The North State

In an April 14 story by New York Times reporter and Canada Bureau Chief Matina Stevis-Gridneff, she used AI to fabricate a quote by federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre that did not exist. In a May 1 correction, the NYT stated "The reporter should have checked the accuracy of what the A.I. tool returned." How did such a big mistake get through one of the biggest newspapers in the world? What does this say about the state of reporting at the US paper of record? When will we ever escape this nightmare? Conservation and fellowships bureau chief at The Narwhal and contributing writer to The Walrus, Michelle Cyca joins Scott to discuss the high-profile gong show.Follow Michelle on BlueskyFollow Scott on BlueskySources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/nyts-canada-bureau-chief-used-ai-for-fake-poilievre-quote-ft-michelle-cyca-podcast/Artwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogOutro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Amazon pulled "The Camp of Saints" from their storefront, the publisher raised a stink online of censorship. This was quickly picked up by right-wing forces like the Washington Examiner and former Alberta premier Jason Kenney as an attack on free speech. Amazon has since returned the book to their marketplace and a white supremacist screed, describing nonwhite people as violent inhuman criminals inherently motivated to kill and rape, has entered the mainstream. Amidst all this, National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak described the book as "highly relevant today in light of Canada’s own situation." Carmen Celestini, lecturer in Religious Studies at University of Waterloo and author of the upcoming book God’s Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society joins Scott to actually discuss the contents of the book, its use by far-right forces and how Sarkonak and the Post helped bring hateful fascist conspiracies into the mainstream.Follow Carmen on BlueskyGod's Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch SocietyFollow Scott on BlueskySources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/national-post-praises-white-supremacist-novel-ft-carmen-celestini-podcast/Artwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogOutro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's official. Mark Carney's Liberal government is now a majority. But the tactics used to gain this majority have mainly focused on cultivating floor-crossers from other parties to join their caucus. Even before the decisive victories in three byelections, it became clear Carney's majority goal came from coaxing dissatisfied MPs. What does this mean? In a politics bonanza, University of Toronto political scientist Elizabeth McCallion joins Scott to discuss the political climate this cultivates, pathways for the Liberals in the future and how the Conservatives will respond.Follow Scott on BlueskySources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/crossing-into-a-majority-ft-elizabeth-mccallion-podcastArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogOutro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ontario premier Doug Ford used his personal cellphone for provincial business, leading a panel of three judges to rule his personal cellphone was subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Now, Ford wants to exempt the premier, cabinet ministers and parliamentary staffers from FOI laws, explicitly saying because of his cellphone use. The move is a brazen attack on the public's right to knowledge about their government, but it's a large and unique piece of a larger attack on freedom of information systems. Justin Ling, investigative reporter and columnist at the Toronto Star, joins Scott to discuss the larger context, the attacks against FOI systems across the country and what news organizations need to do to push back.Follow Justin Ling on BlueskyJustin's SubstackFollow Scott on BlueskySources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/the-assassination-of-the-foi-by-the-coward-doug-ford-ft-justin-ling-podcastArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogOutro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The USA and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran. With most legal scholars saying this strike was illegal and most official investigations into Iran's nuclear program saying they weren't building weapons, you'd think a position would be easy to strike. Instead, Prime Minister Mark Carney has supported the US in their attack, at most attaching some "regret" to that support. When lined up against his world-famous Davos speech, Carney's position seems untenable, but he's actually been quite consistent. Ian Barclay, editor-in-chief at Avant-Garde Press joins Scott to discuss the timeline of Carney's statements, possible Canadian involvement in the operation and a discussion about what this means, especially when news media doesn't forcefully push back against these statements.Avant-Garde PressFollow Ian on BlueskyFollow Scott on BlueskySources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/supporting-the-illegal-bombing-of-iran-with-regret-ft-ian-barclay-podcastIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiOutro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's now been a couple months since Jesse Brown's Canadaland series reporting antisemitism in Canada. Was there value in his reporting? While some points may have been well-made, the series obscured the issue and downplayed Israel's role in antisemitism in general. Blake Lambert, journalist, professor at Humber Polytechnic and TMU journalism instructor joins The North State to discuss the series, fundamental issues with Brown's approach and how the faults in reporting reflect a broader outlook of fear in the Canadaland series.Follow Blake's SubstackFollow Scott on BlueskySources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/how-to-report-on-antisemitism-in-canada-ft-blake-lambert-podcastArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogOutro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November of 2021, the RCMP raided a land defender camp in Wet'suwet'en territory with assault rifles and chainsaws. Over a dozen people were arrested, including photojournalist Amber Bracken and documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano. The Narwhal, who had Bracken on assignment, teamed up with the photojournalist to sue the RCMP. The trial is now ongoing and set for closing arguments in April. What's the suit about? What are the details? Scott lays out the landscape of the lawsuit, context surrounding it and, finally, his take.Follow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading at:https://readthecatch.ca/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy 2026! Scott's back and he's angry. Everybody's talking about Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After countless articles and panels waxing poetic about how great a moment it was for Canada, few felt the need to criticize anything about it except for its possibility at implementation. In this monologue, Scott uses Carney's speech as a lightning rod for everything wrong with the modern journalism landscape in Canada. In short, it's not good; Welcome to The Bullshit Years.Follow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading at:https://readthecatch.ca/monologue-the-bullsh-t-years-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a tumultuous year in Canadian federal politics, it seemed that the 2025 Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner was geared for virality before it even began.Then NDP interim leader Don Davies stole the show with his self-deprecating humour. Pierre Poilievre stunned with his other-deprecating humour. But these moments lead us to assume that the relationship between politicians and the press is, after all is said and done, a cordial affair. This assumption blankets the dinner and leads to some questionable outcomes. Rachel Gilmore, independent journalist at Bubblepop Media, joins Scott to discuss her experience with the event, how it shows legacy journalism's coziness with politicians and how a room full of journalists laughing at jokes made at the expense of marginalized people may, in fact, be bad.Submit your questions for the Q&A here!Check out Bubble Pop with Rachel GilmoreFollow Rachel on Bluesky.Follow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/killjoys-ruin-parliamentary-press-gallery-dinner-ft-rachel-gilmore-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a move that was in the works for month, the UCP government in Alberta has invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield three bills from court challenges. These bills specifically target trans kids, requiring birth gender to enter sports after 12 years old, preventing them from using differing pronouns at school without parental permission and bans on medical treatment under 16 years of age. With such unprecedented use of the clause, it's important to have a discussion on the very real implications for trans people, kids and wider society. Mel Woods, senior editor at Xtra Magazine joins the show to discuss the approach by the government, the effect on trans kids and their article calling out premier Danielle Smith for dishonest justifications.Submit your questions for the Q&A here!Follow Mel on BlueskyCheck out Xtra MagazineFollow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/human-rights-trans-kids-notwithstanding-ft-mel-woods-podcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a week since the federal Liberals released the 2025 budget. In that time we've heard a lot of coverage, some useful, some not. In the first North State panel, we discuss the potential impacts in this budget, its massive investments in the military, abandonment of the environment and the complete lack of health considerations. Of course, the news media doesn't get away unscathed either. Karyn Pugliese (APTN News national affairs correspondent), Arshy Mann (co-founder and host at The Hatchet) and Ian Barclay (editor at Avant-Garde Press) join the show to dissect the budget and the news coverage surrounding it.The HatchetAvant-Garde PressKaryn's newsletterFollow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/panel-sifting-through-the-sludge-of-budget-2025-the-north-state-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five people are running to save the NDP from itself. Who are they? What are they promising? What's the point? Who cares anymore? Well despite the tremendous disappointment the NDP has been for the past decade (at least), they nevertheless take up a lot of space on the left-wing of Canadian politics. This week I delve into an analysis of the NDP's history as the "safer" option, their latest shifts to the right and what the actual point of a political party should be. Oh and then I talk about the current candidates and what we can expect under a new NDP leader, even in the best case scenario.Follow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/monologue-fine-lets-talk-about-the-ndp-leadership-race-the-north-state-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Planning a wedding, having a wedding then a honeymoon, it'll be too busy, unfortunately. But I wanted to mark the one year mark of this show. Thank you to all who've listened, come on, and stuck with me through a tumultuous year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.