So the first full-year of The North State has wrapped up. What a time it's been! This podcast has interviewed journalists from Karyn Pugliese, to Rachel Gilmore, to Sarah Samuel and not to mention that one that happened recently. But since Scott's always the one asking the questions, it's that rare time of year where you can pose them to him. Eric Wickham, Ontario reporter for PressProgress and podcast producer extraordinaire, joins The North State to look at the year in review, the state of news media, his contentious interview with a certain indie media figure and pose your questions to the host.

Follow Eric on Bluesky and TikTok.

Check out his reporting for PressProgress.

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading at:

https://readthecatch.ca/the-north-state-q-a-fest-2025-ft-eric-wickham-podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a tumultuous year in Canadian federal politics, it seemed that the 2025 Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner was geared for virality before it even began.Then NDP interim leader Don Davies stole the show with his self-deprecating humour. Pierre Poilievre stunned with his other-deprecating humour. But these moments lead us to assume that the relationship between politicians and the press is, after all is said and done, a cordial affair. This assumption blankets the dinner and leads to some questionable outcomes. Rachel Gilmore, independent journalist at Bubblepop Media, joins Scott to discuss her experience with the event, how it shows legacy journalism's coziness with politicians and how a room full of journalists laughing at jokes made at the expense of marginalized people may, in fact, be bad.

Submit your questions for the Q&A here!

Check out Bubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/killjoys-ruin-parliamentary-press-gallery-dinner-ft-rachel-gilmore-podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the course of the past two years, Jesse Brown, founder, editor and publisher at CANADALAND has lost the trust of many journalists in the industry, especially me. His behaviour and approach to journalism has shaken multiple contributors and former employees to the point where they have left his project. He has attempted to reconcile with this perception in the lead up to his new series, What Is Happening Here?, a podcast exploring antisemitism in Canada since the Oct. 7 attacks. In this interview, Scott poses difficult questions about the process and reception to his new podcast.

CORRECTION: Scott refers to "nine percent" at one point when referring to the "nine times more likely" statistic. He also refers to a report by Statistics Canada comparing crime between the US and Canada with incorrect dates. The report (included in the sources for this episode) is from 1998 to 2023. We regret these errors.

Submit your questions for the Q&A here!

Follow Scott on Bluesky

Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/accounts-and-accountability-ft-jesse-brown-podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.