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COMMONS

CANADALAND

COMMONS is a documentary podcast that proves Canada is anything but boring. Each season, host Arshy Mann guides you through the country’s dark underbelly, bringing you stories about crime, corruption and all manner of misdeeds.


This season will unmask the ever-present war on workers. And the many, many ways that workers have banded together to fight back against it.



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Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

WORK 7 - Merchants of the Rock
Available on 01-05-2024
WORK 7 - Merchants of the Rock
The cod collapse is a harbinger of the many environmental disasters we’re about to face. But what happens to workers in the aftermath of that kind of catastrophe? In Newfoundland and Labrador, monopolistic corporations took advantage.The history of the Atlantic fishery can be understood as a power struggle between fishermen and merchants. And the merchants are winning.Featured in this episode: Glen Winslow, Ryan Cleary, Jenn Thornhill-VermaTo learn more:“Who Controls Fish Processing in Newfoundland & Labrador?” by Jenn Thornhill-Verma & Jack Daly in The Independent“Why are fish harvesters protesting in Newfoundland?” in CTV News“Danish company Royal Greenland buying 4 more N.L. fish plants” in CBC NewsCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, Douglas If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
WORK 6 - Emptying an Ocean
3d ago
WORK 6 - Emptying an Ocean
The closure of the cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador was the most devastating mass layoff in Canadian history. And its impacts are still being felt to this day.The collapse of Newfoundland cod is a story of man-made environmental calamity that turned into economic devastation. It’s a story of a government ignoring the knowledge of working people, in favour of the so-called expertise of industry, to disastrous effect.But this isn’t just history. It’s prophecy. It’s a vision of what may come if we continue to ignore the ecological limits of this planet in the pursuit of profit.Featured in this episode: Bernard Martin, Jenn Thornhill-Verma, Ryan Cleary, Glen WinslowTo learn more:Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys by Jenn Thornhill-VermaLament for an Ocean: The Collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery by Michael HarrisManaged Annihilation: An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse by Dean BavingtonCod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark KurlanskyCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, Douglas If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
WORK 4 - Reaping the Whirlwind
10-04-2024
WORK 4 - Reaping the Whirlwind
Migrant farm workers are the backbone of Canada’s agricultural economy. But because they can be fired and deported at will, their voices are rarely ever heard in this country.But Gabriel Allahdua is one of the few who can now speak up. And the story he has to tell is startling.It’s a story of racism and labour exploitation that goes back decades, even centuries. And it’s a prophecy of what is to come — that the hardships inflicted on migrant farm workers are only a trial run for the rest of us. This is the second episode in a two-part series on farm labour. Featured in this episode: Gabriel Allahdua, Chris RamsaroopTo learn more:Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada by Gabriel Allahdua with Edward Dunsworth“‘Overtly racist’: Lawsuit challenges Canada’s migrant farmworker system” by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours in Al-Jazeera“Former Ontario seasonal farmworker speaks out about exploitation, files class action lawsuit” by Jon Woodward in CTV News“The Canadian state and the racialization of Caribbean migrant farm labour 1947–1966” by Vic Satzewich in Ethnic and Racial StudiesCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Rotman, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
WORK 3 - Bitter Harvest
03-04-2024
WORK 3 - Bitter Harvest
The creation of the Canadian Farmworkers Union, as it would come to be called, was the first step in a struggle that continues to this day.Because even now, farmworkers have far fewer rights than almost any other class of worker. And even today, the men and women who grow our food are subject to horrific working conditions and racial discrimination.But to understand why the situation remains so bad, we need to go back in time to a moment when there was progress and hope. A moment when it looked like things might truly change for the better.This is the first episode in a two-part series on farm labour. Featured in this episode: Raj ChouhanTo learn more:A Time To Rise by Anand Patwardhan & Jim MunroUnion Zindabad!: South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia by Donna Sacuta, Bailey Garden & Anushay Malik“Charan Gill: An ‘Epic’ Life of Advocacy” by David P. Ball in The Tyee“1983: The Year BC Citizens and Workers Fought Back” by Rod Mickleburgh in The TyeeCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
