Sweater Weather

Naomi and Aaron discuss the documentary I Am: Celine Dion (2024). Support Sweater Weather on Patreon.  In this episode of Sweater Weather, Aaron and Naomi discuss the documentary I Am: Celine Dion (2024), which is available on Amazon Prime. They explore Celine's image, her massive success, and her corny yet undeniably popular style. The documentary itself focuses on Celine's current battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, including an impactful scene of her having a seizure, a symptom of her SPS. However, the documentary steers clear of anything potentially problematic, especially regarding her controversial marriage with Rene Angelil. Aaron and Naomi analyze this approach, comparing it to more journalistic documentaries and question the trend of celebrities creating documentaries about themselves. They discuss vulnerability being used as a strategic move in such a self portrayal, but they also recognize Celine's authentic charm and personality shining through. Overall, Aaron and Naomi enjoyed the documentary and found themselves with a new-found appreciation for the person (if not the music) of Celine Dion. 

*TW: This episode includes discussion of sexual violence.* Today we talk Ducks, Kate Beaton's celebrated graphic memoir — winner of Canada Reads, a New York Times Notable Book — about her two years working in the oil sands of Fort McMurray, where men outnumber women fifty to one. Harsh economic realities forced Beaton to leave her Cape Breton home for northern Alberta, where she found strange beauty in a desolate landscape, and human connection in the midst of sexual harassment, danger, and even violence. The book gorgeously and heartrendingly depicts a time, place and culture. For our discussion, we're joined by Marc Herman Lynch, author of the novel Arborescent (2020) and a cartoon enthusiast who grew up in Fort McMurray.

Reserve your free tickets at our Eventbrite page.  Join Naomi and Aaron of the Sweater Weather podcast for their deep-dive discussion of Ducks, the award-winning graphic memoir by Kate Beaton about life in the Alberta oil sands. They'll be joined by special guest Marc Herman Lynch, a literary scholar, comics enthusiast, and novelist.  This event takes place Sunday, April 23, in the Alexander Calhoun Salon at the Memorial Park Library in Calgary, Treaty 7 territory. Recording will begin shortly after 2 pm.

Saddle up your quarter horse and grab that flask of whiskey for this ride through the life and works of country music legend Ian Tyson. Born in Victoria, BC, in 1933, Tyson's recording career spanned six decades, from his time in the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene as one half of the folk duo Ian & Sylvia, to his years as a solo country artist working from his ranch in Longview, Alberta. With our guest Jeremy Klaszus, ghostwriter of Ian Tyson's 2010 memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West, we discuss Tyson's love of horses, his tumultuous romances, and his fascination with the lore of the West. Ian Tyson died on his Longview ranch in December 29, 2022, at the age of 89. While we're not exactly sure what a ‘real' cowboy is, we all agree that Tyson was one of ‘em. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/canadiansweater

Reserve your free tickets at our Eventbrite page: www.eventbrite.ca/e/sweater-weather-live-talks-ian-tyson-with-jeremy-klaszus-tickets-528972780827 Join the audience for Sweater Weather Live! talks the life and music of country legend Ian Tyson. Our special guest will be Jeremy Klaszus, editor-in-chief of The Sprawl and ghostwriter of Ian Tyson's memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West.  This event takes place Sunday, March 5 at 2 pm at the Memorial Park Library in Calgary on Treaty 7 territory.

In 1908, thirty-four-year-old Lucy Maud Montgomery published a novel set in the fictional Prince Edward Island town of Avonlea. Her heroine: a loveable and drama-prone red-headed orphan, adopted by an elderly brother and sister who turn out to need her as much as she needs them. The book is Anne of Green Gables, of course, a novel that made its author famous and helped turn PEI into an international tourist attraction. With our guest, writer and filmmaker Cheryl Foggo, we learn how much of Maud's life resembled Anne's, and how much it didn't—from scorned admirers to kindred spirits to bosom friends. Plus, we debate the age-old question: who does Anne love most, Diana or Gilbert? This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Memorial Park Library in Calgary, on Treaty 7 territory. Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/canadiansweater

