Explore every episode of the podcast Big Shiny Takes
Dive into the complete episode list for Big Shiny Takes. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
We Might Have Committed Some Light Treason (Ft. Nora Loreto)
09 Aug 2024
00:58:50
Fancying himself some sort of Judge Dredd of protecting Canadian culture, Christopher Dummitt writes in a special to the National Post how such actions as land acknowledgments or taking a plaque down in an art gallery are giving China an edge.
Canadian patriot Nora Loreto joins us to explain why having a deep-seated sense of national pride probably doesn't matter that much.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Full Bisexual Panic! (Ft. Sarah Rieger)
10 Jul 2024
01:21:28
"Are all these bisexuals for real? Or is this 'el gee bee tee cue' stuff just a fashionable trend? I'm just asking questions." That is about the extent of the analysis in this week's column from the Phoebe Maltz Bovy in Globe and Mail.
Nevertheless, we torture ourselves and writer/pal Sarah Rieger by unpacking it. Join us for yet another incoherent boomer moment.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Cop Worship with the Nightscrawler
21 Oct 2023
01:00:54
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned after the editor (Eric) spent the last month traveling the world in search of the shiniest takes. It turns out they were all right here in Canada.
This week we return to an old favourite, the people's champion Joe Warmington, for a column about remembering police officers who passed away this year. Before you ask, yes Don Cherry is featured in the column for some reason.
This episode was recorded in late September and is a classic example of the Nightscrawler's obsession with venerating the police. Some people need heroes, other people are fully-functioning adults.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
The 18th Brumaire of Carson Jerema (ft. Emma Paling)
23 Aug 2023
01:10:35
Jeremy and Marino are joined by The Breach co-ordinating editor Emma Paling (@emmapaling) to discuss a column from Carson Jerema, the National Post'scomment editor, who in accordance with Post traditions doesn't seem to do much editing.
According to Jerema, Pierre Poilievre's shrieking about the globalistsat the World Economic Forum isn't a conspiracy theory at all. In fact, it's exactly like Chrystia Freeland's tepid criticisms of the WEF in her book Plutocrats, which Jerema adds is a Marxist conspiracy theory.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud member of the Harbinger Media Network, which includes other great shows, such as Tech Won't Save Us (produced by our beautiful boy Eric), Darts and Letters and The Progress Report.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Childcare Conscription (ft. Hunter Crowther)
08 Jul 2023
01:47:10
Things are so good in Canadian media. There's layoffs nearly every week. There's talk of the Toronto Star merging with Postmedia. The Online News Act was passed and as a result Google and Facebook are pulling Canadian news content from their platforms. (The Act isn't great and doesn't help independent media that much to begin with, but Google and Facebook pulling this move is baaaad).
To celebrate the robust and healthy nature of our industry, Marino and Eric are joined by old j-school buddy Hunter Crowther (@HunterCrowther) to read some schlock from The Hub.
The Hub is a relatively new publication, but they're not breaking any new ground with their work. Now I don't want to tell any tales out of school, but the more I hear about them, the less I care for them. The Hub was founded by former Postmedia employees and has plenty of space on their site for pieces from all sorts of right wing think tanks, lobbyists, and consultants.
This week the Institute takes a long look at a bewildering column by Ginny Roth, proposing a way to solve our "National Identity Crisis (tm)", as well as our labour shortage in long-term care homes and in childcare with mandatory service.
Lol.
We spent a little extra on this one, so we hope you enjoy. We have not been keeping up with our recording schedule lately, and we're sorry but now that Eric is one job lighter, there's going to be way more time for this show. There are so many bad pieces being published, and we want to talk about them all.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Andrew Coyne, Wannabe Scab (ft. Abdul Malik)
17 May 2023
01:23:13
What do opinion columnists in this country think about strikes? Nothing worth reading on your own. In this episode the Big Shiny Takes Institute takes a look at an awful column on the PSAC strike that took place near the end of April and extended into May.
The conventional wisdom of punditry was that the public would not support a public sector strike, but in hindsight (and at the time) we could very clearly see how incorrect that opinion was.
Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne had some choice things to say about the strike but it was very interesting to see - in the 20+ paragraphs Coyne had to work with - what he left out. The Institute was joined by friend of the show Abdul Malik to suffer through this incredibly useless piece of writing.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Crackin’ a Cold One (ft. James Wilt and Kevin Taghabon)
17 Apr 2023
01:36:03
The unthinkable has happened in Canada. A public body has offered new health recommendations and people are overreacting. How will society even function on two drinks a week? According to some, not at all.
This week we are joined by author James Wilt (Drinking Up the Revolution, Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars) and co-founder of The Hoser Kevin Taghabon to read an abysmal column from Peter Shawn Taylor in the Financial Post. In this column Taylor accuses the Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction, and anyone who repeats their findings of moralizing and scolding, of ignoring all the positive benefits of alcohol. Luckily Taylor is here to explain exactly how great he thinks alcohol is (very).
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Boat Tax (ft. Kyla Hewson and Kristen Pue from Pullback)
26 Mar 2023
01:15:18
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned! This episode, while Jeremy is in his self-imposed book-writing exile, Eric and Marino are joined by Kristen Pue and Kyla Hewson of the Pullback podcast to read a baffling column by Jesse Kline.
Jesse spends valuable column space concern-trolling about the Liberal's new luxury tax on vehicles, applicable to cars over $100k and boats over $250k. He admonishes the government for this reckless new tax, and claims that this will impact the working class much more than prospective boat owners. We examine these claims and come to some different conclusions.
Editors note:
Some names had to be removed from a story Eric shared early in the episode to protect their identities as nobody would ever trust them again after learning that they did not deliver on their cowboy boots promise.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Cowards and Stigma (ft. Abdul Malik)
24 Feb 2023
01:10:01
Our old pal Abdul (@MarxGasol) joins us for a public policy thought experiment courtesy of UBC business lecturer Adam Pankratz in the National Post: Should we destigmatize stigma? Maybe if drug users and unhoused people simply understood that what they were doing is bad and they should feel bad, we'd all be better off!
Kidding aside, this perverse serving of inhuman hogwash from a dude whose kids will surely grow to hate him was the worst thing we've read in a while. We're always saying that, aren't we folks?
Go play Metroid Prime: Remastered. I'm not linking to the eShop, figure it out.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Social Media Re-Education Camp (ft. Evan Macdonald)
18 Jan 2023
01:32:56
The last Kino standing, Evan Macdonald, joins us to talk about Dr. Jordan Bernt Peterson's latest made up scandal. The College of Psychiatrists of Ontario is asking him to take social media training, because he sucks at posting.
The National Post's opinion page says this the greatest injustice of our day, but do any real people actually care? Tune in to find out!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Vibes-based Journalism (ft. Andrew Neville)
10 Dec 2022
01:10:03
Esteemed Twitter user and Dog Island alum Andrew Neville joins us to mock one of, and I'm not mincing words here, the worst pieces we have read. The culprit? None other than our old pal, Adam Zivo.
In this piece (published in the Daily Hive lol) Zivo tries to use statistics to argue that crime is out of control. The problem? It's based on an opinion poll. It gets so much worse.
Play Overwatch 2/Warzone, go see Avatar 2, listen to Metallica and do purple city in Edmonton
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Big Joe Goes to Little Oakville (ft. Scott Martin)
10 Jun 2024
01:03:31
Oakville Town Hall is under siege from a red scourge and Sun journalist Joe Warmington is on the case after a hot tip. Can the People's Champion make sense of the situation? Will anyone talk some sense into these misguided youngsters?
Freelance journalist Scott Martin (@YouCaughtScott) helps us unpack what really went on that day, since Joe failed to notice that he was actually just at the Fightback table at a pro-Palestine rally.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
The Unions Hate Your Kid (ft. Chuka Ejeckam)
19 Nov 2022
01:05:14
The Big Shiny Takes Institute is back! We're joined by political researcher and new Friend of the Institute Chuka Ejeckam to read a very anti-union piece by the one and only Jesse Kline.
Kline, the author of galaxy-brained takes about privatizing parks, is back and trying to frame striking workers as a malignant force threatening your children. To give you an idea of how emotionally damaging this column is, it starts by comparing unions to COVID-19.
This episode was recorded Monday November 12th, which was before CUPE let us know they were heading back to the picket line. Solidarity to the workers and we'll see you at Queens Park.
Worried that Twitter's days are numbered? Looking to build a community with like-minded lefties? Head to our discord! People have been saying it's the new hot place for discourse and you should find out why.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Jason Kenney's Populist Edge (ft. David Khan)
20 Oct 2022
01:17:21
Environmental lawyer and former Liberal Party of Alberta leader David Khan joins the Institute to talk about the ongoing rehabilitation of Jason Kenney's image.
National Post pundit John Ivison writes that the reason Kenney failed as Alberta premier wasn't because he was a total slimeball who pandered to the far-right but was too much of a coward to go all the way, but because he was just too great a guy.
It was a real Shakespearean tragedy, as Ivison says without irony.
In this piece, Fawcett outlines how he thinks Pierre Poilievre is attempting to appeal to the far-right (true) and far-left (lol) by opposing vaccine mandates and talking about "elites". Naturally, it's his beloved Liberal party which has found the perfect balance in all things.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Lilley Unmasked (ft. Megan Linton)
19 Sep 2022
01:12:01
The gang invites Megan Linton of the Harbinger Media Network podcast Invisible Institutions to slog through an incredibly lazy piece by Brian Lilley. It's a column that contains much hand-wringing about masks and requirements to have them. It's also basically the same as the column he wrote the week before.
Also, a discussion about a certain monarch's death, its dominance of the news cycle and why that does Canadians a disservice – especially on a week that saw another mass killing event mishandled by the RCMP.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
National Post is a TERF rag (ft. Fae Johnstone)
01 Sep 2022
01:10:58
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned! This week, Eric, Marino and Jeremy are joined by Fae Johnstone (Executive Director of Wisdom2Action, writer and activist) to read some absolutely horrendous transphobia published in the National Post.
The National Post, seemingly taking their cues from the transphobes down in the US and UK (TERF Island) are now pushing "gender critical" talking points as a way of limiting access to care. It's bullshit and whoever wrote it should have rotten produce thrown at their head.
Unfortunately for us, this column doesn't have a name in its byline. The bigot who felt compelled to write this pseudoscientific trash was too shy to include their name in the byline. Listen to the episode and find out why.
Despite the fact that all of us are well accustomed to the low standard for what passes as a column in the National Post, this column pissed us off.
NOTE Less than an hour after recording this episode, failed actor and hack fraud journalist Sue-Ann Levy released a hatchet job piece on Fae for the True North Centre. The piece is stupid and pretends that Fae calling people TERFS is bad.
We're not going to link to that piece. Instead, read this piece from Fae that she wrote for the Star on the optics-based approach of the Liberal Party in regards to 2SLGBTQI+ issues:
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
The War on Climate (ft. Mitchell Thompson)
11 Aug 2022
01:00:57
The Big Shiny Takes Institute is reporting live from the frontlines of the climate war (Eric's living room). This episode we are joined by Mitchell Thompson from PressProgress to take apart an incoherent screed written by a senior fellow of the Macdonald Laurier Institute - Jamil Jivani.
The column suggests Trudeau's cultish fixation on saving the environment is causing real world suffering. We, as readers and people who exist in reality, are left to try and figure out what on earth he is talking about.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
They said sorry though (ft. Alex from Haus of Decline)
16 Jul 2022
01:24:29
The boys are back with another terrible column!
This week they are joined by Alex from Haus of Decline to read another awful piece by Adam Zivo in which he makes the argument to let the police march in the Toronto Pride Parade. I say he makes the argument, but really what he does is list all the very valid reasons people don't want the police there and shrugs.
This episode was recorded in early July, so during Plugs and Recs Jeremy talks about a fundraiser for his substack. It's over now but that shouldn't stop you from supporting his journalism. The fundraiser was a success by the way, here's a link to the article the fundraiser was supporting.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Not Alright Alright Alright (ft. Gordon Katic)
20 Jun 2022
01:25:51
The Big Shiny Takes Institute has returned! Joined by Friend of the Institute Gordon Katic the boys read a particularly awful column by Vinay Menon about the aftermath of the horrific school shooting in Uvalde. Instead of having something useful to say, Vinay decided to write a column about Matthew McConaughey's moral obligation to run for president. We feel like he's sort of missing the point.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Socialist Fantasyland (ft. David Moscrop)
08 Apr 2022
01:25:08
If you read the latest IPCC report, you know it's time for the latest episode of Big Shiny Takes. This week, the Big Shiny Takes Institute is joined by columnist and writer David Moscrop to read an insufferably bad column from Conrad Black. Yes, we are aware that doesn't narrow it down.