WORK 2 - State of Emergency Rooms
27-03-2024
WORK 2 - State of Emergency Rooms
Across Canada, emergency rooms have been shutting down, leaving desperate people in the lurch. And at the heart of this health care crisis, is a labour crisis.Nurses are leaving their jobs in droves, leaving hospitals understaffed and sometimes unable to carry out their most basic obligations.In this episode, we'll tell you how nursing went from a profession hailed as heroic to one in an utter state of crisis, all through the eyes of a woman who lived through it all.Featured in this episode: Nadira RossTo learn more:“How Canadian hospitals became dependent on expensive, out-of-town nurses” by Tu Thanh Ha, Kelly Grant and Stephanie Chambers in The Globe and Mail“How nursing staffing agencies are costing Ontario hospitals untold millions” by Mike Crawley in CBC News Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CANADALAND #914 Stock Buybacks: How Grocers Eat Themselves
03-01-2024
CANADALAND #914 Stock Buybacks: How Grocers Eat Themselves
This episode was originally published on August 28th, 2023. Listen to Monopoly 1 - Lost in the Supermarket and Monopoly 17 - Food FightIn the past several years, Loblaws, Metro and Empire have spent billions on their own stock – And at a time of food price inflation and grocery workers on strike. Why are they doing it? And why do some economists say stock buybacks should be abolished?  Featured in this episode: William Lazonick, professor emeritus of economics at University of MassachusettsJim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work Further reading:Profits Without Prosperity, William Lazonick, Harvard Business Review“The American disease’: Canadian companies pouring cash into stock buybacks as backlash grows abroad, Geoff Zochodne, Financial PostStriking Metro workers say they face challenges affording the very food they sell, Canadian Press Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Cherise Seucharan (Reporter), Jonathan Goldsbie (News Editor), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Sponsors: Douglas, AG1If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 9 - Romana’s Reign
13-12-2023
CULTS 9 - Romana’s Reign
Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed Queen of Canada, is unlike almost any other cult leader Canada has ever seen. In an incredibly short amount of time, she’s been able to gain a mass following, despite her absurd claims and alarming rhetoric.At various points, she’s claimed to be a political leader, a monarch, an interdimensional being communing with aliens, and so much more. She’s urged her followers to take up arms and execute migrants on sight.And now, she’s taken up residence in a small Saskatchewan town that doesn’t know what to do.Featured in this episode: Mack Lamoureux (VICE News), Peter Smith (Canadian Anti-Hate Network), Hugh EverdingTo learn more:“A QAnon Cult Set Up a Compound in a Small Town. The Locals Are Fighting Back” by Mack Lamoureux in VICE News“Self Declared Queen Of Canada Calling For US Supporters To Invade Canada And Prepare To Execute “Traitors”” by Peter Smith in Canadian Anti-Hate NetworkThe Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything by Mike Rothschild Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: oxio, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 8 - The Eye of the Pyramid
06-12-2023
CULTS 8 - The Eye of the Pyramid
Multi-level marketing isn’t based on rational business logic. It’s not even built on irrational business logic. It’s ideology. It’s faith.MLMs have become such a ubiquitous part of North American life that their tenets are rarely ever questioned. The sector holds enormous political sway. Millions of people join, leave and rejoin every year, almost all of them ending up poorer for the experience.And to call it a cult is not just a cute turn of phrase. The cultishness of MLMs is essential to their success.Featured in this episode: Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Julie AndersonTo learn more:Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing by Robert L. Fitzpatrick“How lobbying dollars prop up pyramid schemes” by Matt Stroud in The VergeYouTube: @JulieAndersonvideosAmway: The Cult of Free Enterprise by Stephen ButterfieldCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Aviva Lessard (Additional Production) Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, Oxio, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 7 - Hey #Bossbabe!
29-11-2023
CULTS 7 - Hey #Bossbabe!