Join Naomi and Aaron for this live recording of the Sweater Weather podcast as they discuss the enduring appeal of the classic novel Anne of Green Gables. They'll be joined by writer and documentary filmmaker Cheryl Foggo. This event takes place Sunday, February 12 at 2pm in the salon of the Memorial Park Library in Calgary, on Treaty 7 territory.  Book your free tickets on our Eventbrite page to reserve your spot! : https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sweater-weather-live-talks-anne-of-green-gables-with-guest-cheryl-foggo-tickets-512155700487

In this audio documentary special, Aaron dives deep into the history of Nickelback, the most commercially successful and critically despised Canadian band of their generation. In the aughts when Nickelback dominated the air waves and sold out stadiums, bashing them publicly became a competitive sport for tastemakers and social media users. What spurred this unprecedented love/ hate relationship with Nickelback, and how did this band from Hanna, Alberta, find themselves at the centre of a cultural, class and political conflict? If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round!

In the spirit of the season, we've brought out from behind the paywall our full episode on The Kids in the Hall. Happy holidays, everyone! Support us on Patreon ~~ Inspired by the recently released sixth season of The Kids in the Hall, Naomi and Aaron discuss this legendary sketch comedy show. We follow the Kids' paths to becoming comic actors, and how the show was too dark to enjoy when we were kids ourselves. We breakdown some of their most notorious sketches, including Cabbage Head and The Chicken Lady, and pay special attention to their unfairly maligned feature film, Brain Candy (1996). Finally, we consider the dangers of cultural nostalgia and decide that we'll do it anyway.  

One fateful day in the winter of 1946, a boy in the village of Sainte-Justine, Quebec, opened his Eaton's package to find, instead of a coveted Montreal Canadiens jersey, the dreaded blue of the Toronto Maple Leafs. That despised hockey sweater was destined for literary, if not sports, fame. That boy became author Roch Carrier, who has published some thirty books, run for political office, and headed numerous government agencies, including the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Library of Canada. But it was the NFB's 1980 film adaptation The Sweater, lushly and wittily animated by Sheldon Cohen, that established Carrier's reputation as a writer. Joined by Montreal novelist and hockey enthusiast Maxime Raymond Bock—author most recently of Morel (2021)—Aaron and Naomi revisit Carrier's story, which for a time graced Canada's five-dollar bill. What's been gained, lost and tweaked in translation? How does the tale reveal the tensions between Quebec and English Canada, as well as its author's political sympathies? And why don't parents ever understand your fashion choices? If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

You will remember her—singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan was born in Halifax, studied music from the age of four, started winning singing awards not much later, and was offered her first major record deal at seventeen. Throughout the nineties, she won a boatload of Grammys and Junos for her work on the albums Solace, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, and Surfacing, and she founded and headlined the all-female music festival Lilith Fair. In 2006, she starred in the SPCA's iconic commercial that broke all our hearts and raised millions, and soon after founded a music school for under-served children. Musician,actor and writer Kris Demeanor joins us for our first live show, in Calgary, where McLachlan proves a controversial figure, arousing every possible feeling, and making us “feel those feelings hard.” Some of us appreciate McLachlan more than others, but whether you're a fan or not, surrender sweetly to our conversation about Canada's mid-tempo ballad queen! If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

The first ever live recording of Sweater Weather is happening Tuesday, November 22 at the Rose & Crown Pub in Calgary at 7 pm. Reserve your free tickets here at Eventbrite. We'll be fumbling towards the ecstasy that is the life and music of singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. And if you're not already swooning in the arms of an angel, we'll be joined in our discussion by musician, actor and writer Kris Demeanor. The Rose and Crown (1503 4th St. SW) will be offering food and drink service during the show. Recording begins shortly after 7 pm, so please arrive by 7 pm. Hope to see you there!

In episode 28, we revisit the antics of shock comic Tom Green. In the early nineties, Green rose to local Ottawa fame with a rap album, a radio show, and a program on public-access television. In 1998, The Tom Green Show gained a national following on the Canadian Comedy Network, and in 1999 it jumped to the American big time on MTV. Green was the network's golden/meat-covered boy, a box office success in the films Road Trip (2000) and Charlie's Angels (2000)—before being waylaid by testicular cancer, a short-lived marriage to actress Drew Barrymore, and the critical lambasting of his directorial debut, Freddy Got Fingered (2001). How did Green develop his innovative comedic methods? Why have some parts of his shtick aged like a fine wine, and others like a dead moose? Did his family ever forgive him for that stunt with his grandmother and the dildos? Also, Naomi remembers Tom razzing her as a teen on the not-so-mean streets of downtown Ottawa. If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/canadiansweater Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/about.html

Screenwriter Abdul Malik (Peace by Chocolate, CTV's Transplant) joins us to talk about Atom Egoyan's 1997 film, The Sweet Hereafter, one of Canada's most celebrated movies and the pinnacle of the Toronto New Wave moment. We revisit the melancholic, majestic, and morally compromised town of Sam Dent, a fictional community in BC's interior that has lost almost all its children to a school-bus crash. Ian Holm plays a carpet-bagging lawyer who's got his own personal baggage, while Sarah Polley portrays a young girl who survives both the bus accident and her father's abuse. In this stark winter landscape, we warm to Egoyan's elegant filmmaking but are left cold by his moralizing vision. Should The Sweet Hereafter still be celebrated 25 years later? If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

We've got one question for you, Audience: Are You Afraid of the Dark? This Montreal-produced kids' horror series aired on YTV in Canada, on Nickelodeon in the US, and on networks around the world—including in Norway where our special guest, poet Tasnuva Hayden, watched eagerly every Saturday night circa 1992. We light the proverbial campfire and toss some metaphorical magic powder on the flames before discussing some stand-out episodes. There's one about dead Aunt Dora, an elegant equestrian from the 1950s who possesses her 16-year-old niece and makes her speak with a mid-Atlantic accent; another about a clown named Zeebo with a dangerous cigar addiction who teaches a kid named Josh a thing or two about stealing other people's red foam noses. We admire the show for its adventurous teens sneaking off into the woods, lament the disturbing creeps lurking around every corner, and wonder what scares kids these days. It's "The Tale of the Twenty-Sixth Episode of Sweater Weather"—submitted for your approval! Find out more about Tasnuva Hayden's new book, An Orchid Astronomy. If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes, bonus content, and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

From high school improv with Seth Rogen in Vancouver, to a spot on the CBC classic This Hour Has 22 Minutes, to his Comedy Central series Nathan For You, Nathan Fielder's comedic vision has expanded from silly, semi-cruel satire to mirror-funhouse meta-reality TV. We discuss his latest, the HBO docu-comedy The Rehearsal, and ask whether it's "reality" and whether it's comedy, whether his methods are immoral or merely show us our own dark, TV-shaped hearts, and whether Fielder, a former magician, has just pulled off a brilliant sleight of hand. If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes, bonus content, and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer listening to Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

Today we're talking about the novel that named a generation. In 1991, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Vancouver author and visual artist Douglas Coupland became a sleeper hit, an objet d'art that no student living room could do without. How, exactly, did this weird book manage to capture the zeitgeist of twenty-somethings struggling to find meaning in the shadow of the Boomers? What were its influences and what cultural floodgates did it open? Is it a good novel? Also, Aaron remembers an unfortunate youthful encounter with Douglas Coupland at the Canadian embassy in Paris. If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes, bonus content, and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major audio, video and social media platforms.

We'll be back with a new episode next week, but in the meantime enjoy this content from behind the paywall, our FULL episode on Degrassi from earlier this summer. --- Aaron and Naomi talk about the classic teen drama Degrassi Junior High (1987-1989) and its immediate sequel, Degrassi High (1989-1991). We discuss the show's fascinating production history, our vivid memories of watching it as kids, and the labour conditions for the actors. We also dig into the details of one of our favourite episodes, "All Nighter," and even re-enact a scene. You won't want to miss Naomi's uncanny Melanie impression! If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons of the show get early access to new episodes, occasional bonus content, and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round!

Isn't it ironic that we finally decided to cover this essential Canadian artist? Alanis Morissette was one of the most successful musicians of the 1990s, selling 33 million copies of her album Jagged Little Pill. We trace her career from child actor to international rock superstar to Instagram mom. We consider the mass appeal of her music, with its cathartic rage, ear-wormy melodies, and therapeutic confessions. What does Morissette's popularity say about Generation X and the older Millenials who make up her fan base, past and present? Wait a minute...how is any of this "ironic"? If you enjoy Sweater Weather, consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get early access to new episodes, bonus content, and other perks. And with your support, you'll help Sweater Weather last all year round! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? Visit our website to find links to the show on all major video, audio and social media platforms.

