A Cultural History of Canada
A bi-weekly discussion that critically (and sometimes flippantly) engages with the literature, culture, and people that helped inform Canada's unique history. Hosted by two English Literature graduate students Patrick & Mackenzy. Sometimes features interviews with writers and academics in Canada. Named on Feedspot's "20 Best Canada History Podcasts" (#4), "20 Best Cultural History Podcasts" (#2), and "30 Best History Podcasts For Students" (#6). Named best podcast of all time by their mothers!
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94 - Eugenics & Social Darwinism
04/22/2024
94 - Eugenics & Social Darwinism
In which our heroes talk about the shockingly pervasive ideas about eugenics in the early 20th century and how they still pop up today. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook ( ---Sources/Further Reading: Dodd, Dianne. "eugenics." The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, Oxford University Press, 2004. McLaren, Angus. Our Own Master Race: Eugenics In Canada, 1885-1945, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1990.
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93 - Canada Vibing
04/08/2024
93 - Canada Vibing
Patrick is moving after coming back from a conference, Mack is still reeling from the end of semester, so we vibed by doing quizzes on Canada and talking about news bits. Back to normal in the next episode!
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The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future
03/25/2024
The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future
In which Patrick talks with wildlife biologist Wayne McCrory about the beautiful - and surprisingly controversial - wild horses of the Chilcotin region. In this compelling book, McCrory draws upon two decades of research to make a case for considering these wonderful creatures, called qiyus in traditional Tŝilhqot’in culture, a resilient part of the area’s balanced prey-predator ecosystem. McCrory also chronicles the Chilcotin wild horses’ genetic history and significance to the Tŝilhqot’in, juxtaposing their efforts to protect qiyus against movements to cull them. Find the book or at your local bookstore. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/)
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92 - The Group of Seven: Theosophy and Landscapes
03/11/2024
92 - The Group of Seven: Theosophy and Landscapes
In which we discuss the paintings and philosophy of the most famous group of painters in Canada's history -- with a short story by Margaret Atwood for good measure. Patrick also rants in the wake of Brian Mulroney's death, be warned... --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory) --- Sources/Further Reading:
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91 - Mary Pickford: The Canadian Who Shaped Hollywood
02/26/2024
91 - Mary Pickford: The Canadian Who Shaped Hollywood
In which Pat and Mack discuss who was once one of the most influential and powerful women in Hollywood history - an actress from Toronto! --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory). --- Sources/Further Reading: Brownlow, Kevin. Mary Pickford Rediscovered: Rare Pictures of a Hollywood Legend. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999.
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90 - Frank Oliver Call: Bridging Victorian & Modernist Poetry
02/12/2024
90 - Frank Oliver Call: Bridging Victorian & Modernist Poetry
In which Patrick lectures by himself about a poet whose work, Acanthus & Wild Grape, actively tried to bring Canadian poetry into the realm of modern sensibilities. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory). --- Sources/Further Reading Trehearne, Brian (editor). Canadian Poetry, 1920 to 1960, McClelland & Stewart, 2010.
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Patreon Preview: Brendan Fraser
02/05/2024
Patreon Preview: Brendan Fraser
In which Pop Canada returns to discuss Brendan Fraser, who has become one of the most acclaimed actors of the 21st century - and played in Encino Man, the greatest movie of all time. Find the full episode (and more) on Patreon! --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory).
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89 - Steveston: Pre-WW2 Japanese-Canadians
01/29/2024
89 - Steveston: Pre-WW2 Japanese-Canadians
In which Patrick talks alone in a microphone as Mack faces a cyclone! The show is going solo this week to talk a little about Japanese-Canadians and how Daphne Marlatt's Steveston interprets their history. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory). --- Sources/Further Reading
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Beryl Potter: A Life of Disability Activism (w/ Dustin Galer)
01/22/2024
Beryl Potter: A Life of Disability Activism (w/ Dustin Galer)
In which Patrick sits down with historian Dustin Galer to discuss his new book, Beryl, which explores the life and times of the famous Canadian disability activist. Find the book or at your local bookstore. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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88 - Scary Reds! Communists in Canada
01/15/2024
88 - Scary Reds! Communists in Canada
In which we unleash our anti-capitalist sides (again) to discuss how Marxism/communism was brought over into Canada, what it did and how it failed, as well as some lefty writers that sometimes are great and sometimes aren't. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); recommended reading (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: [email protected]; Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CanLitHistory). --- Sources/Further Reading Doyle, James. Progressive Heritage: The Evolution of a Politically Radical Literary Tradition in Canada, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2002.
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On Writing Compassion & Illness; with Meg Braem
12/25/2023
On Writing Compassion & Illness; with Meg Braem
Patrick sits down with playwright Meg Braem to discuss her play Flight Risk, "an empathetic exploration of grief, friendship, and hope, [which] asks what we lose when we ignore the knowledge of our elderly, challenges the way that we think about aging and death, and inspires a brighter, more compassionate future." Meg Braem is an Alberta-based playwright and dramaturg. Her plays have been nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award and have won the Alberta Literary Award for Drama, and the Alberta Playwriting Competition. Find the book or at your local bookstore. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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87 - In the Skin of a Lion: Labour Strikes & (Post) Modernism
12/18/2023
87 - In the Skin of a Lion: Labour Strikes & (Post) Modernism
In which we discuss the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike in relation to Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion (1987). We get unhinged as we discuss strike tactics, modernism/postmodernism, and Christmas. --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Sources/Further Reading: Masters, Donald C. The Winnipeg General Strike, University of Toronto Press, 1950.
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Talking to katherena vermette About Métis History & Comics
12/11/2023
Talking to katherena vermette About Métis History & Comics
In which Patrick talks to Governor General's Award winner katherena vermette to discuss how she brought Métis history to life through her comic series A Girl Called Echo. Find the omnibus at your local bookstore or . --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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86 - "Unity (1918)": The Spanish Flu Epidemic
12/04/2023
86 - "Unity (1918)": The Spanish Flu Epidemic
In which we bring back Covid-19 pandemic memories by discussing the Spanish Flu in Canada with the help of Kevin Kerr's excellent 2002 play Unity (1918). Sorry for having posted so little in November - it was pure and simple a scheduling mistake. --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Further Reading: Budgell, Anne. We All Expected to Die: Spanish Influenza in Labrador, 1918-1919, ISER, 2018.
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85 - Timothy Findley's The Wars
11/20/2023
85 - Timothy Findley's The Wars
In which two tired & sick boys try to talk coherently about Timothy Findley's major literary achievement: a reckoning with the reality of World War One in his seminal 1977 work The Wars. --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Further Reading Brydon, Diana. “‘It could not be told’: making meaning in Timothy Findley’s The Wars,” Journal of Commonwealth Literature, vol. 21, no. 2, 1986. McKay, Ian, and Jamie Swift. The Vimy Trap: Or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War, 2016.
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An Unsung Klondike Stampeder - In Conversation w/ Phil Lind & Robert Brehl
10/30/2023
An Unsung Klondike Stampeder - In Conversation w/ Phil Lind & Robert Brehl
There were some audio issues on Phil's end, but I think it's still listenable! Apologies. Patrick sits down with Phil Lind and Robert Brehl to discuss their new book Tales of an Unsung Sourdough: The Extraordinary Klondike Adventures of Johnny Lind. Phil Lind is a recipient of the Order of Canada, and the vice-chair of Rogers Communications Inc. His co-author, Robert Brehl is an award-winning journalist and author of a previous collaboration with Lind, Right Hand Man. or at your local bookstore. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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84 - Barometer Rising: WW1 At Home (and incest)
10/23/2023
84 - Barometer Rising: WW1 At Home (and incest)
In which we discuss Hugh McLennan's pivotal 1941 book Barometer Rising and how it informs our understanding of World War 1 as it was experienced in Canada.--- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( ---Sources/Further Reading: Mac Donald, Laura M. Curse of The Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917, Walker & Company, 2005. Morton, Desmond. “First World War.” The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, Oxford University Press, 2004. Woodcock, George. Introducing Hugh Maclennan's Barometer Rising: A Reader's Guide. ECW Press, 1989.
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83 - Robert L. Borden: The Good Nurse
10/09/2023
83 - Robert L. Borden: The Good Nurse
In which we discuss and rank Canada's first wartime PM, Sir Robert Laird Borden! --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( ---Sources/Further Reading:
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Unsettled: Robert Lower on Lord Selkirk's Colony
09/25/2023
Unsettled: Robert Lower on Lord Selkirk's Colony
Mack is away this week, so enjoy another interview! Patrick sits down with Winnipeg documentarian and writer, Robert Lower (After the Big One: Nuclear War on the Prairies; Shameless Propaganda) to discuss his new book Unsettled: Lord Selkirk’s Scottish Colonists. or at your local bookstore. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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Black Radicals in 1960s Montreal: David Austin on "Fear of a Black Nation"
09/18/2023
Black Radicals in 1960s Montreal: David Austin on "Fear of a Black Nation"
In which Patrick has a long discussion with David Austin to discuss the re-release of Fear of a Black Nation. "Situating Canada within the Black radical tradition and its Caribbean radical counterpart, Fear of a Black Nation paints a history of Montreal and the Black activists who lived in, sojourned in, or visited the city and agitated for change. Drawing on Saidiya Hartman’s conception of slavery’s afterlife and what David Austin describes as biosexuality – a deeply embedded fear of Black self-organization and interracial solidarity – Fear of a Black Nation argues that the policing and surveillance of Black lives today is tied to the racial, including sexual, codes and practices and the discipline and punishment associated with slavery." or at your local bookstore. --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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82 - Maria Chapdelaine: Romancing Rural Quebec
09/11/2023
82 - Maria Chapdelaine: Romancing Rural Quebec
In which we turn to a cornerstone of Quebec literature and talk about the pastoral! Written during the 1st World War, Maria Chapdelaine has become a must-read for Quebec literature students... but perhaps for the wrong reasons... --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( ---Sources/Further Reading Deschamps, Nicole. Le mythe de Maria Chapdelaine, Montréal: Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 1980. Mezei, Kathy. “Quebec Fiction: In the Shadow of Maria Chapdelaine.” College English, vol. 50, no. 8, 1988, pp. 896–903.