This temper tantrum is directed at the federal NDP and Liberal parties for unparliamentary behaviour (acting like parties in a parliamentary system). Thankfully, Conrad breaks up the monotony by expressing dismay at Canada's slide towards socialist oblivion with promises of means-tested dental care and clean jobs training centres. He also manages to jam in some genocide denial and transphobia because, believe it or not, the Lord of Crossharbour is not a good person.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
In Defence of Galen Weston (ft. Luke Savage)
26 May 2024
00:48:22
Stop being mean to grocer oligarchs. Stop it! We're warning you. You should be thanking them, they stock your treats and only gouge you a to a moderate degree. Everybody's gotta make a living, and besides, they're probably creating your job anyway.
Toronto-based writer Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) joins us to take in the view from the National Post and be properly tut-tutted as we learn about the success story that is Galen Weston being born at the right time.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Trudeau? More like LIE-deau (ft. Mitchell Thompson)
11 Mar 2022
01:16:49
Good news everyone, the pandemic is over because the government said so! Everything is great! Of course, like all responsible adults, we know better than to let ourselves get tired of winning so much so we are punishing ourselves with another insipid Jon Kay column. This one was published in the Wall Street Journal.
In this latest instalment of Canadian pundits explaining Canadian politics poorly to an uninterested audience, Dog Shampoo Boy writes about Justin Trudeau being a "Woke Donald Trump". It's stupid and our lives are worse for having read it.
We're joined this week by the great Mitchell Thompson of PressProgress, who has subjugated himself to reading a lot of Quillette. For those who don't know, Quillette is an awful website that pays Jon Kay to write for them. Quillette has a habit of talking about race science, and Jon has written about wokeness and frisbee golf for them.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Legalize Freedom (ft. Arshy Mann)
06 Feb 2022
01:25:20
Do you hear that horrible honking sound? No my friends, that is not the sound of freedom. It's the sound of another episode of Big Shiny Takes!
This week, Canadaland Commons host Arshy Mann joined us to talk about the dumbest political action in the entire world: the Trucker Convoy. This convoy, which is not astroturfed at all, is demanding that avowed Marxist-Leninist Justin Trudeau remove any vaccine mandates for truckers. This conveniently ignores the fact that 90% of truckers that cross into the United States from Canada are fully vaccinated. It also ignores the fact 900,000 people in the United States are no longer alive because of the abysmal COVID response in the US.
This week we read a column in the Edmonton Journal from a newcomer to the shitty takes game, Nathan Steinke. Steinke, a noted political loser, spends a few hundred words fetishizing truckers as a symbol of working class purity. He also compares the convoy to Woodstock (the festival, not Woodstock Ontario).
It should be noted that this episode was originally recorded on Friday February 5, 2022 - the night before the counter protests in Toronto. If anything changes in convoy news and it's missing, please keep that in mind before you yell at us for not talking about it.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
The Capitalist Manifesto (ft. Shama Rangwala)
15 Jan 2022
01:29:49
It's 2022 and things are bad!
We're kicking off a new year of reading bad takes with Shama Rangwala. Shama is an Assistant Professor at York University and co-host of Replay, a new podcast on the Harbinger Media Network.
The column we read this week is one of the dimmer takes in the National Post's year-end series called The Capitalist Manifesto, and was written by Joanna Baron. Baron runs the Canadian Constitution Foundation, a group of idiots pushing for important things like no mask/vaccine mandates, choice in health care (privatization) and free speech (lol).
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Spin Doctors (ft. Nora Loreto)
19 Dec 2021
01:46:31
Nora Loreto makes her triumphant return to BST and she's got a new book! As the title suggests, Spin Doctors: How Media and Politicians Misdiagnosed the COVID-19 Pandemic deals with how the media created a sea of confusion that obscured the major fault lines of the pandemic.
To illustrate Nora's case, we brought an absolutely reprehensible column from Matt Gurney at the website Ontario's public broadcaster, TVO. He wants you to know that he cares about COVID deaths, he really does, but at the end of the day people die of all sorts of causes, and that's a-OK.
