In the maelstrom that is modern life, we’ve lost any sense of seasonality. These days, the summer is as non-stop as any other time of the year and the long, sun-drenched days can come and go without any real rest or relaxation. But we remember a time in the not-too-distant past when July and August offered a welcome lull — a time to retreat, to recharge, to reinvent. To dream, even. The summer felt expansive, wondrous. We're convinced that this annual reprieve was essential for maintaining sanity.

So this year, we’ve decided to bring back the slow summer.

It’s been a busy 2026 so far at Lean Out, during our fifth year in operation. The newsletter has surpassed eight million views and has been on the Substack bestseller list. The podcast, meanwhile, has just published its 256th episode. Not bad for a niche Canadian outlet dedicated to heterodox non-fiction current affairs books (and sometimes articles). That’s all down to you, Lean Out’s wonderful subscribers, and we can’t thank you enough for your support.

Tara's latest book, based on the work that we’ve been doing here — and on the 2024 Massey Essay — will be released in North America at the end of this month. (Pre-orders are helpful, should you be so inclined.) The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity is already getting a great response and it has been especially gratifying to field interview requests from across the political spectrum.

Lean Out normally goes dark for three weeks in the summer, but this year we are taking an extended break as Tara promotes her new book and then takes a few weeks of much-needed time offline — hopefully in the wilds of British Columbia. All monthly payments have been paused as of today, and yearly subscriptions will be extended when we resume production in the fall.

As we slow down and reflect on the year so far — and mull over where Lean Out might go next — we'd love to hear from you on what is working and not working about this newsletter and podcast. Your feedback is most welcome.

In the meantime, our hope for all of you is that you are also able to unplug at least a bit this summer, rediscovering all of the things that make life most worth living, from nature and travel to food and family and friendship and community. And of course, good books!

We'll be doing our best to recapture that same spirit of adventure and discovery, and will share it with you all when we return in the fall.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

One of the themes of the Lean Out podcast is a crisis in confidence in the mainstream media. In a few weeks, Tara's new book on this topic will be released in the United States and Canada. The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity unpacks where the press has gone wrong — and what it needs to do to regain the public’s trust. Cardus in Ottawa hosted Tara for an event on June 9, where she was joined on-stage by a fellow Canadian journalist. We are happy to share a portion of that discussion this week.

Stuart Thomson is a Canadian journalist and the Parliamentary bureau chief for The National Post.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

It has now five years since the Kamloops band made an announcement of the discovery of the "remains of 215 children” at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, kicking off an intense period of national grief and anger. A month ago, The Globe and Mail editorial board made news around the world, declaring the national press’s lack of scrutiny of the claim a “failure of journalism.” Our guest on the program this week is an award-winning journalist who was early on this story — and he’s here to unpack its aftermath.

Terry Glavin is a Canadian journalist, an author, and a columnist for The National Post.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

It’s Canada Day and many of us are reflecting on our nation and where we are at. We know that we are more divided than ever, but how did we get here? Our guest on the program this week has just written a book on political polarization in the country. He says the roots of our divisions run deep — and the consequences are dire.

Eric Merkley is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, and director of the Policy, Elections, and Representation Lab. His new book is Polarization, Eh? The Causes and Consequences of Affective Polarization in Canada.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

On June 10, the Canadian broadcaster David Cayley passed away, surrounded by loved ones, playing bluegrass music. He died in the Toronto home that he had shared with his wife for the past 42 years. It was a home that I had just begun visiting him at in recent months, drinking coffee and talking about books and ideas. David was a brilliant mind, a generous person, a fearless soul. As his friend and former executive producer Bernie Lucht told me this week, “David simply did not accept standing narratives.”

I had great admiration and respect for him. I am happy to replay our recent interview, in tribute to David and all that he was. You can hear his smile in voice.

David Cayley was a Canadian broadcaster. He was a husband and a father and a grandfather, and a friend to many. For thirty years, he made documentaries for the CBC Radio program Ideas. He was also the author of eight books. His last was The CBC: How Canada’s Public Broadcaster Lost Its Voice (And How to Get It Back).

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

On October 19, citizens in the province of Alberta will vote on whether they want to proceed with a referendum on separating from the rest of Canada. Our guest on the program this week has written a new book about the history of these tensions — and why they have now come to a head.

Tyler Dawson is an opinion editor at The Globe and Mail. His new book is The Republic of Alberta: An Idea That Won’t Go Away.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

The big news in Canada this week has been The Globe and Mail editorial board’s admission that the industry and the paper bungled the unmarked graves story from 2021 — that this in fact constituted a journalistic failure.

In light of this, we are bringing you an episode of Tara's media criticism podcast with The Hub, Full Press, from last week, which took stock of how we in the Canadian media got this story so wrong. This is an especially important conversation, now that the Senate human rights committee has voted to criminalize residential school denialism, with a penalty of up to two years in prison. (UPDATE: The Canadian Senate as a whole has now voted to reject the criminalization of residential school denialism, voting 41 to 32 against it.)

Thanks for listening, and thank you to The Hub for giving us permission to re-air this episode.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

You wouldn’t think that a woman declaring that she is into men would a subversive act — but at some point during recent years, this became the case in certain circles. Particularly online feminist circles. Our guest on the program this week has written a new book on female heterosexuality and she says it’s time we acknowledge that the vast majority of women are, in fact, straight.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a Toronto cultural critic. She is the opinion editor for The Canadian Jewish News and co-host of the Feminine Chaos podcast. Her new book is The Last Straight Woman — On Desiring Men.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com