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Tara Henley is a Canadian journalist and bestselling author. On the Lean Out podcast, she interviews heterodox writers and thinkers from around the world, in an attempt to widen the Overton window of acceptable thought in society. You can learn more about her work at tarahenley.substack.com
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If you live in North America, chances are good that you spend a lot of time wondering why things feel so dysfunctional. Why can’t we make any progress on the big issues of our age, like housing? Our guest on the program today has some answers — and he has written a fascinating new book about why nothing works. Marc J. Dunkelman is an American author and former political staffer. He’s a fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs. His latest book is Why No...
In recent years, we have seen heated debate in this country around the CBC and its future. With the question of defunding no longer looming, it is a good time to pause, to look back at where our national public broadcaster has been, and to talk through where it might go from here. Our guest on today’s program is veteran CBC producer who has written an insightful and well-researched new book about the institution — and where he thinks it went wrong. David Cayley is a Canadian author and broadc...
Today, as we go to air, our guest on the program takes the stage at Toronto Metropolitan University to address the next generation. He is a legendary Canadian journalist and he’ll be reflecting on the highs and lows that he’s experienced in his ringside seat to history, and how to navigate what he calls “the spinning vortex of ever-more complex news” — all of which he covers in his riveting new memoir. Brian Stewart is a former foreign correspondent for the CBC. His new book is On the Ground:...
Earlier this year at Lean Out, we covered Canada’s federal election. It was a contest not just between candidates and parties but between dominant narratives about the challenges facing this country. Was our biggest problem the decline in material conditions, or was it Donald Trump? Our guest on today’s podcast was there, on the campaign trail. He’s just written a book about why this election was one of the most consequential in recent memory. Justin Ling is a Canadian journalist and author. ...
In 2021, Canada was rocked by a discovery at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops: what appeared to be the remains of more than 200 Indigenous children. The story went viral globally and was reported by The New York Times and others as a mass grave. But to date, no remains have been exhumed. Our guest on the program today is a First Nation chief and a podcaster who has made a new, hour-long video breaking down the controversy. He says it’s time for the media to grapple wit...
September is here and Lean Out is back with a new season of conversations with writers and thinkers from around the world. We could not think of a more important topic to kick off our fall season than the state of Canadian democracy. Our guest on the program today has written a new book that serves as a wake-up call — he says that while we observe the rituals of the democratic process, we have lost its spirit and its substance. Andrew Coyne is a columnist for The Globe and Mail and a we...
Lean Out is now on our annual summer hiatus. But we while we’re away, we wanted to bring you some popular encore episodes from our archives, including today’s show — from April of 2025. Enjoy, and we’ll see you in September! For some time now, writers and thinkers outside this country have been asking me: What happened to Canada? Our guest on the program today has asked this question himself, in a new book that takes a deep dive into our decline. Tristin Hopper is a columnist and reporter for...
Lean Out is now on our annual summer hiatus. But we while we’re away, we wanted to bring you some popular encore episodes from our archives, including today’s show — from November of 2024. Enjoy, and we’ll see you in September! With Donald Trump winning the presidency, the popular vote, the Senate, and the House, in what The New York Times has described as a “crushing electoral rebuke” of the Democrats, there is a lot of soul-searching going on in the party. Our guest on the program today tri...
Lean Out is now on our annual summer hiatus. But we while we’re away, we wanted to bring you some popular encore episodes from our archives, including today’s show — from May of 2024. Enjoy, and we’ll see you in September! 2020 was a turbulent year in American politics, and in the America media. The editor of The New York Times has conceded that the paper went “too far” during that time and said that it is now working to pull itself back from such “excesses.” Our guest on the program tod...
The summer of 2020 was one of the most explosive periods of recent memory — with pandemic lockdowns, the death of George Floyd, nationwide protests and riots, and workplace purges and online mobbings. And yet, so much of what went on has now been forgotten. In his new book, our guest on the program today encourages us to take a good, hard look at the insanity of those months, and how they shaped the era we’re now living through. Thomas Chatterton Williams is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Hi...
In the United States right now, we are witnessing the decline of what has often been called the woke left — and a backlash from an increasingly woke right that is now seeking to impose its own beliefs on society in similar ways. Our guest on the program this week has been an outspoken critic of illiberalism, wherever it originates on the political spectrum, and he believes that defending liberal values has never been more important. Andrew Doyle is a UK broadcaster, commentator, and comedian....
