Dive into the complete episode list for Big Shiny Takes. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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1–50 of 83
Pub. Date
Title
Duration
06 Feb 2022
Legalize Freedom (ft. Arshy Mann)
01:25:20
Do you hear that horrible honking sound? No my friends, that is not the sound of freedom. It's the sound of another episode of Big Shiny Takes!
This week, Canadaland Commons host Arshy Mann joined us to talk about the dumbest political action in the entire world: the Trucker Convoy. This convoy, which is not astroturfed at all, is demanding that avowed Marxist-Leninist Justin Trudeau remove any vaccine mandates for truckers. This conveniently ignores the fact that 90% of truckers that cross into the United States from Canada are fully vaccinated. It also ignores the fact 900,000 people in the United States are no longer alive because of the abysmal COVID response in the US.
This week we read a column in the Edmonton Journal from a newcomer to the shitty takes game, Nathan Steinke. Steinke, a noted political loser, spends a few hundred words fetishizing truckers as a symbol of working class purity. He also compares the convoy to Woodstock (the festival, not Woodstock Ontario).
It should be noted that this episode was originally recorded on Friday February 5, 2022 - the night before the counter protests in Toronto. If anything changes in convoy news and it's missing, please keep that in mind before you yell at us for not talking about it.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
11 Mar 2022
Trudeau? More like LIE-deau (ft. Mitchell Thompson)
01:16:49
Good news everyone, the pandemic is over because the government said so! Everything is great! Of course, like all responsible adults, we know better than to let ourselves get tired of winning so much so we are punishing ourselves with another insipid Jon Kay column. This one was published in the Wall Street Journal.
In this latest instalment of Canadian pundits explaining Canadian politics poorly to an uninterested audience, Dog Shampoo Boy writes about Justin Trudeau being a "Woke Donald Trump". It's stupid and our lives are worse for having read it.
We're joined this week by the great Mitchell Thompson of PressProgress, who has subjugated himself to reading a lot of Quillette. For those who don't know, Quillette is an awful website that pays Jon Kay to write for them. Quillette has a habit of talking about race science, and Jon has written about wokeness and frisbee golf for them.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
08 Apr 2022
Socialist Fantasyland (ft. David Moscrop)
01:25:08
If you read the latest IPCC report, you know it's time for the latest episode of Big Shiny Takes. This week, the Big Shiny Takes Institute is joined by columnist and writer David Moscrop to read an insufferably bad column from Conrad Black. Yes, we are aware that doesn't narrow it down.
This temper tantrum is directed at the federal NDP and Liberal parties for unparliamentary behaviour (acting like parties in a parliamentary system). Thankfully, Conrad breaks up the monotony by expressing dismay at Canada's slide towards socialist oblivion with promises of means-tested dental care and clean jobs training centres. He also manages to jam in some genocide denial and transphobia because, believe it or not, the Lord of Crossharbour is not a good person.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
20 Jun 2022
Not Alright Alright Alright (ft. Gordon Katic)
01:25:51
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned! Joined by Friend of the Institute Gordon Katic the boys read a particularly awful column by Vinay Menon about the aftermath of the horrific school shooting in Uvalde. Instead of having something useful to say, Vinay decided to write a column about Matthew McConaughey's moral obligation to run for president. We feel like he's sort of missing the point.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
16 Jul 2022
They said sorry though (ft. Alex from Haus of Decline)
01:24:29
The boys are back with another terrible column!
This week they are joined by Alex from Haus of Decline to read another awful piece by Adam Zivo in which he makes the argument to let the police march in the Toronto Pride Parade. I say he makes the argument, but really what he does is list all the very valid reasons people don't want the police there and shrugs.
This episode was recorded in early July, so during Plugs and Recs Jeremy talks about a fundraiser for his substack. It's over now but that shouldn't stop you from supporting his journalism. The fundraiser was a success by the way, here's a link to the article the fundraiser was supporting.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
11 Aug 2022
The War on Climate (ft. Mitchell Thompson)
01:00:57
The Big Shiny Takes Institute is reporting live from the frontlines of the climate war (Eric's living room). This episode we are joined by Mitchell Thompson from PressProgress to take apart an incoherent screed written by a senior fellow of the Macdonald Laurier Institute - Jamil Jivani.
The column suggests Trudeau's cultish fixation on saving the environment is causing real world suffering. We, as readers and people who exist in reality, are left to try and figure out what on earth he is talking about.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
01 Sep 2022
National Post is a TERF rag (ft. Fae Johnstone)
01:10:58
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned! This week, Eric, Marino and Jeremy are joined by Fae Johnstone (Executive Director of Wisdom2Action, writer and activist) to read some absolutely horrendous transphobia published in the National Post.
The National Post, seemingly taking their cues from the transphobes down in the US and UK (TERF Island) are now pushing "gender critical" talking points as a way of limiting access to care. It's bullshit and whoever wrote it should have rotten produce thrown at their head.
Unfortunately for us, this column doesn't have a name in its byline. The bigot who felt compelled to write this pseudoscientific trash was too shy to include their name in the byline. Listen to the episode and find out why.
Despite the fact that all of us are well accustomed to the low standard for what passes as a column in the National Post, this column pissed us off.
NOTE Less than an hour after recording this episode, failed actor and hack fraud journalist Sue-Ann Levy released a hatchet job piece on Fae for the True North Centre. The piece is stupid and pretends that Fae calling people TERFS is bad.
We're not going to link to that piece. Instead, read this piece from Fae that she wrote for the Star on the optics-based approach of the Liberal Party in regards to 2SLGBTQI+ issues:
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
19 Sep 2022
Lilley Unmasked (ft. Megan Linton)
01:12:01
The gang invites Megan Linton of the Harbinger Media Network podcast Invisible Institutions to slog through an incredibly lazy piece by Brian Lilley. It's a column that contains much hand-wringing about masks and requirements to have them. It's also basically the same as the column he wrote the week before.
Also, a discussion about a certain monarch's death, its dominance of the news cycle and why that does Canadians a disservice – especially on a week that saw another mass killing event mishandled by the RCMP.
In this piece, Fawcett outlines how he thinks Pierre Poilievre is attempting to appeal to the far-right (true) and far-left (lol) by opposing vaccine mandates and talking about "elites". Naturally, it's his beloved Liberal party which has found the perfect balance in all things.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
20 Oct 2022
Jason Kenney's Populist Edge (ft. David Khan)
01:17:21
Environmental lawyer and former Liberal Party of Alberta leader David Khan joins the Institute to talk about the ongoing rehabilitation of Jason Kenney's image.
National Post pundit John Ivison writes that the reason Kenney failed as Alberta premier wasn't because he was a total slimeball who pandered to the far-right but was too much of a coward to go all the way, but because he was just too great a guy.
It was a real Shakespearean tragedy, as Ivison says without irony.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
19 Nov 2022
The Unions Hate Your Kid (ft. Chuka Ejeckam)
01:05:14
The Big Shiny Takes Institute is back! We're joined by political researcher and new Friend of the Institute Chuka Ejeckam to read a very anti-union piece by the one and only Jesse Kline.