Naomi and Aaron speedboat through the CBC family adventure show Danger Bay (1984-1990). We discuss the show's infinite animal menagerie, its 1980s environmentalism, and the protagonist, Dr. Grant Roberts, who is both a Professional-Class Hero and Dad of the Year. We also rehearse our favourite lines of dialogue from Danger Bay, including Doc Roberts shouting: "We need a lactating otter!" This is the free 31-minute version of the episode. To access the full 73-minute version, subscribe to the show on Patreon. Subscribers gain access to all full-length episodes of Sweater Weather—that's about twice the content! Prefer watching Sweater Weather as a video podcast? On our website you'll find links to Sweater Weather on the major video platforms.

Inspired by the recently released sixth season of The Kids in the Hall, Naomi and Aaron talk about this legendary sketch comedy show (1988-1995). We discuss the Kids' paths to becoming comic actors, and how the show was too dark for us to appreciate when we were kids ourselves. We breakdown some of their most notorious sketches, including Cabbage Head and The Chicken Lady, and pay special attention to their unfairly maligned feature film, Brain Candy (1996), which is actually very good! Finally, we consider the dangers of cultural nostalgia and decide that we'll do it anyway. This is the free 34-minute version of the episode. To access the full 79-minute version, subscribe to the show on Patreon.   Subscribers gain access to all full-length episodes of Sweater Weather—that's about twice the content!  

Aaron and Naomi talk about the classic teen drama Degrassi Junior High (1987-1989) and its immediate sequel, Degrassi High (1989-1991). We discuss the show's fascinating production history, our vivid memories of watching it as kids, and the labour conditions for the actors. We also dig into the details of one of our favourite episodes, "All Nighter," and even re-enact a scene. You won't want to miss Naomi's uncanny Melanie impression! This is the free 46-minute version of the episode. To access the full 94-minute version, subscribe to the show on Patreon. Subscribers gain access to all full-length episodes of Sweater Weather—that's about twice the content!

How Leonard Cohen's life and art was shaped by the Cold War-- and the political uses of his most famous song, "Hallelujah." This episode is based on an article I wrote for The Breach titled "Leonard Cohen, Cold War Troubadour": https://breachmedia.ca/leonard-cohen-cold-war-troubadour/ Support Sweater Weather: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/t-AC7Gvx7HU Visit our website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com   Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater   Follow Aaron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity  

Support this podcast. Cabins and cottages have come to represent summer in Canada-- even though most Canadians spend the summer in hot cities. What does the fascination with cabins and cottages reveal about class, inequality and colonization in Canada? This episode we welcome Tonya Davidson, a sociologist at Carleton University and co-editor of the essay collection Seasonal Sociology (University of Toronto Press, 2020). We discuss her essay in that collection, "Summer in Cottage Country." Visit Sweater Weather's website | Follow Aaron Giovannone and Sweater Weather on Twitter.  

Support Sweater Weather! I'm joined once again by my friends from the Alberta Advantage podcast: Clinton, Karen and Joel. We conclude our epic discussion of FUBAR, the classic Canadian and Calgarian comedy franchise, by discussing FUBAR II: Balls to the Wall (2010) in which our protagonists, Terry and Dean, head up to Fort McMurray to work in the oil sands, as well as the TV Series, FUBAR: Age of Computer (2017), when the boys try to make a go of it in the online economy. The struggles of Terry and Dean as working class men really come to the fore in these latter two installments of FUBAR. This is part 2 of our discussion of the FUBAR franchise. To see part 1, check out our last episode. Visit the Sweater Weather website for everything you need to know about the show, follow Sweater Weather on Twitter, and follow Aaron Giovannone on Twitter, too. 

