COMMONS

All labour exists on a spectrum, ranging from enslavement at one pole, to fully, freely given on the other.And, in Canada, at the most extreme end of that spectrum are prison labourers. Incarcerated people have few rights and fewer options when it comes to their working lives.If we want to truly understand our criminal justice system and Canadian labour, we need to examine how prisoners work.Featured in this episode: Jordan House, Asaf RashidTo learn more:Solidarity Beyond Bars: Unionizing Prison Labour by Jordan House & Asaf Rashid“Prison breaking-point: Canada’s jail system is in crisis, and that affects all of us” by Justin Ling in The Globe and Mail“The case for a prisoners’ union” in Briarpatch  by Jordan House & Asaf RashidCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas For a limited time, get 6 months of exclusive supporter benefits for just $2/month. Go to canadaland.com/join to become a supporter today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, fishing is more than just an industry or a job. It truly is a way of life. It’s at the core of what has made this place what it is.Today, as fishers leave the industry in droves, all of that is at risk of dying.But is it even worth it to try to keep all of that alive? After all, there’s plenty of ways to make a living. And what kind of future is in store for the people who refuse to let go?Featured in this episode: Kimberly Orren, Leo Hearn, Jenn Thornhill Verma, Ryan ClearyTo learn more:“Could smaller, more sustainable cod fishing make a comeback? Newfoundlanders look cautiously for ways to rebuild” by Jenn Thornhill Verma in The Globe and Mail“Fishing school takes students out of the classroom and out on the water” by Amanda Gear in CBC News“The Fishing Revolution and the Origins of Capitalism” by Ian Angus in Monthly ReviewCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The cod collapse is a harbinger of the many environmental disasters we’re about to face. But what happens to workers in the aftermath of that kind of catastrophe? In Newfoundland and Labrador, monopolistic corporations took advantage.The history of the Atlantic fishery can be understood as a power struggle between fishermen and merchants. And the merchants are winning.Featured in this episode: Glen Winslow, Ryan Cleary, Jenn Thornhill-VermaTo learn more:“Who Controls Fish Processing in Newfoundland & Labrador?” by Jenn Thornhill-Verma & Jack Daly in The Independent“Why are fish harvesters protesting in Newfoundland?” in CTV News“Danish company Royal Greenland buying 4 more N.L. fish plants” in CBC NewsCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, AGI If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The closure of the cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador was the most devastating mass layoff in Canadian history. And its impacts are still being felt to this day.The collapse of Newfoundland cod is a story of man-made environmental calamity that turned into economic devastation. It’s a story of a government ignoring the knowledge of working people, in favour of the so-called expertise of industry, to disastrous effect.But this isn’t just history. It’s prophecy. It’s a vision of what may come if we continue to ignore the ecological limits of this planet in the pursuit of profit.Featured in this episode: Bernard Martin, Jenn Thornhill-Verma, Ryan Cleary, Glen WinslowTo learn more:Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys by Jenn Thornhill-VermaLament for an Ocean: The Collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery by Michael HarrisManaged Annihilation: An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse by Dean BavingtonCod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark KurlanskyCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, Douglas If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published on November 24, 2021. Twenty-six men were working underground when an explosion tore through the Westray Mine in Nova Scotia. Their friends and colleagues went into the wreckage to try to save them.The story of Westray is one of managerial malice and the heroism of everyday people. But why is it that governments let this happen over and over again, at the expense of so many lives?Featured in this episode: Vernon Theriault, Tom SandbornTo learn more:Westray: My Journey From Darkness to Light by Vernon Theriault and Marjorie Coady“Hell’s History” by Tom Sandborn in The TyeeThe Last Shift by CBC’s The Fifth EstateAdditional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Migrant farm workers are the backbone of Canada’s agricultural economy. But because they can be fired and deported at will, their voices are rarely ever heard in this country.But Gabriel Allahdua is one of the few who can now speak up. And the story he has to tell is startling.It’s a story of racism and labour exploitation that goes back decades, even centuries. And it’s a prophecy of what is to come — that the hardships inflicted on migrant farm workers are only a trial run for the rest of us. This is the second episode in a two-part series on farm labour. Featured in this episode: Gabriel Allahdua, Chris RamsaroopTo learn more:Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada by Gabriel Allahdua with Edward Dunsworth“‘Overtly racist’: Lawsuit challenges Canada’s migrant farmworker system” by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours in Al-Jazeera“Former Ontario seasonal farmworker speaks out about exploitation, files class action lawsuit” by Jon Woodward in CTV News“The Canadian state and the racialization of Caribbean migrant farm labour 1947–1966” by Vic Satzewich in Ethnic and Racial StudiesCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The creation of the Canadian Farmworkers Union, as it would come to be called, was the first step in a struggle that continues to this day.Because even now, farmworkers have far fewer rights than almost any other class of worker. And even today, the men and women who grow our food are subject to horrific