The Line Podcast: Why does America hate us when we're poor?

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on June 19th, 2026, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson begin with a foreign affairs roundup. Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to Ireland and France to strengthen ties with Europe while also trying to maintain a workable relationship with Donald Trump. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visits NATO and delivers some pointed criticism of allies that, while not directed at Canada by name, certainly sounds familiar. Your hosts also discuss the aftermath of America’s confrontation with Iran. Matt argues that the United States has, in practical terms, suffered a defeat — an embarrassing outcome for Trump, but perhaps a useful lesson for the rest of us about the limits of military power.This episode is brought to you by Fractional Execs Canada. Need help with a serious business problem? As Canadian businesses grow they often require expert help to solve key business challenges. Fractional Execs Canada have assembled a team of experienced strategists, implementors, sales and marketing operators that can help transform your business into a growth engine. They match you with the right person, or team to move your business forward at a pace your business can manage.Talk to Fractional Execs Canada and discover a better, more collaborative way to take your business and your ‘busyness’ in a better direction. Canadian expertise to support the growth of Canadian businesses. Build your business with those that know how.Find them Fractional-Execs.ca.Next, they take a quick tour through the provinces. Matt is increasingly worried that Doug Ford could inadvertently throw Canada-U.S. negotiations into chaos, and explains why. Jen provides an update from Alberta, where the political situation remains bizarre. By the end of the segment, both hosts arrive at a grim conclusion: the incentives facing almost every major political actor now reward escalation, confrontation, and nastiness. That rarely ends well.This episode of The Line Podcast is also brought to you by BioCanRx, a federally-funded Canadian not-for-profit research network helping Canadian researchers bring treatments from labs to patients in clinical trials — all in Canada.Every day, your immune system finds and destroys different types of threats — both external invaders like viruses, and internal dangers like pre-cancerous cells in your own body. But cancer can sometimes evade detection. Researchers are working to identify flags found on cancer cells, called antigens. By training your immune system to recognize these antigens, immunotherapy can help your immune system destroy cancer.In addition to funding clinical trials, BioCanRx supports research teams who identify these cancer antigens, and find new ways to target them. Many challenges remain — and we’re working on solving them. You’ll hear more over the summer. For now, go to BioCanRx.com to learn more.Finally, Jen disappears down one of her trademark rabbit holes and emerges with a sweeping explanation of how she came to fully appreciate the sheer economic power of the United States. Somehow, this journey involves gas pumps, brisket, beef jerky, the Soviet Union, and the defeat of Imperial Japan in 1945. Your hosts find themselves reflecting on what American economic dominance really means, why it has proven so durable, and what lessons Canada should draw from it as we navigate an increasingly uncertain world.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. As ever, like and subscribe.YouTube:Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.Please sign up at those options not just for this episode, or future episodes of The Line Podcast, but so that you can also receive our other podcast series, On the Line, which releases new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode, where Jen Gerson spoke with Mark Kawar, an amateur historian and journalist whose book America But Bigger explores a surprisingly persistent feature of American history: attempts to expand the United States beyond its current borders.Thanks, all. Talk to you soon.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded. No federal subsidies, no bailouts. If you value our work, please consider supporting us by subscribing or making a donation. Donations are not subscriptions and do not unlock paywalled content, but they help keep The Line independentTo contact The Line with a general inquiry or comment, please email [email protected]. For other ways to connect with us or to follow us on social media, please see our LinkTree. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe