In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on October 17, 2025, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson start off with a quick recap of Alberta’s teacher strike — and the feedback Jen has been getting since last week’s show. Matt mentions something else they've been getting. Notes of thanks from struggling parents.
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From there, they head to the Middle East. Well, not literally, but you know what we mean. They talk about the limited optimism they feel now that the fighting has largely stopped, the genuine relief at the hostages being home, and why Gaza likely needs to be occupied by a stabilization force for decades. Canada’s influence? Let’s just say it was minimal. Matt even suggests it might have been negative — that we may have actually made things slightly worse. Not a great chapter in our diplomatic history, but probably not one where we could have expected much better. They also wonder if Carney appreciates what will be asked of Canada in exchange for letting our PM be on the stage.
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Then the conversation shifts back to domestic politics — sort of. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is tweeting about Nazis again. It’s not that he’s totally wrong, but his grasp of the history seems to hover at the level of someone who’s skimmed a bit about interwar Europe … or, maybe, he knows exactly what he’s doing and just wants to troll everyone for the donations. That seems to be how politics works these days.
Fun stuff. For more fun stuff, check us out at ReadTheLine.ca.