Dental care is excluded from Canada’s universal healthcare system with services provided based on the ability to pay, leading large segments of the population to neglect care resulting in poor oral health and all its consequences. On a new Unpacking the News dentist and public healthcare activist Brandon Doucet joins host Andre Goulet for a convers…

Elizabeth Comack's work in the sociology of law and feminist criminology and as a member of the Manitoba Research Alliance, a consortium of academics and community partners engaged in research addressing poverty in Indigenous and inner-city communities, has informed 14 books she's written or edited including ‘Coming Back to Jail: Women, Trauma, and…

An amazing array of independent media convened at Christie Pits park this month as Replay’s Shama Rangwala, The Breach coordinating editor Emma Paling, analyst Chuka Ekjam, cartoonist Haus of Decline and Big Shiny Takes Institute senior fellows Marino Greco, Eric Wickham and Jeremy Appel sit down with host Andre Goulet to break down the candidates …

Former Saskatchewan NDP leadership candidate Kaitlyn Harvey and Edmonton city council candidate Navjot Kaur join journalist Haseena Manek and host Andre Goulet for a conversation exploring the exclusionary reflex of provincial NDP parties in the 2nd in a series of episodes produced in collaboration with Briarpatch celebrating the magazine's 50th an…

On May 5th through 7th the 2023 Mobilizing Data for Justice conference brought together activists, community leaders and critical researchers from around the world for skill building, community outreach and research collaboration at Concordia University's downtown campus in Montreal. Invisible Institutions' Megan Linton and host Andre Goulet spoke …

From May 8-12 don't miss UNPACKING THE NEWS broadcasting live from the 2023 Canadian Labour Congress with our friends at Quebec solidarity journalism cooperative Pivot! Every day we're releasing interviews and reports from Canada's 30th tri-annual labour summit including this episode featuring a speech from Amazon Labour Union president Chris Small…

From May 8-12 don't miss UNPACKING THE NEWS broadcasting live from the 2023 Canadian Labour Congress with our friends at Quebec solidarity journalism cooperative Pivot! Every day we're releasing interviews and reports from Canada's 30th tri-annual labour summit including this episode featuring a panel from the conference floor with Emmmy and Grammy…

From May 8-12 don't miss UNPACKING THE NEWS' daily show broadcasting live from the 2023 Canadian Labour Congress with our friends at Quebec solidarity journalism cooperative Pivot! Every day we're releasing interviews and reports from Canada's 30th tri-annual labour summit including this episode featuring a panel from the conference floor moderated…

From May 8-12 don't miss UNPACKING THE NEWS' daily show broadcasting live from the 2023 Canadian Labour Congress with our friends at Quebec solidarity journalism cooperative Pivot! Every day we're releasing interviews and reports from the floor of Canada's 30th tri-annual labour summit including this episode featuring a panel from the conference fl…

From May 8-12 don't miss UNPACKING THE NEWS' daily show every morning live from the 2023 Canadian Labour Congress with our friends at Quebec solidarity journalism cooperative Pivot! Each episode will feature interviews and reports from the floor of Canada's 30th tri-annual labour summit including this episode with prairie labour journalist Emily Le…

The fiercely independent, proudly polemical and reader-supported BRIARPATCH has been publishing award-winning, hard-hitting journalism and critical commentary out of Regina, Saskatchewan since 1973. In it's 50th anniversary year Unpacking the News is excited to partner with so-called Canada's oldest legacy Left media space for bi-monthly episodes f…

Trailblazing progressive podcast UNPACKING THE NEWS is back after a 30 month hiatus for an all-new Season 2! In this kick-off episode BERRYGROUNDS' Justin Brake joins host Andre Goulet to explore how his work as The Independent interim editor will be afflicting the comfortable in Newfoundland and Labrador society and politics, his background in una…

We're back! Returning after a two and a half year hiatus Unpacking the News is a weekly progressive podcast featuring in-depth interviews and panel conversations on Canadian society, culture and politics with journalists, academics and activists from coast to coast. Hosted by André Goulet in Montréal, this season will include episodes co-produced w…

