noted below, if you want to, or continue to listen to us here. If you do use another app, please leave us a glowing review. It helps!Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

This week in The Line Podcast, your Line editors are forced to talk about trans issues, which they absolutely hate doing, thanks to a series of proposals made by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Smith could have simply done as Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are doing, and that would have been meat for her socially conservative base. But she went further. The proposals will certainly be popular, but Smith is no so-con — she's a libertarian, and always has been. Why has she decided that youth sports is now the business of the state? Jen has theories! Matt broadly agrees with the Liberal critique of Smith's plans, namely, that these are solutions in search of problems, offered up only to placate base voters. He just thinks that if the federal Liberals now think that that is a bad thing, no one seems to have told the PMO yet, since Liberals do exactly that all the time.And more broadly, G&G talk about how all the parties are currently being wagged by the tails of their most fringey, passionate base voters, and how this is leaving mainstream Canadians not only alone, but desperately trying to avoid getting hit in the culture-war crossfires.Moving on, much to their relief, your intrepid editors talk about the foreign interference inquiry, and politely request 144 more inquiries, because that's the only way we can ever find anything out about anything that happens in this country.They cover a few more topics in rapid-fire sequence after that, but end on a really cheerful note: if you don't have a lot of money, you might not be able to get health care soon. So ... just mull on that a bit. And don't forget to like and subscribe! Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected].. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

This week in The Line Podcast, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson chat about Tucker Carlson's visit to Alberta — or as Liberals put it, the visit of a homophobic hate monger whose presence evokes the threat of violence by MAGA far-right Conservatives. We deem all of this stupid, and expect more stupidity. So much more.Then they chat about Durham Conservative Candidate Jamil Jivani, and what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meant by calling him a "twofer" — racist dog whistle, or manipulative video editing? (It's the video editing.) Regardless, it's all stupid, too.G&G also tackle the Liberals' long-anticipated communications pivot to openly comparing Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to Donald Trump. It's not going to work — and the fact that the Liberals think this is a good idea is demonstrative of just how radically out of touch they are with how angry Canadians are, and what they're struggling with. But maybe we're wrong. Lastly, Gerson rants about Calgary's dystopian hellscape punish-the-povos $.15 fee on paper drive-through bags, and Matt orders her to buy her kiddos an insane amount of fast food. For the likes.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We were surprised — and delighted — to bounce back so fast last week. Thanks for listening to us! Subscribe if you can, leave us a great review if you’re willing, and share with all your friends if you’re able. Talk soon!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

We're back! After a refreshing holiday, The Line Podcast's Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney are together again to discuss the state of play in Canadian politics. Have the Liberals under Justin Trudeau bottomed out? Why can't they seem to secure a comeback — Gerson thinks she knows: it's because everybody's broke, and the Liberals are fixated on electric vehicles, plastic bags, and carbon taxes. The Line offers a quick update on Israel, and the federal government's incoherent and constantly wavering position on the International Court of Justice: turns out, we will abide by the ruling on whether Israel is committing genocide, even though we don't agree with the premise of the case. That ... does not make sense. Matt also has a simple message for Pakistan and Iran: not now, guys.Your editors also talk Alberta politics: why did Canada's most energy-rich province almost freeze to death in the cold? And what to make of NDP leader Rachel Notley stepping down from her role. Lastly, Gerson and Gurney talk about Sabrina Maddeaux, the National Post columnist who announced her candidacy for the Conservatives. They then talk more generally about journalists who escape this wretched hive of scum and villainy to enter an even grungier Mos Eisley cantina — politics. Why does this seem to be becoming more normal, and what can you do to prevent more of it? Like and subscribe to The Line.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. It is great to be back and we are sorry we were gone so long. We meant to come back last week, but, well, listen to the pod. It explains all.The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In this week's The Line Podcast, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss the UN ceasefire vote, and compare it to the previous request for ceasefire with conditions, and the Liberal government's insistence that the UN ceasefire vote wasn't a vote for Hamas because, really, what even is a ceasefire anyway? Canadian representative to the UN Bob Rae knew what was up when he issued his vote and then said, on a hot mic, "we'll see how that flies." It's all just another example of a Canadian foreign policy that has no first principles, and a UN that primarily exists to let nations blow off steam instead of actually doing things.Then G&G take on the Conservatives' weird votes against the Ukrainian trade deal, citing carbon tax language. Was this just a cock up? Or are the Conservatives pandering to the pro-Putin right in their own base? Moving on, indulge the podcast as they take you on a magical tea-filled exploration of the latest drama at independent media outlet Canadaland and its staffers, now feuding with their Jewish boss for failing to address antisemitism in his community more responsibly: ie; preferably not at all. Lastly, this will be The Line's last podcast before the holidays. Join us for a brief look back over a weird 2023, with more weirdness to come. Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We want to take a moment to thank you all for your support. This podcast is growing, and we are deeply grateful for all of your help. As always, if you want to do a bit to help, please like and/or subscribe on your preferred app, and where possible, leave a positive review. These are tiny things that add up and make a big, real and measurable difference for us. Thanks again, and keep the support coming.If you’d like to donate or subscribe to us, well, that helps too!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In this week's The Line Podcast, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson talk about Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek's bizarre decision to publicly abstain from a civic menorah lighting ceremony because a poster advertising the event said it would be about "unity, supporting Israel, and Jewish Pride." Could her decision have been handled any more incompetently? No! Then G2 whine about Pierre Poilievre's penchant for stupid political stunts, as our MPs hunker down to consider the possibility of missing Christmas. Gurney lays out the political mistake Justin Trudeau ought to have gone down for; Gerson disagrees, and finds another one. Then the pair discuss the media: massive labour cuts at the CBC, and weird B-Roll errors at CTV. Also, Gurney is grumpy. But, like, come on. Shouldn’t he be? Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We want to take a moment to thank you all for your support. This podcast is growing, and we are deeply grateful for all of your help. As always, if you want to do a bit to help, please like and/or subscribe on your preferred app, and where possible, leave a positive review. These are tiny things that add up and make a big, real and measurable difference for us. Thanks again, and keep the support coming.If you’d like to donate or subscribe to us, well, that helps too!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

