The Boys in Short Pants

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The Boys in Short Pants is Canada's newish political podcast, taking a second look at the goings-on of Canadian politics.

The Boys in Short Pants


    • Oct 9, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 57m AVG DURATION
    • 127 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Boys in Short Pants

    Episode 124 - Legislative Dysfunction

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2022 51:41


    The Boys return! Poilievre, inflation and the new anxieties of hybrid parliament.

    Episode 123 - French Civil Law on the Moon

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2022 53:50


    The Boys discuss the Liberal-NDP accord and the recent federal budget.

    Episode 122 - Codes of Conduct

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2022 81:12


    The Boys discuss the Emergencies Act, the Conservative leadership race, and whether drink tickets are too complicated a system to be implemented in the real world.

    Episode 121 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being Leader of Canada's Conservatives

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2022 63:05


    The Boys discuss the latest in Conservative leadership tumult and what it all means.

    Episode 120 - Steamed Rolls

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2022 48:12


    The Boys discuss the opportunity costs of slow starts, Halo 3, and if the Liberal agenda is more like a steamroller or a lawnmower. (It's an Albany thing).

    Episode 119 - Communications Breakdown

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2021 59:20


    The boys are joined by Paul Wells of Maclean's Magazine to discuss the past, present and future of political communications.

    Episode 118 - 'Interview a Fan' Contest Winner 2021

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2021 67:59


    The Boys sit down with a special guest to discuss the furniture situation in Canada's official residences and other issues.

    Episode 117 - The Art of Cabinetry

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 80:49


    The Boys discuss the ins and outs of the new Cabinet.

    Episode 116 - The Day After the Morning After the Day After

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2021 79:33


    The Boys talk about the results of Canada's 44th general election.

    Episode 115 - Mostly Unsolicited Career Advice

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2021 85:22


    The Boys dispense some mostly unsolicited career advice, review the state of the election, and talk platforms a bit.

    Episode 114 - Pre-Election Short Snapper

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2021 32:05


    The Boys take a quick look at the federal election landscape and assign you all some summer reading - namely, Eddie Goldenberg's The Way It Works: Inside Ottawa.

    Episode 113 - Summer Mailbag 2021

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2021 82:12


    The Boys dive back into the mailbag filled to the brim with your questions!

    Episode 112 - On the Necessity of Tonsuring One's Political Rivals

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2021 68:30


    The Boys talk Green Party omnishambles, legislative update (also omnishambles) and Sheriff-Commissioner Dion's Morneau Report.

    Episode 111 - Sharing the Wealth w/ Angella MacEwen

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2021 69:37


    CUPE economist Angella MacEwen (@amacewen) joins the Boys to discuss her new book co-written with NDP policy director Jonathan Gauvin as well as childcare and industrial policy. The book mentioned was Alain Deneault's "Canada: A New Tax Haven: How the Country that Shaped Caribbean Offshore Jurisdictions is Becoming One Itself." Angella and Jonathan's book is "Share the Wealth: How We Can Tax the Super-Rich and Create a Better Country for Everyone," available wherever fine books are sold.

    Episode 110 - Inflated Expectations

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2021 62:53


    Professor Kevin Milligan of UBC joins us once more for a discussion of his time at the Privy Council Office during the pandemic and a quick look at the macroeconomic outlook.

    Episode 109 - This is the Winter of our Content

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2021 56:46


    Made glorious summer by this sun of podcasting. The Boys are joined by Open Media's Laura Tribe (@ltribe) to talk about what's going on with Bill C-10. Note re factual error: Hansard blues are in fact available 'live'... but only from the Parliamentary precinct, an important fact that Laurent forgot about

    Episode 108 - Points Card Trailblazers

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2021 85:01


    The boys discuss budget, O'Toole Bucks, and pandemic response.

    Episode 107.5 - Special Edition - Wonks and War Rooms

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2021 42:06


    Special cross over episode with the Wonks and War Rooms podcast: "Where political communication theory meets on the ground strategy. Host, Professor Elizabeth Dubois, picks a political communication theory, explains it to a practitioner, and then they have a chat about whether or not it makes sense at all out in the world of politics and communications. She chats with political staffers, journalists, comms experts, lobbyists, activists and other political actors. Elizabeth quizzes them on pol comm theory and they tell her how ridiculous (or super helpful) that theory actually is." https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/wonks-and-war-rooms/id1533275521

    Episode 107 - The Woopsie of the Millennium

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2021 73:19


    The Boys talk Lobbying Act, the Auditor General's pandemic preparedness report, and the weird accountability vacuum at the heart of government.

    Episode 106 - The Case for an Electromagnetic Pulse Strike on Political Data

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2021 74:20


    The Boys mark the one year pandemicversary, and talk about why political data operations should be EMP'd. Also other stuff in between.

    Episode 105 - Pellet Guns and Housing Runs

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2021 48:33


    The Boys take aim at a strange change made in the new firearms bill and a whiffed call by the CMHC.

    Episode 104 - Hard Now to Accept Reassurances That We Are Prepared

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2021 71:10


    The Boys talk Tories, Greens, Bloc and the cutting insight of Dr. Marcus Powlowski, MP.

    Episode 103 - A Tale of Two Premiers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2021 66:52


    It was most definitely the worst of times. The Boys talk the shuffle and what it means for Liberaldom, the prospect of a coming election, and the governing and political styles of Jason Kenney and Doug Ford.

    Episode 102 - Full Grinch Mode

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2020 67:22


    Laurent and Etienne go full Grinch mode with a blistering listener Q&A episode. This is probably the last one of the year. http://www.clioscurrent.com/blog/2015/9/8/vfj07rtg8hm8edjnxjckz47xa6pux4

    Episode 101 - One Too Many Dalmatians, Frankly

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2020 72:29


    The Boys talk video games, the fall economic statement, government HR, and vaccines.

