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Wag The Doug
by CANADALAND
A monthly podcast grappling with the reality of four more infuriating years with the Fords and what that means for Ontario. Hosted by Allison Smith and Jonathan Goldsbie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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Jesse Brown is Fired!
It's true. Jesse Brown has fired himself as a host of Canadaland podcasts. So who will Canadaland's new hosts be? Stay tuned and support the next chapter of Canadaland here: canadaland.com/join Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Introducing: What Is Happening Here (Official Trailer)
Some say Canada is currently in the throes of a horrible surge of anti-Jew hatred. Others say that anti-zionism is being conflated with antisemitism. So which is it? And who is to blame for it — activists, or Israel? What is Happening Here is a co-production of Canadaland and The Canadian Jewish...
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We're in the Fight of Our Lives
Canadaland covers Canada, period. If there was ever a time to support Canadian news, it’s now. Go to canadaland.com/join and become a supporter today. Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor & Technical Producer), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher) Hosted on Acast. See...
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Introducing: The Copernic Affair
The Copernic Affair is available now, wherever you get your podcasts. The life of an unassuming sociology professor in Canada gets turned upside down when he is accused of carrying out a 1980 bomb attack on a synagogue in Paris. Hassan Diab says heʼs innocent, but French investigators are...
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Doug Ford, Ontario Man
After six years of Doug-wagging, Allison and Jonathan have learned a few things. Like how “Ontario,” as a concept, is even more inscrutable than “Toronto” or “Canada.” And how most disasters are not just foreseeable but have in fact been foreseen. But perhaps most disconcerting of all: that Doug...
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The Fifth Annual(ish) Douggie Awards
Live (on tape) from the intersection of Richmond and Spadina, it’s the fifth annual(ish) Douggie Awards, celebrating the most surreal and mendacious moments of the past year in Ford. What was the Most Blatant Conflict of Interest? Who offered the Best Spin? Like the Emmys, we take things that...
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To All the Booze Who’ve Loved Beer Store
Who doesn’t love an ice-cold beer from a bar, a pub, a liquor store… a gas station? There could soon be up to 8,500 new places to buy low-alcohol drinks in Ontario, thanks to a new plan to speed up an agreement between the province and Beer Store. The cost? At least $225 million of taxpayer…
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Queen’s Park and Gaza
When the Speaker decreed that keffiyehs were verboten at Queen’s Park, even Doug Ford agreed that that was a bad call. But that came in the midst of a hotly-contested by-election in the 905 — and now that it’s finished, so is his party’s long nightmare of uncharacteristic open-mindedness. In the...
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Introducing Pretendians
Today we’re sharing with you a preview of the first episode of Canadaland’s newest show Pretendians. What do some of the most prominent and successful Indigenous artists, leaders and thinkers have in common? They aren’t Indigenous. From major universities, to the halls of power, to Hollywood…
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This Sh*t is Banana Cats
The next provincial election is two years away, but to turn on your TVs, you’d think we were in the midst of one. Flush with cash, Doug Ford’s party is taking out ads attempting to cast the premier as cuddly and contrite. Meanwhile, the Ontario NDP is going all in on the weird side of TikTok,...
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Dougie Went a-Courtin'
Judicial independence is a foundational principle of Canadian democracy. Doug Ford sees it as an obstacle to be overcome. Because if he can’t appoint “like-minded” judges to mercilessly punish criminals, then is it really justice? Why should judges have discretion to… judge? This month, Allison…
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Where the Wildfires Are
At this time of year, we’d normally pine for spring. But nowadays, that means wildfire season. And it’s only a matter of time before British Columbia’s new normal becomes Ontario’s as well — yet we’re not nearly as well-prepared. Doug Ford’s not too big on acknowledging a connection with climate...
