Best Capricious Podcasts (2024)

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EP 143: The Politics of the Working Class 32:43

3d ago32:43

32:43

It’s an election year in the United States. And so far, the media’s focus has not been on working people and what policies they want to see from their leadership. But our guest on today’s program has travelled across America interviewing working class voters — and she shares her insights on what the media is missing. Batya Ungar-Sargon is the opini…

1
EP 142: The Trust Spiral with Rudyard Griffiths 1:01:38

10d ago1:01:38

1:01:38

Lean Out is back from our annual summer hiatus — and we have a special episode for you today. Many of you know that Tara wrote “The Trust Spiral,” the 2024 Massey Essay on the state of the media, a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada. Before Lean Out went on summer break, Massey College …

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41. Tea! (Shrink Your Face Meat) 1:54:48

27d ago1:54:48

1:54:48

Tea: It's lovely, but why? Join us for another Dear-To-Our-Hearts topic with exuberant Sams and an exhausted post-tour Jim.By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

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EP 141: Trudeau's 'Princely Capriciousness' 35:19

2M ago35:19

35:19

If you follow Canadian politics, you know that Justin Trudeau’s political career is now looking uncertain. He’s been polling badly for months, as a series of crises have rocked the country, including the cost of living, the opioid crisis, the housing crisis, healthcare, runaway immigration, and foreign interference. Our guest on today’s program has…

1
EP 140: Sebastian Junger's Near Death Experience 41:16

2M ago41:16

41:16

In times of war, civilians run from combat. But war reporters have the opposite reaction — they run toward it, putting themselves in danger to bear witness to these armed conflicts, and to try to make sense of our broken world. Our guest on today’s program spent years going to the frontlines, until one day, in June of 2020, the frontlines came to h…

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40. Oceans! (The Clapback Whale) 1:38:17

2M ago1:38:17

1:38:17

Three quick facts: The ocean is huge, the Hadal Zone is the most metal of zones, and the Dalek plunger is moist. We're sorry, enjoy!By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

1
EP 139: The Year American Politics Went Berserk 32:13

2M ago32:13

32:13

2020 was a turbulent year in American politics, and in the America media. The editor of The New York Times recently conceded that the paper went “too far” during that time and said that it is now working to pull itself back from such “excesses.” Our guest on the program today was at the paper during that period — and left to report critically on wh…

1
EP 138: The Miseducation of Elites 43:21

2M ago43:21

43:21

The failure of our elites to manage society has been a topic since at least the financial crash of 2008. But it is very much on the minds of many Canadians these days, as we face a series of cascading crises, from housing and opioids to the cost of living and heath care. A decade ago, our guest on today’s program wrote a searing indictment against …

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39. Pets! (The Black Box Of The Human Mind) 1:38:36

2M ago1:38:36

1:38:36

We go WAY further back with our loveable fuzzy buds than we thought! Did we find the best of boys or did the best of boys find us? Let's get into it with Jim and the Sams!By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

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EP 137: Justin Trudeau on the Ropes 38:29

3M ago38:29

38:29

Canadian politics have hit new low point. According to a recent poll, 70 percent of Canadians now believe that everything is broken in this country — and 59 percent said they are angry about how the country is being managed. Our guest on the program today has a new book about our Prime Minister, and the chaotic times we live in. Paul Wells is a Can…

1
EP 136: Michael Lista's Literary Battle Raps 21:12

3M ago21:12

21:12

The Lean Out podcast has covered lots of books in recent years. We have never covered a poetry book. But all it took was one read of a striking new collection of poems for us to know that we had to have its author on the show. The Canadian writer Stephen Marche said it best when he described this collection: “Like supremely eloquent graffiti writte…

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EP 135: Massey Essay series - George Packer 41:21

3M ago41:21

41:21

As regular readers of this Substack will know, this spring Tara has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada. You can read it here. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’s …

1
EP 134: Massey Essay series - Michael Powell 42:24

3M ago42:24

42:24

As regular readers of this Substack will know, this spring Tara has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada. You can read it here. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’s …

1
EP 132: Massey Essay series - Peter Menzies 37:56

3M ago37:56

37:56

As regular readers of Tara's Substack will know, this spring she has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada, where it’s published. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’s…

