Podcast
Big Shiny Takes
Hosted by Big Shiny Takes · EN
The world's first and only anti-free speech podcast. Big Shiny Takes looks at the terrible columns written by the "thought-leaders" in Canada and goes through why some of these pieces should have never been published in a place where people can read them.
10episodes
Episodes
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A Big Shiny Goodbye
Mar 16, 202501:17:39Tap to summarizeIt's been an incredible run and we've read some truly terrible columns, but the time has come to say goodbye. After five years of covering the worst opinions Canadian media has to offer, Eric, Marino and Jeremy are moving on to greener pastures – hopefully there aren't any copies of the National Post lying around. Thanks to all of our guests, listeners and supporters. You made this show so much fun to do over the years.We're not going to read a column this episode, which makes this the first and only episode where we won't suffer through someone else's terrible writing. It's actually pretty nice. Make sure to stay in touch and follow us on social media to see what we're working on. EricRead Eric's work for PressProgressFollow Eric on BlueSkyFollow Eric on TikTokJeremySubscribe to The Orchard, Jeremy's SubstackRead Jeremy's work in The Progress ReportFollow Jeremy on BlueSkyFollow Jeremy on TikTokMarinoFollow Marino on BlueSkyFollow Marino on TikTokIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →Campus Manliness Crisis (ft. Dani Paradis)
Jan 27, 202500:51:48Tap to summarizeAre Canada's universities being feminized? It's a topic that's been consuming Leigh Revers – so much so that he wrote about it at length in the bad takes newspaper of record, the National Post Men are foregoing higher education and instead chopping wood in the forest and spending all their money on beard oil. This leads to an imbalance in education levels, which fuels the ongoing birth rate epidemic. Or something like that.Edmonton-based writer and educator Dani Paradis (@DaniParadis) joins us to uncover the depth of this pressing crisis. Plugs and RecsEdmonton Edge – MacEwan students confront president over refusal to address Palestine, financial disclosuresEdmonton Edge – MacEwan University considers removing fall reading break in 2025-26National Observer – Alberta's ruling party votes to dump emissions reduction plans and embrace carbon dioxideFamily Ties: How a Ukrainian Nazi and a living witness link Canada to Ukraine today by Peter McfarlaneThe Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert CaroALSOSubscribe to The OrchardCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Jews (ft. NiceMangos)
Jan 11, 202502:09:00Tap to summarizeAt this time of increased antisemitism, who better to give Jews free advice than Dr. Order and Chaos himself, Jordan Peterson?The problem is his piece, published in the Spectator (London), is riddled with antisemitic tropes and basic misunderstandings of Jewish liturgy.Polite Conversations host Eiynah (@nicemangos) joins us to talk about why Peterson might want to sit this one out.Plugs and RecsPolite Conversations - “The Gaza Ghetto Uprising w/Rev and Reve”Polite Conversations - “Pinker’s Pernicious Politeness”The North State - “One Year of October”Tech Won’t Save Us - “Data Vampires”ALSOCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.If you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram. For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →Save our campuses (ft. Mike Litwack)
Oct 27, 202401:30:49Tap to summarizeJews are under attack on campuses! Actually, Zionism is, but that's good enough for Michael Geist to write about an apparent scourge of antisemitism at Canada's universities. We're joined by University of Alberta English and film professor Mike Litwack (@mikeylitwack) to take a look at a piece that purports that nobody who supports Israel can feel bad about things, ever.Plugs and RecsRifqa by Mohammed El-KurdGet Ghassan Kanafani: Selected political writings, OUT NOW!Keep an eye out for Muna Saleh's study on anti-Palestinian racism in the Edmonton school system ALSOCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →We Might Have Committed Some Light Treason (Ft. Nora Loreto)
Aug 9, 202400:58:50Tap to summarizeFancying himself some sort of Judge Dredd of protecting Canadian culture, Christopher Dummitt writes in a special to the National Post how such actions as land acknowledgments or taking a plaque down in an art gallery are giving China an edge. Canadian patriot Nora Loreto joins us to explain why having a deep-seated sense of national pride probably doesn't matter that much.Plugs and RecsNora Loreto | SubstackA political podcast. Just Listen. | Sandy & Nora Talk Politics (sandyandnora.com)Reserve The Social Safety Net – Canada in Decline Book One by Nora LoretoPathways Alliance knows it can’t back up its claims | Canada's National Observer: Climate News by Jeremy AppelUK ‘tried to suppress criticism’ of alleged UAE role in arming Sudan’s RSF militia | The GuardianAs Revue Cinema faces closure, the fight to save Toronto culture reaches crisis point | The Globe and MailALSOCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →Full Bisexual Panic! (Ft. Sarah Rieger)
Jul 10, 202401:21:28Tap to summarize"Are all these bisexuals for real? Or is this 'el gee bee tee cue' stuff just a fashionable trend? I'm just asking questions." That is about the extent of the analysis in this week's column from the Phoebe Maltz Bovy in Globe and Mail. Nevertheless, we torture ourselves and writer/pal Sarah Rieger by unpacking it. Join us for yet another incoherent boomer moment.Plugs and RecsListen to Expats & Allies | A Podcast on Nazi RefugeesThe Hoser | Taking On a Grocery Empire: Understanding the Loblaw BoycottSurveillance and interference: Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposedDiddy’s Ex-Friends, Bad Boy Artists Detail Alleged Abuse, ViolenceWatch I Saw the TV GlowGo volunteer! If nothing else, there's likely free pizza.ALSOCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →Big Joe Goes to Little Oakville (ft. Scott Martin)
Jun 10, 202401:03:31Tap to summarizeOakville Town Hall is under siege from a red scourge and Sun journalist Joe Warmington is on the case after a hot tip. Can the People's Champion make sense of the situation? Will anyone talk some sense into these misguided youngsters? Freelance journalist Scott Martin (@YouCaughtScott) helps us unpack what really went on that day, since Joe failed to notice that he was actually just at the Fightback table at a pro-Palestine rally. Plugs and RecsScott Martin - The Catch (readthecatch.ca)Read Resisting Eviction by Andrew CrosbyRead Blackshirts And Reds by Michael ParentiNew 9/11 Evidence Points to Deep Saudi Complicity - The AtlanticSpacing | Canadian Urbanism Uncovered | SpacingWatch Trailer Park BoysALSOCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →In Defence of Galen Weston (ft. Luke Savage)
May 26, 202400:48:22Tap to summarizeStop being mean to grocer oligarchs. Stop it! We're warning you. You should be thanking them, they stock your treats and only gouge you a to a moderate degree. Everybody's gotta make a living, and besides, they're probably creating your job anyway.Toronto-based writer Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) joins us to take in the view from the National Post and be properly tut-tutted as we learn about the success story that is Galen Weston being born at the right time.Plugs & Recs (The Rinse)Buy The Dead Center by Luke Savage from your local booksellerWatch Eric talk Loblaw boycott on This is Vancolour Is a previously unheard-of First Nation just Canada’s latest Pretendian case? | The GuardianCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookLuke says read War and Peace, Marino says read One Piece. Go to your library! Rex Murphy, sharp-witted intellectual and columnist, dies of cancer | National Post (lol)If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →My Name Is Joe Roberts, I Work for the State (Ft. Noah Kulwin)
May 18, 202401:06:01Tap to summarizeAmerican icon Noah Kulwin (@nkulw) joins the pod to talk about one of the most obnoxious Twitter personalities of the past several months, Joe Roberts. Roberts, co-founder of the Democratic Socialists of America - Canada and former co-host of New Left Radio, has gone full neocon since Oct. 7. So much so that he wrote a column for the National Post, where he's now a regular contributor, waxing nostalgic about George W. Bush, the guy everyone famously loves. Oh, and Sarah Palin too, because he's trying that hard. Plugs & Recs (The Rinse)Anatomy of a Moral Panic - Jewish CurrentsPol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare - Phillip ShortThe Artist's Way - Julia CameronBound (1996), dir. WachowskisUniversity Of Toronto Encampment Organizers Call For Community Support Thursday Eve: "We Will Not Leave" - The HoserCheck out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerBuy Jeremy's bookIf you enjoyed this episode make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts, and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram. For more Big Shiny Takes, sign up to our bonus feed here.If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
Transcribe →The Birthrate Episode (ft. Stephen Magusiak)
May 8, 202400:56:58Tap to summarizeWe love whinging about the fertility rate, don't we folks? The implications are grave, lowered birth rates could mean fewer DoorDash employees to bring columnists treats. BST Institute fellow Stephen @Magusiak of @pressprogress returns to pick apart a Globe and Mail opinion piece by John Ibbitson. According to Ibby, the ever-dwindling number of babies Canada produces threatens to tear the country apart. Scary stuff!Plugs & Recs (The Rinse)Get news coverage from PressProgress: Sign up for the ShiftWork newsletter and listen to the Sources Podcast Columbia Professor Shai Davidai's Family Tied to Weapons Manufacturing - CounterPunch.orgViolent Crackdown at Land Day March - The Grind MagazineDozens of International Students Are Dying in Canada. The Federal Government Isn’t Doing Anything. (pressprogress.ca)Check out UnriggedThe Hoser's Grocery TrackerIf you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
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