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George Takach, a Canadian lawyer, author, and geopolitical commentator, explores why Taiwan matters far beyond its shores. He discusses the island’s democratic evolution, semiconductor dominance, and vital role in global supply chains. The conversation also examines China’s pressure campaign, Western hesitation, lessons from Ukraine, and the stakes for Canada and the wider democratic world.

Frances Widdowson, a Canadian academic and author focused on Indigenous policy and academic freedom, discusses her dismissal from Mount Royal University and a $3 million defamation lawsuit. She explores campus speech battles, street epistemology, compelled language, DEI, Black Lives Matter, and competing narratives about residential schools. A provocative conversation about evidence, ideology, and free expression.

Chris Varcoe, a Calgary Herald business columnist focused on energy and Western Canada, and Lorne Gunter, an Edmonton Sun political commentator, examine Alberta’s proposed Pacific Link pipeline. They explore its “national interest” designation, regulatory hurdles, court challenges, carbon-capture conditions, enormous costs and uncertain investor support. They also discuss Danielle Smith’s federal policy wins and whether separatism could further chill Alberta investment.

Les Leyne, a veteran Victoria Times Colonist political columnist, and Vaughn Palmer, a longtime Vancouver Sun politics analyst, dissect David Eby’s surprise B.C. election call. They examine the NDP’s deficits, healthcare failures, drug crisis and property-rights concerns. They also assess Conservative leader Lorne Dirksen, opposition momentum, Trump-focused attacks, voter frustration and the possibility of a minority government.

Anand Menon, a King’s College London professor specializing in Brexit and European politics, and Carlo Dade, a University of Calgary trade policy expert, examine Mark Carney’s proposed EU “associate membership.” They unpack its unclear legal status, the geographic and regulatory barriers to deeper Canada-Europe trade, and the limits of replacing North American supply chains. They also explore whether EU-CPTPP cooperation could offer Canada a strategic alternative.

It’s a tough time to be a federal Tory. The polls are demoralizing. Some MPs are quitting and some are going rogue. And the worse things get for Canada, the more voters seem to support the Liberals. As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre prepares for a caucus retreat this week, Brian spoke with Ian Brodie, former chief of staff to Stephen Harper, and Ginny Roth, who helped run Poilievre’s leadership campaign. They offer their ideas on how Poilievre can reposition himself in this weird, new era of jingoistic anti-American nationalism that Prime Minister Mark Carney has boosted into a winning brand. And, just as importantly, how he can reinvigorate his party and reassert the control he once commanded over his caucus — before his problems get bigger. (Recorded September 10, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Postmedia’s Political Hack team Tasha Kheiriddin and Stuart Thomson join Brian to assess the political spin contest over the collapse of U.S.-Canada trade talks. Despite economic damage, they discuss why neither side has an incentive to make a deal. Prime Minister Mark Carney just crushed three byelections, securing his majority and grinding down the Conservatives — and there are several more coming up. And they explain how President Donald Trump’s strategy is to use the trade war as an excuse to deflect voter discontent in the upcoming congressional midterms, while continuing to divide Canadians. The only question for both is how long they can politically gain from the pain of closed businesses and job losses until voters won’t stand for it anymore. (Recorded September 4, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things that divide us cannot possibly unite us. That much would seem obvious, but as Étienne-Alexandre Beauregard tells Brian, society has for decades now prioritized hyper-individualism and promoted multiculturalism over communitarianism. And that has been eroding western civilization. Beauregard discusses his new book, Anti-Civilization: The Collapse of Society and the Case for the Common Good. He explains how the desocialization of younger generations and the fetishization of immigration, among other things, are leading to a backlash from people who crave a more collective meaning and identity. And surprisingly, it’s generation Z that seems most determined to rescue us from our decline. (Recorded August 19, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trust in legacy journalism is plummeting, and after years working inside the CBC, Tara Henley has a good idea why. The author of the new book, The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity, discusses with Brian how broad-mindedness in newsrooms was ruined by the emergence of an urban and elite class of group-thinking journalists combined with a revenue crisis that discouraged the risk of nonconformist perspectives. Making things worse, Henley argues, is that government subsidies have corrupted market signals that could force badly needed discipline on media owners. But the answer isn’t internet outlets that are even more one-sided, she explains: media need to relearn the tools they once used to keep themselves more honest. (Recorded July 10, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Detractors like to say that House of Commons decorum has never been worse than it is today, but don’t be so sure. Charlie Feldman is author of the new book, Unparliamentary: Tales from Canada’s Colourful Unparliamentary Past. He joins Brian to recount stories of foul-mouthed, rowdy, drunken and altogether misbehaving MPs and senators from all the way back to Confederation right up to Justin Trudeau’s “elbowgate” that make today’s cohort seem tame by comparison. Along the way, Feldman explodes some fabled stories as myth, surveys a surprising scarcity of sex scandals, and uncovers some things we might have preferred not to know, from the story of the salmon hidden inside an MP’s pants and why feces were once thrown in the House. (Recorded July 14, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices