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The Hatchet

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The Hatchet
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  • Monopoly Man (w/ Peter Nowak)
    Back a few years ago, there was this moment where it felt like there was a movement building against monopolies.It started in the United States with academics like Lena Khan and Tim Wu and journalists like Matt Stoller speaking out about the creeping corporate concentration that was infecting so much of American life.Eventually that movement found purchase in the Biden administration, which put antitrust at the centre of their agenda.And because Canada is always a little bit behind the United States, we got our own version of that movement. And in a weird way, Jordan and I were both a part of that, when in 2022 and 2023 we put out our series on Monopolies on Canadaland COMMONS. It really felt like momentum was building and that everyday people were getting more and more upset about the domination of the big banks and the big telcos and the big grocery chains.But recently, it’s felt like that momentum has kind of….gone away. And there’s still plenty of people working on this issues here, but at least in terms of journalism, the trade war and the Trump administration and a million other things seem to have distracted away from what I still believe is such an essential issue.And that’s why I was so excited to get an email from Peter Nowak a few months ago. He said he had an idea and wanted to talk.Now for those of you don’t know Peter, he’s a longtime journalist who has done some amazing work over the years.When I was getting interested in business reporting more than a decade ago, Peter was one of the best out there. His main focus was the telecom industry. And that was a really interesting time for the telecoms. The Harper government was actually putting some pressure on them and had appointed an aggressive CRTC commissioner instead of just the usual corporate toady. And Peter was a dogged reporters covering all of this and was honestly a bit of an inspiration for me. He was the kind of journalist that I one day wanted to be. But he’d gone off to work at tech savvy, a small internet service provider, a few years back, so I thought he was out of the game.So I was really excited when he told me that not only did he want to get back into journalism, but that he saw our Monopoly series on COMMONS as his primary inspiration.You know, when you hear that kind of thing from someone you really admire, it’s pretty damn flattering. But more than that, I just think it’s so important, so necessary right now to have dedicated journalists on the monopoly beat.This week, Peter has finally launched his own Substack called Do Not Pass Go, the first two episodes are out already, and you should absolutely go subscribe and give it a listen.And we wanted to sit down to talk to him about reporting on monopolies, what he has in store and why he always forces himself to drive to another city just to watch a movie.Featured in this episode: Peter NowakTo Learn MoreDo Not Pass Go: The Debut Episode The Great Awakening: Competition Commissioner Matthew BoswellSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. We deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe
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  • Visions of Vancouver (w/ Justin McElroy)
    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit hatchetmedia.substack.comVancouver is a funny place.It’s without a doubt the most beautiful city in the country, probably also the continent and maybe even the world — at least when the sun’s shining. The rainy season, which lasts around eight months of the year, can turn it into a dreary, inescapable limbo.It’s a place filled luxury car dealerships, high-end watch stores and other markers of flamboyant wealth. But also absolutely heart-wrenching displays of visible poverty.Vancouverites are simultaneously proud of their city, and often deeply insecure about how it compares to other metropolises.It’s also, I’d argue, deeply misunderstood by the rest of the country.Strangely enough, Vancouver, and British Columbia more broadly, are left out of the national conversation, despite its population, economic importance and unique political culture.There’s this conversation I always have with my journalism friends from BC about how whatever’s happening in Vancouver eventually ends up becoming the rest of the country’s problem. You’ve seen that over and over again, whether it’s about the housing crisis or debates around drug use or crime.And so I figured, why not just bring one of those friends on to have that discussion right here on The Hatchet.Last week I was at a wedding in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where I was able to corner my old friend and CBC Vancouver’s municipal reporter Justin McElroy, and bully him into being on the show.For the British Columbians in the audience, Justin really needs no introduction. He is by almost any measure one of the best-known journalists in the province. And he’s gained this enormous cult following, not just through his reporting or his penchant for ranking things, but because he has an almost uncanny ability to make people care about the things that he cares about.And in addition to being one of my oldest friends, Justin is also the man who taught me how to be a journalist more than fifteen years ago.In this conversation, we talk a little bit about Justin’s erstwhile fame, and then give listeners a full political education in all things Vancouver and why the rest of the country should be paying for attention.And after that, for our paid supporters, we have a little something extra. Justin and I do some reminiscing about the good old days, when we worked together at The Ubyssey, UBC’s student newspaper. So if you want to hear about how I forced Justin to resign as editor of the newspaper, whether or not I was a decent roommate or the time we were in an honest-to-god zombie apocalypse, make sure to become a paid supporter today.Featured in this episode: Justin McElroyTo Learn More:"B.C. government says more oversight coming for dysfunctional municipalities" by Justin McElroy in CBC News"Vancouver's byelection a story of big lines, big passion, and ABC coping with a big loss" by Justin McElroy in CBC NewsThe Four Pillars Revisited by Sam Fenn and Gordon Katic in The TyeeSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. We deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque
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  • Northern Apocalypse | The Canadian Pacific