In the SERIES FINALE, join host Andre Goulet and a cross-country conclave of comrades for the first day back to school at Podcast High! Hear conversations with Chris (Left Behind), Gabrielle (les Ficelles/Ricochet), Tyler + Roberta (Alberta Advantage), Evan (Kino Lefter), Paris (Tech Won’t Save Us), Eric (Big Shiny Takes), Umair (Oats for Breakfast…

How will Canadians cope with rising unemployment, a housing crunch and paying rent? How should government handle the economic recovery, including proposed bailouts for big corporations? And what is the future of affordable housing in Canada? On the last in a series of summer episodes exploring how the pandemic interacts with social issues in Canada…

Pivot Legal Society's Meenakshi Mannoe (Vancouver Prison Justice Day Committee) and Montreal academic and activist Ted Rutland (The Anti-Carceral Group) join host Andre Goulet to discuss decarceration, abolition and the past, present and future of Prison Justice organizing in an era of COVID-19. Find out more about how you can support prisoners and…

As the movement to defund police continues to gain momentum across North America, a coalition of more than twenty Montreal community groups are calling for a 50% cut to the police budget in one of Canada's safest and most over-policed cities. But where would these cuts happen? And how could funding be re-directed? On this episode Black Lives Matter…

On a special Canada Day crossover host Andre Goulet teams up with the sensational socialist film crit of Kino Lefter's Abdul, Laura and Evan! Join the gang for a hallucinogenic history tour as they unpack Matthew Rankin's surreal 2019 not-quite-biopic 'The 20th Century', featuring beloved bachelor and long-time Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie…

What kind of challenges come with organizing in the midst of a public health crisis? On a new episode of UtN's summer series 'The Intersect', Free Transit Edmonton's Juan Felipe Vargas Alba and Free Transit Ottawa's Julia Szwarc join host Andre Goulet to explore the rapid growth of the Free Transit movement and how it intersects with police violenc…

On the first in a series of episodes exploring how the pandemic interacts with social issues in Canada, David Desbaillets returns with a new edition of ‘Housing Party’ to talk with Marie-Hélène Landry of women’s shelter Chez Doris about economic, social and housing realities in the era of COVID-19. Community organization Chez Doris has been providi…

On episode 127, investigative journalist Martin Lukacs (The Trudeau Formula: Seduction and Betrayal in an Age of Discontent) joins host Andre Goulet to discuss Justin’s new role as the nation’s camp-counsellor-in-chief, the lobbying leviathan and Liberal corporate cronyism, misplaced praise for an insufficient NDP response to the CERB bailout, new …

On episode 127 Kate Jacobson and Sean Willett of The Alberta Advantage join host Andre Goulet to discuss zero dollar oil, recognizing America as a failed state, fake country balkanization in an age of pandemic and more. Plus: dismantling so-called "Canadian" values and a Marxist analysis of Dr. Panda's pseudo-fascism. See the 'Canadian Values' poll…

On episode 125 Emily Leedham, James Wilt and host Andre Goulet talk COVID19 in Manitoba, call out the CERB for leaving undocumented workers behind and explore why the left’s response to the recent Winnipeg PD murders and to police killings everywhere should be to call for the abolition of the police. Plus: releasing a major book on the future of pu…

Sequestered in the nation's capital, political commentator and academic David Moscrop (The Washington Post, Maclean's) joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the nationalization of the economy and the paradigm shifting CERB, the strength of Canadian political institutions in the face of an unprecedented crisis and what the Trudeau government can learn …

On episode 123 journalist Drew Brown (The Independent, VICE) joins host Andre Goulet to lament the loss of Newfoundland shed culture, analyze the gigantic hole in Trudeau’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit plan and explore why the global pandemic may be an extinction event for journalism. This episode was recorded on April 5th, 2020. Check out Tom…