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81 - Woodsmen of the West: Realism in British Columbia
08/28/2023
81 - Woodsmen of the West: Realism in British Columbia
In which we discuss a milestone in Canadian realism, Woodsmen of the West (1908). What does it tell us about the early logging industry, workers' rights, and masculinity? A lot actually! --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( ---Further reading: Tippett, Maria. “Butchering the Garden of Eden: Martin Allerdale Grainger.” Made In British Columbia: Eight Ways Of Making Culture, Harbour Publishing, pp. 30-50.
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80 - Tom Longboat: A Legend in Himself
08/14/2023
80 - Tom Longboat: A Legend in Himself
In which we discuss legendary long-distance Indigenous runner Tom Longboat and try to simultaneously imagine what kind of cultural items could be made about him and his life! --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Further reading:
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Anti-Racist Action in Canada (w/ Kristin Schwartz)
08/07/2023
Anti-Racist Action in Canada (w/ Kristin Schwartz)
In which Patrick sits down with Kristin Schwartz to discuss the new book she co-wrote: We Go Where They Go: The Story of Anti-Racist Action. Kristin grew up with the Toronto chapter of ARA from 1992-2003, contributing to the long struggle against white supremacy. She went on to work in community radio and has produced several audio documentaries including Women: the Oppressed Majority (2016) The Ravaging of Africa (2007). Her writing has been published in Our Times, Canadian Dimension, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Monitor and Labour/Le Travail. or at your local bookstore! --- Support: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/historiacanadiana); Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/historiacanadiana); the recommended reading page (https://historiacanadiana.wordpress.com/books/) --- Contact: & Facebook ()
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79 - 'Bloody Jack' Krafchenko: Manitoba's Billy the Kid
07/31/2023
79 - 'Bloody Jack' Krafchenko: Manitoba's Billy the Kid
In which we talk about the idea of the Canadian "Wild West", a contender for the Billy the Kid title of Manitoba, and Dennis Cooley's Bloody Jack - all in one episode! --- Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Sources/Further Reading: Stubbs, Andrew. “Accessing the Criminal Paradise in Dennis Cooley’s Bloody Jack and Other Outlaw Fictions,” Bolder Flights: Essays on the Canadian Long Poem, ed. by Angela Robbeson and Frank Tierney, University of Ottawa Press, 1999, pp. 173-187.
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'The Tenant Class', with Ricardo Tranjan
07/23/2023
'The Tenant Class', with Ricardo Tranjan
In which Patrick sits down with Ricardo Tranjan to talk about his new book, The Tenant Class. Ricardo is a political economist and senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Previously, Tranjan managed Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and his current research is on the political economy of social policy in Canada. Ricardo holds a PhD from the University of Waterloo, where he was a Vanier Scholar. or at your local bookstore! ---Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); the recommended reading page ( ---Contact: , Twitter (@CanLitHistory) & Facebook (
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78 - 'A Discovery of Strangers': Encountering The North(west Passage)
07/16/2023
78 - 'A Discovery of Strangers': Encountering The North(west Passage)
WE'RE BACK! This time, our heroes talk about The Northwest Passage, another Rudy Wiebe novel (A Discovery of Strangers), and the meaning of the Canadian North. Your heroes haven't spoken face-to-face in a bit, so bear with the jokes please. ---Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); recommended reading ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Sources/Further Reading: Francis, Daniel. "Northwest Passage." The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, Oxford University Press, 2004.
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'Heart Berry Bling': Jenny Kay Dupuis on Indigenous Bead Work
07/02/2023
'Heart Berry Bling': Jenny Kay Dupuis on Indigenous Bead Work
In which Patrick sits down with Jenny Kay Dupuis to talk about her new book, Heart Berry Bling. Jenny is an award-winning, best-selling author, educator, artist, and well-sought after public speaker who focuses on raising awareness about Indigenous realities through literature and art. or at your local bookstore! ---Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); the recommended reading page ( ---Contact: , Twitter (@CanLitHistory) & Facebook (
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'body works': A Talk With Dennis Cooley
06/18/2023
'body works': A Talk With Dennis Cooley
In which Patrick sits down with acclaimed prairie poet Dennis Cooley to talk about his new work, body works. Find the book or at your local bookstore. ---Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); the recommended reading page ( ---Contact: , Twitter (@CanLitHistory) & Facebook (
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77 - Wilfrid Laurier: Young Tomorrow
06/04/2023
77 - Wilfrid Laurier: Young Tomorrow
In which we discuss Canada's seventh prime minister and first French-Canadian PM! We look at some caricatures that were made of the man and some of the major decisions that came up during his career! ---Support: Patreon (); Paypal (); the recommended reading page ( ---Contact: ; Facebook ( --- Caricatures: Manitoba Schools Question: and Sources & Further Reading: Bélanger, Réal. “Laurier, Wilfrid.” The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, Oxford University Press, 2004. Bliss, Michael. Right Honourable Men: The Descent of Canadian Politics from Macdonald to Mulroney, Toronto: HarperCollins, 1994.
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