Support the show. This week I'm joined by my podcast comrades from the Alberta Advantage: Clinton, Joël and Karen, for a deep dive into the classic Canadian and Calgarian comedy franchise FUBAR. It's been nearly 20 years since the first FUBAR film brought us the endearing headbangers Terry and Dean. In our discussion we appreciate FUBAR's depiction of working-class life and its wicked humour. And of course, we ponder what it really means to giv'er. This is the first of two episodes dedicated to the FUBAR franchise. Keep your eyes peeled for our next release when we discuss FUBAR 2: Balls to the Wall (2010) and the TV series FUBAR: Age of Computer (2017).    

I talk to author and journalist Marcello Di Cintio about the lives of people who drive taxis for a living. He tells their stories in his fascinating new book, Driven: The Secret Lives of Drivers.  This is episode 15 of Sweater Weather with Aaron Giovannone. Visit the Sweater Weather website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/canadiansweater?locale.x=en_US Subscribe to the newsletter: https://aarongiovannone.substack.com/welcome Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Sweater Weather on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow Aaron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity Follow Aaron on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/ Check out the Harbinger Media Network: https://harbingermedianetwork.com/ Check out Waffle to the Left: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdhyHe_XiwmJIyz5MKb7vSQ

On today's episode, I talk to ​Leah Cameron, a television writer in Toronto. She is creator, director and co-writer of The Communist's Daughter, a comedy series loosely based on her left-wing family in Toronto in 1989, now available on CBC Gem. This is episode 14 of Sweater Weather with Aaron Giovannone. Watch The Communist's Daughter: https://gem.cbc.ca/season/the-communists-daughter/season-1/38ebdd8f-20ad-4d8f-a86c-c1d121cb0d3f Visit the Sweater Weather website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/canadiansweater?locale.x=en_US Subscribe to the newsletter: https://aarongiovannone.substack.com/welcome Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/ Follow Aaron Giovannone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity Check out the Harbinger Media Network: https://harbingermedianetwork.com/ Check out Waffle to the Left: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdhyHe_XiwmJIyz5MKb7vSQ

Why do we need an honest portrayal of work and employment in literature? What is the point of poetry? How has postmodernism affected arts and education? Today we are visited by Tom Wayman, the author of more than 20 books of poetry and prose, as well as a professor emeritus at the University of Calgary. Today we talk about his collection of essays, If You're Not Free at Work, Where Are You Free?: Literature and Social Change (Guernica, 2018). Tom also treats us to a reading of a couple of his beautiful poems. Read Tom Wayman's book, If You're Not Free at Work, Where Are You Free?: https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771832878 Visit the Sweater Weather website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Subscribe to the newsletter: https://aarongiovannone.substack.com/welcome Donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/canadiansweater?locale.x=en_US Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/ Follow Aaron Giovannone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity

This episode we're visited by Radhika Desai, professor of political science at the University of Manitoba. She is the author and editor of several works on political economy, including Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (Pluto Press, 2013) as well as Revolutions: A Twenty-First Century Perspective, which was a special issue of Third World Quarterly in 2020, co-edited with her colleague Henry Heller. How have neoliberal economies fared during the Coronavirus crisis, compared to planned economies? How does capitalism structure the geopolitics between states? What is the role of the US dollar? And we discuss the relationship of intellectuals to left politics in reference to an early work of Prof. Desai's, Intellectuals and Socialism (1994). I've got an exciting announcement: we've started a Substack newsletter for the show, the jauntily if obviously titled Sweater Weather: The Newsletter. Please do sign up. You'll get my original takes on Canadian culture occasionally delivered to your email inbox. It's free, and it won't be so frequent that it gets annoying. This is episode 12 of Sweater Weather. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://aarongiovannone.substack.com/welcome Prof. Desai inCanadian Dimension: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/author/radhika-desai Visit the Sweater Weather website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Donate on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/canadiansweater?locale.x=en_US Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/ Follow Aaron Giovannone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity

The early years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War produced a new consensus among western elites that it was now a good thing to do business with China and develop cultural relations.  A fascinating film from 1990 illustrates this moment of history, Bethune: The Making of A Hero, starring Donald Sutherland as Norman Bethune, the real-life Canadian communist doctor who died in China in 1939 providing medical aid to Mao's 8th Army as it battled the invading Japanese. Bethune was a swash-buckling humanitarian who became a revered figure of the Chinese Revolution, and later a sanctified Canadian national hero, too. This 18-million dollar movie was a co-production of Canadian and Chinese state partners, and was at the time the most expensive Canadian film ever produced. An ambitious but flawed film, the production was marred by a power struggle between the Canadians involved in the project, the film's star, actor Donald Sutherland and its screenwriter, Ted Allan. I've recently written about Bethune: The Making of a Hero in a piece for Passage magazine titled “After The Cold War, China and Canada United to Honour Norman Bethune." https://readpassage.com/after-the-cold-war-china-and-canada-united-to-honour-norman-bethune/ Joining Sweater Weather to talk about Bethune: Making of a Hero is Paul Jay. Paul Jay is a journalist and filmmaker, the founder and host of TheAnalysis.News, a video and audio current affairs show. He is past chair of the Documentary Organization of Canada, as well as a founding chair of the Hot Docs! Canadian International Documentary Festival.  Happily for us, Paul is also the nephew of Ted Allan, the screenwriter of Bethune, and he offers a unique perspective on the film as well as its political, economic and historical background. Read Aaron's article about Bethune: The Making of a Hero in Passage: https://readpassage.com/after-the-cold-war-china-and-canada-united-to-honour-norman-bethune/ Watch Bethune: The Making of a Hero: https://youtu.be/5zUrbrTb5J0 Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/canadiansweater?locale.x=en_US Visit the Website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/ Follow Aaron Giovannone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity

Donate to the show: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 This is part 2 of my discussion with Dr. Stephanie Ross, associate professor and director of the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University. She is author, co-author and co-editor of several works on Canadian labour and unions, including Building a Better World: An Introduction to the Labour Movement in Canada (Fernwood, 2015) and Labour Under Attack Anti-Unionism in Canada (Fernwood, 2018). In this second part of the interview, we talk about life within unions in more detail, especially about the inequalities that unions sometimes reproduce while trying to protect workers' interests. Seniority is an example of this, a principle that guides layoffs, pay, promotion, etc. Seniority is key to disrupting the bosses' power to arbitrarily dismiss employees, but it also disproportionately impacts younger workers who are the least able to shoulder the costs of layoffs. And as a couple of professors, we can't help but talk about the crazily unequal workplace that is the contemporary university, where faculty unions have tolerated or accepted differential tiers of employment—the famous distinction between tenured faculty and sessional/adjunct faculty. It's a corrosive situation that undermines worker solidarity. This is episode 10 of Sweater Weather with Aaron Giovannone. Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Visit the Website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/ Follow Aaron Giovannone on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity

This week I talk to Dr. Stephanie Ross, associate professor and director of the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University. She is author, co-author and co-editor of several works on Canadian labour and unions, including Building a Better World: An Introduction to the Labour Movement in Canada (Fernwood, 2015) and the book we primarily discuss today, Labour Under Attack: Anti-Unionism in Canada (Fernwood, 2018). Do Canadians and workers support unions? What are the sources of influential anti-union ideas? What do labour organizations themselves do that sometimes fosters anti-union sentiment? We address these thorny but important topics today. This is part 1 of a 2-part interview with Dr. Ross. The second part will be released soon as a premium episode, available to patrons of the show at the 5 dollar a month level or higher. Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597

In episode 8 of Sweater Weather, I talk to Ian McKay, professor of history at McMaster University and director of the L.R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History. He is the author and co-author of numerous books and articles about the Canadian left, including Reasoning Otherwise: Leftists and the People's Enlightenment in Canada, 1890-1920, as well as Rebels, Reds, Radicals: Rethinking Canada's Left History. This is an absolute gem of an episode, a must watch for every Canadian leftist craving a comprehensive historical perspective on socialism and social movements in this country. We begin our discussion, however, talking about liberalism and Prof. McKay's now classic essay, “The Liberal Order Framework: A Prospectus for a Reconnaissance of Canadian History” which frames Canadian history as the progress of a ‘passive revolution' towards liberalism as it became the dominant ideology in Canada. With this groundwork in place, we proceed to dig into the details of his fascinating analyses of Canadian socialism, at times a competitor to liberalism, as laid out in another of his influential papers, “For a New Kind of History: A Reconnaissance of 100 Years of Canadian Socialism.” Support Sweater Weather on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Sweater Weather's website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/​

