Politics Is Broken

Kimmel’s FCC suspension vs. Canada’s CRTC: which country is actually more free? Brittlestar & Lisa B dig into political speech, CanCon, and why the algorithm might be the real censor.Topics: Kimmel/FCC suspension, political speech vs. hate-speech limits, CRTC & discoverability, Canada vs. U.S. free expression, algorithms as gatekeepers.Contact: politicsisbrokenpodcast@gmail.com

Green Party leader Elizabeth May joins us to unpack the fallout from Charlie Kirk’s murder, Michelle Rempel Garner’s call for Carney to speak up, and whether Canada risks following America’s path. Plus: PM Mark Carney... has his honeymoon already ended?

The Liberals invited the author of Project 2025 to a cabinet meeting… and then acted surprised when he ghosted them. Meanwhile, a U.S. DOJ official spilled Epstein file gossip on a Hinge date. In this episode, we ask: why do smart people keep engaging with loud idiots, and is Mark Carney just realizing what the rest of us already know?Video version at Brittlestar.com

This one’s the inaugural Politics Is Broken with me and Lisa B… and Owen briefly fighting the intro music. Very professional. Very us.It’s National Payroll Week (Sept 15–19). Share your best payday story with #PowerOfPayroll and #Contest, tag National Payroll Institute, and you could win a $250 prepaid card. Every eligible post also triggers a donation to Food Banks Canada—good deeds with prize potential. Enter!In this episodeThe Power of Payroll: Real people make paydays happen. Let’s celebrate them—and win stuff while feeding people.Back to School, Back to Reality: Millions of students return… and the great Canadian debate: are they duo-tangs or just “those bendy paper binder things”?Poilievre’s New Tone (and Old Habits): Collaboration slogans meet carbon-tax-2.0 speeches. Will the CPC actually change… or just change outfits?Tariffs, De Minimis, and a Border Buzzkill: The U.S. yanks duty-free under $800; Canada Post partners with Zonos; small businesses (including ours) rethink shipping to the States.Alberta Teachers Draw a Line: 95% strike mandate. Class sizes, pay that tracks inflation, and why supporting teachers isn’t optional if you like… society.Why listenBecause it’s smart, funny, and slightly exasperated—like September in Canada. We cut through the noise and still leave room for the important questions… like whether chalk is extinct and if we can weaponize duo-tangs.🎧 Listen & follow the show:Apple Podcasts → Follow on Apple PodcastsSpotify → Follow on Spotify📺 Want the video version? Become a Paid Subscriber at Brittlestar.com to watch the full episode in glorious moving pictures.

It's never easy to say goodbye - and saying hello again to Poilievre isn't so fun either. Thank you for everything, Steve! This week, Brittlestar, Steve and Lisa talk the Air Canada strike coming to an end, the return of Pierre Poilievre, schmoozers in Ottawa, and more! Post your story on Instagram or TikTok with #PowerOfPayroll and #Contest, tag @nationalpayrollinst, and you could win a $250 prepaid credit card. Plus, for every post with those hashtags, NPI donates $1 to Food Banks Canada – up to $25,000.The video version of this podcast is only available to paid subscribers at Brittlestar.com. The audio version is free on your favourite podcast platforms. We love all subscribers.

This week we're joined by the incredible Alison Gill, a.k.a. Mueller, She Wrote! Allison also has her own fantastic podcasts, The Daily Bean, and JACK: A Special Counsel Podcast, to talk Canadians held in ICE custody, and the National Guard in D.C., Oh - also, the sandwich guy.Post your story on Instagram or TikTok with #PowerOfPayroll and #Contest, tag @nationalpayrollinst, and you could win a $250 prepaid credit card. Plus, for every post with those hashtags, NPI donates $1 to Food Banks Canada – up to $25,000.The video version of this podcast is only available to paid subscribers at Brittlestar.com. The audio version is free on your favourite podcast platforms. We love all subscribers.

This week on Podcast Is Broken, Stewart, Lisa, and Steve attempt to make it all make sense. It's not going well.This week on Podcast Is Broken, Brittlestar, Lisa, and Steve spiral into bread-cutting conspiracies, a Danish 'Wackadoo-Zoo' (Lisa's words) for their predators. Along the way: a man gets caught kayaking into Canada like it’s an Olympic event, Mexico’s president gives Canada the politest cold shoulder, and Trump and Putin plan a tension-filled meet-up.Post your story on Instagram or TikTok with #PowerOfPayroll and #Contest, tag @nationalpayrollinst, and you could win a $250 prepaid credit card. Plus, for every post with those hashtags, NPI donates $1 to Food Banks Canada – up to $25,000.The video version of this podcast is only available to paid subscribers at Brittlestar.com. The audio version is free on your favourite podcast platforms. We love all subscribers.Find the podcast here: https://pod.link/1730993828

This week on Podcast Is Broken, Stewart, Lisa, and Steve attempt to make sense of Canadian politics and news… and fail spectacularly but hilariously. Topics include:Justin Trudeau’s dinner date with Katy Perry’s dog (yes, really)Alberta flirting with leaving Canada (again)Spent fowl fraud at the border (no, we didn’t make that up)A mysterious “Blue Hackle Mafia” in the Canadian militaryAnd why driving a trailer on Calgary’s Deerfoot is basically a live-action video game.Plus, our “Make It Make Sense” game returns with all the accuracy of a drunk weather forecast. Spoiler: Lisa wins, Steve cries capriciousness.Perfect for anyone who likes their politics messy, their headlines weird, and their comedy slightly unhinged.

