There's been seemingly breathless coverage of a hantavirus outbreak that happened on a Dutch cruise ship. Everyone's asking "Is this the new COVID pandemic?" Journalists, especially. Health officials say no, but what does the coverage of hantavirus reveal when compared to that of Ebola or, more pressingly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic? Daniella Barreto, public health advocate, award-winning podcast producer and host of the podcast Public Health is Dead, joins Scott to discuss the current state of public health and how news covers these issues.

Public Health Is Dead

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/meet-the-new-pandemic-same-as-the-old-pandemic-ft-daniella-barreto-podcast

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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Five months after the CANADALAND podcast "What Is Happening Here?" concluded, The Catch published a three-part series of articles diving into the validity of its narrative. While antisemitism is certainly a real problem in Canada, Jesse Brown steers his six-part series into supporting right-wing Zionist arguments at all costs. Dr. Collin Chepeka, editor of The Hunter Street Chronicle and freelance writer, joins Scott to discuss their analysis, its purpose and what we can learn from the series that pretends to be neutral, despite it clearly having such bias.

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/analyzing-canadalands-antisemitism-series-ft-dr-collin-chepeka-podcast

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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In an April 14 story by New York Times reporter and Canada Bureau Chief Matina Stevis-Gridneff, she used AI to fabricate a quote by federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre that did not exist. In a May 1 correction, the NYT stated "The reporter should have checked the accuracy of what the A.I. tool returned." How did such a big mistake get through one of the biggest newspapers in the world? What does this say about the state of reporting at the US paper of record? When will we ever escape this nightmare? Conservation and fellowships bureau chief at The Narwhal and contributing writer to The Walrus, Michelle Cyca joins Scott to discuss the high-profile gong show.

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/nyts-canada-bureau-chief-used-ai-for-fake-poilievre-quote-ft-michelle-cyca-podcast/

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Outro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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In a news landscape littered with layoffs, executive bonuses and increased deference to power, it can be a bleak time for those in the industry. In a journey to focus on reporting on justice, systems of power and the law, De Facto Journalism Co-op hopes to become a new leader in Canadian reporting. Emma Arkell, award-winning labour reporter at PressProgress and editor of the Shift Work newsletter and David P. Ball, an award-winning reporter, editor, podcaster and photographer join Scott to discuss their new worker-owned outlet, how legacy news media has failed to adjust to the times and the challenges and triumphs of launching a Canadian news media co-op in 2026.

BC journalists launch new worker-owned investigative publication - De Facto Journalism Co-op

Vancouver cops are calling border enforcement more than ever. Community members fear that puts them in danger - De Facto Journalism Co-op

De Facto Bluesky Links:

De Facto Journalism Co-op

Emma Arkell

David P. Ball

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/launching-worker-owned-news-ft-de-facto-journalism-co-op-podcast

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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After Amazon pulled "The Camp of Saints" from their storefront, the publisher raised a stink online of censorship. This was quickly picked up by right-wing forces like the Washington Examiner and former Alberta premier Jason Kenney as an attack on free speech. Amazon has since returned the book to their marketplace and a white supremacist screed, describing nonwhite people as violent inhuman criminals inherently motivated to kill and rape, has entered the mainstream. Amidst all this, National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak described the book as "highly relevant today in light of Canada’s own situation." Carmen Celestini, lecturer in Religious Studies at University of Waterloo and author of the upcoming book God’s Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society joins Scott to actually discuss the contents of the book, its use by far-right forces and how Sarkonak and the Post helped bring hateful fascist conspiracies into the mainstream.

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God's Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/national-post-praises-white-supremacist-novel-ft-carmen-celestini-podcast/

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Outro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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You know what this is about, don't be coy.

04/27/26- Correction/Clarification: Mark Bourrie has reached out to me to inform me that the phonecall I reference in the Canadaland podcast is not the phonecall made on March 19, but one from 2021.

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/monologue-why-do-we-talk-about-jesse-brown-podcast

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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It's official. Mark Carney's Liberal government is now a majority. But the tactics used to gain this majority have mainly focused on cultivating floor-crossers from other parties to join their caucus. Even before the decisive victories in three byelections, it became clear Carney's majority goal came from coaxing dissatisfied MPs. What does this mean? In a politics bonanza, University of Toronto political scientist Elizabeth McCallion joins Scott to discuss the political climate this cultivates, pathways for the Liberals in the future and how the Conservatives will respond.

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/crossing-into-a-majority-ft-elizabeth-mccallion-podcast

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Outro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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The NDP selected Avi Lewis as their new leader after a conference this past weekend. After a long campaign that largely went under-reported due to the party's meagre seat count, we now have a federal party leader pushing for public options, scaling back fossil fuel production and backing peace on the world stage. Independent journalist Nora Loreto spent the weekend at the convention and joins Scott to discuss the vibes, the vote, their critiques and how legacy news has shown they don't care to know about left-wing politics at all.

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Nora's Substack

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/avi-lewis-more-like-avi-lenin-ft-nora-loreto-podcast

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Outro Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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