Grandpa Gurney (ft. Tristan Johnson)

08/15/20 • 75 min

YouTuber Tristan Johnson of Step Back History joins us to talk about how incinerating tens of thousands of Japanese civillians at the close of the Second World War is actually bad.
The impetus for this discussion is a chatacteristically long-winded Twitter thread from National Post opinion editor Matt Gurney, where he argues that dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which he concedes were not militarily necessary, were good. That's because it allowed his grandfather to return home early and safely from carrying out British colonialism in India, where he was stationed with the Royal Air Force.
Whose lives are more valuable, 150,000 Japanese men, women and children, or Matt Gurney's? Real tough to say.
Apparently Gurney's voice was such a valuable addition to the discourse on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that he was invited onto Evan Solomon's iHeartRadio show to talk about it.
You may remember Evan Solomon from when he got fired from the CBC for using his position as the host of Power and Politics to sell his guests expensive art.
It's a Canadian media failson match made in Hell.
Links
Step Back History - Was the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Justified?
Gar Alperovitz - The War Was Won Before Hiroshima — And the Generals Who Dropped the Bomb Knew It
Wade Davis - The Unraveling of America
Jeremy - AIMCo loaned an oil company $45 million, let that company make millions in payments to shareholders and now it can't make the interest payments
Jeremy - Edmonton Police: Defacement of statue not a hate crime
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If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.

Previous Episode

Justin, WE have a problem

WE have returned to talk about the scandal that has rocked Canadian politics for the past few weeks. This is, of course, courtesy of a shady charity run by Canada's McPoyle twins. The prime minister wanted to hand them a $900-million contract to administer a government student summer jobs program, which some could interpret as payback for the paid speeches his mom and brother have given them.
Eric read Marc and Craig Keilburger's book "ME to WE: Finding Meaning in a Material World," which WE use to set up a discussion the extremely normal, not-at-all cultish vibes of the WE Charity.
WE also try to figure out what it is WE does, beyond holding stadium-sized pep rallies for schoolchildren and owning property. WE still don't really know.
And for the main event, WE discuss two Postmedia pieces that are part of a clear effort at image rehabilitation for the Keilburgers. The first is a puff piece written by "Postmedia Staff" that really plays up the Keilburgers' cultishness as a good thing. The latter is a piece written by Marc (or is it Craig?) about how WE need to get workers back to their offices so they can socialize and get sick.
Links
Michael Parenti - U.S. Interventionism, the Third World and the U.S.S.R. (1986)Davide Mastracci - How Did We Get Stuck with Jon and Barbara Kay?Jeremy - Jason Kenney Is Trying to Kill Alberta's Labour Movement
49th Parahell - Libentology (with Karen Geier)
Follow Big Shiny Takes on Twitter or Instagram!
@bigshinytakes
Like what you hear? Throw us a few bucks on our Patreon for access to exclusive content.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.

Next Episode

Ed the Sock Spectacular (ft. 2 Stephens)

We need to talk about the sock. Stephen Magusiak (@magusiak) of PressProgress joins us to explain a guy named Steven Kerzner (@EdtheSock) to our American buddy, Stephen from the Haus of Decline podcast in light of Kerzner's recent racist remarks against NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
Was Kerzner ever actually funny, or are we just nostalgic for a simpler time? We listen to some classic Fromage clips to find out. (Hint: They have not aged well.)
We also discuss Kerzner's recent foray into hyperpartisan Liberal politics and efforts to revive the '90s, when he was in a not-so-famous Canadian TV show.
In short, we put the sock in the drawer for good.
Links
Liberal MPs Denounce "Ed the Sock" After Calls to Disavow "Racist Dog Whistles" Targeting Jagmeet Singh
Just Drew's Show - Canada's Host (ft. Ed the Sock)
Lori Fox - The life you thought you were going to have is gone
Adrianna LaFrance - The Prophecies of Q
@mikeymiles160 on Instagram
Follow Big Shiny Takes on Twitter or Instagram!
@bigshinytakes
Like what you hear? Throw us a few bucks on our Patreon for access to exclusive content.