Canada is Boring

In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the bizarre, lucrative world of psychic mail-order scams led by one of Canada’s most successful fraudsters, Patrice Runner.Starting with his obsession with old-school magazine ads and get-rich-quick schemes, we follow Runner’s journey to partnering with celebrity psychic Maria Duval, licensing her name for North American “psychic predictions,” lucky talismans, and vibratory crystals. Over two decades, his company Infogest Direct Marketing raked in more than $175 million USD from mostly older, vulnerable believers across Canada and the US—selling false hope, fake artifacts, and rigged “personal” letters.

In this special friends–only episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dig into the story of how CSIS, Canada’s spy agency, allegedly spied on Indigenous and environmental activists protesting the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, and then shared that information with oil companies and the National Energy Board.They walk through the BCCLA’s decade‑long legal battle, heavily redacted court documents, and the cozy hospitality events between petroleum companies and Canada’s intelligence service. Along the way, they wrestle with the line between “national security” and corporate protection, and, of course, veer off into compost toilets, subway etiquette, and renting excavators.Made possible by our wonderful special friends who support the show.

Rhys and Jesse dive into the legendary Canadian documentary Project Grizzly and the life of its unforgettable star, Troy Hurtubise—the man who spent years and thousands of dollars building bear-proof armor so he could safely get face-to-face with grizzlies. They cover: Troy’s near-fatal first encounter with a grizzly and how it sparked a lifelong obsession The evolution of his absurdly overbuilt Ursus bear suits, tested with trucks, swinging logs, and baseball bats His later inventions, from fire-resistant paste to the dubious Angel Light x-ray beam The Trojan ballistic armor suit that looked like Halo meets RoboCop—and still failed to sell His tragic, cinematic death and why Quentin Tarantino calls Project Grizzly one of his favorite films Plus: cinema verité rants, powdered wigs and blues dancing in Montreal.

Rhys and Jesse dive into the wild life of Red Ryan, a Toronto-born hooligan who grew into one of Canada’s most notorious early 20th‑century criminals. From leading street gangs at 10, to hard labor in Kingston Penitentiary, to a wartime desertion and a “most daring” prison break that even inspired Ernest Hemingway, Ryan’s story is packed with chaos.They unpack how Ryan pulled off a decade‑long scam as a “reformed” model prisoner—writing a book, sculpting Virgin Mary statues, charming a prison chaplain, and emerging as a media darling with his own radio show—while secretly robbing banks on the side. It all ends in a bloody liquor store shootout in Sarnia that shocks a country that thought it had found its redemption poster boy.Plus, in the STD (Small Talk Dimension) zone, Jesse recounts a ridiculously elaborate 1745 powdered‑wig dinner party, complete with questionable Scottish accents, Jacobite plotting, and a near “diplomatic incident” over a misunderstood signature.

Hosted by Rhys, a new Canadian with an outsider’s obsession for the country’s strangest stories, and Jesse, a proudly disengaged average Canadian, the show digs into the weirdest moments in Canadian history, politics, crime, culture, and folklore. From mystery tunnels and dead raccoon vigils to government “gaydar” machines, border brawls, Olympic snowboarders turned cartel figures, and the time the U.S. Army gassed Winnipeg, Canada Is Boring turns the overlooked, absurd, and unbelievable corners of Canadian life into addictive, hilarious storytelling. Part history show, part comedy podcast, part national identity crisis, Canada Is Boring is for anyone who likes their learning with jokes, their politics with chaos, and their Canadian facts deeply, deeply strange. The show has built a loyal audience by making Canadian stories feel surprising, accessible, and genuinely entertaining, earning recognition as Canada’s No. 1 Politics Podcast on Goodpods, breaking into the Top 5 Podcasts in Canada on Apple Podcasts, hitting No. 1 Trending on Spotify Canada, and reaching No. 3 in Canada for Comedy.Whether you’re Canadian, new to Canada, Canadian-curious, or just looking for weird stories to annoy your loved ones with, Canada Is Boring offers a hilarious weekly reminder that this country is not dull. It is bizarre, dramatic, petty, dark, ridiculous, and occasionally on fire.Canada is boring? Nope. Canada is unhinged.

A Canadian Olympic hopeful walks away from the slopes and into the heart of a violent international drug cartel. Rhys and Jesse trace Ryan James Wedlake’s path from Thunder Bay ski kid to Sinaloa lieutenant, weaving together family privilege, failed glory at Salt Lake City, cannabis grow ops, Hawala money transfers, and FBI most‑wanted status—plus an eventual takedown that netted tonnes of cocaine and millions in assets.