    Episode 100 - Second Wave Blues

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2020 54:40


    The Boys discuss the absence of a fiscal update/mandate letters, a suggestion to radically empower provincial public officers, some new bills, and more.

    Episode 99 - The 100th Episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2020 44:55


    The Boys talk Parliamentary trench warfare.

    Episode 98 - Hail to the Space Queen

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2020 59:07


    The Boys talk Speech from the Throne, testing (again), the Green Party leadership and what's on in Parliament.

    Episode 97 - Testing, Testing

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2020 58:39


    The Boys talk Wave 2 and the Tories' new Shadow Cabinet.

    Episode 96 - Conservative Leadership - A Boys in Short Pants Short

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2020 37:50


    Join the Boys for their first-ever actually shorter episode about the Conservative leadership race results.

    Episode 95 - Prorogued!

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2020 68:15


    The Boys talk WE, Morneau, and surprise prorogation. We don't talk about New Brunswick - sorry!

    Episode 94 - Dog Days

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2020 53:41


    The Boys discuss the state of Ottawa summer, WE, and lobbying arcana. More about kveik, if you're interested https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2019/7/22/a-fire-being-kindled-the-revolutionary-story-of-kveik-norways-extraordinary-farmhouse-yeast?fbclid=IwAR2_zAoBRErLo7C3yEmpjyMuzjkAm-lHhTYa3ndmOZ5qOINWVky9edVKzvI

    Episode 93 - RCMP to WE

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2020 69:25


    This week, the Boys allegedly discuss the fiscal snapshot, the RCMP/policing, and the WErfuffle. Allegedly.

    Episode 92 - Security Council, Insecurity Complex

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2020 73:05


    The Boys are joined by uOttawa PhD candidate Caroline Dunton (@caredunton) to discuss what happened with Canada's Security Council bid. Was it a vanity project? What would the upside have been? All this and more, answered! Re Etienne's constant allusions to Global Affairs' crystal supply, in 2018, the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation learned through Access to Information that the department had spent $127,000 on crystal glassware since 2016.

    Episode 91 - CORVEE-19

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2020 52:43


    Etienne's yard work obligations have stretched out our recording windows out of all reason - our apologies (really just Etienne's). The Boys talk the Deal, the Tory leadership race, and the Rainville-Carbonneau Political Staffer Persistence Theory (or 'Roach Theory').

    Episode 90 - Short, Rump, and Barebones: Canada's Virtual Parliament

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2020 68:08


    The Boys talk Virtual Parliament, the WHO and the value of expertise, and what's going on with provincial reopening plans.

    Episode 89 - Where In The World Is The Minister of National Revenue?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2020 43:47


    The Boys talk administrative capacity, accountability, and perils and pitfalls of city living.

    Episode 88 - Podcasting in the Time of COVID

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2020 73:53


    The Boys talk uhhh what do you think

    Episode 87 - Canada's Tokugawa Period

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2020 71:36


    The Boys talk House of Commons Committees, the Conservative leadership race, and the emerging displacement of Emperor Trudeau by his Shogun, Chrystia Freeland. 'Hustings' comes from Old English through Old Norse, and means "house thing," where "thing" means an assembly.

    Episode 86 - Teck M9ne

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2020 47:03


    This might be our dumbest episode name yet!

    Episode 85 - Resumption of Regular Service

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2020 51:51


    We're back! Again! Not a lot has happened. We talk about the CPC leadership race and some other stuff.

    Episode 84 - The Big Shift in 20/20 Hindsight

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2019 69:58


    The Boys, in the last episode of the decade, discuss the Conservative leadership race and the state of the putative Big Shift.

    Episode 83 - Everyone's a Critic

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2019 63:13


    Ain't that the truth, folks.

    Episode 82 - Cabinet and Those Working Hard to Join It

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2019 63:33


    The Boys break down the new Liberal Cabinet in this first part of an exciting two-part presentation of the lay of the federal land ahead of the beginning of the 43rd Parliament. We don't actually talk about parliamentary secretaries as implied in the title, sorry. (Laurent flubs the episode number right at the beginning, also sorry.)

    Episode 81 - Parliament's Not-All-That Seedy Underbelly

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2019 43:56


    Paul Thomas joins us to discuss all-party groups of all sorts.

    Episode 80 - And We're Back

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2019 68:17


    We're good again. Awoouuu (wolf howl) Hung parliament am i right folks?

    Episode 79 - Papers Mario II

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2019 63:21


    You already know what it is. See you in October!

    Episode 78 - Warren Peace

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2019 40:45


    The Boys talk pre-election nuts and bolts, and where in the world the Greenmentum went.

    Episode 77 - The Other Place

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2019 67:23


    The Boys are joined by Chris Reed, long time political staff and Senate expert to discuss the "other place", no not that one. . .

    Episode 76 - Cullen' It Quits

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2019 51:41


    The Boys are joined by retiring, long-time NDP MP Nathan Cullen for a wide-ranging coversation. Enjoy! Laurent gets the episode number wrong right at the beginning, also.

    boys laurent quits ndp mp nathan cullen
    Episode 75 - The Intern's Lament

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2019 41:13


    Etienne and Laurent do a potpourri episode of outstanding odds and ends in anticipation of circling back to big issues. Also Hugo the Intern makes his most striking contribution yet. Etienne's Policy Options piece: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/march-2019/why-expand-the-cooling-off-period-for-public-office-holders/

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