Kline, the author of galaxy-brained takes about privatizing parks, is back and trying to frame striking workers as a malignant force threatening your children. To give you an idea of how emotionally damaging this column is, it starts by comparing unions to COVID-19.
This episode was recorded Monday November 12th, which was before CUPE let us know they were heading back to the picket line. Solidarity to the workers and we'll see you at Queens Park.
Worried that Twitter's days are numbered? Looking to build a community with like-minded lefties?Head to our discord! People have been saying it's the new hot place for discourse and you should find out why.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
10 Dec 2022
Vibes-based Journalism (ft. Andrew Neville)
01:10:03
Esteemed Twitter user and Dog Island alum Andrew Neville joins us to mock one of, and I'm not mincing words here, the worst pieces we have read. The culprit? None other than our old pal, Adam Zivo.
In this piece (published in the Daily Hive lol) Zivo tries to use statistics to argue that crime is out of control. The problem? It's based on an opinion poll. It gets so much worse.
Play Overwatch 2/Warzone, go see Avatar 2, listen to Metallica and do purple city in Edmonton
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
18 Jan 2023
Social Media Re-Education Camp (ft. Evan Macdonald)
01:32:56
The last Kino standing, Evan Macdonald, joins us to talk about Dr. Jordan Bernt Peterson's latest made up scandal. The College of Psychiatrists of Ontario is asking him to take social media training, because he sucks at posting.
The National Post's opinion page says this the greatest injustice of our day, but do any real people actually care? Tune in to find out!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
24 Feb 2023
Cowards and Stigma (ft. Abdul Malik)
01:10:01
Our old pal Abdul (@MarxGasol) joins us for a public policy thought experiment courtesy of UBC business lecturer Adam Pankratz in the National Post: Should we destigmatize stigma? Maybe if drug users and unhoused people simply understood that what they were doing is bad and they should feel bad, we'd all be better off!
Kidding aside, this perverse serving of inhuman hogwash from a dude whose kids will surely grow to hate him was the worst thing we've read in a while. We're always saying that, aren't we folks?
Go play Metroid Prime: Remastered. I'm not linking to the eShop, figure it out.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
26 Mar 2023
Boat Tax (ft. Kyla Hewson and Kristen Pue from Pullback)
01:15:18
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned! This episode, while Jeremy is in his self-imposed book-writing exile, Eric and Marino are joined by Kristen Pue and Kyla Hewson of the Pullback podcast to read a baffling column by Jesse Kline.
Jesse spends valuable column space concern-trolling about the Liberal's new luxury tax on vehicles, applicable to cars over $100k and boats over $250k. He admonishes the government for this reckless new tax, and claims that this will impact the working class much more than prospective boat owners. We examine these claims and come to some different conclusions.
Editors note:
Some names had to be removed from a story Eric shared early in the episode to protect their identities as nobody would ever trust them again after learning that they did not deliver on their cowboy boots promise.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
17 Apr 2023
Crackin’ a Cold One (ft. James Wilt and Kevin Taghabon)
01:36:03
The unthinkable has happened in Canada. A public body has offered new health recommendations and people are overreacting. How will society even function on two drinks a week? According to some, not at all.
This week we are joined by author James Wilt (Drinking Up the Revolution, Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars) and co-founder of The Hoser Kevin Taghabon to read an abysmal column from Peter Shawn Taylor in the Financial Post. In this column Taylor accuses the Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction, and anyone who repeats their findings of moralizing and scolding, of ignoring all the positive benefits of alcohol. Luckily Taylor is here to explain exactly how great he thinks alcohol is (very).
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
17 May 2023
Andrew Coyne, Wannabe Scab (ft. Abdul Malik)
01:23:13
What do opinion columnists in this country think about strikes? Nothing worth reading on your own. In this episode the Big Shiny Takes Institute takes a look at an awful column on the PSAC strike that took place near the end of April and extended into May.
The conventional wisdom of punditry was that the public would not support a public sector strike, but in hindsight (and at the time) we could very clearly see how incorrect that opinion was.
Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne had some choice things to say about the strike but it was very interesting to see - in the 20+ paragraphs Coyne had to work with - what he left out. The Institute was joined by friend of the show Abdul Malik to suffer through this incredibly useless piece of writing.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
08 Jul 2023
Childcare Conscription (ft. Hunter Crowther)
01:47:10
Things are so good in Canadian media. There's layoffs nearly every week. There's talk of the Toronto Star merging with Postmedia. The Online News Act was passed and as a result Google and Facebook are pulling Canadian news content from their platforms. (The Act isn't great and doesn't help independent media that much to begin with, but Google and Facebook pulling this move is baaaad).
To celebrate the robust and healthy nature of our industry, Marino and Eric are joined by old j-school buddy Hunter Crowther (@HunterCrowther) to read some schlock from The Hub.
The Hub is a relatively new publication, but they're not breaking any new ground with their work. Now I don't want to tell any tales out of school, but the more I hear about them, the less I care for them. The Hub was founded by former Postmedia employees and has plenty of space on their site for pieces from all sorts of right wing think tanks, lobbyists, and consultants.
This week the Institute takes a long look at a bewildering column by Ginny Roth, proposing a way to solve our "National Identity Crisis (tm)", as well as our labour shortage in long-term care homes and in childcare with mandatory service.
Lol.
We spent a little extra on this one, so we hope you enjoy. We have not been keeping up with our recording schedule lately, and we're sorry but now that Eric is one job lighter, there's going to be way more time for this show. There are so many bad pieces being published, and we want to talk about them all.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
23 Aug 2023
The 18th Brumaire of Carson Jerema (ft. Emma Paling)
01:10:35
Jeremy and Marino are joined by The Breach co-ordinating editor Emma Paling (@emmapaling) to discuss a column from Carson Jerema, the National Post'scomment editor, who in accordance with Post traditions doesn't seem to do much editing.
According to Jerema, Pierre Poilievre's shrieking about the globalistsat the World Economic Forum isn't a conspiracy theory at all. In fact, it's exactly like Chrystia Freeland's tepid criticisms of the WEF in her book Plutocrats, which Jerema adds is a Marxist conspiracy theory.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network, which includes other great shows, such as Tech Won't Save Us (produced by our beautiful boy Eric), Darts and Letters and The Progress Report.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
21 Oct 2023
Cop Worship with the Nightscrawler
01:00:54
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned after the editor (Eric) spent the last month traveling the world in search of the shiniest takes. It turns out they were all right here in Canada.
This week we return to an old favourite, the people's champion Joe Warmington, for a column about remembering police officers who passed away this year. Before you ask, yes Don Cherry is featured in the column for some reason.
This episode was recorded in late September and is a classic example of the Nightscrawler's obsession with venerating the police. Some people need heroes, other people are fully-functioning adults.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
22 Dec 2023
Scabs for Israel (ft. Muhannad Ayyash)
01:42:55
Mount Royal University academic, Al Jazeera columnist and Al Shabaka fellow Muhannad Ayyash joins us to discuss how Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek cancelled Hanukkah.
Calgary pundits lost their goddam minds over Gondek's decision to back out of at a totally apolitical menorah lighting ceremony that was billed as an opportunity to demonstrate "SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL." And according to reporting from Aryn Toombs at LiveWire Calgary, it didn't disappoint.
Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid, who joined the paper as a filthy scab in 2000, went as far as to say the mayor isn't fit for office because of her disloyalty to Israel.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
24 Feb 2024
It Begins at the End of the Beginning (ft. Euan Thomson)
01:51:49
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned to read a real stinker of a column by Rick Bell. Rick, a traditional dumb guy with a column, seems a little upset about how mean people are being to Calgary Chief of Police Mark Neufeld.
We dig into this column (a glorified vanity piece about how the police are good, homeless people are super-criminals and everyone needs to shut up) with friend of the Institute, Drug Data Decoded's Euan Thomson.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
17 Apr 2024
The Death of Woke (ft. Fae Johnstone)
01:10:48
Executive Director of @Wisdom2Action and @QueerMomentum and unstoppable dynamo @FaeJohnstone joins us to discuss how Sydney Sweeney's breasts fortell the death of wokeness – according to the National Post.
In a column that reads like a horny Looney Tunes cartoon, Amy Hamm, who is a nurse apparently, brings the bizarre discourse around the young actress to a crescendo.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
08 May 2024
The Birthrate Episode (ft. Stephen Magusiak)
00:56:58
We love whinging about the fertility rate, don't we folks? The implications are grave, lowered birth rates could mean fewer DoorDash employees to bring columnists treats.
BST Institute fellow Stephen @Magusiak of @pressprogress returns to pick apart a Globe and Mail opinion piece by John Ibbitson. According to Ibby, the ever-dwindling number of babies Canada produces threatens to tear the country apart. Scary stuff!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
18 May 2024
My Name Is Joe Roberts, I Work for the State (Ft. Noah Kulwin)
01:06:01
American icon Noah Kulwin (@nkulw) joins the pod to talk about one of the most obnoxious Twitter personalities of the past several months, Joe Roberts.
Roberts, co-founder of the Democratic Socialists of America - Canada and former co-host of New Left Radio, has gone full neocon since Oct. 7. So much so that he wrote a column for the National Post, where he's now a regular contributor, waxing nostalgic about George W. Bush, the guy everyone famously loves. Oh, and Sarah Palin too, because he's trying that hard.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
26 May 2024
In Defence of Galen Weston (ft. Luke Savage)
00:48:22
Stop being mean to grocer oligarchs. Stop it! We're warning you. You should be thanking them, they stock your treats and only gouge you a to a moderate degree. Everybody's gotta make a living, and besides, they're probably creating your job anyway.
Toronto-based writer Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) joins us to take in the view from the National Post and be properly tut-tutted as we learn about the success story that is Galen Weston being born at the right time.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
10 Jun 2024
Big Joe Goes to Little Oakville (ft. Scott Martin)
01:03:31
Oakville Town Hall is under siege from a red scourge and Sun journalist Joe Warmington is on the case after a hot tip. Can the People's Champion make sense of the situation? Will anyone talk some sense into these misguided youngsters?
Freelance journalist Scott Martin (@YouCaughtScott) helps us unpack what really went on that day, since Joe failed to notice that he was actually just at the Fightback table at a pro-Palestine rally.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
10 Jul 2024
Full Bisexual Panic! (Ft. Sarah Rieger)
01:21:28
"Are all these bisexuals for real? Or is this 'el gee bee tee cue' stuff just a fashionable trend? I'm just asking questions." That is about the extent of the analysis in this week's column from the Phoebe Maltz Bovy in Globe and Mail.
Nevertheless, we torture ourselves and writer/pal Sarah Rieger by unpacking it. Join us for yet another incoherent boomer moment.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
09 Aug 2024
We Might Have Committed Some Light Treason (Ft. Nora Loreto)
00:58:50
Fancying himself some sort of Judge Dredd of protecting Canadian culture, Christopher Dummitt writes in a special to the National Post how such actions as land acknowledgments or taking a plaque down in an art gallery are giving China an edge.
Canadian patriot Nora Loreto joins us to explain why having a deep-seated sense of national pride probably doesn't matter that much.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
27 Oct 2024
Save our campuses (ft. Mike Litwack)
01:30:49
Jews are under attack on campuses! Actually, Zionism is, but that's good enough for Michael Geist to write about an apparent scourge of antisemitism at Canada's universities.
We're joined by University of Alberta English and film professor Mike Litwack (@mikeylitwack) to take a look at a piece that purports that nobody who supports Israel can feel bad about things, ever.
Plugs and Recs
Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd Get Ghassan Kanafani: Selected political writings, OUT NOW! Keep an eye out for Muna Saleh's study on anti-Palestinian racism in the Edmonton school system
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
31 Mar 2020
Wife Guys Finish Last
00:48:00
COVID-19 is changing everything we do. It's also been the subject of attention for many columnists across Canada. Many people have had very reasonable opinions about the country's approach to fighting the virus, but two people had very special takes. One took the time to call video game retail stores an essential service, and the other can't stop mentioning his wife or China
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
05 Apr 2020
Mary Brown Presents: Lord Conrad Black
00:46:17
Another week, another terrible take that we read so you don't have to. This week the boys review some work done by Lord of Cross Harbour, former Order of Canada recipient, and ex-prison attendee Conrad Black.
It's our opinion that Black is a terrible writer with terrible ideas. Typically we'd call this column a bad take, but in the spirit of the ostentatious blowhard we are talking about today, we'll refer to it as an abhorrent display of his lack of cogency and make special note that John Diefenbaker himself wouldn't know whether to read this column or to blow his nose with it.
We also take some time at the top of the episode to discuss the events surrounding Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro this past week. Alberta is full of wife guys.
Subscribe to us on Spotify or whatever podcatcher you use!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
15 Apr 2020
The mask identifier has logged on
00:54:40
These are complicated and troubling times. So why not laugh at what passes for a column in a Canadian newspaper with us? This episode we pull apart a column from an old favourite - Jonathan Kay.
Jon seems to think that Theresa Tam has really dropped the ball in the ongoing fight to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Canada. He also (bravely) takes a wild swing at blaming PC culture for Canada's unwillingness to impose stricter measures earlier on in this crisis.
These times truly are bringing the best out of our country's columnists. We'll be here to laugh at all the stupid things that are said by people paid to write down their opinions.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
27 Apr 2020
The China Connection (ft. Elaine Pauls)
01:11:00
The boys are back and they have a friend with them to laugh at the worst opinions in the country. Elaine (@heylaineys) from @format_guardian and @sportsaregay joins Big Shiny Takes to read a column by Licia Corbella that accuses Canada's top health official of being a puppet of the People's Republic of China. What proof does she have? Well for one Theresa Tam hasn't spent every minute of every press conference denouncing China. Also Jason Kenney said Tam was bad so it has to be true.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
05 May 2020
BONUS EPISODE: Not Like Other Girls
00:41:36
After a spirited discussion about a certain columnist's criticisms of Theresa Tam, Elaine (@heylaineys) sticks around to discuss Mikhaila Peterson. For those who aren't aware, Mikhaila is Dr. Jordan Peterson's daughter. She also only eats meat for some reason? I'm sure there's a reason, and a product. Why bother doing anything if it doesn't make you money right?