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Journey to the Centre of the Science
Doug Ford plans to uproot the Ontario Science Centre from the iconic Don Mills home it’s occupied since 1969. But what is the Science Centre other than its iconic Don Mills home? On a blustery afternoon, Allison and Jonathan traipse up the DVP to learn whether the dreams of their 90s childhoods…
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Doug Ford vs. the Mayors
We surmised that Doug Ford would punish Toronto for picking Olivia Chow as its mayor. But if anything, he seems more sympathetic to the city and its issues than before. So what gives? This month, Allison and Jonathan look at the premier’s peculiar relationships with the leaders of Toronto,...
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I Logged On to a Mining Ring of Fire
Until just a few years ago, staking a mining claim in Ontario demanded banging physical posts in the ground. Now, you can simply head online and click a square on a map. But while that may be an abstract exercise for office-dwellers in Toronto, the stakes are quite real (if no longer literal) for...
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Doug Ford's House of Horrors
Some say Queen’s Park is haunted. Others say it’s merely possessed by the Progressive Conservatives. Either way, there’s some spooky stuff going down. This month, Allison and Jonathan guide you through Doug Ford’s ministry of terrors, as they probe into the perils that are — or ought to be —...
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The End of Canadaland
Support us now! Click here: canadaland.com/join The first episode of Canadaland was published ten years ago today. If we were to announce this is the last episode of Canadaland, no one would be surprised. Journalism in Canada is in a fight for its life. You can have an impact. Head to...
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Roll Up for the Mr. X Tour
With his polls diving, housing minister resigning, and ill-begotten Greenbelt scheme unravelling, what’s a Doug Ford to do? Why, talk about anything else, of course! In the face of yet another report laying bare the haphazard chumminess with which power is exerted in the PCs’ Ontario, the premier...
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Greenbelt: The Movie
Ontario’s Auditor General has confirmed what we suspected: that Doug Ford’s government effectively redrew the map of the province, opening up thousands of acres of land for development, based largely on solicitations made at a party. It just wasn’t the party we thought. Either way, it could make...
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Students in Strip Malls
How did a Doug Ford policy move from 2019 lead to 10,000s of international students schlepping their backpacks to strip malls across the GTA? Allison and Jonathan investigate how Ontario colleges have cashed in on an international student free for all — and whether the party could be coming to an...
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102 People Who Are Not Doug Ford
Toronto is in the midst of its most exciting election in a decade, tickling us with the possibility of hope. But does it still make sense to get invested in the outcome, when Doug Ford could easily run roughshod over Council, squashing the new mayor like the Monty Python foot? With Allison away...
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A Deep Dive Into Doug Ford’s Obsession with Smile Cookies
Ten years after becoming famous as the mean older brother of Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor, Doug Ford spends his days peddling fast-food promotions and posing for pictures with cops. Which is pretty much the future we might’ve guessed for him — just not the part about his being premier of Ontario...
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TVO Pursuit: After Ontario Place, Is TVO Next?
Doug Ford claims he’s all about building, but he sure has a thing for enthusiastically bulldozing the utopian public projects of yesteryear.First it was Ontario Place. Now it’s the Science Centre. At what point does he train his sights on TVO?Allison and Jonathan reflect on the legacy of…
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Ep. 52 - The Douggie Awards: Recognizing Stag & Does, The Greenbelt and That Rogue Bee
It’s every-Ford everywhere all at once, as we celebrate the year’s most absurd and distressing developments in Ontario politics. What was the premier’s Falsest Promise? The Most Harmful Policy? The Best Fordism? You’ll never guess what insects Allison and Jonathan will swallow at the fourth...
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Ep. 51 - Ford Weddings and a Free-for-all
It turns out Doug Ford and his "developer buddies" are more than just a metaphor. A recent report by Global News found a fleet of lobbyists and developers were invited to a Stag & Doe last August for the daughters of Ford, where they were "browbeaten" into making $1000 donations. While they have...