We then read a Rupa Subramanya piece about how vaccine hoarding is cool and good, but that'll be in our bonus feed. For just $3 a month, you can access that episode and our entire back catalogue of Bonus Shiny Takes!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
TEASER: Bonus Episode - What vaccine can protect you from Putin?
11 Dec 2021
00:05:24
That is the question asked by a column written by Diane Francis in the Financial Post that talks about the risks Covid-19 and one Vladimir Putin both pose to our beloved economy.
Yes that is a stupid question. But this is a very stupid column.
Marino, Jeremy and Eric read this column on Russia's involvement in Ukraine written by the impartial observer Diane Francis, who just so happens to have helped found the Canadian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and also is a senior fellow on the Atlantic Council.
Weird.
To unlock the full episode sign up for our Patreon! For only $3 a month, you can get access to double the amount of Big Shiny Takes content, and every subscriber brings us a step closer to achieving our (Eric's) goal to become the first think-tank/podcast hybrid.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Rosie DiManno and the Italian-Canadian Experience (ft. Aaron Giovannone)
22 Nov 2021
01:11:31
The Big Shiny Takes Institute is back with a great episode with the incredible Aaron Giovannone. We read a lot of terrible columns, but we rarely get to take a deep dive into the psyche of one of the country's more established columnists.
Aaron brought an essay Rosie Dimanno wrote in the late 90's about growing up in Little Italy in Toronto. We go into it, and talk about the points she fixates on, and the points she may have missed.
This is a super fun episode and you shouldn't miss it!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Where was Steven Guilbeault on 9/11? (ft. Bronwen Tucker and Stefan Hostetter)
05 Nov 2021
01:09:16
We are back, and have an episode for you that we recorded in person!
Jeremy came back to the very nice and fun city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada for a visit, so instead of hanging out we recorded an all-timer episode. We were joined by the amazing Bronwen Tucker (@bronwentucker) from Climate Justice Edmonton and the incredible Stefan Hostetter (@Steho)_ of Green Majority Radio to talk about Canadian punditry's pathetic attempts to talk about the climate.
The first column we cover this week is one written by Jesse Kline. Kline desperately attempts to use the Liberal Party's new environment minister Steven Guilbeault as a way of framing the current government's environmental policies as radical. Of course, this is pure fantasy.
We then dive into a Rex Murphy climate change denial column, but that's in our bonus feed. For as little as $3 a month, you can get access to that episode, and our entire back catalogue of Big Shiny Bonus Takes!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
David Staples' 9 Rules for Life (ft. Senator-elect Duncan Kinney)
09 Oct 2021
01:08:27
Future Alberta Senator Duncan Kinney (@duncankinney), whom you also may know from fellow Harbinger pod The Progress Report, joins us to talk about the hellish nightmare of Alberta's COVID response.
ICUs are overflowing, people are dying, but the Edmonton Journal's David Staples — always with his finger on the pulse — wants to know what this means for Premier Jason Kenney's political fortunes.
Staples has devised nine rules for political life, all of which he says Kenney has violated.
To hear part two, where we review a similarly-themed column in the Calgary Herald, sign up for our Patreon to have it in your feed next week.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Harbinger Telethon (ft. Emily Leedham and Stephen Magusiak)
01 Oct 2021
00:59:13
In case you missed the 12 hour livestream telethon to raise money for Harbinger Media, here's the audio for our part of the event!
Big Shiny Takes (minus Eric, he was at a wedding lol) took part in this great event. Our friends from PressProgress Stephen Magusiak and Emily Leedham joined us to read a column arguing for the platforming of fascists in mainstream media.
If you missed this insipid column by John Ibbitson (a "national treasure" according to Justin Ling) and the subsequent blowback on social media for even considering to write a piece like that, you should listen to this episode.
Keep in mind that this episode was recorded prior to the very important and necessary federal election we just had.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Elon Musk: A Hero's Journey, by Douglas Cope-land (ft. Paris Marx)
11 Sep 2021
01:46:40
It's our opinion at the Big Shiny Takes Institute that billionaires have it too hard. Yeah sure they have unlimited access to resources, are able to shape policy to benefit themselves and have the power of small nation-states – but have you considered how difficult it must be to have someone be mean to you on the internet?
