- The hunt for millions of counterfeit toonies
Friday, September 2nd 2022
They call it the "camel-toe toonie", and you will understand why as soon as you look at the front right paw of the polar bear on it. Since they were first discovered in circulation in 2020, estimates range from at least tens of thousands to likely millions of them reaching circulation.
But who is behind it? How do you counterfeit toonies at scale and get them into the banking system? And ... why toonies?
GUEST: Brent Mackie, creator of cameltoetoonies.ca, numismatist, treasurer of Waterloo Coin Society
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- Is Diagolon a joke or a threat? Or both?
Thursday, September 1st 2022
When CPC leadership frontrunner Pierre Poilievre shook hands with Jeremy MacKenzie, a founder of the Diagolon movement, he likely had no idea who he was. But he soon found himself being asked to distance himself from the man. That's because although many in the movement will tell you that Diagolon is a joke, or a meme, the values it espouses are the opposite.
But is it really a call for a new nation? Is it just a way to justify being a troll online? What is it, actually, out in the real world? And why are people who cover hate groups worried about it?
GUEST: Peter Smith, investigative reporter, Canadian Anti-Hate Network
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- How the government took over First Nations' finances. And made things worse.
Wednesday, August 31st 2022
It's called the Default Prevention and Management Policy. And for decades it was used to take control of budgets and finances away from First Nations leaders, and put them in the hands of "default managers" appointed by the government to supposedly better manage a community’s finances.
Now an expansive investigation has examined just what happened in those communities that had financial control taken away. And in the vast majority of them...things got worse. In some cases, much worse. The government promised in 2017 to replace this policy — so far, without much action. Why?
GUEST: Patti Sonntag, investigative and data journalist, working with a large team for Canada's National Observer
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- Chrystia Freeland and the tip of a hate-filled iceberg
Tuesday, August 30th 2022
Many of Canada's politicians spent their weekend condemning the behaviour of a man who angrily confronted Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Alberta on Friday. The video, which includes screamed profanities as Freeland tries to board an elevator, went viral. But what Freeland experienced is just the tip of the iceberg.
There's currently a targeted hate campaign aimed at female journalists, many of them racialized. The abuse and threats they are subjected to is unprintable. There are health care workers leaving the profession in droves, tired of constant harassment. Canada has a real problem on its hands, and asking ourselves "Is this really who we are?" isn't enough to solve it.
GUEST: Fatima Syed, Vice President, Canadian Association of Journalists
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- Streaming platforms fight for their futures
Monday, August 29th 2022
HBO is really, really hoping that you streamed House of the Dragon last night. And Amazon is desperate for you to do the same with its Lord of the Rings prequel, Rings of Power, in September. These shows cost tens of millions of dollars per episode, at a time when the future of streaming platforms has never been cloudier.
This year has seen layoffs, declining subscriber numbers for Netflix, a coming merger between HBOMax and Discovery+ and many other signs that after years of upward trends, the market is saturated. And what happens when the market saturates? Well, only the strongest survive. It's a plot that wouldn't look out of place on HBO on Sunday nights.
GUEST: Brian Steinberg, Senior TV Editor, Variety
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