Anyways, Mikhaila has some very well-formed thoughts about oppressive COVID-19 quarantine measures and the horrible effect they are having on the economy. She shares these ideas from the inside a very large and comfortable vehicle while behind a mask, but she is definitely up for the economy to be opened up. Those words definitely mean something coming from someone who doesn't actually have to work for a living.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
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07 May 2020
CERB Your Enthusiasm
00:50:11
Another week, another brain-meltingly stupid column in The National Post. We had every intention of sticking to our format this episode, but recent events forced us to switch things up.
For those of you blissfully unaware: Postmedia closed the doors to another 15 of its community newspapers. As this is an organization that a) owns a ton of newspapers in small towns across the country and b) has no idea how to make money with newspapers we are concerned for the well-being of local journalism in Canada.
Remember when they took several millions in bailout money to avoid this situation precisely?
We do get to a column in this episode as well, a real stinker by John Ivison that had the distinction of bringing in a whole lot of clicks to the National Post for all the wrong reasons. It's a piece about how the luxurious benefits afforded to the unemployed during this pandemic puts our country at risk by creating "welfare slackers".
It's REALLY bad.
Also, if a welfare slacker is someone collecting benefits and not making any sort of honest effort to better their situation, what does that make Postmedia?
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21 May 2020
The IDEAS episode (ft. Jack Dump)
00:40:02
The boys are back and joined by a friend, the great Jack Dump (aka Myer Mendelson) of Haus of Decline!
We're taking a bit of a step beyond our usual scope, and looking to our neighbours to the south for a second. We talk about Dave Rubin's newest treatise on how the left has gone too far. It is full of "ideas" (some would say bad ideas), including about how "Nazi is the new N-word". Yes, that's ridiculous. That's not going to stop us from talking about it at length though.
In case you were wondering why Eric sounds like he was recording through a potato, he was. Long story. We will be back shortly with our regularly scheduled Canadian-centric content. Listen to Haus of Decline Here: www.soundcloud.com/hausofdecline
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24 May 2020
Country House and City House
00:54:38
They're really quite a pair. Wherever there's adventure you'll find Don Martin there.
The gang is back with two new hot takes published in two Canadian news outlets. The first is from retired broadcaster Don Martin - who has voiced his opinion that provinces taking steps to ensure they prevent the spread of COVID-19 is bad because he won't be able to get to PEI this summer. In fairness to him, he's not the only person in Canadian media who has said something along these lines. That doesn't make that opinion any less stupid however.
The second is an infuriating video published by the Toronto Sun. Columnist Anthony Furey steps up to the plate to defend singer Bryan Adams after his deranged rant on social media went viral.
We are so pleased to announce we have joined the Ricochet Media Podcast Network, joining the ranks of some incredible voices in Canada's podcast landscape. We stand on the shoulders of giants.
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31 May 2020
Mr. Burns, eco-warrior (ft. Evan from Kino Lefter)
00:59:01
It's the crossover you were waiting for, babeey.
We watched a couple classic Simpsons episodes with Evan MacDonald (@MacDonaldTweets) of the world's #1 socialist film criticism podcast (to us), Kino Lefter.
We use this to inform our discussion Postmedia bench warmer Matthew Lau's column on how Mr. Burns would support a Green New Deal.
Yes, you read that correctly. Lau argues that this caricature of capitalist excess who tries to block out the sun so Springfield will have to depend on his (private) power monopoly, is an ecosocialist.
It may not surprise you to learn that his argument is incredibly shallow and flimsy.
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13 Jun 2020
Joe Warmington, people's champ (ft. Stephen Magusiak)
01:05:24
We're joined by Stephen Magusiak (@magusiak) of PressProgress to talk about a real banner week for Postmedia sleaze.
First, we discuss Rex Murphy's absolute dumpster fire on how racism isn't a major issue in our fake country that was built off ethnically cleansing Indigenous people, the response from some of his own National Post colleagues and the near-complete lack of accountability for Postmedia stalwarts.
Next, we chat about People's Champ Joe Warmington's incoherent column on gang violence, which was mysteriously wiped from the internet after he (even more mysteriously) made up Drake lyrics. We suspect the Toronto Sun may have received a call from Drake's lawyer.
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20 Jun 2020
Cyclist Occupied Government (COG)
01:06:17
In a slight departure from our regular Postmedia dunking, we talk about the nation's second-largest newspaper chain, TorStar. It may not surprise you to learn that they own the Toronto Star, which is relatively good compared with the National Post, but still part of the same corporate media ecosystem, with all the structural problems that entails.
TorStar was recently taken private and purchased by four fellas who are Conservative party donors. What does this mean for the future of Canada's last remaining progressive newspaper? Based on the two pieces we read this week, there's much reason for pessimism.
First up is Star Wheels section editor Norris McDonald. It turns out he thinks some wheels are better than others. Don't believe the lies of the powerful cyclist lobby. Cars are the superior mode of transit and Norris has the Google search results to prove it.
Then we discuss Star Entertainment columnist and Jordan Peterson friend Vinay Menon, who's very troubled that Natalie Portman believes police violence is bad. He uses a shallow "shut up and act" critique of celebrity culture as a launching pad to argue that we need to give the cops more money.
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04 Jul 2020
Rest in Peterson
01:08:21
After a quick catch up with some old favourites, we talk about the return of Dr. Jordan Bernt Peterson after an apparent benzo addiction scare. Is he alive? Dead? Transcended the astral realm? Mikhaila assumed his form? We discuss so you can decide!
We also read through his comeback National Post column, which is about how cultural Marxism has infiltrated academia at the highest levels, including —gasps — the hard sciences. In other words, the exact same one note he's been hitting for the past few years. But this is after he's been in an induced coma in Russia. That's gotta count for something.
Links
A playlist we put together of Jordan Peterson crying videos:
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12 Jul 2020
BONUS EPISODE: The Unfairly Twisted Mind of Jonah Goldberg
00:40:00
We are back with a very special bonus episode, our first every Big Shiny Takes listener request!
For this episode we read a column by Jonah Goldberg, an American columnist and commentator. Goldberg argues that despite many police forces in the USA originating from slave patrols, it's unfair to say the history of policing is steeped in racism. As part of this column's weird, disjointed approach to making its point poorly the reader is taken on a journey through the history of policing and law enforcement, inexplicably ending up in ancient Rome.
Where did we read this column you ask? Why the Toronto Sun of course! Some of you might think it's odd that a syndicated columnist from the USA can get a column published in Canada. That's because it is odd. I have no idea why this column is in a Canadian newspaper.
Shout out to @wrongbinary for the request!
Have you read a column recently that you feel like the rest of the world needs to know about, specifically because of how terrible it is? Send us a link to the story!
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19 Jul 2020
Margaret Wente is not even mad bro (ft. Emily Leedham)
01:23:11
Big Shiny Takes is back with an episode on a columnist that is truly memorable for all the wrong reasons, Margaret Wente. But first we briefly discuss the WE scandal engulfing Canadian news, before launching into a discussion of tHe LetTeR and cAnCeL cUlTuRe to set the scene for Wente's woe-is-me shtick.