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Ep. 50 - "Leveraged" Health Care on Ontario's Dime
Conservatives don’t like Canada’s public healthcare system. They think it makes us like Cuba and North Korea. Now, after years of working to gradually undermine it, Doug Ford has declared that the “status quo” isn’t working, throwing open Ontario’s doors to new for-profit clinics. But when it…
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COMMONS: Monopoly #1 - Lost in the Supermarket
This episode is from our friends on the CANADALAND network, COMMONS! This season they are digging into monopolies and asking, is there something special about Canada that makes it especially hospitable to monopolies? To listen to the rest of the COMMONS: Monopoly season, use this link or search...
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Trailer: Wag the Doug
A monthly podcast grappling with the reality of four more infuriating years with the Fords and what that means for Ontario. Hosted by Allison Smith and Jonathan Goldsbie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Ep. 49 - For Whom the Greenbelt Tolls
Doug Ford loves calling things “corrupt.” But just how often must his party’s friends and donors reap rewards from their policies before the word can be liberally flung back? On this month’s show, Allison and Jonathan look at who benefits from dismantling the Greenbelt and then trade fave…
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Ep. 48 - CUPE Ki Yay, MotherFORDer!
This week, Doug Ford learned that while it’s stunningly easy to toss out constitutional rights, it’s a heck of a lot harder to get away with that. By passing the Keeping Students in Class Act complete with notwithstanding clause, the government mounted an unprecedented attack on CUPE, and...
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Introducing our new series: Ratfucker
Meet David Wallace, political fixer. After decades in the game he says he’s getting out, telling all, and dumping his files in public. The result is the viral "Klondike Papers" theory of conspiracies, conservatives, and cults. But are the allegations true? And why is he really implicating…
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Ep. 47 - The Power of the Doug
With electricity demand set to rise and Pickering’s nuclear plant set to close, Doug Ford’s government is now scrambling to keep the province’s lights on. Perhaps spending hundreds of millions to cancel green-energy projects and dismantle new wind turbines might not have been the most...
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Ep. 46 - Strong Mayors [COMMA] Building Homes
The province has got a housing crisis, and the only prescription is… more mayoral powers?? Allison and Jonathan probe the comically flimsy pretense under which Doug Ford has fundamentally, if casually, reshaped how Ontario’s two largest cities are governed. Because what doesn’t quite kill Toronto...
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We’ll be back next month
Wag the Doug will return in September, by which time who knows what else Doug Ford will have swallowed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Ep. 45 - Will Ontario Ever Have A Truly Left-Wing Party?
Allison and Jonathan talk with Jacobin’s Luke Savage about why the NDP so often provokes indifference, while its American and British counterparts sometimes seem poised to spark revolution. Might a new leader succeed where Andrea Horwath did not? Plus: The Premier’s new cabinet offers…
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Ep. 44 - Ford More Years
The PCs are up seven seats from last time, and the opposition parties are down two leaders. We were going to record this from Doug Ford's election-night event, but Jonathan wasn't allowed in. So he and Allison met up after to talk about life in the Second Age of Ford, and what it means when a...
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Ep. 43 - Running On Fumes In A Chicken Suit
As Doug Ford campaigns against fumes, his opponents are increasingly running on them. Less than a week away, the election's outcome is hardly a foregone conclusion, but the Liberals, at least, have reached chicken-suit levels of desperation. Are they telling us there's no candour available in all...
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Ep. 42 - Why Are These People So Happy
Our election coverage continues into week three. This week, there was a weirdly upbeat leaders' debate, two party leaders got COVID and several trade unions came out in support of Doug Ford and the PCs. Jonathan and Allison break down what it all means. Want to try ad-free? For a limited time…
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Ep. 41 - Research and Destroy
On week two of the election campaign, the dirt starts to surface about candidates, the party leaders participate in their first debate and the Liberals release their fully-costed platform. Links: Read the Press Progress piece about Stephen Lecce participating in a slave auction:...