Paris Marx (@parismarx), host of Tech Won't Save Us (@techwontsaveus) explains why there should be room for criticism of all billionaires while we read through one of the most tedious pieces of unfettered PR for Elon Musk that has ever been written. It's a piece in the Guardian by Canadian Gen X icon (lol) Douglas Coupland, so we're allowed to make fun of it.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
My Name Is Joe Roberts, I Work for the State (Ft. Noah Kulwin)
18 May 2024
01:06:01
American icon Noah Kulwin (@nkulw) joins the pod to talk about one of the most obnoxious Twitter personalities of the past several months, Joe Roberts.
Roberts, co-founder of the Democratic Socialists of America - Canada and former co-host of New Left Radio, has gone full neocon since Oct. 7. So much so that he wrote a column for the National Post, where he's now a regular contributor, waxing nostalgic about George W. Bush, the guy everyone famously loves. Oh, and Sarah Palin too, because he's trying that hard.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
TEASER: Bonus Episode – Lost in the Supermarket (ft. Rob Rousseau)
09 Sep 2021
00:05:09
Head to patreon.com/bigshinytakes to unlock this and all of our other bonus episodes for as little as $3 a month!
Rob Rousseau joins us to read one of the most fun columns we have had the pleasure of reading in this very grim timeline.
We go through Josh Freed's column in the Montreal Gazette on why customers should be paid by supermarkets for using self-checkouts. Now this isn't a typical Big Shiny Takes infuriating read. Josh actually has a bit of fun with the column. He also brushes up against a very strong point (that businesses use automation as an excuse to fire people in order to maximize their profit margins). Unfortunately, this seems to just be an accessory to the main point, which can be summed up as, "I'm old, minor inconveniences I experience are serious problems, and computers scare me".
We also tell the story about how a National Post idiot messaged us very late at night to sarcastically applaud us for making fun of his weak attempts at writing.
Stick around to the end for some talk about the election. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I think maybe a pandemic is a bad time for an election.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Listen Mack (ft. Rob Rousseau)
01 Sep 2021
01:04:59
This week we've got Rob Rousseau (@robrousseau) on the show to talk about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after taking a detour through volunteer scabs, Calgary Herald ace Licia Corbella and who Rob thinks will take home the gold in our Worst Pundit contest.
Former British soldier David Mack writes in the Globe and Mail that the U.S. must stay in Afghanistan for at least another 20-30 years, crying crocodile tears for all the Afghans who will now be under Taliban rule.
We've let down Afghans, he says, ignoring completely everything that's happened in the past 50 years that contributed to the Taliban's rise.
If you'd like to hear part two, where we discuss automation by way of a piece in Rob's hometown paper and decide which is worse, sign up for our Patreon to have it in your feed next week.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
John Tory Hates Poor People (ft. Aliya Pabani)
07 Aug 2021
01:33:40
Aliya Pabani of the Encampment Support Network, and host of We Are Not the Virus, joins us to talk about Toronto Mayor John Tory's "reasonable, firm, but compassionate" war on homeless encampments in the city.
We come by this through a column from newly-minted National Post ghoul Adam Zivo, who writes that the violent displacement of unhoused people from the city's encampments, like the one at Lamport Stadium, were in fact a victory for the working class, as if no working people are unhoused.
In case you're wondering what kinda guy Zivo is, he describes himself as an LGBTQ activist, "with a focus on incremental change and private sector sponsorships."
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
TEASER: Bonus episode – Jon Kay, Pet Detective
24 Jul 2021
00:04:58
Head to patreon.com/bigshinytakes to unlock this and all of our other bonus episodes for as little as $3 a month!
Jeremy, Marino and Eric continue their conversation with Erica Ifill for a hilarious read of Jon Kay's latest anti-diversity screed. Dog Shampoo Boy scolds Sobeys for its "Woke Initiatives," then he gets distracted and starts rambling about churches burning.
For just a few dollars a month you can get double the Big Shiny Takes content, and we would really appreciate it. We love making this show, and we hope you enjoy it too.
ALSO! Keep your eyes on our twitter feed to help us determine the worst columnist in Canada.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Mendy Wesley (ft. Erica Ifill)
16 Jul 2021
01:23:55
Erica Ifill (@wickdchiq) of the Bad + Bitchy podcast joins us to talk about ex-CBC host Wendy Mesley's woe-is-me shtick in the Globe and Mail after she got canned for getting caught saying the n-word repeatedly over two years. How many times over her 40-year career did she say it without getting caught?