The boys from The Alberta Advantage—Clinton, Rory, Tyler—visit Sweater Weather to gab about the boys from the trailer park—Ricky, Julian and Bubbles. That's right, we're talking Trailer Park Boys! It's one of the best Canadian television shows ever, and one of the few to find an international audience. And while its heyday was 2001-2007, Trailer Park Boys has an enduring appeal to leftists because of its depictions of class, community, and for just being so damn funny. Rory is our resident East Coaster and he shares his deep knowledge of Nova Scotia political economy and anecdotes about that region's love of pepperoni. That's well worth the price of admission alone, but then Clinton drops snappy TPB trivia while Tyler plumbs the humanistic heart of life in Sunnyvale. Support Sweater Weather on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=7353597 Sweater Weather's new website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Listen to The Alberta Advantage podcast: https://albertaadvantagepod.com/ Listen to Tyler's new podcast, Tinker, Tailer, Podcast, Spy: https://soundcloud.com/tinker-tailor-podcast-spy Follow Clinton: https://twitter.com/StoicRomance Follow Rory: https://twitter.com/iosegun Follow Tyler: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Follow Aaron: https://twitter.com/SincerityCity Watch Sweater Weather on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hDI1JSCAvcs7ZWoFRIASA Watch Sweater Weather on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow Sweater Weather on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweaterFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/

Will the next federal election spell doom for the NDP, out maneuvered by the Conservatives for working-class voters? I talk to Steven C. High, professor of history at Concordia University and author of the recent article for Canadian Dimension, "Right-wing populism and the realignment of working-class politics in Canada." See the full interview here: https://youtu.be/Pj2N4vMOoYk Steven High's article: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/right-wing-populism-and-the-realignment-of-working-class-politics-in-canada Support Sweater Weather on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=73... Sweater Weather's website: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadiansweater Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadian.sweater/

How has deindustrialization impacted the working class in Canada and around the world? In what ways is deindustrialization, a side effect of global capital constantly seeking cheaper labour, shaping the politics of our time? Will the next federal election spell doom for the NDP, out maneuvered by the Conservatives for working class voters? This week I talk to Steven C. High, professor of history at Concordia University, who has published extensively on deindustrialization and the post-industrial transformation of North American cities. His books include Industrial Sunset: The Making of North America's Rust Belt (U of T Press, 2003), The Deindustrialized World: Confronting Ruination in Post-Industrial Places (UBC Press, 2017), and One Job Town: Work, Belonging and Betrayal in Northern Ontario (U o T Press, 2019). We also discuss a piece he recently published in Canadian Dimension, “Right-wing populism and the realignment of working-class politics in Canada,” as well as a new international research project he is leading titled Deindustrialization and the Politics of our Time.   Steven High's piece in Canadian Dimension: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/right-wing-populism-and-the-realignment-of-working-class-politics-in-canada Sweater Weather's new website, where you'll find everything you need: https://www.sweaterweatherpod.com/ Support Sweater Weather on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=73... Support Sweater Weather on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/canadiansweater?locale.x=en_US Follow Sweater Weather on Twitter: https://twitter.com/canadiansweater

I'm delighted to talk to Sam Gindin, co-author of The Making of Global Capitalism (2012) a modern classic, as well as the more recent but no less essential The Socialist Challenge Today  (2020) both co-written with his long-time friend and colleague Leo Panitch. From 1974-2000, Sam was the director of research at the Canadian Auto Workers union, now Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada. Sam is an internationally recognized authority on political economy and social movements, and he frequently writes and speaks about socialism in a global context—but he's Canadian, so I was keen to hear what he had to say about the battle on the home front. We talk about Canada's place in the global capitalist system, about Canada's possibilities for economic nationalism, about Canadian unions and the working class, the Green New Deal versus Green Capitalism, and his promising efforts with a worker-led project called Green Jobs Oshawa. We also talk about the Canadian manifestations of the left populist up-welling in recent years, which he thinks was (unfortunately) captured by the Trudeau Liberals. And we'll address that age-old question for Canadian socialists: to NDP, or not to NDP. Support Sweater Weather: www.patreon.com/canadiansweater