One of the themes of the Lean Out podcast is the ongoing tensions between men and women. This past week saw a shot fired on that front: a piece published in The New York Times Magazine, titled “The Trouble With Wanting Men.” For this special joint episode, we unpack this essay with podcaster Meghan Daum and a Gen Z guest. Meghan Daum is an American author and essayist, and the host of the Unspeakable podcast, soon to be renamed the Unspeakeasy. Lily Isaacs is a British writer, and an editoria...
1The working poor in Canada are often largely invisible. The struggle to make ends meet in an explosively expensive era tends to be a private matter. But our guest on the show today has taken the step to make her own battle public, with a new cover story for Maclean’s that’s sparking discussion across the country. Jeni Gunn is a gig worker in Victoria, B.C. Her new essay for Maclean’s is “Confessions of the Working Poor.” You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at ...
In recent weeks and months, a number of you have reached out to Tara about the debate on gender medicine for minors — and a lack of media coverage about it, particularly in this country. This is a topic that she recently covered on her other podcast, Full Press. And The Hub has been kind enough to let us bring you the free version of that episode today, where you can hear her entire conversation on gender medicine and the media, with co-hosts Harrison Lowman and Peter Menzies. You...
In recent years, we’ve read a lot of memoirs from women who feel stuck in specific ways: single, childless, consumed by work, and disillusioned with hook-up culture. Our guest on today’s program is the author of the first memoir we have read about breaking free from that pattern — and the story of how it happened is as moving as it is surprising. Beth Kaplan is a Canadian writer, and the author of Loose Woman: My Odyssey From Lost to Found. You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley,...
With the excesses of 2020 now being examined in mainstream outlets like The New York Times, we are witnessing a moment of introspection on the American left. To unpack this development, we're joined by a writer who has studied the history of the left. And in this week's conversation, we wrestle with our own complicated — and at times conflicted — relationships to these politics. Daniel Oppenheimer is an American writer and podcaster. He runs the Substack newsletter Eminent Americans and hosts...
It’s common knowledge these days that the left has lost the working class. But there is little curiosity about how, and why, and what that means for our politics. Our guest on this week's program has written a deeply researched book on the subject — and she has some ideas on where the left should go from here. Joan C. Williams is a Distinguished Professor of Law (Emerita) and Founding Director of the Equality Action Center at the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco. H...
Three and a half years ago, during the pandemic era, we launched Lean Out to explore some basic questions about illiberalism in our response to the crisis — and in our culture, our politics, and our newsrooms. Today, for our 200th episode of the show, we're thrilled to be joined by two academics who have written a deeply researched book that provides some answers. Stephen Macedo is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton Univer...
In polarized times, our tolerance for different perspectives decreases. Groupthink becomes common, and we can often find ourselves either censored, or self-censoring. Our guest on the program today has done a deep dive into this topic, and she has some thoughts on how we can begin to speak up — while still seeing our ideological opponents as human. Jenara Nerenberg is an American author, and the founder of The Neurodiversity Project and The Interracial Project. Her latest book is Trust Your M...
Tonight, in London, England, a group of writers and thinkers will gather to debate a key cultural question: “Is woke dead?” And tomorrow, the inaugural conference of a new centre for social science kicks off. Academics will gather to talk through the intellectual origins of this movement and its politics, psychology, and driving interests, to establish it as a field of study, and to delve into overlooked topics and perspectives. Our guest on the program is the man behind both of these events,...
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Interesting interview, thanks.
Interesting interview about something I knew very little about. Also enjoyed its delving into the bigger picture of nuance. Make Nuance Great Again!
Great interview, thanks.
Interesting, thanks. I'm glad you pushed back on the science question. If she was a scientist she didn't seem that familiar with scientific theory.
I am also from NS and lived there through the whole pandemic and disagree with his take on lockdown. It was a disaster for us. However, I concur that yes there was broad acceptance, though in large part to Strang pretending he was following the established "science" and the media, like Stephen, not doing their job.
Great interview, thanks.
Interesting discussion, thanks.
Interesting interview, thanks
Enjoyed the interview, thanks.
Interesting interview, thanks
I am enjoying your work, thanks
Great interview, thanks
Interesting interview and yes that Agenda panel with the Ottawa physician was entertaining and bizarre.
hi Tara. I saw no mention of the feds printing money as a contributor to inflation in your discussion. Mr. Pollievre, of all MPs in Canada, has been consistent with his focus on the economy for years. Wondering about that? As in my simple mind havjng more dollars chasing same goods is an obvious contributor. Thx enjoy your podcasts.