This week, The Line Podcast's Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney go deep. They discuss the $100 million Google deal to Canadian media — a win for Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, or an attempt to salvage a nearly existential catastrophe for Canadian journalism? Or both? You decide. Then we get into the absolute insanity of trying to justify Hamas hostage taking by parsing the emotions on the faces of hostages at the moment of release. This invariably leads into a deep philosophical discussion about how we deal with irreconcilable differences among us, and what we owe each other as citizens in a society. (Jen is a lot nicer than Matt.)Lastly, Gerson and Gurney talk about the latest Ottawa bubble stories. Was Conservative MP Rachel Thomas insulting francophones by asking a minister to respond to a question in English? (No.) What were the Conservatives thinking when they voted against a free trade deal with Ukraine? (Not much.)Lastly, show us your humanity and compassion by liking and subscribing! This is how you can tell us you won’t let us die in a ditch, either.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We want to take a moment to thank you all for your support. This podcast is growing, and we are deeply grateful for all of your help. As always, if you want to do a bit to help, please like and/or subscribe on your preferred app, and where possible, leave a positive review. These are tiny things that add up and make a big, real and measurable difference for us. Thanks again, and keep the support coming.If you’d like to donate or subscribe to us, well, that helps too!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

After offering a brief update on the hostage transfers between Hamas and Israel, The Line Podcast with Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson delves right back into parochial Canadian current events by chatting about the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge. We, too, feared terrorism at first, as did much of the media. Turns out, it was just some dude driving Dukes of Hazzard-style into the border crossing. Phew?Now the fallout; critics are piling on Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre for initially describing the incident as "terrorism" in the House. When Poilievre was challenged by a CP reporter, he took no prisoners, leading Gurney et al to remind all beloved colleagues that the Conservatives are playing against an unpopular media because it works. Speaking of which, the Liberals have decided to kill journalism with kindness; the latest economic update announced an increase to the journalism labour tax credit, ensuring that many (most?) remaining journalists in this country are subsidized in part by the federal government. That, we're sure, will fix it! As will impossible promises from the CRTC that new broadcasting regulations won't extend to podcasting. Lastly, The Line talks the fall economic update, and rants about the election of Argentinian president Javier Milei. Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We want to take a moment to thank you all for your support. This podcast is growing, and we are deeply grateful for all of your help. As always, if you want to do a bit to help, please like and/or subscribe on your preferred app, and where possible, leave a positive review. These are tiny things that add up and make a big, real and measurable difference for us. Thanks again, and keep the support coming.If you’d like to donate or subscribe to us, well, that helps too!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