On episode 122 it's picnics, panics and positive energy as Vancouver comics Charlie Demers and David Harris join host Andre Goulet to talk rent freeze, economic collapse and what the coronavirus crisis looks like from a Pacific Rim perspective. Hear multi-diagnosed comedian buds Charlie & David open up weekly (and weakly!) about mental illness and …

On episode 121 pundit and podcaster Rob Rousseau (49th Parahell, The Insurgents) and friend of the show Marla Williams join host Andre Goulet to discuss the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, to flag the threat of increased surveillance and government overreach during the crisis and to provide some solace, support and solidarity in the …

On episode 120 of Unpacking the News, host Andre Goulet welcomes comedian John Hanchar back to the show after a year abroad in China to try to make sense of a frightening and confusing week as Canada enters a new era of global health crisis. Audio on this episode includes an excerpt from Stanley Kubrick's 'Dr. Strangelove' and this Tuesday's Justin…

On episode 119, it's a trip down the memory hole to those heady, halcyon days of late February when occupations and blockades were sweeping the country. Join activist Ethan Dennett and host Andre Goulet for a conversation on the solidarity and celebration of the BC Legislature occupation. Plus: hear Ethan and Andre explore why Canadian liberals and…

On episode 118 of Unpacking the News ex-journalist and Comms Director at the BC-based public interest group Dogwood Kai Nagata joins host Andre Goulet to discuss the political fallout from the blockades and occupations, a federal government confused by its own hypocrisy and the RCMP’s historical pattern of violence against Indigenous communities. T…

On episode 117 guests Gabrielle Brassard-Lecours and Ludvic Moquin-Beaudry help host Andre Goulet navigate life in the quiet dystopia of la Belle Province as the panel discuss the new values test for Quebec immigrants, Premier Francois Legault's weird allegations aimed at the Kahnawake blockade and the latest on the state-sanctioned second class ci…

As the climate justice movement grows and the demand for immediate action intensifies, how can we move beyond broad demands and begin implementing the ambitious changes necessary to stop climate change and improve Canadian society? On a special presentation of last week's 'Transform Your Workplace, Save the Planet' conference, a posse of prestigiou…

On a media double feature episode of Unpacking the News, host Andre Goulet welcomes Geoff Sharpe, co-founder of online advocacy org North99, to explore the rise of left/socialist media in Canada and the United States and why professionalizing indie media in this country is more important than ever. Plus: why Arnold Viesen can't rap, how John Baird'…

On a Labour double feature episode of Unpacking the News, host Andre Goulet welcomes Winnipeg-based organizer and broadcaster Emily Leedham (Rank & File: Prairie Edition) to discuss her experience on the frontlines of the Unifor Local 594 blockade at Regina's Co-op oil refinery. Then, Montreal journalist Jon Milton discusses Concordia University's …

On a new episode of Housing Party, Faiz Abhuani of Brick by Brick joins host David DesBaillets to explore his organization’s work in financially sustainable, market-based community housing initiatives, green and racialized gentrification, the hidden conflict of Montreal's city government vs. the civil service and much more. Join DesBaillets every t…

On a 'short and tweet' mini episode of Unpacking the News, host Andre Goulet serves up a selection of decadent hot takes exploring all sides of this week's dumb donut discourse. Plus: live video from the Wet’suwet’en pipeline standoff in northern B.C. and information on how you can help support journalist Jerome Turner's important work inside the U…

On the first episode of 2020, host Andre Goulet greets a new decade with SFU/UBC polisci academic and politics pundit Stewart Prest to investigate the Liberal government's frustrating foreign policy record, including an update on Huawei scion Meng Wanzhou's extradition case and Canada/China relations and exploring why ex-foreign minister Chrystia F…

In a year-end retrospective, host Andre Goulet and associate producer Savanna Craig explore the very weird memory palace of the year 2019 with selected audio curated from a few of this year's 39 episodes including: * ep79 'Falling in Love With Andrew Scheer' (2/14) * ep86 'Welcome to Hellberta' (4/23) * ep93 'Early Summer Fall Election Preview' (6/…

