Canadaland announces 2024 slate featuring a packed lineup of new and returning shows

In the summer of 2023, Canadaland opened its first call for submissions, receiving more than 275 pitches from journalists and audio makers from around the world. “We were overwhelmed by the number of amazing concepts we received. The shows we are set to release are the ones that we were most wild about and had to bring into the world,” said Canadaland’s Publisher Jesse Brown. “They are consistent with the quality of shows we’ve made like Thunder Bay and Cool Mules, but they go into entirely new directions that are expanding our own concept of what Canadaland can be.”

Over the course of the next nine months, Canadaland will release a dynamic lineup that includes four original new series (Pretendians, A Field Guide to Gay Animals, The Worst Podcast, The Copernic Affair), the English language premiere of Prix-Italia winning Radio France podcast Inside Kabul, new seasons of Commons, canadaLANDBACK, and The Backbench, and urgent news and insightful analysis from longtime favorites CANADALAND, Short Cuts, Détours, and Wag the Doug.

“At a time when most podcast companies are cancelling shows and taking fewer chances, it feels great to bring some incredible new stories to the listeners. They’re very different from one to the next, but all offer smart, relevant and innovative storytelling from talented teams that are sure to resonate with audiences in Canada and far beyond,” added Executive Producer Julie Shapiro.

Each podcast is available free at canadaland.com and across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music. 2024 releases from Canadaland include:

Pretendians

Premiering Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - Exposing mind-boggling stories of Indigenous identity fraud

What do some of the most prominent and successful Indigenous artists, leaders and thinkers have in common? They aren’t Indigenous.

There are dozens of cases of Indigenous identity fraud that we know about, likely thousands that we do not. So why do these so-called “Pretendians” do it? How do they pull it off? And what happens when they are exposed?

In each episode of this riveting new podcast series, co-hosts Robert Jago (Kwantlen First Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe) and Angel Ellis (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) reveal unbelievable stories of audacious fraudsters and investigate the complex phenomenon of Indigenous identity fraud. Pretendians will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about identity politics.

A Field Guide to Gay Animals

Premiering Thursday, June 15, 2024 - Birds and Bees and Bears, oh my! Human’s aren’t the only ones having gay sex in the bushes

Strap on your binoculars and lace up your boots: A Field Guide to Gay Animals explores sexuality, gender, and joy in the animal world. Animal enthusiasts Owen Ever and Laine Kaplan-Levenson take you on a quest to see beyond the natural world as we know it and into the natural world as it is: queer as fuck.

Homosexuality has been documented in over 1,500 species of animals. From flaming woodpeckers and bisexual bison to lesbian elephant love affairs and all-male, all-whale orgies, expressions of same-sex action in the animal QUEENDOM are all around us. In each episode, your intrepid guides Owen and Laine investigate this variety of animal behaviors with a roving cast of friends, enthusiasts, and experts. Together, they explore the depths of the ocean, the heart of the forest, and the parks in your neighborhood, diving deep into nuanced conversations about queerness in the animal world.

Cheeky and contemplative, curious and raunchy, Field Guide shows you the natural world, more exuberant, more joyful, and more gay than you could possibly imagine.

Commons Presents: Inside Kabul

Premiering Wednesday, July 17th, 2024 - The harrowing story of two young women growing up in a world that’s collapsing around them, coming of age at the end of their world.

In the summer of 2021, the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan and the destinies of two young women, Raha and Marwa, are forever changed. As they contemplate their futures, Raha and Marwa exchange and record hundreds of voice notes with noted French journalist Caroline Gillet.

What emerges is a raw and incredibly intimate chronicle of two young women coming of age as the world they had known collapses. While Raha has chosen to stay in Kabul and is confronted with the violence of the regime, Marwa has left and finds herself locked up in a refugee camp in Abu Dhabi.

Inside Kabul tells a universal story of friendship, bravery and the meaning of home. The original French-language podcast was released on France INTER / RADIO FRANCE to great critical acclaim, winning the prestigious Prix Italia for Documentary and Reportage. Canadaland will bring audiences the first ever English language adaptation of this urgent and intimate podcast, building on Commons’ crucial season reporting on Canada’s role in the War in Afghanistan.

