Episode 189 — Canada

[JulyDiaz 2797]

Happy new year, blastronauts! David Huntsberger starts it off with a solo episode where he translates morse code and analyzes the popularity of Serial. Then, Canada's finest Jon Dore and Eddie Della Siepe join David to talk about Canadian and American generalizations, policing, insurance, religion, the comedy world, tobacco, government, and much more!

[RodneyTheYeti 5]

20 minutes in...pretty sure this episode is about Serial, not Canada. David needs some wranglin'.

[kopello 204]

I'm not sure that Jon (or was it Eddie?) knows exactly what Freedom of Religion means or he does and I don't understand his animosity towards it. Besides that really great ep. Lots of funny and interesting stories here.

[jughead 189]

Great episode David, but just think, we wouldn't have super turbo mack truck flush without Kyle calling in so don't hate on the call in's too much!

[mattman92ish 823]

Nice song choice david! A+ great solo!

[Kickpuncher 5012]

20 minutes in...pretty sure this episode is about Serial, not Canada. David needs some wranglin'.

 

Given that the main discussion was longer than a typical PB episode, that whole thing felt really unnecessary, but it was fun enough. I can't say David's Wire impressions were "good", but they were good enough that I could immediately identify every character.

 

I'm not sure that Jon (or was it Eddie?) knows exactly what Freedom of Religion means or he does and I don't understand his animosity towards it.

 

I'm pretty sure what he (and it was indeed Jon) was saying when he was saying it's a 'joke' isn't the concept itself but the idea that we have it, i.e. that people are really intolerant of other religions, and that's the source of his animosity. Granted, freedom of religion really only has to do with the government (something that people who get backlash for saying stupid things don't understand about freedom of speech, either), so maybe that's what you're saying?

[paulo_one 17]

Funny how inspite of all our short comings here in the US, it's where the Canadian comics and performers come to make the big bucks, that doesn't seem to bother them. It may come as a shock to our Canadian friends that Freedom of religion in Canada is a constitutionally protected right just like here...ey! People who live in glass hooses should throw stones...

 

Better you guys focus on winning the Stanley Cup which you haven't managed to do in 21 years!

[NameThatPunky 804]

An episode where David Huntsberger interviews Canadians. Has a nicer podcast ever been conceived?

[DanEngler 5249]

Funny how inspite of all our short comings here in the US, it's where the Canadian comics and performers come to make the big bucks, that doesn't seem to bother them.

Why would it? They get to perform in America, take your precious money, and then return home to Canada where they receive publicly funded health care. Sounds like a win-win to me.

[Foxtrot1 67]

A really great episode, from an actually really insightful takedown of Serial to the extended and hilarious conversation between Jon and Eddie. Americans probably didn't get a lot of the references (especially when they're just randomly singing Tragically Hip songs by the end) but I really enjoyed it.

 

On the freedom of religion thing: Here in Canada we view that as the right to have your own beliefs and, crucially, not get bothered about them. The general idea is that belief is a personal and private choice. We view the aggressiveness of the American evangelical movement as offensive. This is a big generalization but it's what they were getting at - the idea of public figures explicitly mentioning their own personal beliefs (or even thanking god in general) isn't something we're comfortable with, among other examples.

 

America has a much different religious tradition than its Northern neighbour; it's much more woven into the fabric of everyday life. It's maybe a part of Canada's collective identity, that we don't want to rock the boat or emphasize our differences too much. Giant crosses by the side of the road, political figures talking about how often they attend church, religious figures as celebrities - these are anathema to the Canadian approach.

[kopello 204]

I'm still confused though freedom of religion isn't in place for some broad acceptance of evangelicalism. It's basically the idea that anyone of any religion can peaceably practice their belief in this country with no sort of repercussions from the gov't (among other things), correct? I hate evangelicalism as much as the next agnostic but I'm unsure what that has to do with that amendment. I do agree the amount of religious fervor in the political realm (and everyday life) is very troublesome but is not really related to the first amendment.

[KyleMahan 102]

Grepisode! But get that guy (not sure if it was Jon or Eddie Murdercup) some nicorette!

[HotSaucerman 2051]

Not a single Brandon joke in the comments? Ohhh Brandon, he's so big. The shadow he casts hides all comments about him.

[earpanther 451]

I thought David's SERIAL bit was really great!