Safe Space

Two years after the 2015 election, Haudenosaunee comedian/policy wonk Courtney Skye and This magazine editor Erica Lenti join the panel to judge the Liberals from head to socks. 

iPolitics reporter Janice Dickson and morning show maven Supriya Dwivedi join the panel to talk about Bill Morneau's very bad week and Quebec's very bad legislation this week. 

Hosts and producers of The Nod, Eric Eddings and Britanny Luse (formerly of For Coloured Nerds) are on the panel this week along with a special guest host, Sajae Elder, for an all-black power hour. They chat about Harvery Weinstein, Eminem's cypher and how much cheese is too much cheese.   

Sports writer and activist Shireen Ahmed joins Toronto Star sports and business reporter Morgan Campbell are on the panel this week to talk about sticking to sports, Cam Newton and the greatness of arrogance. 

Ontario NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo and Macleans associate editor Murad Hemmadi join Vicky and Ishamel to talk about the future of Uber and what lies ahead in the federal NDP leadership race.   

Writers Sarah Hagi and Ashley Csanady join Safe Space to talk about Barbie politics, the tax changes debate and the ongoing saga of Senator Lynn Beyak. Welcome back for season two!

Vicky and Ishmael were joined by comedian Monica Heisey (@monicaheisey) and sports writer Alex Wong (@steven_lebron) for a special edition of Takeaways, live on stage. Safe Space was one of five podcasts to take part in a live taping of CBC's Podcast Playlist at the Hot Docs Theatre in Toronto on June 15. Follow the show on Twitter @itsasafespace.

Safe Space is coming back for another season, so Vicky and Ishmael are checking in and saying hello. New full episodes start September 22nd. Follow the show on Twitter @itsasafespace.

On the season finale of Safe Space, policy analyst Lauren Dobson Hughes (@ldobsonhughes) and HuffPo blogs editor Michael Scholars (@scholarsenic) join the panel to talk about changes to the Criminal Code. Canada's new foreign policy swagger and what's been happening in the British election campaign. Follow the show on Twitter @itsasafespace. 

Policy wonk Brittany Andrew-Amofah and comedian Ryan McMahon are on Safe Space to talk about the changing of the political guard in Ottawa and in British Columbia, as well as the ongoing failure of the federal government to properly fund social welfare for First Nations children. Vicky and Ishmael also talk about why Celine Dion should have a central role in Canada 150 celebrations. Find Brittany on Twitter @BrittanyAmofah. Connect with Ryan on Twitter @RMComedy and check out Indian & Cowboy. Follow our show on Twitter @itsasafespace.

On this week's show, Toronto Star national politics reporter Alex Boutilier and comedy writer Nick Zarzycki join Vicky and Ishmael to talk about the Conservative leadership convention and whether there was ~FOREIGN INFLUENCE~ in our last federal election in 2015. The panel also dives into why Canada's liquor laws are so restrictive and terrible, and what John A. Macdonald's babysitter has to do with it. 

Toronto Star columnist Shree Paradkar and human rights activist Amira Elghawaby are on Safe Space to talk about the "Appropriation Prize" controversy, and whether Jagmeet Singh can save the NDP with his sharp suits and killer Instagram pics. The panel also talk about what a tough year it's been for Canadian Muslims, even though we now have full Sharia law thanks to Justin Trudeau's government.  Vicky is away this week, so Ishmael is joined by guest co-host Elamin Abdelmahmoud. 

This week, restaurateur Jen Agg and comedian Rebecca Kohler are on the podcast to play a special game of Would You Rather, using stories plucked from the week's news. Plus, Vicky and Ishmael discuss why editorial cartoons in Canada's newspapers are terrible and only likely to get worse.

Parliamentary reporter Kady O'Malley joins Ishmael and Vicky to talk about the Senate's children's book and the Harjit Sajjan debacle. The panel debates an omnibus bill that may just improve Canadian democracy.   

"I'm going to tweet at JK Rowling, "That bitch ass Harry Potter made Dobby die for him and you had the gall to have this house-elves-are-slaves subplot."  

"It's always the judgiest people and the most morally superior people who are felled by their own morals."  Annamaria Enenajor and Michael Spratt are on Safe Space this week to talk about pot legislation, the landmark Jordan ruling and whether it's the end of Bill O'Reilly.   

Is the Rob Ford-Donald Trump comparison unfair to Rob Ford? Exactly how much money does United Airlines owe David Dao? And could we be focussing on Russia more? Comedian and writer Celeste Yim, and the Toronto Star's Washington bureau chief Daniel Dale are on Safe Space this week. 

Cavern of Secrets' Lauren Mitchell and Media Indigena's Rick Harp find a safe space this week to talk about telling the Story of Us, failing Canadian history and the cancelling of Pepsi's protest ad with Kendall Jenner. The word 'circlejerk' comes up more often than you'd think but also exactly as often as needed. 

Vice News Features Editor Justin Ling and freelance writer Shireen Ahmed join Ishmael and Vicky to talk about the week's news. There's big news from the American women's hockey team on pay equity and big news from the federal government on marijuana legislation. The Conservative leadership race is in the homestretch with two months to go until the convention: the lows have been low indeed and the highs have been policy debates about supply management.

Chatelaine associate editor Sadiya Ansari and National Post reporter Tristin Hopper join Vicky and Ishmael on the show this week. They talk about the big budget news: is it really new or is it the same budget, different year? But there are big changes in Alberta where Jason Kenney has won the Progressive Conservative leadership by promising to 'unite the right'. Tristin give us an expert overview of what that means for Alberta politics. And a Maclean's piece seems to have lost the writer his side-gig in academia. Is this a question of academic freedom or simply a case of cause meeting effect? In Takeaways this week, Sadiya makes a case for sweetness, Tristin argues against homework, Vicky demands tax breaks for the childfree and Ishmael goes in on dark chocolate.