Former federal Liberal cabinet minister Sergio Marchi joins Steve to discuss his book, Pursuing a Public Life: How to Succeed in the Political Arena, the fragile state of our democracy, the rise of polarization and cynicism, his 30 years in politics as a city councillor, MP, cabinet minister, and ambassador, and how to survive and succeed in a political climate that has become nastier and more divided.

Ontario’s 20th Premier David Peterson joins Steve on stage at The Pearson Centre to look back on his early life, his father’s politics, and “why the more you have, the more you owe.” They also discuss any regrets he had as premier, the Human Rights Code, the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, the separatist scars in Canada today, the state of Ontario’s Liberals in 2025, and what’s next for David Peterson at 82. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaikinP...

Dan Dunsky joins Janice Stein to discuss why the news seems to be driving us crazy, how our brains are being hijacked, how digital media has created a "constitution of confusion,” the erosion of institutional trust, the collapse of the post-war liberal world order, and how exactly we can stay informed without going mad. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaikinPodcast X: x.com/ThePaikinPod INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/thepaikinpodcast BLUESKY: bsky.app/pro...

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols joins Steve to discuss Trump’s “ghoulish” comments about Rob and Michele Reiner’s murders, if this is a new low for him, how he sees the Trump administration as a “confederacy of toddlers,” if Trump is losing his grip on the Republican Party, the growing rift within the GOP, the resentments Americans feel, and what happens after Trump. Is it possible for someone to restore the guardrails that Trump has obliterated? Is it possible for someone to win an election on r...

Tony Keller joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss his book “Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong,” the historical consensus on immigration, the rise in levels under Trudeau, the temporary foreign workers program, if the Canadian consensus on immigration has been broken, where we are now, and what it will take to recapture that consensus. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.yout...

Bob Rae recently stepped down as Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations. He joins Steve to discuss his five years at the UN, how America has left “the democracy club,” the Orwellian world Canada is entering, and the danger and uncertainty of this geopolitical era. They also consider the Israel-Gaza war, Canada’s decision to recognize Palestine, the Russia-Ukraine War, dealing with the Trump administration, his dispute with China over their persecution of ethnic Muslim Uighurs, and what’s n...

Paul Grod from the Ukrainian World Congress joins Janice Stein to discuss if there is an end in sight to the Ukraine War, the prospects of a peace deal, how Putin has become stronger since the war began, Trump’s national security plan, how the US has turned its back on Europe, Putin’s messianic vision for the Russian Empire, Witkoff’s “real estate” worldview, and where this all leaves Zelenskyy and Ukraine four years into this illegal and immoral war. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE:...

During the pandemic Cait Alexander was brutally assaulted and almost killed by her then partner. He was soon out on bail, continued to intimidate her, and was never convicted because it took too long to go to trial. She joins Steve to share her horrifying experience with intimate partner violence, why she thinks Canada needs bail reform, and how the Canadian justice system failed her. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaikinPodcast X: x.com/ThePaikinPod IN...

The Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss Steven Guilbeault’s resignation from Carney’s cabinet, the pipeline MOU, how close we actually are to building a new pipeline, if the Carney Liberals are governing like conservatives, the new climate change consensus in Canadian politics, and if Canadians still care about climate change. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaikinPodcast X: x.com/ThePaikinPod INST...

"The Good Doctor" Freddie Highmore and David Shore join Steve for a live taping of the podcast to discuss their hit ABC show, its seven-season run, how to get the character of an autistic doctor right, why Shore did not want Shaun Murphy to be TV’s “autistic character” but a particular individual, and the possibility of a “House” crossover. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePaikinPodcast X: x.com/ThePaikinPod INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/thepaikinpodcast...

Economists Armine Yalnizyan and Kaylie Tiessen join Steve for a live taping at the CSA conference to discuss the budget, if it addresses the economic needs of Canadians, the growing threat to Canadian workers, upskilling, the service sector, the crisis in the “care” economy that comprises 36% of the GDP, the growth of private equity in the care economy, Canada’s industrial strategy, and why we need to realize we are in a state of economic war. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: h...

Hugh Laurie surprised David Shore, the creator of “House,” at the Forest City Film Festival in London, Ontario. Steve joined them on stage to discuss the creation of House more than two decades ago, the decision to cast Laurie, how they “hit it off fairly quickly,” if they ever argued about dialing back House’s curmudgeonliness, what made House such a memorable character, how he was based on David Shore, and after 177 episodes together what stays with them the most. Follow The Paikin P...

David Moscrop joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss the federal budget, if they thought it might not pass, if this budget was truly "transformational," how exactly this government can simultaneously "invest more" and "spend less," the "energizer bunny" Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and the usual "Good On Ya" round highlighting a politician from the past couple weeks. Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: https://www.yo...

Canada’s Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne joins Steve to discuss the budget, if it was truly “transformational,” if it was an “elbows up” budget, how to deal with Donald Trump, why they didn’t cut taxes on all new home purchases, if this budget favors older people at the expense of younger folks, why they didn’t scale back the old age supplement, and how to keep auto plants in Canada. They also look at the curious case of a budget speech mentioning immigration numerous times, h...

Steve goes back to school. In this case to a Canadian Studies class at Harvard where he interviewed Justice Rosalie Abella about her early life, being born in a displaced persons camp in post-WWII Europe in 1946, how she knew at a very young age she wanted to be a lawyer, the difference between the Supreme Courts in Canada and the United States, originalism versus a “living tree” interpretation of constitutions, and how we should understand just what exactly is happening in the US Supreme Cou...

Former MP and Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole joins Janice Stein to discuss the historically huge increase in military spending from last week’s budget, what we should focus spending it on, whether we should buy submarines or drones, why we need a Made-in-Canada approach, if we should take the 51st state rhetoric seriously, if we are on the precipice of war with either Russia or China, how to assert our sovereignty in the Arctic, the end of the rules-based order and globalization, and ...

Avi Lewis joins Steve to discuss his NDP leadership bid, why he wants to be the leader of a party that 94% of Canadian voters rejected in the last election, the decline of the NDP since Jack Layton, how Trudeau passed the NDP on the left, if Jagmeet Singh was a good leader, and why the NDP needs to return to its roots as a “working-class” party. They also get into if the party focussed too much on identity politics, why the populist right has captured all those voters who also believe t...

Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson join Steve to discuss their new book, Breaking Point: The New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk, how the country is in the middle of the greatest political crisis it has ever faced, the rising anger young people feel about housing prices and gig jobs, Trudeau’s failures as a prime minister, and how he destroyed the Canadian consensus on immigration. They also discuss the growing regional tensions in Quebec and the Prairies, the looming threat of Trump and tar...

Trump’s 20-point peace plan includes disarming Hamas, an international stabilization force, and an apolitical Palestinian transitional government. Could it work? Hussein Ibish, contributor to The Atlantic, joins Janice Stein to discuss the state of the deal, why Hamas accepted it, how Netanyahu was forced into it, why Hamas never actually wanted to govern Gaza, if the plan offers a viable long term plan for Gaza’s future, and if one of the legacies of this war is to turn Israel into a p...

Some guests need no introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, Martin Short. Steve and Martin Short discuss what it’s like being a proud Canadian in America today, Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off the air, if there is increasingly a cost to be paid for making jokes about the wrong people in America, and Mark Carney’s "elbows up" commercial with Mike Myers. Then, a deep dive into Short’s comedy career, his experience on Johnny Carson and David Letterman, making fun of Conan, his love for Diane Ke...