The Line Podcast is back! This week, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson reluctantly go over the latest from the Israel-Hamas conflict because, good Lord, that's really all there is to talk about. Statements from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about not killing more women and children were met with rebuke by highly problematic Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then California Governor Gavin Newsom made fun of Trudeau's weird sock fixation. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh played cute, accusing the IDF of sowing the seeds of "genocide." G&G sigh, and explain again that "genocide" is a word with a real meaning and this is not it. Lastly, our duo dig into polling numbers, and the escalation of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Toronto and Montreal; the denial of antisemitism on the left, followed by the batshit antisemitism on display by the likes of Elon Musk on the right. Everybody has gone nuts.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We want to take a moment to thank you all for your support. This podcast is growing, and we are deeply grateful for all of your help. As always, if you want to do a bit to help, please like and/or subscribe on your preferred app, and where possible, leave a positive review. These are tiny things that add up and make a big, real and measurable difference for us. Thanks again, and keep the support coming. If you’d like to donate or subscribe to us, well, that helps too!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In this week's The Line Podcast, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson describe Canadian foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly's baffling and bizarre statement about getting Hamas — a genocidal death cult openly committed to exterminating the Jews in Israel — back to the bargaining table. Then they talk about the escalation of antisemitic violence and graffiti in Canada, and in Montreal in particular. Concordia University seems to be a real ground zero for anger against Israel — and Jewish students, by extension. Synagogues in Montreal have been subject to Molotov cocktails, and Jewish schools have been shot at. Gurney et al have read enough history books to have seen this all before; they know where the next act in the play goes from here and they are worried. Oh, and in the midst of all this drama, NSICOP issues a blunt report noting that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are not equipped to handle national security threats. Great!Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure.We are loving the response these podcasts are getting — truly, thank you. Remember: subscribing is a huge way to help us, but following us on one of the apps or platforms, liking and sharing our content and leaving us good reviews is also hugely helpful. Thanks!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In this week's The Line podcast, Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney talk about the increasingly public calls for Justin Trudeau to resign. Facing poor polling numbers, internal caucus division, and an embarrassing walk back of the Liberals' signature carbon tax policy, PEI senator and Liberal stalwart Percy Downe penned a polite op-ed advising Trudeau to step down. The provinces, including Saskatchewan, are on the verge of an outright tax revolt over the Liberals' plan to give heating oil a temporary carbon tax pass. Meanwhile, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he won't rule out a run at leadership — while also demonstrating why he'd be the worst possible successor to Trudeau — in an exclusive interview in the Globe and Mail. And then there was that unfortunate beheaded child costume, which Trudeau probably ought not to have tweeted out. Gurney and Gerson then chat about the recent appearance by CBC President Catherine Tait at a Heritage Committee; the episode was a little like watching someone from the country club enter a Parliamentary cage fight. Tait was technically right, but that doesn't mean she won. Lastly, Gurney offers an update about the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel; Gerson offers a pointless plea to use the word "genocide" correctly, and Gurney explains whey he is a "genocide absolutist," which is not actually as bad as it sounds. Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, for your podcast-listening pleasure. We are loving the response these podcasts are getting — truly, thank you. Remember: subscribing is a huge way to help us, but following us on one of the apps or platforms, liking and sharing our content and leaving us good reviews is also hugely helpful. Thanks! The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In The Line’s weekly Dispatch podcast, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bizarre decision to lift the carbon tax on heating oil — and only heating oil. Is this a defensible policy, or simply pork barrel politics, and a sign of serious fractures in his caucus?(For clarity: in the podcast, we aren’t explicit that the carbon tax is coming off oil nationally, not just in Atlantic Canada — we stumble around that, but to be clear, the tax is being lifted nationally for the three-year period.)Matt and Jen then discuss Ontario NDP MPP Sarah Jama, who has been formally censured and kicked from caucus for calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as “an end to all occupation of Palestinian land.” Has the right gone too far, and demonstrated its value of free speech is disingenuous?Your intrepid hosts also discuss the Buffy St. Marie, and CBC’s ironclad story raising questions about the folk icon’s claims of Indigenous heritage. Meanwhile, the CBC is losing a war it doesn’t know it’s waging against a Conservative Party of Canada hellbent on defunding the public broadcaster. And, trigger warning, Matt and Jen discuss whether or not claims of “baby beheading” in Israel were accurate.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, if you’re not into the ones above.Like what you heard? Hate what you heard, but feeling generous all the same? Help us grow by signing up for a paid subscription today. And once you’ve done that, if you still want to show us the love, make a donation, too.The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