The Worst Podcast

Premieres Wednesday, September 4th, 2024 - Everyone’s done some worst thing

Canadaland is launching its first celebrity interview podcast and it’s not great… In fact, it’s The Worst Podcast.

Join iconoclastic documentary (but don’t call him that to his face) filmmaker and reformed curmudgeon Alan Zweig, for refreshingly honest conversations about life’s darker moments. Though Alan’s deeply flawed himself, he’s here to absolve his guests of their sins.

And confess his own… ad nauseam.

Most interview shows serve canned anecdotes about triumphs, and that gets tiresome. The Worst knows it is more revealing (and satisfying) to hear about failures than successes, so we’ve invited top comedians, pop stars, TikTok influencers, and other cultural icons to share their worst things — and find some redemption in the telling. The average interview show will tell you they’re not your average interview show. We’re telling you we’re The Worst.

The Copernic Affair

Premiering late 2024 - Terrorist or scapegoat?

Unassuming Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor Hassan Diab’s life gets turned upside down when he is accused of masterminding a bomb attack on a synagogue in Paris. He claims heʼs innocent — but French investigators are determined to prove otherwise.

What follows is a decades-long international story of kafkaesque trials, controversial evidence, diplomatic disagreements and lives torn apart. On one side is a French court in a dogged pursuit of justice for a devastating attack on Parisʼ Jewish community. On the other, an ordinary man who claims to be wrongfully convicted.

In the first podcast investigation into this case, investigative journalists Dana Ballout and Alex Atack use exclusive interviews, rich archival material and extensive original reporting to take listeners through the twists and turns of this extraordinary story, and try to answer the question: is Hassan Diab really innocent?

And if he is, who was behind the Paris synagogue bombing?

The Backbench

Biweekly - Serious political discourse for the rest of us

Your Twitter feed is a dumpster fire and dinner table discussions aren’t exactly what they used to be. That’s why in 2024, The Backbench is going to bring the issues that matter into focus — and have fun doing it.

With the next federal election looming, host Mattea Roach (Jeopardy! Super Champion) and featured guests will help you make sense of Canadian politics with a mix of engaging, myth-busting, rug-pulling analysis and personal stories straight from the mouths of those caught in the crosshairs.

COMMONS: Work

New season launches March 20, 2024 - The ever-present war on workers — and how to fight back.

Labour has undergone a seismic shift over the past decade. The rise of gig work and temp agencies have made employment more precarious than ever. In the interest of profits, companies are turning more and more towards temporary foreign workers and international students for minimum wage jobs. Even for those in seemingly secure employment, wages and benefits continue to be squeezed. One thing seems clear – workers are getting screwed.

From the labour crisis shutting down our emergency rooms to inflation and the rising cost of living – work is at the centre of so many of the most urgent issues. So how did we get here? This season of the award winning series Commons, host Arshy Mann will dissect the fascinating and infuriating history and the ever-changing present of what it means to be a worker.

COMMONS: WORK will unmask the ever-present war on workers. And the many, many ways that workers have banded together to fight back against it.

canadaLANDBACK: Crazy Rich Ndnz

New season launches October 2024 - Stories of people who won’t let their circumstances define them

Coming off a critically acclaimed first season that explored landback, resistance and reclamation, canadaLANDBACK returns with untold stories about Indigenous people who rose to positions of wealth, power and influence.

From the story of a human rights lawyer to prominent fashion designers and top-level political insiders, host Karyn Pugliese and producer Kim Wheeler bring us tales of struggle and triumph from people not just rising above their circumstances, but having a wide-ranging impact on the future of Canada.

In addition to its 2024 podcast slate, Canadaland recently announced the launch of CanadaLabs – a much-needed, multipronged effort that will afford opportunities for emerging journalists and audio creators to learn, build their skills and networks, and get their work and stories in front of Canadaland’s engaged audience.

In its inaugural year, CanadaLabs will roll out a series of initiatives including:

• A “Local Correspondent” Audio Contest – an open call for short, local audio stories to be featured on Canadaland
• An Audio Journalism Fellowship Program delivered in partnership with Journalists for Human Rights
• An ongoing series of workshops and events, hosted in Canadaland’s Toronto newsroom For more information about CanadaLabs, please visit www.canadaland.com/canadalabs