Politics Is Broken

Ontario held municipal elections and most eligible voters didn't show up. Meanwhile, the US midterms are approaching, and according to new reporting, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra allegedly warned that Canada could get blamed if Republicans lose.
So... we don't vote in our own elections, we can't vote in theirs, and somehow we're still in trouble.
This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar, Lisa B and David Moscrop discuss voter apathy, American midterms, and why Canada might be America's favourite scapegoat.

Alberta voted on 10 referendum questions — from separation to Senate abolition to immigration control — and decided to stay in Canada (for now). Meanwhile, Donald Trump has developed a unique endorsement strategy for Republican candidates that involves complimenting their backsides. Brittlestar, Lisa B, and David Moscrop break it all down.

Is Canada trying to protect kids online... or just trying to regulate the internet after it has already escaped the barn, stolen the tractor, and opened a TikTok account?
This week, Stewart and Lisa talk Bill C-34, the proposed under-16 social media ban, age verification, Ai safeguards, deepfakes, online harms, and why protecting kids online will take more than just telling Big Tech to behave.
They also get into Canadian content rules, streaming giants, the CRTC, Netflix, TikTok, Canadian creators, and whether Canada should be investing in its own culture instead of hoping American platforms fund it for us. Plus: butter tarts, migraines, Yik Yak, and the eternal truth that humans are garbage.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Peter Hoekstra is back in the headlines after reposting Donald Trump’s “51st state” comments... because apparently diplomacy now comes with a retweet button and no adult supervision.
This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar and Lisa B talk about Hoekstra’s latest Canada-sized diplomatic faceplant, Trump’s ongoing 51st state nonsense, and why Canadians are getting tired of being treated like a Costco sample the U.S. can just grab on the way by.
They also dig into Alberta separatism, Danielle Smith’s referendum drama, Wab Kinew’s blunt response at the Western Premiers Conference, tariffs, Canadian sovereignty, and whether Hoekstra is a real problem... or simply an ambassadorial buffoon with excellent job security.
It’s Canada-U.S. relations, Alberta politics, Trump chaos, and one very simple message: Hoekstra go home.

Is politics getting nastier... or just more honest?
This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar and Lisa talk about the collapse of political decorum, the rise of insult politics, and whether it’s sometimes okay to meet bad-faith nonsense with a little verbal fire.
From Alberta separatism and anti-separation rallies to Pierre Poilievre’s media scrums, Mark Carney, Stephen Miller, Gavin Newsom’s online trolling, and the occasional political F-bomb, they ask whether political discourse can get messy without completely losing the plot.
A funny, sharp, very Canadian conversation about anger, authenticity, media, rallies, and how to keep one hand on decorum while the other one reaches for the emergency swear jar.