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PODCAST

Politics Is Broken

Canadian and Global Politics, Unspun.Politics is messy, loud, and usually full of nonsense. Politics Is Broken takes all that chaos, filters it through a Canadian sense of humour, and hands it back in a way that actually makes sense. Hosted by Brittlestar (Stewart Reynolds) and Lisa B., it’s smart, funny, and just irreverent enough to make the news bearable. www.brittlestar.com

government

All Episodes

55:42

From Convoy to Cabinet? The Floor Crossing Crisis

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/04/12

Canada’s political landscape just took a strange turn.In this episode of Politics Is Broken, we break down the wave of floor crossings that has pushed the Liberals to within one seat of a majority government — without an election.Are MPs switching sides out of principle… or pure political survival?We dig into:The recent Conservative → Liberal defectionsWhy Marilyn Gladu’s move is causing backlashWhether Mark Carney is playing 4D chess… or making a risky mistakeWhy majority governments might be more

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51:18

Reacting to the Most Insane Headlines This Week (War,...

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/04/05

What happens when the headlines are too chaotic to ignore… but too exhausting to fully process?You react.This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar and Lisa react to the biggest, strangest, and most concerning headlines from around the world—because picking just one story feels impossible right now.From war-driven oil spikes to political chaos in the U.S.… to Canada’s policy curveballs… to a moon mission happening in the middle of it all… we break it down the only way we know how: by trying to

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53:07

Is Ottawa Broken… or Are We?

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/03/29

What happens when you stop watching politics… and actually go see it?This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar heads to Ottawa to speak at Carleton University’s Kesterton Lecture… and ends up going behind the scenes of Canadian politics.From touring Parliament Hill and sitting in on Question Period… to meeting politicians in the hallway and eating in what may or may not be called “the cafeteria of power”… this episode is a firsthand look at how politics feels in real life.And the biggest

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51:52

Doug Ford & The Spice Girls (and no more FOI)

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/03/15

Ontario’s government says it wants to modernize transparency laws.Critics say it looks more like hiding the paperwork.This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar and Lisa break down the Ford government’s proposed changes to Freedom of Information rules — which could exempt the premier’s office and cabinet ministers from requests while extending response times.The timing is raising eyebrows.Because the same government is also proposing a series of massive ideas — from the Greenbelt reversal to a

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44:42

Epstein's War - Canada's Costly Cover Up

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/03/08

Brittlestar and Lisa tackle a week that somehow managed to get worse. From Mark Carney's principled Davos speech to his awkward endorsement of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Canada finds itself diplomatically sandwiched between its values and its geography. The hosts dig into why the timing of Operation Epic Fury feels suspiciously convenient — and what the avalanche of newly released Epstein documents might have to do with it.They break down the growing list of resignations and arrests tied to the

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47:53

Science Explains How Trump Got Elected

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/03/01

Science says we’re getting dimmer…and politics is sprinting to the cognitive bottom.In this episode of Politics Is Broken, Stewart (Brittlestar) and Lisa unpack the Reverse Flynn Effect (yes, it’s a real thing) and why critical thinking has been quietly leaving the group chat since the mid-’90s. We dig into “cognitive offloading” (Google, GPS, AI doing our thinking for us), the flood-the-zone strategy that keeps everyone overwhelmed, and how a world full of exhausted, distracted people becomes the

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46:47

Conservative Party LEAK: Why MPs are Fleeing to the...

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/02/22

The "Conservative Party of Canada" is leaking. In this episode of Politics Is Broken, Stewart (Brittlestar) and Lisa dive into the shocking news of Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux crossing the aisle to join the Liberals. Is this a "dirty backroom deal" as Pierre Poilievre claims, or a sign of a deeper rot within the CPC leadership?The truth may surprise you (if you were just born today).

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50:16

IS Canada Better Than The US?

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/02/15

A heavy week in Canada sparks a tough (and surprisingly data-filled) question: is Canada actually better than the U.S.?In this episode of Politics is Broken, Stewart (Brittlestar) and Lisa start by acknowledging a heartbreaking tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., and the wave of grief, misinformation, and opportunistic culture-war blame that followed. From there, they zoom out and do what Canadians do best… compare ourselves to our loud neighbour with receipts.They dig into the numbers on income,

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66:38

What the Hell Is Happening in the USA? - w/ Eric Ham

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/02/08

What’s really happening in the United States…and how did American democracy get to this point?On this episode of Politics is Broken, Stewart and Lisa are joined by U.S. political analyst, bestselling author, and former congressional staffer Eric Ham for a revealing conversation about Donald Trump, American politics, and the structural failures that paved the way for the current crisis.Eric offers an unexpected and deeply informed perspective on how the U.S. drifted here over decades…from weakened

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55:33

Are Conservatives Drunk on Poilievre?