We're off this week for Summer holidays - so please enjoy a rerelease of one of our favourite episodes! - An interview with the one, the only, the dynamo Leader of the Green Party of Canada - Elizabeth May.May dishes the dirt on Poilievre still not getting his security clearance and tells us what Trump can do with his 51st State talk.The video version of this podcast is only available to paid subscribers. The audio version is free here and on podcast platforms. We love all subscribers

This week on Podcast Is Broken, Steve’s off-grid, probably dodging wildfires and responsibilities, so Brittlestar and Lisa are joined by the one and only Amber Mac—tech expert, podcast host, and now… game show contestant? Together, they tackle three confusingly mashed-up headlines in the “Make It Make Sense” game, covering everything from interstellar comets and robo-taxis to a landlord's worst nightmare in PEI.They debate whether 16-year-olds should vote (spoiler: probably), if robot cars will steal your job (spoiler: definitely), and why the Canadian government is picking a weird fight with TikTok while still cozying up to Elon’s rage platform. Also, Brittlestar nearly has an existential crisis about going down a mine shaft.Bonus: The episode ends with possibly the finest improvised theme song ever recorded using a piece of paper, pens, and a phone dial pad. Belizeans, we see you.

This week on Podcast Is Broken, things start weird and spiral from there. We talk cat-print suits, heatstroke-induced hallucinations, and how Belize has (somehow?) made us the #2 podcast in the nation. Steve and Lisa go head-to-head in Make It Make Sense, decoding Frankenstein headlines like “Orcas Threaten Rogers Stadium During Chocolate Recall as AI Chatbot Praises Hitler” — yes, that’s real. Plus: duct tape armour, haunted stadiums, Guelph’s empty hotels, mini-fridge warfare, and the ethics of octopus farming.Also, we debate the correct plural of “octopus,” because of course we do.Subscribe, rate, and maybe send a sympathy mimosa to whoever sat next to us on this mental rollercoaster.

This week, we debut our new game Make It Make Sense—where real Canadian news headlines get mashed into chaotic word salads and Lisa and Steve try to untangle what actually happened. A goat causes highway mayhem, processed meats get cancelled, and the Pope revives an old vacation spot. Also: AI scams, boa constrictors, dishwasher disasters, and why nobody in the UK seems to own a dryer. It’s part quiz show, part news roundup, part fever dream.Who won the game? Who lost faith in humanity? And what does it all mean for your debit card and your salami sandwich? Hit play and find out.

Rob Ford is back in the spotlight nearly a decade after his death, and Doug isn't happy about it. Netflix’s new documentary Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem dives deep into the chaos that defined his wild ride as Toronto’s mayor.Farah Nasser swings by to talk about what the documentary gets right (and what it doesn’t), and shares a shocking moment when she came face to face with the Ford brothers at the height of Rob's powers.

After days of escalating strikes, including reports of U.S. hits on Iranian nuclear sites, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce a 'phased ceasefire' between Iran and Israel. Also, he cussed them out on TV. oh good.Farah Nasser joins to unpack the chaos, the diplomacy, and why Truth Social may be more influential than the U.N. right now.

Naheed Nenshi is in the house. The former Calgary mayor just steamrolled a by-election in Edmonton Strathcona. It’s a major flex for the NDP and sets the stage for a showdown with Premier Danielle Smith when the legislature fires back up this fall.Special guest Farah Nasser drops in to talk about what Nenshi’s win means for Alberta politics, and shares some of her behind-the-scenes experiences with Danielle Smith.

Special guest Farah Nasser joins this week to discuss Canada’s massive leap in NATO defence spending, Trump’s abrupt trade freeze with Canada over the digital services tax, and how Truth Social may be more powerful than the U.N. Farah shares her unforgettable personal encounter with Trump, and Steve talks about material conditions, classic.

Buckle up — or maybe don’t. The Competition Bureau just floated a plan to let foreign-owned airlines fly domestic routes in Canada, with 100% ownership on the table. The goal? End the reign of the Air Canada–WestJet duopoly and finally make cross-country flights cost less than a second mortgage. We look at what this could mean for Canadian travellers, local carriers, and anyone who’s ever paid $800 to fly to Winnipeg.

What happens when the federal government drafts a bill that could override Indigenous treaty rights — without asking first? You get Bill C-5. This week, we break down the protests, the political fallout, and the pushback from First Nations leaders across Ontario. It's a showdown over fast-tracking development, environmental protections, and whether Ottawa actually listens when it says it will.

Ever feel like your dream home is laughing at you? This week, we dive into the CMHC’s jaw-dropping report that says Canada needs to build 4.8 million homes in the next 10 years just to make housing slightly affordable again. We unpack what that means, why it’s such a colossal challenge, and whether we can actually pull it off — or if we’re just pouring foundation into a sinkhole.

After two years of political foot-dragging, the Alberta government quietly dropped the results of its own pension poll — and it’s about as subtle as a fire alarm. Turns out, most Albertans want nothing to do with ditching the Canada Pension Plan. We unpack the fallout, the accusations of secrecy, and why the province is still clinging to a plan almost no one asked for. Spoiler: it’s not about retirement security, it’s about politics.