Melsey argues that firing her alone won't solve systemic racism at our state broadcaster. True, but it's not like it would it would hurt either.
To hear part two, where we talk about dog shampoo enthusiast Jon Kay, sign up for our Patreon to have it in your feed next week.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media, @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Rex Murphy is a white supremacist
16 Jun 2021
00:57:36
We're back for hopefully the last time reading one of Rex Murphy's ramblings. Literally the day after a Muslim family was murdered by a white supremacist, Rex is here to tell us about the real scourge of our time — anti-white racism. While he denied last year that there was systemic racism in Canada, he appears to have changed his mind.
We also talk about Postmedia's role in fomenting the hatred that continuously leads to Islamophobic murder.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
From the river to the sea (ft. Hammam and Eytan)
29 May 2021
01:40:20
Canadian media does a lot of things poorly. Its cowardice when it comes to talking about Palestine is right at the top of the list.
We’re joined by our Palestinian friend Hammam Farah (@HumHum83) and our Israeli friend Eytan Tobin (@RabbiDieHardman) to talk about how Israel, like Canada, is a fake ass genocidal settler state.
For those who haven’t been paying attention, Israel attacked Gaza recently, killing about 250 people, including dozens of children, after provoking violence at al-Aqsa Mosque. This time something feels different. People are actually taking Palestinian perspectives seriously.
But over at Postmedia, of course, it’s business as usual. We talk about two Sun columns that regurgitate the usual Hasbara talking points about how Israel is never wrong and you’re all a bunch of anti-Semites.
It is our hope that "it's complicated" begins to be seen as an unnacceptable response for news organizations that are supposed to be informing the population about what is going on in the world.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Dr. Sebra D'oh (ft. Abdul Malik)
11 May 2021
01:32:28
Abdul Malik (@socialistraptor) makes his triumphant return to the Big Shiny Takes Institute to talk about two simpletons writing in newspapers to let the public know that diversity is bad, actually.
One columnist is Intellectual Dark Web C-lister, furry enthusiast and Jon Kay podcast co-host Dr. Debra Soh, who's writing in the Globe and Mail to warn us of white genocide, coming to a university campus near you.
The other is Lawrie Macfarlane in the Victoria Times-Colonist. We're not sure he actually exists, but if he does, man is he stupid. Macfarlane is very concerned
Throughout it, we also name doctors, both real and fake, like Soh.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon to unlock bonus content!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Cold War 2: Electric Boogaloo (ft. Dan Boeckner)
18 Apr 2021
01:42:32
The Big Shiny Guests keep on coming. This time we’ve got famed musician, podcaster and poster Dan Boeckner, joining us to talk about a little country called China, specifically Canadian pundits’ obsession with it.
First up is a piece in the Globe and Mail from Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong, who’s very not mad about China sanctioning him.
Next up is J. Cole, not that rapper, unfortunately, but a Macdonald-Laurier Institute spook who writes about China like it’s his ex-wife trying to get full custody of the kids.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money at Patreon!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Hackabuski (ft. Nora Loreto)
03 Apr 2021
01:20:23
PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF BIG SHINY TAKES!
Marino, Eric and Jeremy are joined by the great Nora Loreto to review columns by two incredibly talentless hacks: Konrad Yakabuski and Kelly McParland.
Yakabuski covers Quebec in a completely addled column which is both infuriating and disorienting. He manages to jam in references to Mordecai Richler, Matt Green, Amir Attaran, The University of Ottawa, The Bosnian War, and a specific word that he seems particularly annoyed about not being allowed to say, but he doesn't seem to know what point he's trying to make in this column. It's truly terrible and possibly the only memorable thing Konrad has ever managed to do in his whole life.
Meanwhile McParland tries to use this pandemic as a vehicle to advocate for all us young people to rely less on the government because someone was sent to the wrong address for a vaccination. It's really stupid and the whole thing really just doesn't go over well.
We take the time to talk about Brian Lilley's romantic life (yuck), professional life (also yuck) and where they overlap, We also discuss Dan Marino (no, not that Dan Marino) and how much responsibility he should take for the latest COVID wave hitting Quebec City.