1
EP 133: Massey Essay series - Freddie deBoer 31:17

3M ago31:17

31:17

As regular readers of Tara's Substack will know, this spring she has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada, where it’s published. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’s…

1
EP 131: Massey Essay series - Steve Krakauer 31:18

3M ago31:18

31:18

As regular readers of Tara's Substack will know, this spring she has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada, where it’s published. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’s…

1
EP 130: Massey Essay series - David Greenberg 34:27

3M ago34:27

34:27

As regular readers of Tara's Substack will know, this spring she has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada, where it’s published. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’s…

1
EP 129: Massey Essay series - Jen Gerson 1:00:51

3M ago1:00:51

1:00:51

As regular readers of Tara's Substack will know, this spring Tara has been writing the Massey Essay on the state of the media — a partnership between Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Literary Review of Canada, where it’s published. The annual essay honours the legacy of the long-time CBC producer Vincent Massey Tovell. This year’…

1
EP 128: How Having A Family Got So Hard 35:41

3M ago35:41

35:41

Canada recently reached a grim milestone — the lowest fertility rate in recorded history. We are now well below population replacement, at 1.33 births per woman. Our guest on the show today has studied this crisis in family formation in the West. And he says we need to take a look at our culture. Tim Carney is a senior fellow at the American Enterp…

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38. Play Pt. 2: Childhood! (Disco In Disguise) 1:43:49

4M ago1:43:49

1:43:49

Welcome to season 3! After starting our journey with our pilot episode on play 2 years ago, we're diving into another unreasonably broad but related concept: Childhood! First up: what the hell *is* a child?By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

1
EP 127: Will The Media Change Course? 25:00

4M ago25:00

25:00

On the Lean Out podcast, we’ve spent much of the past year investigating the collapse of the news media and the decline in public trust. Tara's guest this week argues that the industry is at a crossroads, but media bosses are unwilling to meet the moment, and seem determined to continue on the same trajectory — even if it means the death of their i…

1
EP 126: Canada's Pandemic Response - More Harm Than Good? 29:41

4M ago29:41

29:41

In March of 2020, much of the world was in lockdown. The unprecedented pandemic response closed schools, shuttered businesses, and paused public events. My guest on today’s program says it is time to evaluate the measures that were taken and consider whether the harms outweighed the benefits. The UK charity that he leads research for has now launch…

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XVI – Conversation with Kevin Hershner, Director of ‘Normal Accidents’

4M ago

—

We sat down with Chad’s old Virginia Tech classmate Kevin Hershner to discuss his film Normal Accidents. Kevin is a writer, director, and actor living in Los Angeles who is currently pitching the movie—his first feature—to festivals. Normal Accidents is an auteur satire on “one man, one location” films with a lot of levity. But, it’s also a serious…

1
EP 125: A Defence of Colourblindness 36:33

4M ago36:33

36:33

When it comes to race relations, many of us were raised with the ethos expressed in the famed Martin Luther King Jr. quote calling on society to judge people by the content of their character instead of the colour of their skin. Western society has moved away from that ideal — and my guest on today’s program says it’s time we get back to it. Colema…

1
EP 124: Why Marshall McLuhan (Still) Matters 18:31

4M ago18:31

18:31

Canada is embroiled in a number of high-profile political scandals, and it’s a dispiriting moment for the country. This week, we’re taking a break from the news cycle, and instead contemplating the contributions of a famed Canadian — the late philosopher Marshall McLuhan — who, my guest on today’s program says, understood our time better than many …

1
EP 123: Why Dismissing the Importance of Family is the Ultimate Luxury Belief 52:01

5M ago52:01

52:01

It’s not unusual for well-heeled people to try to imagine what it might be like to grow up without money. But my guest on today’s program says it is uncommon for them to try to imagine what it might be like to grow up without a family. And his new book chronicles exactly that life — his childhood in foster care — but also, his journey from a workin…

1
EP 122: How To Save Local News 28:57

5M ago28:57

28:57

We hear a lot of grim predictions about the future of local news, both in the United States and in Canada. But my guests on today’s program are feeling optimistic. For their new book, the pair did a deep dive into innovative local and regional news startups across America, and they say these startups are changing the media landscape, one outlet at …