If you haven't been keeping track, Wente was recently appointed to a meaningless college society/illuminati front called The Quadrangle Society. This was met with criticism due to several wrinkles in Wente's career (plagiarism, defending race science, writing dumb anti-environmentalist columns). As we find out in her column published in Quillette, the world's leading phrenology journal, the appointment didn't go the way she had planned, but she is definitely not upset about it.
We're joined this week by PressProgress reporter and host of Rank and File Radio Emily Leedham (@Emily_Leedham_).
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02 Aug 2020
Justin, WE have a problem
01:06:02
WE have returned to talk about the scandal that has rocked Canadian politics for the past few weeks. This is, of course, courtesy of a shady charity run by Canada's McPoyle twins. The prime minister wanted to hand them a $900-million contract to administer a government student summer jobs program, which some could interpret as payback for the paid speeches his mom and brother have given them.
Eric read Marc and Craig Keilburger's book "ME to WE: Finding Meaning in a Material World," which WE use to set up a discussion the extremely normal, not-at-all cultish vibes of the WE Charity.
WE also try to figure out what it is WE does, beyond holding stadium-sized pep rallies for schoolchildren and owning property. WE still don't really know.
And for the main event, WE discuss two Postmedia pieces that are part of a clear effort at image rehabilitation for the Keilburgers. The first is a puff piece written by "Postmedia Staff" that really plays up the Keilburgers' cultishness as a good thing. The latter is a piece written by Marc (or is it Craig?) about how WE need to get workers back to their offices so they can socialize and get sick.
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15 Aug 2020
Grandpa Gurney (ft. Tristan Johnson)
01:15:21
YouTuber Tristan Johnson of Step Back History joins us to talk about how incinerating tens of thousands of Japanese civillians at the close of the Second World War is actually bad.
The impetus for this discussion is a chatacteristically long-winded Twitter thread from National Post opinion editor Matt Gurney, where he argues that dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which he concedes were not militarily necessary, were good. That's because it allowed his grandfather to return home early and safely from carrying out British colonialism in India, where he was stationed with the Royal Air Force.
Whose lives are more valuable, 150,000 Japanese men, women and children, or Matt Gurney's? Real tough to say.
Apparently Gurney's voice was such a valuable addition to the discourse on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that he was invited onto Evan Solomon's iHeartRadio show to talk about it.
You may remember Evan Solomon from when he got fired from the CBC for using his position as the host of Power and Politics to sell his guests expensive art.
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22 Aug 2020
Ed the Sock Spectacular (ft. 2 Stephens)
01:18:03
We need to talk about the sock. Stephen Magusiak (@magusiak) of PressProgress joins us to explain a guy named Steven Kerzner (@EdtheSock) to our American buddy, Stephen from the Haus of Decline podcast in light of Kerzner's recent racist remarks against NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Was Kerzner ever actually funny, or are we just nostalgic for a simpler time? We listen to some classic Fromage clips to find out. (Hint: They have not aged well.)
We also discuss Kerzner's recent foray into hyperpartisan Liberal politics and efforts to revive the '90s, when he was in a not-so-famous Canadian TV show.
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12 Sep 2020
A Fucking Abomination (ft. Mahnoor Yawar)
01:09:54
We're joined by our dear j-school pal Mahnoor Yawar (@mahnoorie) to talk about a familiar theme for our listeners — the complete lack of accountability for columnists at Canada's major newspapers.
The spark for this discussion was Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno's reply-all meltdown, in which she told the entire staff at the paper what she thought of the Star's new internal ombudsperson position, which was assumed by her far superior colleague, Shree Paradkar. (Hint: it's the name of the episode.)
The position gives young, racialized Star employees the opportunity to report concerns about discrimination and bias in the newsroom and paper to Paradkar, who can then bring them up to management, which for some reason DiManno found threatening.
We discuss a very bizarre and horny column DiManno wrote post-meltdown, which contains too many dick jokes to count. We also give DiManno her due for the times she has done better.
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26 Sep 2020
Terry Gladio (ft. Abdul Malik)
01:14:01
In this episode, we discuss a guy so anti-imperialist that he unquestioningly supports U.S. imperialism. That's right, we're talking about Macleans contributing editor, National Post columnist and all-around neocon ghoul Terry Glavin (Gladio).
The piece in question is a masterful work of concern trolling, where he suggests that if BLM activists want to win him over, they'll have to stop wearing clothes. It's essentially a hornier, unironic version of the classic Matt Bors cartoon.
Gladio comes very close to making a valid point about supply chains in the Third World and their dependence on sweatshops, but bookends it with a wildly superficial attack on the moral integrity of BLM.
Joining us is long-time friend of the show and recovering podcaster Abdul Malik (@socialistraptor), who bonds with Eric over their Mississauga heritage.
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05 Oct 2020
Manufacturing Wexit (ft. Scott Schmidt)
01:27:37
If there's anything Albertans love to do, it's complain. If there's anyone who knows this, it's Scott Schmidt (@shmitzysays), who writes about Alberta's grievance politics weekly in his "Laying It Out" column.
He joins us to discuss two excerpts from a recently-releases book, "Moment of Truth: How to Think About Alberta's Future," published in the National Post, of course.
Although Wexit is a fringe movement of QAnon crazies, Postmedia seems to be doing everything it can to mainstream it. The thrust of the selections we read are that Canadian confederation needs to fundamentally change to accomodate Alberta, or else.
First up is a chapter written by Ted Morton, which deals with a supposed cabal of bilingual people who are operating the levers of power in Ottawa. It's like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but with people who speak both official languages instead of Jews.
Next we discuss David J. Bercuson's case for an Albertan army to keep the the rest of Canada's filthy hands off our filthy oil that nobody wants to buy.
Through it all, Scott and Jeremy explain the bizarre political climate in Alberta to the co-hosts out east. It's the episode you've been waiting for!
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17 Oct 2020
Socialist Coup, or Return of the Big Red Machine (ft. CEO of Antifa)
01:19:26
We get a bit tankie in our latest installment, featuring a dearly-departed posting legend, Ray the Red, whom you might also know as the CEO of Antifa. He got banned from Twitter for saying mean things about J.K. Rowling.
The National Post has been on a red-baiting tear recently, more so than usual. We've got two batshit insane op-eds arguing that Justin Trudeau is a socialist mastermind. Huge if true. It would also be a marked improvement from his milquetoast neoliberalism.
First up is third-place Conservative party leadership loser, and likely future of the party, Leslyn Lewis, who tickles all those right-wing survivalist funny bones (except Venezuela, conspicuously) — big government, 5G, the COVID tracing app, debt, you name it. She also uses the word 'insidious' a couple of times, just so you know she isn't fucking around.
Next is Denis Tsarev, who is the co-founder (and co-member) of Truth in Consequences, a think tank nobody's heard of, warning us about the dangers of left-wing populism in Canada, as represented by the dangerous socialist radical Justin Trudeau. This Rebel Media contributor wants you to know that you too can have a nuanced perspective on the world, if you just listen to him.
We'd also like to announce that we're re-branding as the Big Shiny Takes Institute!
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04 Nov 2020
BONUS MINI EP - Podfather Andre Goulet - Executive Director of Harbinger Media
00:10:44
Big things are happening down at the old podcast factory.
