Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
The Champlain Society
349 episodes
3 days ago
Greg Marchildon speaks with Ron Graham about his book, The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973-1981. Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, “a political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.” The man who “exercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,” Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume that offers an astonishing, behind-the-scenes look into public events and private lives during some of the most dramatic years in Canadian history.
Ron Graham is an author and journalist based in Toronto. He has written extensively over many decades on Canadian politics, history, religion, business, and culture.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
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Greg Marchildon speaks with Ron Graham about his book, The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973-1981. Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, “a political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.” The man who “exercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,” Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume that offers an astonishing, behind-the-scenes look into public events and private lives during some of the most dramatic years in Canadian history.
Ron Graham is an author and journalist based in Toronto. He has written extensively over many decades on Canadian politics, history, religion, business, and culture.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
The Spiritualist Prime Minister: Volume 1: Mackenzie King and the New Revelation
Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
29 minutes 30 seconds
1 month ago
The Spiritualist Prime Minister: Volume 1: Mackenzie King and the New Revelation
Larry Ostola speaks with Anton Wagner about his book, The Spiritualist Prime Minister: Volume 1: Mackenzie King and the New Revelation, along with the author of the foreword, Walter Meyer zu Erpen. The Spiritualist Prime Minister by Anton Wagner is a groundbreaking two-volume biography that reveals the deep influence of Spiritualism and the occult on William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest-serving Prime Minister. Based on ten years of meticulous research, Wagner documents over 130 of King’s interactions with mediums, psychics, and other spiritual practitioners. King’s primary motivation was to communicate with his deceased mother and close associates, often consulting spiritualists during pivotal moments in his political career, including the Great Depression and World War II. The biography situates King’s beliefs within the broader international context of early 20th-century Spiritualism, referencing figures like Arthur Conan Doyle. Wagner’s work offers a detailed psychological portrait of King, exploring both his mystical pursuits and controversial views, including instances of racism and antisemitism. Richly illustrated and thoroughly researched, this biography provides new insights into the private life and decision-making of one of Canada’s most influential leaders.
Anton Wagner is a founding executive member of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research, editor of ten books on Canadian theatre, and an accomplished researcher, writer, and documentary filmmaker.
Walter Meyer zu Erpen is president and archivist of the Survival Research Institute of Canada.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
Greg Marchildon speaks with Ron Graham about his book, The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973-1981. Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, “a political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.” The man who “exercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,” Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume that offers an astonishing, behind-the-scenes look into public events and private lives during some of the most dramatic years in Canadian history.
Ron Graham is an author and journalist based in Toronto. He has written extensively over many decades on Canadian politics, history, religion, business, and culture.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