1
EP 121: The Case For Marriage 32:02

5M ago32:02

32:02

On the Lean Out podcast, we’ve talked a lot about plummeting birth rates in the West, about high rates of unhappiness among modern women, about the loneliness epidemic in our society, and about the crisis unfolding among men, with large numbers of suicides and overdoses. Our guest on the program today says there’s a factor we should consider with e…

1
EP 120: Why You Should Never Apologize to the Mob 32:54

5M ago32:54

32:54

What does it take to speak out against orthodoxies in an age of outrage? This is something that our guest on today’s program has spent years contemplating, interviewing people from all walks of life who have managed to stick to their principles in the face of an online mobbing, and not back down. Katherine Brodsky is a Canadian writer and commentat…

1
EP 119: The Federal Court's Rebuke 24:48

6M ago24:48

24:48

Canada has, once again, made international headlines. The Federal Court has ruled the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, in response to the trucker protests, was illegal. My guest on today’s program argued during the crisis that the government had done something that it had no constitutional power to do — and he joins me on the program…

1
EP 118: The Collapse of the Canadian Immigration Consensus 25:36

6M ago25:36

25:36

For decades now in Canada, there has been a bipartisan, pro-immigration consensus. But in recent weeks, we have watched that consensus fall apart. Our guest on today’s program has been covering this development in his columns for The Globe and Mail. He argues that it was the Liberal government that broke the consensus — and it must be the Liberals …

1
EP 117: Where Have All the Children Gone? 23:27

6M ago23:27

23:27

In Ontario, where Tara lives, schools were closed for 135 days during the pandemic. Both there and in the United States, there was very little critical media coverage on this unprecedented public policy. But our guest on today’s program was reporting on those left behind by school closures from the very beginning. Now, he’s covering an element of t…

1
EP 116: Where Have All the Democrats Gone? 38:17

6M ago38:17

38:17

2024 is an election year for the United States. And one of the stories so far is the political realignment that we’re continuing to witness — with the working class moving to the right. This is something that is also happening here in Canada. My guests on today’s program have written an entire book about the phenomenon, and what it might mean for t…

1
EP 115: Lean Out Turns Two - A Conversation on Complicating the Dominant Narratives 41:44

6M ago41:44

41:44

The Lean Out podcast kicked off two years ago this week, aiming to push back on mainstream media conformity, to reaffirm old school journalistic values like viewpoint diversity and curiosity and respect — and, in some small way, to help widen the Overton window of ideas considered acceptable for discussion and debate. Happily, this approach seems t…

1
EP 114: Overcoming the Illusion of Division 31:30

7M ago31:30

31:30

This year has not been an easy one for a lot of people. Not only are many coping with economic instability, but our culture is polarized and often extremely hostile. But our guest on today’s program — the last episode of the year — wants to leave us with a vision of unity. And of hope for a better, and more harmonious, 2024. Monica Harris is the au…

1
EP 113: How the Pandemic Broke America 34:47

7M ago34:47

34:47

With the pandemic finally in the rearview mirror, a lot of people are eager to put it behind us — and move on. But our guest on today’s program says it’s important that we take a look at the mistakes that were made, and understand what went wrong. Joe Nocera is a veteran business journalist and a columnist at The Free Press. His latest book, co-aut…

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37. Sci Fi! (The Men in the Moon) 1:52:02

7M ago1:52:02

1:52:02

After a big year finding the joy in things, Jim, Sam, and Sam wrap up season 2 in an episode about space stories! Come with us on a journey through time and space for a topic near and dear to our lives, and we'll see you in the new year!By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

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EP 112: Have Progressives Stopped Supporting Interracial Marriage? 33:55

7M ago33:55

33:55

On Thanksgiving weekend, an essay started circulating — and it was an essay that I felt like I’d been waiting a long time to read. The essay explores a troubling trend: a renewed skepticism of interracial relationships, and, indeed, of interracial families. Its author is a white man, married to a Black woman. And while progressives had applauded th…

