Politics Is Broken

What happens when you stop watching politics… and actually go see it?
This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar heads to Ottawa to speak at Carleton University’s Kesterton Lecture… and ends up going behind the scenes of Canadian politics.
From touring Parliament Hill and sitting in on Question Period… to meeting politicians in the hallway and eating in what may or may not be called “the cafeteria of power”… this episode is a firsthand look at how politics feels in real life.
And the biggest takeaway?
It doesn’t feel less broken… …but it does feel different.
Less like chaos… more like choreography. Less like villains… more like very tired humans trying to do a very public job.
Plus, an Alberta update featuring:
The ongoing “Temu Tylenol” saga
RCMP investigations
And a golden cat that may or may not explain everything
So… is Ottawa really a bubble? Or are we just watching it through one?
If you want a slightly punchier version (or one with more humour baked into the first two lines), I can tighten it even further.

Ontario’s government says it wants to modernize transparency laws.
Critics say it looks more like hiding the paperwork.
This week on Politics Is Broken, Brittlestar and Lisa break down the Ford government’s proposed changes to Freedom of Information rules — which could exempt the premier’s office and cabinet ministers from requests while extending response times.
The timing is raising eyebrows.
Because the same government is also proposing a series of massive ideas — from the Greenbelt reversal to a $2.2 billion spa at Ontario Place and even a 50 km tunnel under Highway 401.
So what’s going on?
Bold governing? Convenience politics? Or government by vibes?

Brittlestar and Lisa tackle a week that somehow managed to get worse. From Mark Carney's principled Davos speech to his awkward endorsement of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Canada finds itself diplomatically sandwiched between its values and its geography. The hosts dig into why the timing of Operation Epic Fury feels suspiciously convenient — and what the avalanche of newly released Epstein documents might have to do with it.
They break down the growing list of resignations and arrests tied to the Epstein files, why Prince Andrew's takedown was no ordinary trade-secrets scandal, and what it means that the US appears to be the only country where nobody powerful has faced real consequences. Plus: cornered-squirrel Trump, a congressman who can't spell "fury," Keir Starmer's deeply unhelpful anger origin story, and the impossible chess game facing a Canadian prime minister who can't afford to tell the truth — but probably can't afford not to.
Funny where it can be. Worried where it has to be.

Science says we’re getting dimmer…and politics is sprinting to the cognitive bottom.
In this episode of Politics Is Broken, Stewart (Brittlestar) and Lisa unpack the Reverse Flynn Effect (yes, it’s a real thing) and why critical thinking has been quietly leaving the group chat since the mid-’90s. We dig into “cognitive offloading” (Google, GPS, AI doing our thinking for us), the flood-the-zone strategy that keeps everyone overwhelmed, and how a world full of exhausted, distracted people becomes the perfect environment for bad ideas to look like leadership.
Along the way: Sharpie hurricanes, disinfectant “solutions,” conspiracy nonsense, and one Canadian MP hunting for “Antifa members” like it’s a sandwich club with a loyalty card.
It’s funny…until you remember these people run things.

The "Conservative Party of Canada" is leaking. In this episode of Politics Is Broken, Stewart (Brittlestar) and Lisa dive into the shocking news of Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux crossing the aisle to join the Liberals. Is this a "dirty backroom deal" as Pierre Poilievre claims, or a sign of a deeper rot within the CPC leadership?
The truth may surprise you (if you were just born today).