Nearly 1.4 million Canadians and almost 50 million Americans are involved in multi-level marketing. And that sheer volume of people makes it a near certainty that you’ve encountered MLMs in your life somehow.The promise of financial freedom can be an intoxicating lure. But MLMs, like so many other cultish enterprises, are about more than just money. They’re about transcendence.And in their wake, they often leave behind ruined livelihoods and broken lives. Featured in this episode: Julie Anderson, Amanda Montell, Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Marco Moukhaiber To learn more:Ponzinomics: The Untold Story of Multi-Level Marketing by Robert L. Fitzpatrick“'They have you in a cultish grip': the women losing thousands to online beauty schemes” by Amelia Tate in The GuardianYouTube: @JulieAndersonvideosYouTube: @AlwaysMarcoCultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda MontellCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Aviva Lessard (Additional Production) Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Oxio, Athletic GreensIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 6 - Being a Blackmore
22-11-2023
CULTS 6 - Being a Blackmore
Mary-Jayne Blackmore is one of the oldest children of Winston Blackmore, the most famous polygamist in Canada. For decades, her family has been the subject of intense media and legal scrutiny because of her father’s 27 wives and 150 children. Their lives have been dissected in documentaries and in court testimony.The name Blackmore has become synonymous with either faith-based persecution by the state or with cult-like religious fundamentalism that victimizes girls and women.But for Mary-Jayne, these kinds of black-and-white portrayals miss so much about what it’s been like being a Blackmore.To learn more:Balancing Bountiful: What I Learned About Feminism From My Polygamist Grandmothers by Mary Jayne BlackmoreThe Bishop of Bountiful B.C. by the CBC’s Fifth EstateUnder the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon KrakauerCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Canva, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 5 - Alien Superstar
15-11-2023
CULTS 5 - Alien Superstar
In 1973, a French motorsports journalist claimed to have been visited by a UFO that revealed to him the secret origins of humanity. For the next half-century, the man known as Raël would go on to create a new faith with tens of thousands of adherents all around the world. The media have portrayed the Raelians as not just a cult, but a strange phantasmagoria of extraterrestrials, orgies and clones. But its followers insist it is the only true path forward for humanity.Featured in this episode: Nicole Bertrand, Susan J. Palmer, Harold HenningTo learn more:Aliens Adored: Raël’s UFO Religion by Susan J. PalmerThe Prophet and the Space Aliens by Yoav ShamirThe UFO sect campaigning against female genital mutilation by Monica Mark in The Guardian Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, Athletic Greens If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 4 - The Cult Wars
08-11-2023
CULTS 4 - The Cult Wars
An explosion of new spiritual movements in the 1970s led to the creation of an entirely novel academic field. But right from the beginning, the discipline was riven asunder.The Cult Wars have been raging for decades. They’re fought not only in academic journals and conference seminars, but in the press, the courts and in legislative assemblies. And their battles continue to have enormous consequences.Featured in this episode: Michael Kropveld, Stephen A. Kent, Susan J. PalmerTo learn more:“Caught Up in the Cult Wars: Confessions of a New Religious Movement Researcher” by Susan J. Palmer in University of Toronto Press“Life after Doomsday: Tracking cult activity from a Montreal storage locker” by Simon Lewson in The WalrusMisunderstanding Cults: Searching for Objectivity in a Controversial Field edited by Benjamin Zablocki & Thomas RobbinsCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: OxioIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CULTS 3 - MKUltra
01-11-2023
CULTS 3 - MKUltra
In the 1960s and 70s, there was a fear that cult leaders were brainwashing young people into joining their new, strange movements. But is it even possible to “brainwash” anyone?At a psychiatric hospital in Montreal, one mad scientist, with the help of the CIA, tried to find out.Featured in this episode: Alison Steel, Lisa EllenwoodTo learn more:Brainwashed by Michelle Shephard, Lisa Ellenwood & Chris Oke on CBC PodcastsThe Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control by John MarksFather, Son and CIA by Harvey WeinsteinMK Ultra: CIA mind control program in Canada by CBC’s The Fifth Estate“Federal government quietly compensates daughter of brainwashing experiments victim” by Elizabeth Thompson in CBC NewsCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief) Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Douglas, OxioIf you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.