Athana Reaction / ICE Killing / Venezuela / Chinese EV Tariffs

Former Poilievre comms director Ben Woodfinden and former Notley cabinet minister Shannon Phillips respond to our exclusive with former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos (4:30), share their thoughts on the fatal ICE shooting in Minnesota (22:15), give a Canadian perspective on the Venezuela "situation" (37:15), debate the merits of dropping tariffs on Chinese EVs (45:30), and predict whether or not we'll see another federal election in 2026 (50:30) in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West.  THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY RapidEX FINANCIAL. THE CRYPTO WORLD MOVES FAST, BUT YOUR TRUST IN AN EXCHANGE SHOULDN'T BE A GAMBLE. RapidEX IS SECURE, FINTRAC-REGISTERED, AND NON-CUSTODIAL. SAVE 50% ON FEES ON ONLINE INTERAC E-TRANSFER TRADES WITH PROMO CODE RYAN50 AT https://rapidexfinancial.com/. 52:30 | We see what Real Talkers have to say about the Minneapolis tragedy in our Live Chat powered by Park Power. SAVE on INTERNET, ELECTRICITY, and NATURAL GAS: https://parkpower.ca/realtalk/ 1:07:30 | Real Talker Jim worked for Alberta Health Services for 13 years. He chimes in on what we heard from Athana Mentzelopoulos.  WATCH THE ATHANA INTERVIEW: https://rtrj.info/010826Athana 1:13:25 | Congratulations to the Apex Icebreakers, winners of the Real Talk Pond Hockey Classic Early Bird Prize! Make sure you register your team for the 2026 RTPHC before it sells out, and we'll see you in St. Albert on January 31!  SIGN UP TODAY: https://www.ryanjespersen.com/pond-hockey 1:19:30 | Denise is appalled by the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis, KP's thrilled to see the US in Venezuela, Don's bracing for WWIII, and Joe from Airdrie figures we should cap independence referendums at one per century. It's The Flamethrower presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park!  FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: [email protected]  WHEN YOU VISIT THE DQs IN PALISADES, NAMAO, NEWCASTLE, WESTMOUNT, or BASELINE ROAD, BE SURE TO TELL 'EM REAL TALK SENT YOU!  FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK, X, INSTAGRAM, and LINKEDIN: @realtalkrj & @ryanjespersen  JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: @ryanjespersen  REAL TALK MERCH: https://ryanjespersen.com/merch RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE PERKS - BECOME A REAL TALK PATRON: patreon.com/ryanjespersen THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.