Accidental babysitting for John Lennon and Yoko Ono, nostalgia and geography on Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal and why Stephen Harper is a terrible dinner guest. Plus: how the origins of the ‘Canada is Fake’ movement may lie in the 1995 Referendum. All this and more with political commentator, talk radio legend and author of the new memoir 'Make-up …

Political commentator and talk radio legend Tommy Scbnurmacher is the author of ‘Canada’s Not a Real Country’ and a new memoir ‘Make-up Tips From Auschwitz: How Vanity Saved My Mother’s Life'. On a preview conversation of episode 110, Schnurmacher and host Andre Goulet go deep on a frequently forgotten fixture in an earlier era of Canadian politics…

On ep109 journalist Anna Bianca Roach sits down with University of Toronto research and policy analyst Abtin Parnia to explore how the extreme Right's anti-immigration ideology and population control rhetoric co-opts Green politics and the struggle for a sustainable and ecological future. This conversation was recorded on December 2nd, 2019. Articl…

Presenting the first of three special French-language episodes of Spacing Magazine's Future Fix, this is 'Face au Futur' hosted by Katia Gaid and produced by Andre Goulet. How do post-secondary institutions, and specifically their campuses, fit into the smart city landscape? The Université of Montréal's new Campus MIL gives us an idea. Geneviève O'…

On ep108 Progress Alberta executive director and 'The Progress Report' host Duncan Kinney joins Andre Goulet to explain how Jason Kenney's 2019 budget is an opening salvo in the United Conservative Party's war against Alberta civil society. Plus: in spite of massive media hype and hysteria, does support for Wexit actually hold up? (Short answer: no…

On an episode 108 preview, Progress Alberta executive director and host of 'The Progress Report' podcast Duncan Kinney joins the show to ask why Canada's foreign policy establishment is supporting Bolivia's military-led coup against a popularly elected socialist leader. Tune in next week as Duncan and host Andre Goulet unpack Wexit and explore the …

On a new episode of 'Housing Party' housing and human rights scholar David DesBaillets speaks with Projet Montréal city councilor Craig Sauvé on how the city's progressive civic government is making gains for housing access and affordability in its ambitious 20/20/20 agenda. Join DesBaillets every two months for a new conversation on housing in Can…

On ep106 of Unpacking the News, a cavalcade of comrades and commentators from across the country join host Andre Goulet to explain why, in the aftermath of the demented fever dream of Canada's 43rd federal election, everyone's a loser. This episode includes conversations with activist Hugh Stewart (Dog Island) in Halifax, political science scholar …

Depraved debates, a Singh surge and a frustratingly full frontal attack on democratic norms from Maxime Bernier and Rebel Media.... On episode 105, political analyst Ludvic Moquin-Beaudry and attorney Laurence Ricard join host Andre Goulet to explore week 5 of Canada's 43rd Federal Election. Plus: correspondent Savanna Craig and activist Sania Mali…

Singh’s strength in the face of adversity impresses, the BQ tweets the quiet part out loud and American Andrew Scheer is....not actually an accountant? On episode 104 of the podcast journalist Martin Forgues, political analyst Ludvic Moquin-Beaudry and sociologist Julia Posca join host Andre Goulet to explore week 4 of our grim and grotesque 2019 F…

If televangelist and PPC candidate Laura Lynn Tyler Thompson's claims that Maxime Bernier is the second coming of the biblical king Jehu are accurate, what can we expect from next week's Leadership debates? To explore this hot topic issue and more, journalist Martin Forgues, political analyst Ludvic Moquin-Beaudry, politics scholar Maika Sondarjee …

After a week of secrets revealed and hypocrisies exposed journalist Martin Forgues, political analyst Ludvic Moquin-Beaudry, politics scholar Maika Sondarjee and host Andre Goulet discuss the slow-motion implosion of the Liberal campaign, how Canadian media is dramatically unequipped to handle the discourse Trudeau's 'blackface' history demands and…