In today’s episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on January 23rd, 2026, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson are finally reunited after a long absence. Matt briefly explains where he’s been (you can see his full statement here) and thanks The Line’s audience for their patience and support before the conversation turns to the biggest stories of the week. As Jen notes, it’s a perfect moment for Matt to be back. With sudden, serious talk about insurgency, warfare, geopolitical conflict, guns, emergency preparedness, and civil defence, all the subjects Matt has been nerding out about for decades have abruptly become relevant. She jokes that it would have been a shame for him to miss this moment, especially as the Canadian military has quietly been gaming out insurgency and resistance scenarios in the unlikely but no-longer-unthinkable event of a U.S. invasion. Matt, unsurprisingly, has a few thoughts.

From there, the hosts turn to Mark Carney’s speech in Davos. Jen argues it was really aimed at a European audience and may have doubled as a victory lap. Matt agrees, but adds that Washington was clearly part of the intended audience as well. Still, both hosts think the most important audience is here at home. Everyone seems to agree that major changes are coming and that major changes are needed. The open question is who is going to start proposing them, especially the ones that will be politically painful.

Finally, Matt and Jen dig into comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggesting Alberta wants to join the United States. Jen is skeptical. Matt, meanwhile, wonders how nice it would be if Canada had a reliable way of noticing when large amounts of foreign money were flowing into the country to influence domestic politics. It’s a pity, really, that we haven’t already spent years seriously debating foreign interference in Canadian democracy.

In any case, your hosts are happy to be back together. Enjoy all this and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. Check us out at ReadTheLine.ca, and as always, like and subscribe.

Today on On The Line, host Jen Gerson sits down with economics professor and founding Director of McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy Chris Ragan. They talk about a story that has been absolutely buried under an avalanche of news -- the threatened indictment of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome (Jay) Powell.

Last week Powell put out a statement stating flatly that the Trump administration is abusing the courts in order to put pressure on the independence of the fed.

What does that mean, exactly? Why does it matter? And what are the political and economic implications of the US central bank whose independence is increasingly under pressure? We get right into it today on On The Line.

Canada agrees to cut its tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products and Ontario premier Doug Ford is positively pissed. In this week's episode of The Line Podcast, host Jen Gerson sits down with The Line Alberta's Rob Breakenridge at the Saskatchewan Crops Forum. This is a live taping of the podcast that took place, and what a topical moment as they were there to discuss China, tarifs, and agriculture just as Prime Minister Mark Carney conducted his delegation to China to ease tense trade relations between the two countries as the friendship between Canada and America continues to fray.

The two Calgarians also lament the city's ongoing water restrictions, and the city's report outlining its failures.

Today on On The Line, host Jen Gerson speaks with Heather Exner-Pirot, the Director of Energy and National Resources and Environment at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute. Exner-Pirot does her damndest to check some of Gerson's rampant New Year's depression as they discuss the U.S. abduction of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. It may be bad news for the Venezuelans -- every hour seems to provide greater evidence for America's own greedy intentions and poorly thought out after-plan. However, she's not worried about what this will mean for Canada's own industry. In some ways, she's outright optimistic that the Americans will come around from their current trajectory. Gerson is not so convinced. You decide.

In this episode of The Line Podcast, hosts Jen Gerson and Andrew Potter discuss trade, immigration, and the attempts to "Globalize the Intifada." Firstly, on the trade file, US trade rep Jamieson Greer has issued a list of grievances. The Americans are villainously committed to giving Canadians more options for eggs, chicken, and dairy. StatsCan shows a dramatic drop in immigration as the LIberals reign in a system gone pear shaped. And lastly, what do the young think "Globalize the Intifada" really means?

Today on On The Line, host Jen Gerson talks to Brandon Forsyth, long time book buyer at Indigo. They chat about the hottest books heading into the Christmas season which, if you're anything like us, you are absolutely not yet prepared for. He's a list of kids' books, fiction, and non-fiction for the readers in your life.

(Note, no, we at The Line are not taking any cuts for any of the books suggested. We just like books and reading. And if your family is like ours, books are pretty much what you all give to one another anyway.)

Books mentioned:

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/dont-trust-fish/9780593616673.html

InvestiGators by John Patrick Green https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/investigators/9781250219954.html

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/impossible-creatures---indigo-exclusive-edition/9781774888957.html

The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-poisoned-king---indigo-exclusive-edition/9781774888964.html

The Secret Of Secrets by Dan Brown https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-secret-of-secrets-a-novel/9780385546898.html

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/wild-dark-shore-reeses-book-club-pick-a-novel/9781250827951.html

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/heated-rivalry-now-streaming-on-crave-and-hbo-max/9781335534637.html

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-wealthy-barber-2025-indigo-exclusive-the-fully-updated-all-time-canadian-classic/9781068975004.html

What A Ride by Andrew Podnieks https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/what-a-ride-the-thrilling-toronto-blue-jays-of-2025/9781552673973.html

Book Of Lives by Margaret Atwood https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/book-of-lives-a-memoir-of-sorts/9780771096433.html

The Prime Ministers by JRM Stewart https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/the-prime-ministers-canadas-leaders-and-the-nation-they-shaped/9781998365777.html

In Today's The Line Podcast, recorded Dec. 12, 2025, host Jen Gerson is joined by special guest Andrew Potter to discuss this country's culture of complacency. We were once a nation that put its engineering achievements -- such as the Syncrude oil sands on a stamp. Now, the very idea that we should strive to be a culture that builds things, grows, and prospers has been sublimated by a culture that prizes symbolic action and good intentions over good outcomes.

They talk about the curious case of B.C. passing laws that then have an effect on laws. Seven years ago, the province implemented DRIPA, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People drafted by the U.N. -- despite concerns that the law would be used to undermine B.C.'s own legislation. The law was essentially null in force, a symbolic gesture, the province's NDP government assured at the time. Until, of course, it wasn't. Oops.

Lastly, they discuss the future of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who just lost another MP to floor crossing. Will the leader be able to survive if the Liberals chip away at enough of the Conservative caucus to form a majority? And, perhaps more importantly, is Pierre Poilievre a winner?

In this episode of On The Line, host Matt Gurney is joined by Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs. Darrell and Matt have both just returned from the Halifax International Security Forum, where Darrell presented a major new global survey to policymakers, military leaders, and security experts from around the world. Matt and Darrell walk through the findings and what they reveal about how people are thinking about security in 2025.

The survey spans tens of thousands of respondents across dozens of countries, capturing public attitudes on personal safety, geopolitical risk, great-power tensions, cyber threats, and the fragility of the international order. Darrell explains which fears are rising, which regions are most anxious, and why public confidence in institutions continues to erode. He and Matt also discuss where the public is ahead of political leaders, where it may be misinformed, and what this means for democracies trying to navigate an increasingly unstable world.

The conversation turns to why global anxiety is becoming a kind of background condition, what the survey suggests about Canada’s place in the world, and how governments should respond when citizens see danger everywhere but trust almost no one to handle it. They also talk about the challenge Donald Trump poses to Canada — especially because he's asked some fair questions for which we don't have good answers.

Oh, and also — if you enjoy this, you'll enjoy Darrell's new book. Check it out!

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