In this week's The Line Podcast, Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney discuss claims that Israel blew up a hospital in Gaza — including the part where, as it turns out, that did not happen. Rather, a Palestinian rocket misfired. They talk about the desire to create a moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel, a desire that makes tweeters and news editors alike quick to forget beheaded babies, and even faster to accept Hamas' claims of Israeli atrocities.Then, The Line also talks about the CBC's decision not to use the word "terrorism" to describe Hamas; and why they think that decision is both defensible, but also not the one The Line would make. It is also, sadly, one the CBC only seems to make some of the time.To round it out, the pair discuss dark clothing — namely, an RCMP campaign to encourage pedestrians not to wear dark clothing at night. This roused the usual condemnation from those who don't want police to blame the victim of vehicular accident. To which The Line says: “Yes, you're absolutely right. And nobody will care about how right you are when you're dead. Don't wear black at night."Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, if you’re not into the ones above.Like what you heard? Hate what you heard, but feeling generous all the same? Help us grow by signing up for a paid subscription today. And once you’ve done that, if you still want to show us the love, make a donation, too.The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

The Line's Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel; Israel's response in the Gaza Strip — and North America's progressives, who have left their assess hanging in the wind by applauding and condoning acts of violence that include the murder of children and sexual assault of Israeli women. Progressives are doing incredible damage to their own causes by justifying the violence of Hamas — a genocidal and theocratic terrorist organization — under leftist jargon like "decolonization." In other news, Canada's Supreme Court has ruled the federal government's environmental impact legislation — also known as C-69, or the "no more pipelines" bill — as unconstitutional. To the shock and surprise of everyone who expected this court to rule in Justin Trudeau's favour, the SCC agreed with the Alberta Court of Appeal: that C-69 oversteps provincial jurisdiction, and undermines the constitutional right of provinces to develop and manage their own natural resources. All this, and more, in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. And we warn our listeners, this is a hard one. Lot of emotion and not nice things to discuss.Other ways to listen:Spotify:Apple:Google:Plenty of other options here, too, if you’re not into the ones above.Please subscribe and leave us a glowing review. This is an important part of trying to master the algorithms that now rule all our lives. If you really like us, help pay for our terrific new podcasting editors by hitting the little blue buttons below. The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson on why the podcast proposals aren't as benign as the government makes them sound (and might believe). On the pending Google disaster. And why Canadians aren't as smart as we think we are (with all due respect to David Dodge). Plus: is the NDP bargaining with the Liberals, or we are seeing the first moves in their conscious uncoupling?Enjoying The Line Podcast? Want other options for listening? No problem!We’ve got plenty of options for you, and we’re pleased to report that the big three podcasting apps are all set up:Spotify!Apple!Google!Plenty of other options here, too, if you’re not into the ones above.However you want to listen, please subscribe and leave us a glowing review. And share with everyone you know! And if you really like us, help pay for our terrific new podcasting editors by hitting that little blue button below. Either of the blue buttons, actually!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson on Canada humiliating itself by giving a Nazi a standing O, insulting our allies by promising to spend more on the military right before we announce we are going to spend less on the military, and, oh, God, we guess we’re debating the notwithstanding clause again. And more!Enjoying The Line Podcast? Want other options for listening? No problem!We’ve got plenty of options for you, and we’re pleased to report that the big three podcasting apps are all set up:Spotify!Apple!Google! Plenty of other options here, too, if you’re not into the ones above.However you want to listen, please subscribe and leave us a glowing review. And share with everyone you know! And if you really like us, help pay for our terrific new podcasting editors by hitting that little blue button below. Either of the blue buttons, actually!The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson bring you the first episode of The Line Podcast. And gosh, this week didn’t go the way we thought it would. Canada finds itself in a major dispute with a global superpower, again. Trudeau and his comms obsession is causing us problems, again. Doug Ford has to make a full retreat, again, this time on the Greenbelt. And Alberta picks a dumb fight with Canada, again, this time over pensions. Be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube or the podcast app of your choice — since this is brand new, it may take the players a few more days to find us in the vast, twisting labyrinth of the interweb’s many tubes, but we are already live on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many others. You can find them all here. The rest are coming — we are now at the mercy of the algorithms. Google Podcasts is taking its sweet time to connect with us — it’s working on the backend, but not yet publicly — but for those into Spotify and Apple, good news! Those are workin’ fine!Spotify!Apple!Also, please subscribe to us on YouTube! That helps, too! Even though this is no longer an experimental podcast, there might be a few bugs we still have to work out as we step into the future here. Please be patient, and please, please, please share our work, tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell total strangers, tell everyone. Spread the word of The Line!But for now, enjoy the first episode of The Line Podcast. The Line is