Unrelated but still important: To the CBC Radio guy I met in the park on my walk who patiently listened to me talk about my podcast for much longer than I answered his COVID-related streeters: you better give this a listen Jason, I told you it would be a good episode.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
The Birthrate Episode (ft. Stephen Magusiak)
08 May 2024
00:56:58
We love whinging about the fertility rate, don't we folks? The implications are grave, lowered birth rates could mean fewer DoorDash employees to bring columnists treats.
BST Institute fellow Stephen @Magusiak of @pressprogress returns to pick apart a Globe and Mail opinion piece by John Ibbitson. According to Ibby, the ever-dwindling number of babies Canada produces threatens to tear the country apart. Scary stuff!
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
Cancelling rhyme is a horrible crime
12 Mar 2021
01:04:30
John Robson tried to write some lyrics He was so incensed he wouldn't even hear it The issue at hand? Cancel culture of course He shouted so loud that his voice became hoarse
"They're coming for Seuss, the woke crowd, the leftists" "These books are such classics, I'm left the bereft-ist" But one simple truth escaped the columnist's glare Nobody with a brain would actually care.
Also, a painful advertorial by Mikhaila Peterson. Be sure to not check out what she does next!
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money on Patreon! We love doing this show, and we do it for free, but a little bit of help could really go a long way for us.
And Jeremy (as well as Marino!) recommend the rouge-lite Hades, out now on PC and Nintendo Switch.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
UNLOCKED: Bonus Episode – Rush Limbaugh, the latest victim of cancel culture
06 Mar 2021
00:47:19
Head to patreon.com/bigshinytakes to unlock this and all of our other bonus episodes for as little as $3 a month!
We decided to unlock this bonus episode, because everyone deserves to celebrate Rush Limbaugh's death.
Finally, a representative of a modern organization (the Catholic Church) we can trust to cover current events weighs in with a terrible, terrible column. Of course last week you may have heard that notable right-wing crank and tobacco enjoyer Rush Limbaugh died of lung cancer. Relive that moment as the boys read from Raymond De Souza's treatise/attempt to rehabilitate an awful person's reputation in the National Post.
He never really listened to Rush, and he definitely doesn't bring up any of the content from Rush's show, but he does not fail to mention that the show existed and was very popular. He doesn't say who the show was popular with.
De Souza isn't a details guy, he's more of a big picture, don't ask questions kind of guy.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
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Rex gonna give it to ya
13 Feb 2021
01:09:39
The boys are back with two trash columns. One is written by a pretentious hack desperately shoehorning disjointed allusions to ephemera rattling around his decaying brain in yet another unfocused rant ending with him shouting about climate change not being real. The other is written by an unpretentious hack who actually thinks that COVID quarantine hotels are an attack on civil liberties.
Of course we are talking about Rex Murphy and Joe Warmington - truly two of the dimmest bulbs in the malfunctioning highway diner sign that is the Canadian media landscape.
Big Shiny Takes is a proud part of the Harbinger Media Network. Theme music is by Jack Dump.
If you like our show, give us a follow on social media @bigshinytakes, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or give us some money on Patreon! We love doing this show, and we do it for free, but a little bit of help could really go a long way for us.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.
One Derek to Another (ft. Elaine Pauls)
30 Jan 2021
01:08:52
Our pal Elaine Pauls (@heylaineys) joins us again to talk about Derek Sloan's donation from white supremacist douche Paul Fromm.
Former UCP bad boy Derek Fildebrandt, who was kicked out of the party after getting caught renting out his publicly-funded Edmonton apartment on AirBnB, doing a hit-and-run, and illegally hunting, to talk about how Derek Sloan did nothing wrong, or if he did do something wrong it wasn't a big deal.
Now why would a notorious neo-Nazi want to donate money to the Conservative Party?
For dessert, we talk about Barbara Kay's 4,000-word "scoop" on Jessica Mulroney's text messages and cancel culture, or some bullshit.
Like what you hear? Give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. You can also throw us a few bucks on our Patreon to access exclusive content and maybe even appear on the show.
Follow Big Shiny Takes on Twitter or Instagram! @bigshinytakes
Theme music courtesy of Jack Dump.
If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.