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/02/01

The Conservative Party just held a leadership convention in Calgary and—surprise—Pierre Poilievre walked away with a huge vote of confidence. But was it unity…or just muscle memory?In this episode of Politics is Broken, Stewart and Lisa watch the convention so you don’t have to, unpacking Poilievre’s 87% approval, the party’s fixation on the “good old days,” and the increasingly polished attempt to soften a lifelong attack dog. We talk nostalgia politics, emotional messaging, selective history, and

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51:46

Carney's Revenge

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/01/25

"Nostalgia is not a strategy."This week on Politics Is Broken, Stewart (Brittlestar) and Lisa dive into the fallout from Davos 2026, where Prime Minister Mark Carney finally took the gloves off. From rallying middle powers to reminding the world that Canada doesn't just "live because of the U.S.," Carney is drawing a line in the snow—and the "Board of Peace" is not happy about it.

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54:35

Informed Not Incapacitated - Replying to Comments

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/01/18

Brittlestar and Lisa wade bravely into the comment section (together… for safety) to do a little “Reply in the Comments” palate-cleanse… because the world is a dumpster fire and sometimes it’s healthier to fixate on people’s gripes instead. Along the way: suburban snow rituals, the “grandma shuffle,” superbox mailbox rage, why Chinese EVs are both tempting and complicated, and the terrifying absurdity of Greenland becoming a geopolitical storyline. Plus, a few listener comments that hit hard, a

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60:01

Is Canada Prepared for a Future Without the US?

Politics Is Broken ·

2026/01/11

Happy New Year… and welcome to 2026, the future nobody ordered. Stewart and Lisa ask the big question: is Canada prepared for a world where the U.S. goes full rogue-state vibes ... ignoring rule of law, weaponizing trade, and exporting chaos. They talk worst-case vs best-case, what Canada can actually do, and then end with a “Wrong Answers Only” Trump-quote game because of course they do.

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71:40

The 12 Months of Crisismas - 2025 Canadian Politics...

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/12/21

It’s the year-end wrap for Politics is Broken… and it’s festive in the way a tire fire is festive when someone tosses a candy cane into it.In “The 12 Months of Crisismas”, Brittlestar and Lisa rip through 2025 month-by-month… Trudeau stepping aside, Doug Ford’s third majority, Carney’s technocratic pivot, election anxiety, internal trade “why didn’t we do this 100 years ago,” Poilievre’s by-election comeback, Alberta’s culture-war legislation, and the ongoing “are we a country or are we a condo

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52:53

What the US National Security Strategy Means For...

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/12/14

This week on Politics Is Broken, Danielle Smith becomes the first Alberta premier in nearly 90 years to face a citizen-led recall petition... and the UCP’s own recall law starts doing exactly what everyone warned it would do (just not to the people who wrote it).Then we pivot south, where the U.S. releases a new “National Security Strategy” that reads less like policy and more like a world dominance mood board... complete with America First everything, Europe-as-a-warning-label, and a

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70:06

FIFA FOE TRUMP

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/12/07

Canada’s back in the global spotlight… and this time it’s not for policy, it’s for pop. In this episode, Brittlestar and Lisa start with the truly urgent question of our time: is Justin Trudeau actually soft-launching a relationship with Katy Perry, complete with a former Japanese prime minister accidentally hard-launching it to the world?From there, they dig into FIFA’s World Cup draw, the eye-rollingly absurd “Peace Prize” nobody asked for, and what hosting the tournament is really worth to Canada

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47:00

ALBERTA: TOTAL RECALL

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/11/30

In this week’s Politics Is Broken:The death of “statesmanlike” behaviourTrump’s “quiet, quiet, piggy” moment and Ford’s “get a job” clapbackHow recall actually works in Alberta (and why there are so many petitions)What other countries do with recall… and why it’s so rareWhether recall is a dangerous precedent or a much-needed pressure valveAnd why this all “smells a little like hope” in a grim political year

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58:02

What The Hell, Alberta

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/11/23

Brittlestar and Lisa tackle Alberta’s chaos spiral - from the government using the notwithstanding clause to target trans kids, to a $125M privatization disaster, to a “not two-tier” healthcare plan that sure feels like two tiers. What the hell, Alberta?

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54:33

Is Canada Safe from the Epstein Scandal?

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/11/16

This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar and Lisa tackle a topic that makes you want to wash your hands just for saying it out loud: Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal that won’t die has become a mirror for power, privilege, and the myth that Canada’s too polite for corruption.They dig into how systems protect the powerful, why accountability in Canada feels so slow, and whether or not we’re just naïve enough to think “it couldn’t happen here.

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58:36

Is Anger Politics Over? CARNEY'S BUDGET, MAMDANI WINS

Politics Is Broken ·

2025/11/09

Is anger politics finally over? … and If it is, where do we send the people who still want to yell on Facebook? This week, Brittlestar & Lisa dive into MP jumping parties, a democratic socialist win in New York City, and a federal budget that might have been written entirely by ChatGPT with a positive attitude problem.

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