entirely reader funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Welcome to what is the final — we think? — edition of The Line’s experimental podcast. We started these 60 episodes ago just out of curiosity. Would people be interested? Would we enjoy doing it? The answer to both questions is yes — we enjoy doing it, and thousands of you loveable weirdos listen to us every week. We’ve decided it’s time to punch things up a notch here, which is why we’re going to finally grow up, change into real pants and do a proper, edited podcast. That should start next week — the week after that, at the latest.And yes, for those who keep asking, it will be available on all the usual platforms. But we’ll also offer it here, for those among you who are creatures of habit. And, yeah, we’ll keep swearing.Many thanks to all of you who came along with us on this fun, weird experiment. We hope you like what’s coming next.But for now, enjoy the latest, and probably last, experimental podcast.The Line is entirely reader funded. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Your Line editors talk about the news that was, and will be, as the CPC convention gets underway in Quebec City. And also: the Ford government just needs to zip it. STOP TALKING.The Line is entirely reader funded. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Your Line editors generally avoid culture war issues. There’s two big reasons for this. There are media personalities and entire outlets that devote their whole careers and output to rage-farming, and we decided early that those waters were being fished enough already. We wanted to do something different. But also, to be blunt, we think culture wars are traps. They’re like nuclear wars — no one wins them, and everyone loses when someone tries to. We understand they’re great business, and that we might be richer if we’d simply declared for one side or another and then hammered away at that without pause. But that’s no way to live, and we think would leave the country worse off. We don’t want that. In our own way, we are trying to do some good here. Good for ourselves, certainly, but also good for Canada. We want this place to work.Sometimes, though, you can’t avoid the culture wars. Legislation (real or proposed) by right-wing premiers has brought some of the kind of culture-war combat that we’d been watching in the United States north of the border. We wish they hadn’t done that. We also think that our federal Liberals, desperate to turn around their lousy poll numbers, are going to sink their teeth into this and run with it, ramping up the rhetoric in an attempt to wedge the rising CPC and portray them as fanatics — in fact, they already are. We wish they wouldn’t do that.But hey, if wishes were horses, right? We truly believe there is a position on trans rights that would be not only humane and decent, but broadly supported. Full legal protections and an expectation of dignity for trans Canadians, and safeguards for minors considering transitioning and reasonable policies on shared spaces and athletics, would win over most Canadians — we are, in the main, reasonable people.We wish the political incentives would lead us to that outcome, but we doubt it will — we think the opposite will happen. So in this podcast, with reluctance and somewhat against our better judgment, we jump in. We hope you enjoy it, or at least that it makes you think.The Line is entirely reader funded. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

We really run through a lot of topics this time — bad Liberal polls, Jordan Peterson, where and how we think the LPC will try to wedge the CPC, why we think it might work, and lots, lots more.Have you been humming and hawwing about subscribing? Well, we’re raising our rates in a few weeks. Lock in now, or else! (Or else just like pay the higher rate later. Not that big a deal. But still.)The Line is entirely reader funded. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Gee, wonder what we’re going to talk about — extremely carefully — this week, eh?Don’t worry, we talk about a lot of other stuff. It’s guaranteed to lift your spirits. (No, no, it’s not.)The Line is entirely reader funded. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Hello, Line podcast listeners! A quiet week in the news, but still looks to talk about. How the media handled COVID, how the PM handles protesters, how all of us handle the genuine tension between the rights of different minority groups in our society, and — in a very brief segment — how the media is handling Big Tech being mad about C-18.Would it surprise you to learn that in every case, we are handling those things badly?Written dispatch to come out on Sunday, folks. Enjoy your weekends!The Line is entirely reader funded. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Well, happy Friday, we guess. We sat down to record our first podcast in two weeks, spent 45 minutes on it, and then …. crash. The file was corrupted. Rather than waste all our brilliance and leave you all hanging, we decided to do a speed-version of the podcast. All the same topics! Most of the same wisdom! Half the time!Is that dedication or what?!So, behold: our experimental podcast episode #0.54, Take 2. Topics: the CBC makes a painful retraction, wondering who’ll be the next Jane Creba, the latest depressing Canadian deliverology fail, why our standard of living might be about to tank (and for some of you, might already be tanking) and, ahem, whether Canada should get kicked out of the G7.Oh, and guess what? Almost nothing about C-18! We’re sick of talking about it too, believe us.The Line is entirely reader funded, which has suddenly become extremely fricking important for us to highlight. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, potentially sometime next week, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Yes, that’s a Cuban Missile Crisis allusion. That’s the state of our mood at present.But hey. Happy Canada Day, everyone! We’ll be back after a week off!The Line is entirely reader funded, which has suddenly become extremely fricking important for us to highlight. If you value our work and worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, potentially sometime next week, please make a donation today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

