Gloves Off

From our Canadian podcast friends at Canadaland: As Canada inches closer to China’s “global swagger” to escape the US’s orbit, do we even know who we’re dealing with? Host Noor Azrieh sits down with Jonathan Cheng, The Wall Street Journal‘s China Bureau Chief, a Canadian who’s been based in Beijing since 2019, to get an inside look at China’s current confidence, its trade posture, and what Beijing actually thinks of Canada.For more go to Canadaland Episode originally aired May 26, 2026

In this extended interview, economist Dan Ciuriak speaks with Stephen Marche about what a trade war with the United States would actually mean for Canada—and why the bigger opportunity may be building new markets, strengthening our economy, and taking control of our digital future.Visit our website—gloves-off.ca—for more research behind the issues including four charts illustrating how Canada’s trade exports are diversifying beyond the United States Follow us on YouTube 

Season 2 wraps with a look at what the future could hold for a middle power alliance and what Canada’s role might be in it.The people applauding Carney’s Davos speech were the same people who built and ran the system that led to Brexit, Trump, and more. How can middle powers win without returning to globalization and the same old system? How can they not just gain power but exert that power, and to what ends? These questions and more are considered by guests Alastair Campbell, a longtime British politico who served in the Tony Blair administration and now co-hosts The Rest Is Politics podcast; historian Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia For Realists and head of The School for Moral Ambition; and Julianne Smith, former United States Permanent Representative to NATO. Featuring (in order of appearance): Julianne Smith, Alastair Campbell, Rutger BregmanAlso visit our website—gloves-off.ca—for more research behind the issues from the Canadian Shield Institute including: a linguistic analysis of how the concept of "sovereignty" has changed over time, based on how it has been used in the House of Commons since 1900.  Follow us on YouTube where you can watch our aftershow Cross Check that drops each Thursday with Vass Bednar and Jon ShellRate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts and/or e-mail us info@glovesoffpodcast.ca.

Host Stephen Marche traces the rise of a global right-wing influence project — funded by tech billionaires like Elon Musk and philosophically rooted in anti-democratic thinkers — that is actively working to end liberal democracy worldwide…and Canada is not immune. Paris Marx (author of Hyperscale, and host of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast) and Gil Duran (author of Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy) join to ponder if tech is incompatible with democracy, and to envision a path forward for the enduring sustainability of democratic institutions.  Featuring (in order of appearance): Aalia Elachi, Paris Marx & Gil DuranAlso visit our website—gloves-off.ca—for more research behind the issues from the Canadian Shield Institute including: an analysis of what some of America's largest technology groups are asking for when it comes to CUSMA renegotiationsFollow us on YouTube where you can watch our aftershow Cross Check that drops each Thursday with Vass Bednar and Jon Shell

Like most of the world, Canada overrelies on and is beholden to American digital entities like Google and Amazon. But now movements are underfoot, in Europe especially, to decouple from the American tech giants. Host Stephen Marche explores how those efforts could inform the growth of a native Canadian tech sovereignty with Cristina Caffara, a driving force behind Eurostack; Margarethe Vestager, former European Commissioner for Competition; and author Tim Wu (The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity). Featuring (in order of appearance): Judge Kimberly Prost, Tim Wu, Margrethe Vestager & Cristina CaffarraAlso visit our website—gloves-off.ca—for more research behind the issues from the Canadian Shield Institute including: what would happen if overnight we suddenly lost all access to American tech as told through an infographic Follow us on YouTube where you can watch our aftershow Cross Check that drops each Thursday with Vass Bednar and Jon Shell

As recent events in Ukraine, Russia, and Iran have demonstrated, the nature of modern warfare is changing fast (think: drones). Canada will get left behind if it doesn’t start innovating quickly. Host Stephen Marche explores the advent of drone warfare with Tim Mak, Kyiv-based publisher of The Counteroffensive; and Cameron Chell, a Canadian defence tech entrepreneur at Draganfly, shares how the Canadian drone industry can drive technological innovation, not just in the defence sphere but also in a multitude of other uses that will bolster the country’s economy. Featuring (in order of appearance): Brittney Shki-Giizis, Tim Mak & Cameron Chell Also visit our website—gloves-off.ca—for more research behind the issues from the Canadian Shield Institute including a Canadian history of dual usage technologies and a chart that tries to imagine the sheer scale of the military budget.Follow us on YouTube where you can watch our aftershow Cross Check that drops each Thursday with Vass Bednar and Jon Shell