The North State

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

Over the course of the past two years, Jesse Brown, founder, editor and publisher at CANADALAND has lost the trust of many journalists in the industry, especially me. His behaviour and approach to journalism has shaken multiple contributors and former employees to the point where they have left his project. He has attempted to reconcile with this perception in the lead up to his new series, What Is Happening Here?, a podcast exploring antisemitism in Canada since the Oct. 7 attacks. In this interview, Scott poses difficult questions about the process and reception to his new podcast.CORRECTION: Scott refers to "nine percent" at one point when referring to the "nine times more likely" statistic. He also refers to a report by Statistics Canada comparing crime between the US and Canada with incorrect dates. The report (included in the sources for this episode) is from 1998 to 2023. We regret these errors.Submit your questions for the Q&A here!Follow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/accounts-and-accountability-ft-jesse-brown-podcast

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/

If you're a news nerd, a media freak, or some sort of schadenfreude savant, you're probably aware of the spectacular implosion of CANADALAND and its equally infamous leader, Jesse Brown. This week the network drops the first two episodes of a podcast examining antisemitism in Canada. To be blunt: hopes are not high. Nothing has been convincing that they should be, either. So why do we like talking about it? For this week's monologue, I dive into my latest critique, why I hope to focus less on CANADALAND in the future, and what news media critique means in a landscape without the indie giant.Submit your questions for the Q&A here!Follow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/monologue-post-canadaland-wasteland-podcast

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

It's happened to all of us. We want to read an article, but the web page stops us in our tracks. We need a paid subscription, or to sign up for a newsletter, or contribute some meagre amount of money. It's one thing for an institution like CTV News, The Globe and Mail or the Toronto Star to expect a subscription, but for the last couple decades, news has had the expectation of being free. This has put journalists in an extremely precarious position, especially when they try to go out on their own. I spoke to Arshy Mann of independent podcast The Hatchet and Nicole Froio of The Flytrap, a worker-owned feminist publication, to talk about how journalists need money to live.Check out The HatchetFollow Arshy on BlueskyCheck out The Flytrap and their BlueskyFollow Nicole on BlueskyFollow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/the-pay-wall-of-it-all-the-north-state-podcast

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

Last week, CBC released their 2025-2030 plan, their hopes and aims for the next five years. Soon after, president and CEO Marie-Phillippe Bouchard appeared on the CBC podcast Front Burner for an interview with host Jayme Poisson. With Canada's public broadcaster being targeted by the right and an expectation to cut nearly $200 million from their budget under direction of the Carney government, how does the current climate play into the plan and Bouchard's public comments? Luke LeBrun, investigative journalist and editor at PressProgress, joins Scott to dive deep into this document, the CBC and an ultimately disappointing interview.Read the CBC's 2025-2030 strategy here.PressProgressFollow Luke on BlueskyFollow Scott on BlueskyIntro Music: Vigilante - Cross DogArtwork by Zo at Studio BonjourhiSources and further reading:https://readthecatch.ca/diving-into-cbcs-five-year-plan-ft-luke-lebrun-the-north-state-podcast