The Secret Life of Canada CBC Discover & Learn

When three young queer men formed an art collective in the late 60s in Toronto named "General Idea", no one expected that they would end up becoming one of the most iconic art collectives of the 20th century. For 25 years Felix, Jorge and AA became internationally known for their edgy, subversive, funny and boundary pushing work. Leah and Falen learn about the early days of the collective [2:11], the time Life magazine tried to sue them [13:17], why they started a ”Miss General Idea” beauty pageant [16:51], and how they ended up creating one of the most indelible images of the AIDS epidemic [25:26]. And then, they’ll hear about the group’s final push to produce a catalog of work before AIDS took the lives of Felix & Jorge in 1994 [30:30]. With special guest AA Bronson.

Here are some of the pieces referenced in the episode:

Mail Art

FILE magazine

The Miss General Idea Pageant

P is for Poodle

IMAGEVIRUS, AIDS

Fin De Siècle

For more links on General Idea’s work and more about this episode visit us at: www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada

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Gimli is more than a dwarf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series Lord of the Rings, in fact the community in Manitoba is home to the world’s largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland. So how did Canada become home to all these Icelanders, why did they end up living on a reserve and what exactly happens during Islendingadagurinn?

Listen to Part 1 of our episode The Mounties Always Get Their Land (referenced in the episode) here.

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Explore an important part of the rich history of Chinese-Canadians in this episode of Canadian Time Machine from The Walrus Lab. In the 1880s, Chinese men played a pivotal role in building the Canadian Pacific Railway, enduring challenges for a fraction of the wages. Discover the impact of the head tax and the infamous Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known as "Humiliation Day." The episode delves into the intergenerational effects and gains insights from Dr. Melissa Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum, on the compelling exhibit, "The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act." More episodes are available at: https://lnkfi.re/slofcxctm. To read the episode transcripts in French and English, and to learn more about historic Canadian milestones, please visit thewalrus.ca/canadianheritage. There is also a French counterpart of this show called Voyages Dans L’Histoire Canadienne so if you’re bilingual and want to listen to more, visit https://lnkfi.re/Voyages-dans-lhistoire-canadienne

From PSAs to Euphoria, the identity of the teen on TV has shifted a lot over the years. Leah and Falen take a look back at the invention of the teen and teens on TV. They make the case that thanks to a little upstart franchise called Degrassi, the teen drama is a Canadian invention. 

Here is the link to our episode Bread and Cheese. And be sure to check out The Degrassi Kid Podcast!

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It would become one of the key moments in Black history in Canada. In 1968, six Black students from Sir George Williams University in Montreal filed a complaint of racism against their biology professor. By 1969, the university denied their complaint and more than 200 students began a peaceful sit-in. By the end of it, a fire broke out, police in riot-gear were sent in and 97 people were arrested. Named “The Sir George Williams Affair” it is now considered to be the largest student protest in Canadian history. 

Here is a link to previous episode mentioned in this episode:

The Province of Jamaica: https://link.chtbl.com/OOwfXRW2

For links and more about this episode visit us at: www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada

Canadians are always apologizing, or are they? We are back for a sixth season and in this episode [1:29] Leah and Falen discuss how they use the word “sorry” and why [4:20] and take a deep dive into the theory that it comes from the country's British foundations. [8:33] We learn that the British and French brought dueling with them as a way to resolve conflict. [20:00] Then we look at how the word is connected to conflict resolution, which Indigenous people already were doing before contact [21:44] and examine the many apologies of the Canadian government [25:05] and try to find out whether or not Canadians actually apologize any more than anyone else.

Here are links to previous episodes mentioned in this episode:

Kanesatake 300 Years Later, Part 1: https://link.chtbl.com/eUDOXoMZ
Kanesatake 300 Years Later, Part 2: https://link.chtbl.com/jeMsG6HU

For other links, references, transcripts and more about this episode, visit us at: www.cbc.ca/radio/secretlifeofcanada