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Ep. 40 - Drop Writ Like It's Hot
Wag the Doug is going weekly for the Ontario election! On the first weekly Wag, Jonathan and Allison talk about Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca's introductory Youtube series, Ford's campaign launch, cringey Star Wars memes, transit ideas and plenty more. Want to try ad-free? For a limited time…
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Ep.39 - Refund Madness
A listener writes in, wondering why she's getting a rebate cheque in the mail right before an election campaign. Jonathan and Allison take stock of everything the Progressive Conservative Party is doing to secure an election victory, from conveniently-timed cheques to a spree of spending...
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Ep. 38 - The Third Annual(ish) Douggie Awards
It's once again that time of year, when the stars of Ontario politics come out to — well, not shine, exactly, so much as drably absorb a depressing fluorescent glow. The 3rd Douggie Awards honour the terrible and hilarious developments of the past 12 months or so that made us laugh 'til we cried…
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Ep. 37 - Free Fearless Pancakes
When the trucker convoy cratered Ottawa, Doug Ford hoped he could turn the other cheek. However, when another protest blocked the Ambassador bridge in Windsor, disrupting his beloved supply chain, he declared a state of emergency to make sure Ontario stayed ‘Open for Business.' Jonathan and…
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Ep. 36 - Kory & Nick: The Backroom Boys
The Toronto Sun likes to blast the “unelected” public health officials informing pandemic policy in Ontario. But who's really calling the shots in Doug Ford's government? Allison and Jonathan look at the sway held by pollster Nick Kouvalis and PC campaign manager Kory Teneycke. Not only are they...
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Ep. 35 - Rolling the Dice on Internet Gambling
It was only a matter of time before Doug Ford dragged us back into a casino debate. Except this time, it's not on the waterfront but in your pocket. Allison and Jonathan look at the possibly criminal implications of his government's new approach to internet gambling, and why you might soon be…
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Ep. 34 - Doug's Labour Loss
With an election seven months away, Doug Ford's government has suddenly decided it's pro-worker. But would any of their proposed reforms actually improve the lives of low-income and gig workers in Ontario? Allison and Jonathan talk to Brice Sopher of Gig Workers United about whether Ford is...
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Ep. 33 - Yes, He Won't
Support us here: https://wtd.supercast.com/ How do you put a smiling, election-ready face on a government that's done little but slash regulations and mismanage a pandemic? That calls for a brand refresh! Allison and Jonathan look at how Doug Ford's PCs are positioning themselves as The Party of...
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Ep. 32 - Anatomy of a Flip-Flop
Doug Ford used to oppose vaccine passports. Now's he super in favour. That he changed his mind wasn't surprising; that he did so before Ontario hit a new crisis point was. With Allison in New York, where she's coming to love her vaccine passport, she and Jonathan pore over clues as to why Ford...
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Ep. 31 - Ghosts of Ontario Place: Past, Present, Future
Opened in 1971, Ontario Place was an idealistic effort to celebrate and cement a provincial identity. Fifty years later, and having been left to rot, it's about to be carved up and privatized by the Doug Ford government. Join Allison and Jonathan as they take a trip to Ontario Place, where past,...
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Introducing The White Saviors
Over 25 years, WE built a golden brand by inspiring children to rally around their charismatic leader. But behind the scenes, employees experienced a cult-like culture and a troubling blur of charitable and commercial activities. In the aftermath of a national scandal, thousands of donors and...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A monthly podcast grappling with the reality of four more infuriating years with the Fords and what that means for Ontario. Hosted by Allison Smith and Jonathan Goldsbie.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
CANADALAND
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Wag The Doug have?
Wag The Doug currently has 82 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Wag The Doug about?
A monthly podcast grappling with the reality of four more infuriating years with the Fords and what that means for Ontario. Hosted by Allison Smith and Jonathan Goldsbie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often does Wag The Doug release new episodes?
Wag The Doug has 82 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Wag The Doug?
You can listen to Wag The Doug on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Wag The Doug?
Wag The Doug is created and hosted by CANADALAND.
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