Executive Director of the Harbinger Media Network and longtime friend of the show Andre Goulet came by to talk about Harbinger and its goals for a new, independent, left podcasting space in Canada.
Yes, Big Shiny Takes is on the network as well. We're joining the ranks of some of the best podcasts in Canada, including Alberta Advantage, 49th Parahell, Kino Lefter and more.
Harbinger has some ambitious and worthy goals. These goals are only made possible through listener support, so check Harbinger, become a patron and support new media in Canada!
https://harbingermedianetwork.com/
Also, this episode was meant for broadcast late last month but due to the world going absolutely insane for a little while, all editing was set aside for a moment. (sorry for the wait Andre)
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13 Nov 2020
You're tearing me apart, Licia (ft. Roberta Lexier)
01:25:51
We're joined by Podcast High principal and Mount Royal University historian Roberta Lexier (@rlexier) to discuss Licia Corbella's postponed knee surgery and the only thing a Trudeau has done that she supports, invoking the War Measures Act to militarily occupy Quebec.
While hospital workers went on a wildcat strike across Alberta, winning the hearts and minds of working people, Corbella writes in the Calgary Herald that she'd love to support them but was mildly inconvenienced, so alas she cannot.
Meanwhile, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Quebecois leader Yves Francois-Blanchet have called for Canada to issue an apology for the October Crisis, in which Pierre Elliot Trudeau suspended civil liberties for all of Quebec in October 1970. In another piece, Corbella says we should never apologize for hardcore militarism against the French Menace.
Roberta, who happens to be teaching a course on the October Crisis this semester, tells us why Corbella is engaging in crude historical revisionism.
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27 Nov 2020
Howard Levitt, time cop (ft. Alex from Haus of Decline)
01:11:08
Senior Big Shiny Takes Institute legal analyst Alex (@NaomiDecline) from Haus of Decline — America's foremost Calvinist pod — joins us to take on two NPCs (National Post Columnists) who are lawyers.
First off, we've got Howard Levitt, whom you may know as Jordan Peterson's libel lawyer and the guy who abandoned his Ferrari in a puddle. He's here to tell you that you're not working hard enough from home, you filthy time thief!
Then we talk about another Jordan Peterson-affiliated lawyer, Bruce Pardy, who, according to a review on Rate My Professors, opens his class at Queen's University with a declaration that his classroom "will never be a safe space." However, he's quite triggered by Queen's' decision to renamed the Sir John A. Macdonald building.
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11 Dec 2020
John Ivison, useless idiot (ft. Andre Goulet)
00:48:38
Podfather Andre Goulet (@andremarrgoulet) of Harbinger Media Network (@harbingertweets) returns to BST to talk about anti-China neo-McCarthyism, as exemplified by John Ivison, whom you may remember from an earlier episode when he wrote a column about how CERB recipients are lazy parasites, for which he was rightfully dubbed the "worst person on the internet".
Ivison is mad that two Canadian MPs (Niki Ashton and Paul Manly) supported a rally calling for the release Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested by Canadian police at the request of the Trump administration. Ivison invokes Lenin (or was it Stalin?) to declare the two MPs "useful idiots". If that's the case, the only difference between them and Ivison is their usefulness.
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25 Dec 2020
J.J. McCullough Roommate Spectacular (ft. Clinton Hallahan)
01:24:00
It's a Christmas miracle — a new BST episode right on schedule!
We start off with a little apertif in the form of BST favourite Barbara Kay and her review of the Queen's Gambit. It turns out, a fictional show isn't entirely accurate. But Babs says this is because women can't play chess.
Then, special guest Clinton Hallahan (@StoicRomance) of Alberta Advantage fame tells us about right-wing Canadian YouTuber and Washington Post columnist. J.J. McCullough, who happens to be a close friend and former roommate of his.
In his WaPo piece, J.J. tells Americans how Justin Trudeau may refuse to leave office, a la Trump, based on a lazy conflation of the Electoral College and Canadian parliamentary procedure.
Like what you hear? Give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. You can also throw us a few bucks on our Patreon to access exclusive content and maybe even appear on the show.
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09 Jan 2021
10 Things I Hate About the Year in Review
01:17:38
New year, new theme music, new BST!
We've got a couple 2020 in review pieces that suggest maybe the hell year we're all traumatized from wasn't so bad after all.
We start off with Never Trumper-turned-Trumper Hugh Hewitt's piece in the Washington Post, which contends that, sure, there was the whole pandemic thing, but there were also some bright spots, such as the amazing work Trump has done combatting the virus. We challenge you to name a U.S. president who has handled COVID-19 better.
Next, we go for some Canadian content from washed up Liberal partisan hack turned Conservative hack Warren Kinsella, who gives us his 10 winners and losers from the year that was. To give a preview of the list's coherence, his top 3 were the country's premiers, Doug Ford (a premier) and Brian Pallister (a premier).
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Theme music courtesy of Jack Dump.
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30 Jan 2021
One Derek to Another (ft. Elaine Pauls)
01:08:52
Our pal Elaine Pauls (@heylaineys) joins us again to talk about Derek Sloan's donation from white supremacist douche Paul Fromm.
Former UCP bad boy Derek Fildebrandt, who was kicked out of the party after getting caught renting out his publicly-funded Edmonton apartment on AirBnB, doing a hit-and-run, and illegally hunting, to talk about how Derek Sloan did nothing wrong, or if he did do something wrong it wasn't a big deal.
Now why would a notorious neo-Nazi want to donate money to the Conservative Party?
For dessert, we talk about Barbara Kay's 4,000-word "scoop" on Jessica Mulroney's text messages and cancel culture, or some bullshit.
Like what you hear? Give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. You can also throw us a few bucks on our Patreon to access exclusive content and maybe even appear on the show.
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Theme music courtesy of Jack Dump.
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13 Feb 2021
Rex gonna give it to ya
01:09:39
The boys are back with two trash columns. One is written by a pretentious hack desperately shoehorning disjointed allusions to ephemera rattling around his decaying brain in yet another unfocused rant ending with him shouting about climate change not being real. The other is written by an unpretentious hack who actually thinks that COVID quarantine hotels are an attack on civil liberties.
Of course we are talking about Rex Murphy and Joe Warmington - truly two of the dimmest bulbs in the malfunctioning highway diner sign that is the Canadian media landscape.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money on Patreon! We love doing this show, and we do it for free, but a little bit of help could really go a long way for us.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
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06 Mar 2021
UNLOCKED: Bonus Episode – Rush Limbaugh, the latest victim of cancel culture
00:47:19
Head to patreon.com/bigshinytakes to unlock this and all of our other bonus episodes for as little as $3 a month!
We decided to unlock this bonus episode, because everyone deserves to celebrate Rush Limbaugh's death.
Finally, a representative of a modern organization (the Catholic Church) we can trust to cover current events weighs in with a terrible, terrible column. Of course last week you may have heard that notable right-wing crank and tobacco enjoyer Rush Limbaugh died of lung cancer. Relive that moment as the boys read from Raymond De Souza's treatise/attempt to rehabilitate an awful person's reputation in the National Post.
He never really listened to Rush, and he definitely doesn't bring up any of the content from Rush's show, but he does not fail to mention that the show existed and was very popular. He doesn't say who the show was popular with.
De Souza isn't a details guy, he's more of a big picture, don't ask questions kind of guy.
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12 Mar 2021
Cancelling rhyme is a horrible crime
01:04:30
John Robson tried to write some lyrics He was so incensed he wouldn't even hear it The issue at hand? Cancel culture of course He shouted so loud that his voice became hoarse
"They're coming for Seuss, the woke crowd, the leftists" "These books are such classics, I'm left the bereft-ist" But one simple truth escaped the columnist's glare Nobody with a brain would actually care.
Also, a painful advertorial by Mikhaila Peterson. Be sure to not check out what she does next!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money on Patreon! We love doing this show, and we do it for free, but a little bit of help could really go a long way for us.
And Jeremy (as well as Marino!) recommend the rouge-lite Hades, out now on PC and Nintendo Switch.
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03 Apr 2021
Hackabuski (ft. Nora Loreto)
01:20:23
PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF BIG SHINY TAKES!
Marino, Eric and Jeremy are joined by the great Nora Loreto to review columns by two incredibly talentless hacks: Konrad Yakabuski and Kelly McParland.
Yakabuski covers Quebec in a completely addled column which is both infuriating and disorienting. He manages to jam in references to Mordecai Richler, Matt Green, Amir Attaran, The University of Ottawa, The Bosnian War, and a specific word that he seems particularly annoyed about not being allowed to say, but he doesn't seem to know what point he's trying to make in this column. It's truly terrible and possibly the only memorable thing Konrad has ever managed to do in his whole life.
Meanwhile McParland tries to use this pandemic as a vehicle to advocate for all us young people to rely less on the government because someone was sent to the wrong address for a vaccination. It's really stupid and the whole thing really just doesn't go over well.
We take the time to talk about Brian Lilley's romantic life (yuck), professional life (also yuck) and where they overlap, We also discuss Dan Marino (no, not that Dan Marino) and how much responsibility he should take for the latest COVID wave hitting Quebec City.
Unrelated but still important: To the CBC Radio guy I met in the park on my walk who patiently listened to me talk about my podcast for much longer than I answered his COVID-related streeters: you better give this a listen Jason, I told you it would be a good episode.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
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18 Apr 2021
Cold War 2: Electric Boogaloo (ft. Dan Boeckner)
01:42:32
The Big Shiny Guests keep on coming. This time we’ve got famed musician, podcaster and poster Dan Boeckner, joining us to talk about a little country called China, specifically Canadian pundits’ obsession with it.
First up is a piece in the Globe and Mail from Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong, who’s very not mad about China sanctioning him.
Next up is J. Cole, not that rapper, unfortunately, but a Macdonald-Laurier Institute spook who writes about China like it’s his ex-wife trying to get full custody of the kids.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
11 May 2021
Dr. Sebra D'oh (ft. Abdul Malik)
01:32:28
Abdul Malik (@socialistraptor) makes his triumphant return to the Big Shiny Takes Institute to talk about two simpletons writing in newspapers to let the public know that diversity is bad, actually.
One columnist is Intellectual Dark Web C-lister, furry enthusiast and Jon Kay podcast co-host Dr. Debra Soh, who's writing in the Globe and Mail to warn us of white genocide, coming to a university campus near you.
The other is Lawrie Macfarlane in the Victoria Times-Colonist. We're not sure he actually exists, but if he does, man is he stupid. Macfarlane is very concerned
Throughout it, we also name doctors, both real and fake, like Soh.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
29 May 2021
From the river to the sea (ft. Hammam and Eytan)
01:40:20
Canadian media does a lot of things poorly. Its cowardice when it comes to talking about Palestine is right at the top of the list.
We’re joined by our Palestinian friend Hammam Farah (@HumHum83) and our Israeli friend Eytan Tobin (@RabbiDieHardman) to talk about how Israel, like Canada, is a fake ass genocidal settler state.
For those who haven’t been paying attention, Israel attacked Gaza recently, killing about 250 people, including dozens of children, after provoking violence at al-Aqsa Mosque. This time something feels different. People are actually taking Palestinian perspectives seriously.
But over at Postmedia, of course, it’s business as usual. We talk about two Sun columns that regurgitate the usual Hasbara talking points about how Israel is never wrong and you’re all a bunch of anti-Semites.
It is our hope that "it's complicated" begins to be seen as an unnacceptable response for news organizations that are supposed to be informing the population about what is going on in the world.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
16 Jun 2021
Rex Murphy is a white supremacist
00:57:36
We're back for hopefully the last time reading one of Rex Murphy's ramblings. Literally the day after a Muslim family was murdered by a white supremacist, Rex is here to tell us about the real scourge of our time — anti-white racism. While he denied last year that there was systemic racism in Canada, he appears to have changed his mind.
We also talk about Postmedia's role in fomenting the hatred that continuously leads to Islamophobic murder.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
16 Jul 2021
Mendy Wesley (ft. Erica Ifill)
01:23:55
Erica Ifill (@wickdchiq) of the Bad + Bitchy podcast joins us to talk about ex-CBC host Wendy Mesley's woe-is-me shtick in the Globe and Mail after she got canned for getting caught saying the n-word repeatedly over two years. How many times over her 40-year career did she say it without getting caught?
Melsey argues that firing her alone won't solve systemic racism at our state broadcaster. True, but it's not like it would it would hurt either.
To hear part two, where we talk about dog shampoo enthusiast Jon Kay, sign up for our Patreonto have it in your feed next week.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
24 Jul 2021
TEASER: Bonus episode – Jon Kay, Pet Detective
00:04:58
Head to patreon.com/bigshinytakes to unlock this and all of our other bonus episodes for as little as $3 a month!
Jeremy, Marino and Eric continue their conversation with Erica Ifill for a hilarious read of Jon Kay's latest anti-diversity screed. Dog Shampoo Boy scolds Sobeys for its "Woke Initiatives," then he gets distracted and starts rambling about churches burning.
For just a few dollars a month you can get double the Big Shiny Takes content, and we would really appreciate it. We love making this show, and we hope you enjoy it too.
ALSO! Keep your eyes on our twitter feed to help us determine the worst columnist in Canada.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
07 Aug 2021
John Tory Hates Poor People (ft. Aliya Pabani)
01:33:40
Aliya Pabani of the Encampment Support Network, and host of We Are Not the Virus, joins us to talk about Toronto Mayor John Tory's "reasonable, firm, but compassionate" war on homeless encampments in the city.
We come by this through a column from newly-minted National Post ghoul Adam Zivo, who writes that the violent displacement of unhoused people from the city's encampments, like the one at Lamport Stadium, were in fact a victory for the working class, as if no working people are unhoused.
In case you're wondering what kinda guy Zivo is, he describes himself as an LGBTQ activist, "with a focus on incremental change and private sector sponsorships."
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
01 Sep 2021
Listen Mack (ft. Rob Rousseau)
01:04:59
This week we've got Rob Rousseau (@robrousseau) on the show to talk about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after taking a detour through volunteer scabs, Calgary Herald ace Licia Corbella and who Rob thinks will take home the gold in our Worst Pundit contest.
