For some time now, writers and thinkers outside this country have been asking me: What happened to Canada? Our guest on the program today has asked this question himself, in a new book that takes a deep dive into our decline — and arrives just in time for the federal election.

Tristin Hopper is a columnist and reporter for The National Post, based in Victoria, B.C. His new book is Don’t Be Canada: How One Country Did Everything Wrong All At Once.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

As we all navigate a period rife with political tensions on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border, we wanted to bring you an incredible story that celebrates the human spirit and affirms our common humanity. Our guest on the program today was an eight-month-old baby when her parents smuggled her out of communist Vietnam, crossing the South China Sea to begin a new life. Decades later, she reports for the Today show.

Vicky Nguyen is an NBC News Daily anchor and Chief Consumer Investigative correspondent. She reports for the Today show, Nightly News, and NBC News Now. Her New York Times-bestselling debut is Boat Baby.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

Throughout the Canadian federal election, we’re taking weekly breaks to think and talk about other things. On today’s program, in light of ongoing debates in American pop culture, we’ll be discussing the phenomenon of heteropessimism with a Toronto culture critic who is quite literally writing the book on it.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a Toronto-based journalist, author, and podcaster. She’s co-host of the Feminine Chaos podcast, opinion editor at The Canadian Jewish News, and a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail. Her forthcoming podcast is The Jewish Angle.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com