working conditions and racial discrimination.But to understand why the situation remains so bad, we need to go back in time to a moment when there was progress and hope. A moment when it looked like things might truly change for the better.This is the first episode in a two-part series on farm labour. Featured in this episode: Raj ChouhanTo learn more:A Time To Rise by Anand Patwardhan & Jim MunroUnion Zindabad!: South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia by Donna Sacuta, Bailey Garden & Anushay Malik“Charan Gill: An ‘Epic’ Life of Advocacy” by David P. Ball in The Tyee“1983: The Year BC Citizens and Workers Fought Back” by Rod Mickleburgh in The TyeeCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Across Canada, emergency rooms have been shutting down, leaving desperate people in the lurch. And at the heart of this health care crisis, is a labour crisis.Nurses are leaving their jobs in droves, leaving hospitals understaffed and sometimes unable to carry out their most basic obligations.In this episode, we'll tell you how nursing went from a profession hailed as heroic to one in an utter state of crisis, all through the eyes of a woman who lived through it all.Featured in this episode: Nadira RossTo learn more:“How Canadian hospitals became dependent on expensive, out-of-town nurses” by Tu Thanh Ha, Kelly Grant and Stephanie Chambers in The Globe and Mail“How nursing staffing agencies are costing Ontario hospitals untold millions” by Mike Crawley in CBC News Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour has undergone a seismic shift over the past decade. The rise of gig work and temp agencies have made employment more precarious than ever. In the interest of profits, companies are turning more and more towards temporary foreign workers and international students for minimum wage jobs. And even for those with seemingly secure employment, wages and benefits continue to be squeezed. One thing seems clear: workers are getting screwed. This season of COMMONS will dig into the fascinating history and ever-changing present of what it means to be a worker in Canada.  Featured in this episode: Jim StanfordCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, Douglas, AG1 If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour has undergone a seismic shift over the past decade. The rise of gig work and temp agencies have made employment more precarious than ever. In the interest of profits, companies are turning more and more towards temporary foreign workers and international students for minimum wage jobs. And even for those with seemingly secure employment, wages and benefits continue to be squeezed. One thing seems clear: workers are getting screwed. This season of COMMONS will dig into the fascinating history and ever-changing present of what it means to be a worker in Canada.  COMMONS: Work launches on March 20th. Canadaland Supporters can listen to all episodes one week early! Become a supporter at canadaland.com/join   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a world of obsessive fandoms. The Stans, Swifties, Potterheads, Beliebers, Trekkies, Bronies, Barbs and their ilk are everywhere to be found.But at what point does it go from being harmless entertainment and turn into something more sinister?Featured in this episode: Zoe Alderton, Robert LawsonTo learn more:“‘Snapewives’ and ‘Snapeism’: A Fiction-Based Religion within the Harry Potter Fandom” by Zoe Alderton in Religions“Andrew Tate: how the ‘manosphere’ influencer is selling extreme masculinity to young men” by Robert Lawson in The ConversationEverything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It by Kaitlyn TiffanyCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: oxio, DouglasIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, is unlike almost any other cult leader Canada has ever seen. In an incredibly short amount of time, she’s been able to gain a mass following, despite her absurd claims and alarming rhetoric.At various points, she’s claimed to be a political leader, a monarch, an interdimensional being communing with aliens, and so much more. She’s urged her followers to take up arms and execute migrants on sight.And now, she’s taken up residence in a small Saskatchewan town that doesn’t know what to do.Featured in this episode: Mack Lamoureux (VICE News), Peter Smith (Canadian Anti-Hate Network), Hugh EverdingTo learn more:“A QAnon Cult Set Up a Compound in a Small Town. The Locals Are Fighting Back” by Mack Lamoureux in VICE News“Self Declared Queen Of Canada Calling For US Supporters To Invade Canada And Prepare To Execute “Traitors”” by Peter Smith in Canadian Anti-Hate NetworkThe Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything by Mike Rothschild Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: oxio, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Multi-level marketing isn’t based on rational business logic. It’s not even built on irrational business logic. It’s ideology. It’s faith.MLMs have become such a ubiquitous part of North American life that their tenets are rarely ever questioned. The sector holds enormous political sway. Millions of people join, leave and rejoin every year, almost all of them ending up poorer for the experience.And to call it a cult is not just a cute turn of phrase. The cultishness of MLMs is essential to their success.Featured in this episode: Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Julie AndersonTo learn more:Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing by Robert L. Fitzpatrick“How lobbying dollars prop up pyramid schemes” by Matt Stroud in The VergeYouTube: @JulieAndersonvideosAmway: The Cult of Free Enterprise by Stephen ButterfieldCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Aviva Lessard (Additional Production) Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, Oxio, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 1.4 million Canadians and almost 50 million Americans are involved in multi-level marketing. And that sheer volume of