    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit hatchetmedia.substack.comThis episode is available immediately to paid supporters. For unpaid supporters, we're providing a short preview. Please consider supporting us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Canadian Pacific created a nation. But it also destroyed nations in the process.This is our third and final episode in our series about the building of the CPR and the foundation of Canada. And at the heart of this story is an unescapable question — what did it cost to create this country? And who paid that terrible price?In the years after Confederation, Canada signed treaties with numerous Indigenous nations on the plains, promising aid in the event of a famine. But when the buffalo were slaughtered into extinction, the Canadian government was unable — or unwilling — to fulfill its treaty obligations.At the same time, the CPR was facing financial ruin. And if it fell, Canada as an independent political entity would almost certainly cease to exist.Famine, disease, economic collapse — all of these calamities came to a head in 1885, the single most significant year in Canadian history. Which is when Louis Riel rose up once again. Featured in this episode: Stephen BownTo Learn More:Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada by Stephen BownThe Diary of Dukesang Wong: A Voice from Gold Mountain by Dukesang Wong, David McIlwraith & Wanda Joy HoeThe North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation by Jean TeilletThe National DreamSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. We deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque
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  • Blood on the Tracks | The Canadian Pacific
    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit hatchetmedia.substack.comThis episode is available immediately to paid supporters. For unpaid supporters, we're providing a short preview. Please consider supporting us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThere’s a story we like to tell ourselves about how Canada was built. It’s about John A. Macdonald’s fearless vision and how Canadians across the continent came together in a noble quest to create a nation.And then there’s what actually happened.This is the second instalment in our series on the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the founding of Canada. Paid supporters can listen to it immediately. And if you aren’t already supporting us, please consider joining The Hatchet family, it’s only $11 a month.In this episode, we're looking at what happens when the most powerful politician in the land gets into bed with the richest man in the country. And how the workers caught in the wake of their machinations end up paying the price. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald promised to build a railroad that would unite Canada, and went so far as to rig an election to get his way. But the robber barons who financed his corruption ended up turning on him. They blackmailed Canada’s first prime minister and plunged the country into a crisis. And after the rich and powerful were done destroying each other, thousands of workers risked life and limb to build an industrial marvel that would benefit everyone except them. Many of the men who crossed an ocean to do this work wouldn’t make it home alive. And even those who survived saw their rights stripped away, year after year.This is the story of how Canada was really built — political corruption, exploitation and a willingness to sacrifice everyday people at the altar of the progress.Sound familiar?The final episode in our series will be available to paid supporters tomorrow.Featured in this episode: Stephen BownTo Learn More:Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada by Stephen BownThe Diary of Dukesang Wong: A Voice from Gold Mountain by Dukesang Wong, David McIlwraith & Wanda Joy HoeThe North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation by Jean TeilletThe National DreamSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. We deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque
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  • Empire of Steel | The Canadian Pacific
    Most countries have a founding myth of some kind, a moment in time that serves as an anchor for the grand national story.For the United States, it’s the American Revolution and the founding of the republic. France’s history goes back centuries, but their national narrative begins with the storming of the Bastille. Which is why Bastille Day is their most important holiday.England has the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings. And Mexicans usually trace their history back to the fall of Tenochtitlan.But Canada, as usual, is strange.Some will inevitably point to the Charlottetown and Quebec City conferences as the moment when our national story begins. And sure, that may be where the idea of Confederation was born. But the country that emerged was simply a union of what are today only four of our provinces.The real Canada, the one made up of a massive landmass that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, across the entire length of the North American continent, the country we have today, wasn’t born on July 1st, 1867. That nation came into existence on November 7, 1885, when the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven into the ground at Craigellachie, British Columbia.It seems fitting to me that Canada wasn’t created out of some spirit of revolutionary zeal or war of conquest or high-minded ideal.Instead, our grand national story is about an industrial project.And I find that apt. Because the story of the CPR truly does speak to what it means to be a Canadian. You can see so many of the themes of our history, so much of what it means to be Canadian, in this monumental endeavour.There’s the resistance to the American behemoth. The taming of a wild, unforgiving landscape. The ingenuity and persistence and grit of thousands of Canadians working together to build one of the greatest marvels of the industrial age.But there’s also the unparalleled corporate and political corruption. Labour exploitation on a scale that’s hard to fathom. And the utter subjugation of the Indigenous peoples of this land.And all of that put together is what makes the story of the construction of the CPR a fitting foundational myth for Canada.So on this episode of The Hatchet, at a time when Canadian nationalism is peaking, we’re going to lay out the true story of the Canadian Pacific Railway in all of its glorious and gory detail. In order to bring us closer to an honest understanding of who we are as a nation, for good and for ill.Featured in this episode: Stephen BownTo Learn More:Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada by Stephen BownThe North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation by Jean TeilletThe National DreamThe Diary of Dukesang Wong: A Voice from Gold Mountain by Dukesang Wong, David McIlwraith & Wanda Joy HoeSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. We deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe
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The Hatchet is a weekly podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Hosted by Arshy Mann, The Hatchet delivers important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, in a way that no one else can. hatchetmedia.substack.com
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