It was great while it lasted, and we’re more sad than you’ll never know that we arrived just a bit too late to ever really enjoy it at its best. But journalism as we’ve all known it is dying now, and as much as that sucks, the worst thing we could do would be to ignore the obvious and undeniable evidence before our eyes. Someone has to go find a way to save what’s left and then, maybe one day, build something new. No one is more shocked and dismayed than us to realize that, uh oh. We are the adults in the room.We always include the little blue button below, folks, but this week, more than ever, it’s really important. No help is coming except what you decide to provide yourselves. Also: listeners may find it useful to consult this article we wrote some time ago, which gets into a lot of the underlaying economic problems that have brought a once-mighty industry here, and explains why the media isn’t dying for the reasons you might have guessed. It’s much more basic. We had a lot of money once. We don’t anymore. The rest is, sadly, history. Or will be, assuming there’s anyone left to write it down.-30- (If you know, you know.)The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Well, shit, here we go again, we guess. Who came in second in the eminent Canadian rankings? Do we have any astronauts kicking around? Or do we just give it to the Trudeau Foundation?Subscribe. We deserve it after all this nonsense. It’s not our best sales pitch ever, but come on. You gonna tell us we don’t deserve it?We wanted to talk about aliens, guys. And instead we get this.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Well, a typically upbeat podcast from us. Sigh.Sorry it was late. Had a hard time getting the schedules aligned tonight. Enjoy!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

What else this week? The Johnston report, and more-so the fallout. A set up for the Alberta election. And an appeal for money!But seriously, actually listen to that part. Because we make an announcement! The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Pardon us for having this land late — long-weekend related schedule issues. We cover the wildfires, the Alberta debate, a bad ethics report for Danielle Smith, Bill Blair vs. The Globe and Mail, Trudeau vs. the Italians, and why public safety and law and order are making a comeback as political issues.Happy Victoria Day, everyone! Written dispatch will land Monday.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Hey folks, nice to be back after a week off, while Matt travelled abroad and Jen got strep throat again. This podcast covers a lot of ground, but it’s more serious than the title suggests. Matt and Jen worry that our post-COVID societal crises aren’t getting better. And may actually be getting worse.Fun!Subscribe, we guess?The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

This podcast went in an unexpected direction. And that’s before we get to talking about the Traveling Wilburys. Amid all the stories of the week, including us not even knowing if we’re not CRTC regulated or what, Jen and Matt get into what a “conservative” even means in Canada circa 2023. We didn’t plan on that. It just kind of happened. So we ran with it for a while. A long while. We hope you enjoyed the chat, and that you have a wonderful weekend. And we really hope you subscribe!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Howdy, friends. There wasn’t a huge single story in the news this week, so we threw a couple headlines back and forth and sank our teeth into them. The PSAC strike, and when you’ll notice it. Why Trudeau has no friends on that one. Another media company bites the dust, and why Jen is unimpressed with some of our self-styled defenders. Trudeau’s NATO comments, subsidies for VW, and, to the government, just please stop hiring your relatives and friends. Please. It hurts us.You know what doesn’t hurt us? Revenue! We’re having to figure out a new strategy as social media stops being effective, so our best bet is simple word of mouth. Please subscribe today and tell all your friends, and ask them to tell their friends. Thanks!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