1
EP 111: George Packer on Activism and Bad Art 40:41

8M ago40:41

40:41

In times of crisis, artists often feel the need to take a stand, to engage in activism. But our guest on today’s program says we should recognize that art and politics have very different agendas. “These are different realms,” he writes, “and the values of one can be inhospitable — even deadly — to the values of the other.” George Packer is a staff…

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XV – You Used to Laugh with the People, Adam McKay

8M ago

—

We love Adam McKay movies. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby embraces the Americana of rednecks and NASCAR culture, innocently pitting our uncouth heroes against the French liberal elites. Step Brothers is two losers resisting the urge to seek status, content with having a good time. And Anchorman? One can argue it’s a treatise on the fal…

1
EP 110: Have the Arts Created a Culture of Fear? 31:52

8M ago31:52

31:52

This week on Lean Out, we turn our attention to freedom of expression in the arts. Our guest on today’s program is an acclaimed and controversial choreographer who says the UK’s creative industries are in crisis — experiencing a culture of widespread fear and intimidation. And she’s launched a new organization to address this. Rosie Kay is the CEO …

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36. Space! (Karl Marx Thirst Trap) 1:58:55

8M ago1:58:55

1:58:55

It finally happened: we broke Jim! He's broken now. We've had close calls before but we finally did it, covering the wonder, the majesty, the existential crisis-inducing mammoth that is SPACE!By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

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EP 109: Navigating a perilous moment 51:14

8M ago51:14

51:14

This week in New York City, a longtime defender of free speech was honoured by her peers. My guest on today’s program accepted the Judy Blume Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Coalition Against Censorship benefit. She returns to the podcast to mark that occasion — and to talk through the big issues of our current moment, including rising a…

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Ep 108: Breaking Down The Munk Debate: Is Liberalism Failing Us? 16:41

8M ago16:41

16:41

“Be it resolved, liberalism gets the big questions right.” That was the motion posed at Friday’s Munk Debate in Toronto, to a group of public intellectuals from across the globe. The starting point for the debate was that liberalism is in crisis. That tensions have reached a boiling point. That its critics believe “liberalism has become an impedime…

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35. Movies! (Mirrors For Blind Rats) 2:14:34

9M ago2:14:34

2:14:34

Film! Cinema! Movies! Censorship! Communism! ... Rats! How did we get here and what the hell are we talking about?By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

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EP 107: Did Covid-19 Erode Our Civil Liberties Forever? 40:01

9M ago40:01

40:01

For some time now, there have been calls for Canada to launch an independent public inquiry into its handling of the Covid pandemic — including from the British Medical Journal. But this past week, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, Liberal MPs rejected an inquiry, opting for a closed-door review by advisors to the Minister of Health. My guest on…

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EP 106: Is Cancel Culture Killing Free Speech? 31:06

9M ago31:06

31:06

There are still people who believe that cancel culture does not exist. But it’s about to get a whole lot harder to make that argument publicly. Our guest on today’s program has a new book out that provides irrefutable evidence that cancel culture is a serious phenomenon — that it is now a common tactic on the right and the left, that it is a threat…

1
EP 105: Does Canada’s Justice System Need to be Dismantled? 39:30

9M ago39:30

39:30

Crime in Canada is on the rise. According to recent Statistics Canada data, violent crime is at its most severe since 2007, and the murder rate is the highest it’s been since 1992. My guest on today’s program says our criminal justice system is not working - that it is expensive and ineffective and inhumane, and that the time has come to transform …

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34. Zookeeping! (It’s Like A Pasta Cake) 59:18

9M ago59:18

59:18

Into the dark history and ultimately wholesome world of Zookeeping! From the worst of us to the best of our conservation efforts, zoos have been a journey of growth for us as a species. Enjoy!By Jim Grey, Samuel Grey, Samantha Grey

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EP 104: Cancelled: A Canadian Professor’s War on 'Woke' 39:44

9M ago39:44

39:44

Earlier this month, a prominent Canadian academic made headlines when he announced his departure from the University of London. “Progressive conformity and cancel culture are distorting the teaching and research mission of universities,” he wrote on Twitter. “Between the extremely controversial and the progressive-controlled monoculture of academia…

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