Former British soldier David Mack writes in the Globe and Mail that the U.S. must stay in Afghanistan for at least another 20-30 years, crying crocodile tears for all the Afghans who will now be under Taliban rule.
We've let down Afghans, he says, ignoring completely everything that's happened in the past 50 years that contributed to the Taliban's rise.
If you'd like to hear part two, where we discuss automation by way of a piece in Rob's hometown paper and decide which is worse, sign up for our Patreonto have it in your feed next week.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
09 Sep 2021
TEASER: Bonus Episode – Lost in the Supermarket (ft. Rob Rousseau)
00:05:09
Head to patreon.com/bigshinytakes to unlock this and all of our other bonus episodes for as little as $3 a month!
Rob Rousseau joins us to read one of the most fun columns we have had the pleasure of reading in this very grim timeline.
We go through Josh Freed's column in the Montreal Gazette on why customers should be paid by supermarkets for using self-checkouts. Now this isn't a typical Big Shiny Takes infuriating read. Josh actually has a bit of fun with the column. He also brushes up against a very strong point (that businesses use automation as an excuse to fire people in order to maximize their profit margins). Unfortunately, this seems to just be an accessory to the main point, which can be summed up as, "I'm old, minor inconveniences I experience are serious problems, and computers scare me".
We also tell the story about how a National Post idiot messaged us very late at night to sarcastically applaud us for making fun of his weak attempts at writing.
Stick around to the end for some talk about the election. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I think maybe a pandemic is a bad time for an election.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
11 Sep 2021
Elon Musk: A Hero's Journey, by Douglas Cope-land (ft. Paris Marx)
01:46:40
It's our opinion at the Big Shiny Takes Institute that billionaires have it too hard. Yeah sure they have unlimited access to resources, are able to shape policy to benefit themselves and have the power of small nation-states – but have you considered how difficult it must be to have someone be mean to you on the internet?
Paris Marx (@parismarx), host of Tech Won't Save Us (@techwontsaveus) explains why there should be room for criticism of all billionaires while we read through one of the most tedious pieces of unfettered PR for Elon Musk that has ever been written. It's a piece in the Guardian by Canadian Gen X icon (lol) Douglas Coupland, so we're allowed to make fun of it.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
01 Oct 2021
Harbinger Telethon (ft. Emily Leedham and Stephen Magusiak)
00:59:13
In case you missed the 12 hour livestream telethon to raise money for Harbinger Media, here's the audio for our part of the event!
Big Shiny Takes (minus Eric, he was at a wedding lol) took part in this great event. Our friends from PressProgress Stephen Magusiak and Emily Leedham joined us to read a column arguing for the platforming of fascists in mainstream media.
If you missed this insipid column by John Ibbitson (a "national treasure" according to Justin Ling) and the subsequent blowback on social media for even considering to write a piece like that, you should listen to this episode.
Keep in mind that this episode was recorded prior to the very important and necessary federal election we just had.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
09 Oct 2021
David Staples' 9 Rules for Life (ft. Senator-elect Duncan Kinney)
01:08:27
Future Alberta Senator Duncan Kinney (@duncankinney), whom you also may know from fellow Harbinger pod The Progress Report, joins us to talk about the hellish nightmare of Alberta's COVID response.
ICUs are overflowing, people are dying, but the Edmonton Journal's David Staples — always with his finger on the pulse — wants to know what this means for Premier Jason Kenney's political fortunes.
Staples has devised nine rules for political life, all of which he says Kenney has violated.
To hear part two, where we review a similarly-themed column in the Calgary Herald, sign up for our Patreonto have it in your feed next week.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
05 Nov 2021
Where was Steven Guilbeault on 9/11? (ft. Bronwen Tucker and Stefan Hostetter)
01:09:16
We are back, and have an episode for you that we recorded in person!
Jeremy came back to the very nice and fun city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada for a visit, so instead of hanging out we recorded an all-timer episode. We were joined by the amazing Bronwen Tucker (@bronwentucker) from Climate Justice Edmonton and the incredible Stefan Hostetter (@Steho)_ of Green Majority Radio to talk about Canadian punditry's pathetic attempts to talk about the climate.
The first column we cover this week is one written by Jesse Kline. Kline desperately attempts to use the Liberal Party's new environment minister Steven Guilbeault as a way of framing the current government's environmental policies as radical. Of course, this is pure fantasy.
We then dive into a Rex Murphy climate change denial column, but that's in our bonus feed. For as little as $3 a month, you can get access to that episode, and our entire back catalogue of Big Shiny Bonus Takes!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
22 Nov 2021
Rosie DiManno and the Italian-Canadian Experience (ft. Aaron Giovannone)
01:11:31
The Big Shiny Takes Institute is back with a great episode with the incredible Aaron Giovannone. We read a lot of terrible columns, but we rarely get to take a deep dive into the psyche of one of the country's more established columnists.
Aaron brought an essay Rosie Dimanno wrote in the late 90's about growing up in Little Italy in Toronto. We go into it, and talk about the points she fixates on, and the points she may have missed.
This is a super fun episode and you shouldn't miss it!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
11 Dec 2021
TEASER: Bonus Episode - What vaccine can protect you from Putin?
00:05:24
That is the question asked by a column written by Diane Francis in the Financial Post that talks about the risks Covid-19 and one Vladimir Putin both pose to our beloved economy.
Yes that is a stupid question. But this is a very stupid column.
Marino, Jeremy and Eric read this column on Russia's involvement in Ukraine written by the impartial observer Diane Francis, who just so happens to have helped found the Canadian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and also is a senior fellow on the Atlantic Council.
Weird.
To unlock the full episode sign up for our Patreon! For only $3 a month, you can get access to double the amount of Big Shiny Takes content, and every subscriber brings us a step closer to achieving our (Eric's) goal to become the first think-tank/podcast hybrid.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
19 Dec 2021
Spin Doctors (ft. Nora Loreto)
01:46:31
Nora Loreto makes her triumphant return to BST and she's got a new book! As the title suggests, Spin Doctors: How Media and Politicians Misdiagnosed the COVID-19 Pandemic deals with how the media created a sea of confusion that obscured the major fault lines of the pandemic.
To illustrate Nora's case, we brought an absolutely reprehensible column from Matt Gurney at the website Ontario's public broadcaster, TVO. He wants you to know that he cares about COVID deaths, he really does, but at the end of the day people die of all sorts of causes, and that's a-OK.
We then read a Rupa Subramanya piece about how vaccine hoarding is cool and good, but that'll be in our bonus feed. For just $3 a month, you can access that episode and our entire back catalogue of Bonus Shiny Takes!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
15 Jan 2022
The Capitalist Manifesto (ft. Shama Rangwala)
01:29:49
It's 2022 and things are bad!
We're kicking off a new year of reading bad takes with Shama Rangwala. Shama is an Assistant Professor at York University and co-host of Replay, a new podcast on the Harbinger Media Network.
The column we read this week is one of the dimmer takes in the National Post's year-end series called The Capitalist Manifesto, and was written by Joanna Baron. Baron runs the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a group of idiots pushing for important things like no mask/vaccine mandates, choice in health care (privatization) and free speech (lol).
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreonto unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
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