people makes it a near certainty that you’ve encountered MLMs in your life somehow.The promise of financial freedom can be an intoxicating lure. But MLMs, like so many other cultish enterprises, are about more than just money. They’re about transcendence.And in their wake, they often leave behind ruined livelihoods and broken lives. Featured in this episode: Julie Anderson, Amanda Montell, Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Marco Moukhaiber To learn more:Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing by Robert L. Fitzpatrick“'They have you in a cultish grip': the women losing thousands to online beauty schemes” by Amelia Tate in The GuardianYouTube: @JulieAndersonvideosYouTube: @AlwaysMarcoCultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda MontellCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Aviva Lessard (Additional Production) Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Oxio, Athletic GreensIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary-Jayne Blackmore is one of the oldest children of Winston Blackmore, the most famous polygamist in Canada. For decades, her family has been the subject of intense media and legal scrutiny because of her father’s 27 wives and 150 children. Their lives have been dissected in documentaries and in court testimony.The name Blackmore has become synonymous with either faith-based persecution by the state or with cult-like religious fundamentalism that victimizes girls and women.But for Mary-Jayne, these kinds of black-and-white portrayals miss so much about what it’s been like being a Blackmore.To learn more:Balancing Bountiful: What I Learned About Feminism From My Polygamist Grandmothers by Mary Jayne BlackmoreThe Bishop of Bountiful B.C. by the CBC’s Fifth EstateUnder the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon KrakauerCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Canva, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1973, a French motorsports journalist claimed to have been visited by a UFO that revealed to him the secret origins of humanity. For the next half-century, the man known as Raël would go on to create a new faith with tens of thousands of adherents all around the world. The media have portrayed the Raelians as not just a cult, but a strange phantasmagoria of extraterrestrials, orgies and clones. But its followers insist it is the only true path forward for humanity.Featured in this episode: Nicole Bertrand, Susan J. Palmer, Harold HenningTo learn more:Aliens Adored: Raël’s UFO Religion by Susan J. PalmerThe Prophet and the Space Aliens by Yoav ShamirThe UFO sect campaigning against female genital mutilation by Monica Mark in The Guardian Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An explosion of new spiritual movements in the 1970s led to the creation of an entirely novel academic field. But right from the beginning, the discipline was riven asunder.The Cult Wars have been raging for decades. They’re fought not only in academic journals and conference seminars, but in the press, the courts and in legislative assemblies. And their battles continue to have enormous consequences.Featured in this episode: Michael Kropveld, Stephen A. Kent, Susan J. PalmerTo learn more:“Caught Up in the Cult Wars: Confessions of a New Religious Movement Researcher” by Susan J. Palmer in University of Toronto Press“Life after Doomsday: Tracking cult activity from a Montreal storage locker” by Simon Lewson in The WalrusMisunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field edited by Benjamin Zablocki & Thomas RobbinsCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: OxioIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1960s and 70s, there was a fear that cult leaders were brainwashing young people into joining their new, strange movements. But is it even possible to “brainwash” anyone?At a psychiatric hospital in Montreal, one mad scientist, with the help of the CIA, tried to find out.Featured in this episode: Alison Steel, Lisa EllenwoodTo learn more:Brainwashed by Michelle Shephard, Lisa Ellenwood & Chris Oke on CBC PodcastsThe Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control by John MarksFather, Son and CIA by Harvey WeinsteinMK Ultra: CIA mind control program in Canada by CBC’s The Fifth Estate“Federal government quietly compensates daughter of brainwashing experiments victim” by Elizabeth Thompson in CBC NewsCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, OxioIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of Brother XII still fascinates and even frightens some people in and around Nanaimo.He’s often called the Devil of De Courcy Island for good reason.Brother XII prophesied about the coming apocalypse. But instead, his story would presage something different. He was a forerunner of the strange, new religions that would sweep over the western world.Featured in this episode: Bill Miner, Justine BrownTo learn more:Brother XII: The Strange Odyssey of a 20th Century Prophet by John OliphantAll Possible Worlds: Utopian Experiments in British Columbia by Justine BrownCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Canva, Douglas If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.risis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As organized religion declines in countries like Canada, we’ve experienced an explosion of what some call religious movements and what others call cults.The idea of cults has become an omnipresent part of our discourse. But what even is a cult? And why have we become so intrigued by these groups?And the language of cults has moved beyond just religion into so many different spheres — everything from fitness, to politics, to work. Featured in this episode: Harold Henning, Amanda MontellTo learn more:Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda MontellSounds Like A CultCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor in Cheif)Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, Douglas If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.