I gave a small, intimate presentation to a reading group in western Massachusetts after coordinating with one of their organizers. Graciously, they allowed me to record, so now you get to hear it here. This talk is more of a general overview about perception of news, which resources are best to cultivate a critical news eye, a critical examination of two events covered by the news, an overview of how settler-colonialism seeps into news and a brief alternate history of progressive journalism.This episode's photo is the one I presented at the end of my talk, just edited with "The North State" on it.

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Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/

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After Australians confirmed a massive majority for their Labor government, Canadian journalists and pundits agreed: anyone who compared the two is a genius. Now that the dust has settled, it's important to not move past lessons we can learn from each other. Half-victory lap, half-cogent analysis, this week on The North State is a closing of the discussion begun on The Down Under State to compare each country's respective elections and what each of us can learn about the current political moment. Mitch Alexander, co-host of the Australian Radical Online Leftist Pipeline podcast, PhD candidate and vocalist of metal band Eye Of The Enemy, rejoins Scott to talk Dutton and Poilievre's loss, Labor and Liberals' gain and a surprising carbon tax connection.

Clarification: I mentioned the Bloc Quebecois being a factor in the 90s Liberal landslide but did not make it clear that the Reform Party, which was the right-wing Western split of the Progressive Conservative federal party, contributed greatly to the change in the electoral landscape, moreso than the Bloc.

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Mitch’s Blog: Philisophica

Only Equals Negotiate by Eye of the Enemy

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/what-canadians-can-learn-from-australias-election-ft-mitch-alexander-the-north-state-podcast

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Rebel Media and other right-wing figures dominated the discourse around the two leadership debates this election. After disproportionately representing their perspective in the French-language scrum, their behaviour completely disrupted and stopped the scrum after the English-language debate. It's not a one-off occurrence, this is only going to get worse. This week on The North State, Scott walks through the effect of the Online News Act on Canadian's news habits, how the broader right-wing shift has deteriorated the average Canadian's news diet, what implications this has for our politics and how there is no plan to fix this from any party. Fun stuff!

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/our-decaying-news-ecosystem-is-a-political-problem-the-north-state-podcast

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Federal elections are the equivalent of sports championships for politics/journalism nerds the world over. But this election felt different. Journalism covering the federal parties has been... not great. The decaying state of media, mounting attacks from the right-wing and a complete lack of imagination have all coalesced into a complete garbage fire. Average Canadians are not being served by our legacy media, leaving independent outlets to pick up some of the slack. But independent outlets can't carry the burden of decaying material conditions, reactionary social movements and indifferent rhetorical support. Nora Loreto, freelance journalist, author and host of the Sandy and Nora and the Daily News podcast joins Scott to review the quality of news media reporting on the electoral campaign.

Check out Nora Loreto's work

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Canada In Decline Book Two: Corporate Control

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/grading-journalisms-election-performance-ft-nora-loreto-the-north-state-podcast

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Election fever has taken over Canada, so it's understandable that politically engaged Canadians would be focused on the country’s federal election. The shadow of the US, housing, tariffs– all are playing huge roles in who Canada chooses as the party that will lead the country. But we aren't alone. Australia’s going through all the same problems with a federal election just five days after Canada’s. So what problems do Canadians and Australians share? How can we learn from each other? What makes our situations different? Mitch Alexander, co-host of the Australian Radical Online Leftist Pipeline Podcast, PhD candidate and vocalist of metal band Eye Of The Enemy, joins Scott to discuss the situation both countries find themselves in. From the difference between our voting systems to the similar approaches electoral parties are taking towards capital gains taxes, it turns out going down under can be a good thing for perspective.

Check out ROLP on YouTube:

Mitch’s Blog: Philisophica

Only Equals Negotiate by Eye of the Enemy

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/the-down-under-state-ft-mitch-alexander-the-north-state-podcast/

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It's election season, basically Christmas for politics nerds who have no life. So instead of wallowing in the news about the campaign trail, the candidates and the polling, we're going to breakdown some election coverage. Eric Wickham, Ontario reporter for PressProgress joins to discuss CTV News having to right-wing flak, incredible reporting about a mass punishment at "Wong-tanamo Bay," and a general discussion about the state of the 2025 federal election.

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Check out his reporting for PressProgress.

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Sources and further reading at:

https://readthecatch.ca/breakdown-mostly-election-special-2025-ft-eric-wickham-the-north-state-podcast

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Facing worrying rhetoric by US President Donald Trump, news has turned its attention to Canada's military, with a notable trend of pointing towards the positives of conscription. Two of these articles, published from both sides of the political spectrum, suggest mandatory service as a partial solution. But even the best version of this argument plays into jingoist nationalism. Not only does it not address the situation at hand, it directs the popular will to strengthen sovereignty into misplaced nationalist militarism. Ian Barclay, editor-in-chief of Avant-Garde Press, journalist and veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, joins Scott to discuss the historical context of conscription in Canada, the faults in these arguments and how they miss the mark.

Avant-Garde Press

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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Sources and further reading at:

https://readthecatch.ca/when-ya-get-drafted-ft-ian-barclay-the-north-state-podcast/

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Since late last year, Donald Trump began a very public habit of musing on making Canada the 51st state. Throughout posts on his social media feeds, press conferences about the US' trade relations and even an appearance at the World Economic Forum, Trump has threatened high-tariffs against Canada and expressed a desire to integrate it into the USA. While news coverage has been breathless, it omits the reality of Canada's foreign policy and how it's aligned with the US throughout some of its darkest chapters. Tyler Shipley, professor of political economy an author of Canada in the World: Settler Capitalism and the Colonial Imagination, joins Scott to discuss the historical and political context of Trump's rhetoric and how the Canadian political system is ill-equipped to combat these plans.

Canada In The World: Settler Capitalism and the Colonial Imagination by Tyler Shipley

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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Sources and further reading available at:

https://readthecatch.ca/51st-state-blues-the-north-state-podcast

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