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Politics these days can seem like one big shouting match. Catherine Cullen cuts through the noise. Every Saturday she makes politics make sense, taking you to Parliament Hill and across Canada for in-depth interviews, documentaries and analysis of the week’s news — from across the political spectrum. Because democracy is a conversation, and we’re here for it.

CBC’s new weekly podcast, Two Blocks from the White House, takes a clear-eyed look at what’s happening in the U.S. right now and what it means for Canadians. This week CBC’s Katie Simpson, reporting from Minnesota since the weekend, joins Paul Hunter and Willy Lowry to unpack the human toll and political consequences of the unrest in Minneapolis and examine what this moment could mean for both Trump’s broader immigration strategy and his 2026 prospects.Find and follow Two Blocks from the White House wherever you get your podcasts, or here: https://link.mgln.ai/2BFTWHxTheHouse

It was a speech heard around the world. In front of global leaders, Prime Minister Mark Carney laid bare Canada's new foreign policy vision: Middle powers need to team up — or they'll be on the menu for hegemons like Russia, China and the United States.Two former diplomats — American Ambassador Tom Shannon, who at one point held the third-highest rank in the U.S. foreign service, and Canadian Senator Peter Boehm, who has served as a G7 sherpa — discuss the significance of the Carney doctrine and whether Canada will pay a price for standing up to Donald Trump. Then, former Republican Senator Jeff Flake talks to The House about what it will take for some members of his party to stand up to Trump and whether Carney’s speech is resonating in the United States. Plus, Germany's ambassador to Canada Tjorven Bellmann explains what her country thinks about Carney's call to action.There's also a question of what actions Carney will take to match his words. Catherine Cullen asks International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu what the government plans to do next and how its trade diversification efforts are going.Finally, after turning heads in Davos, Prime Minister Carney gave a second, Canadian-focused speech at the cabinet retreat in Quebec City — which has furrowed some brows at home. CBC’s Aaron Wherry lays out the domestic reverberations of Carney’s two speeches.This episode features the voices of:Tom Shannon, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.Peter Boehm, Canadian senator and former G7 sherpaJeff Flake, former Republican senator for ArizonaTjorven Bellmann, Germany's ambassador to CanadaManinder Sidhu, Minister of International TradeAaron Wherry, senior writer for CBC Politics