We hope everyone had a great long weekend. We’re back to the grind here, and we start by covering the PM’s chief of staff’s return visit to testify before Parliament. We also talk a bit about her last visit to such a committee, and why it’s useful to actually recall the circumstances of the PMO’s handling of Jonathan Vance’s sexual misconduct when assessing their handling of Chinese electoral interference. We talk about lots of other stuff, too: Misfits, Minecraft and national security leaks. Satanism and sex-drenched pop culture. And why Poilievre is still trying to make certain Canadians angry.Thanks for listening, and watch for the full dispatch tomorrow. The Line only exists because of our readers and listeners, so please subscribe today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Getting this out early so that we can all enjoy the long weekend. A correction from Jen, and then, lots on the latest example of how Canada totally isn’t broken. Some local Toronto absurdities, and then Canada’s too-perfect astronaut has Jen asked for uglier men. Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone. Stay safe. We’ll get our written dispatch out shortly, and then we’re off until Tuesday. The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Miss us? We’re back after a week off. And what a week! Tons of stuff happening in the news, and we “speed date” our way through as many topics as possible: the Trump indictment, a terrible event in Nashville, more wild news in Alberta, a weirdly meh budget, and lots and lots on Dong vs. Global News.Thanks for listening, and though a week off was fun, we confess — it’s good to be back. The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

No time for preamble! Must publish podcast before breaking news makes it obsolete again! C-18! China! Transparency! David Johnston! Why Matt thinks Canada has no immune system! HURRY UP! LISTEN TO IT!And also rush to subscribe today so we can make money!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

It’s always a Friday. We try to cover the latest on the China story, and keep getting overtaken by events. Jen also spontaneously develops a new theory about Boomers. *rubs temples*We can’t think of a specific pitch for new subscribers today. Too much happening. We’re fried. Just, you know, like, click the button and send us money. Please?The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Lots happening in the news this week, but most of it is the same story. We get you caught up on the latest. We admit to being baffled by whatever it is the CBC is doing here. You’re not helping yourselves, guys. Also: the axe falls at Global, and that always hurts to see.Speaking of the need for sustainable media … at the rate things going, it’s going to be down to Matt and Jen and like four others before long, so maybe subscribe today, if you can.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Hello from the hockey rink, where Line editor Gurney just basically lives now. (At least it has a bar.) We recorded this earlier on Friday, before Global News made all our Fridays interesting. Hmmm. Interesting. Hey, remember when Gurney said this, like 48 hours ago?Anyway, we’ll get into this in the written dispatch, expected to be out Saturday. For now, enjoy the podcast, and if you want to help The Line keep growing, join us as a paid subscriber today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Whoo boy. Sorry this is late, guys. We recorded this on Friday and Gurney planned to put it together and publish it at once. Then things went bonkers in his hometown and he got sucked into a news vortex. This was recorded before the John Tory affair was reported, so it doesn’t touch on it at all — and that’s just as well, probably. So instead, the health-care deal, more balloons get popped, the CPC vs. the CBC, general media woes, and yet more federal deliverology in action, this time with lives hanging in the balance.Sorry to be late with this, folks. Just couldn’t be helped. And the dispatch will be published tomorrow — we are adjusting to cover not one but two breaking-news stories that came after we recorded this on Friday.Nice, calm weekend, eh?The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Lots going on this week. Updates from Ottawa, including the long-coming Liberal retreat on guns that we told you was gonna happen. Also some new, eye-popping numbers from Abacus, and updates on the media front, too. All recorded in Matt’s brief breaks from hockey dad duty!If you enjoy our musings, or even just remember what it costs to put your kid into hockey, please help us keep the lights on by subscribing to The Line today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

Hey folks, hope you had a great week. Some media chat in this episode, and also a big update from Jen on the latest kerfuffle in her province. Also, an update and a grim musing from Matt, who keeps seeing awful things while minding his own business on the TTC. If you enjoy our musings, grim or otherwise, please help us keep the lights on by subscribing to The Line today.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

We are our usual cheerful selves in this episode, which includes an unexpected shoutout to Max Miller, a terrific historian and chef who has found fame on YouTube. So that was a curveball. Otherwise, the usual: lots on the feds, lots of Ontario and Alberta, and a sad update on the state of Canadian media. Alas, nothing new on that front.Assuming we haven’t totally bummed you out, subscribe today!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Fight with us on Facebook. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe