The Paul Wells Show

What is Build Canada, and how does it hope to change the country's economic future? Lucy Hargreaves, the CEO of the newfangled think tank, discusses her break with the Trudeau government's economic policies, her ideas for making Canada more competitive, and why she questions Mark Carney's approach to Donald Trump. Don't forget to Like, Subscribe and Share! To read all of Paul Wells's new writing, go to paulwells.substack.com

Paul Wells interviews Ben Rowswell, whose 25-year diplomatic career saw him work in a bunch of the world's toughest conflict zones. He was in Somalia as a student while a UN peacekeeping effort was falling apart. He served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Venezuela. As Canada ponders a more assertive international stance, Rowswell's career is a reminder that the world doesn't always wait until you're ready for it. Remember to hit LIke and Subscribe for more of The Paul Wells Show. For more writing from Paul Wells, go to paulwells.substack.com

Michael Wernick, the longtime senior civil servant who served as Clerk of the Privy Council under Justin Trudeau, shares his thoughts on Canada in the era of Donald Trump. "It's very different dealing with an administration that absolutely disrespects your sovereignty," he tells Paul Wells. "The people that are sort of advocating fortress North America, 'Let's hug them even more closely,' I think are deluded." Read more from Paul Wells at paulwells.substack.com

Canada's retired Chief of the Defence Staff has a new memoir out, describing a military career that lasted 40 years, from Army Cadets to wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine. He's got choice words for the office of his former boss, Justin Trudeau. He vividly describes a life in war zones and trouble spots. And he laments the long decline of Canada's military. Go to paulwells.substack.com for more of Paul Wells's journalism.

Here's how the Paul Wells Road Show: Calgary went. On Sept. 28, Paul Wells was at the sold-out Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary to celebrate Alberta's unique place in Canada and ponder its uncertain future. Guests include Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, economist Trevor Tombe, city builder Kate Thompson and musical guests Jesse Morrison and The Dust Collectors. Follow all of Paul Wells's writing at paulwells.substack.com

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author Anne Applebaum joins Paul Wells to discuss her Atlantic magazine cover story, "Empire of Grift." She argues that Donald Trump's foreign policy now has two engines: ideologues who see the Western Hemisphere as America's to run, and grifters using U.S. power to enrich themselves and Trump's circle. She describes her recent trip to Venezuela, discusses the standoff over Greenland, and discusses MAGA's strange fascination with breaking up Canada. For more from Paul Wells, subscribe to paulwells.substack.com

Paul Wells interviews Jill Lepore, Harvard historian, New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize winner about The Rise and the Fall of the Artificial State , her latest bestseller. "Few grand transformations have been more precipitate or more heedless,” Lepore writes, "than the rise of what could soon be “government without consent, even government without humans.” But she's not here peddling despair. She believes a democracy of and for real people can make a comeback, if people only have faith in institutions and in themselves. The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by Cameco and The Transition Accelerator. For more of Paul's writing, go to paulwells.substack.com

Toronto-born James Appathurai is one of the top civilians in the administration of NATO, the Western military alliance. As Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber, he helps the alliance respond to a terrifying range of emerging threats, from new weapons to attacks that can hardly even be detected. In a rare interview from NATO headquarters in Brussels, Appathurai tells Paul Wells about all these threats, and about Canada's fast-changing role in NATO. For more from Paul Wells, read paulwells.substack.com

Author and Globe and Mail writer John Ibbitson joins Paul to discuss his book, The Duel: Diefenbaker, Pearson and the Making of Modern Canada. Ibbitson talks about how the decade-long showdown between these two Prime Ministers set the stage for the world we live in today, and why he believes Diefenbaker has been unfairly maligned in the historical record. This interview was recorded live at the National Arts Centre. It first aired October 18th, 2023

Pulitzer-winning historian Anne Applebaum is releasing a paperback edition of her book Autocracy Inc., on the autocrats who are eroding democratic freedoms around the world. Her timing is impeccable: she says Donald Trump is moving the United States closer to autocracy. In this week's episode she discusses all the ways Trump is undermining democratic norms, and explains why his attempts to stop the Ukraine war are coming up short.

The year since Wayne Eyre retired as Chief of Defence Staff has seen unprecedented change in Canada's national-security environment. Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced plans to boost Canada's defence-related spending from less than 2% of GDP to 5%. The United States has become an unsteady ally. What do those big changes mean for the future of Canada's military? An in-depth conversation.

Veteran foreign correspondent Scott Anderson, who's written for the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair and Esquire, has a new book, King of Kings, about the fall of the Shah of Iran and the rise of the ayatollahs in 1979. He opens with a big claim: that the Iranian revolution changed the world as much as the revolutions in France, the United States or Russia. He tells Paul about the failure of two leaders — the Shah and President Jimmy Carter — to understand what was happening in Iran.

When John Tory resigned as mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow decided to take another shot at the job. Despite much of the establishment lining up against her, she won. She talks to Paul about that campaign, and about trying to implement her vision for the city on a shorter-than-usual term, while dealing with a $1.5 billion deficit from COVID. This episode was recorded live at the University of Toronto’s Munk School. It episode originally aired on November 22nd, 2023, a few months after Chow's election.

Was the commission into foreign election interference asking the wrong question about China? That’s what journalist Jonathan Manthorpe thinks. He argues the real issue is that for decades Canada has failed to confront China’s efforts to control Canadians of Chinese heritage and influence Canadian institutions. He wrote a book about it, Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada. It was originally published in 2019, but it’s now been updated to take into account everything that’s happened since, right up to the Foreign Interference Commission This episode originally aired May 1st, 2025

The book Rogers v Rogers takes us into the messy succession drama inside one of Canada’s biggest companies, Rogers Communications. It features family members fighting in public, two competing boards, and even actor Brian Cox from HBO's Succession. The book’s author, Alexandra Posadzki, takes us behind the scenes of a company trying to find its footing after the death of their founder, all while navigating a high-stakes business deal. This episode originally aired on March 20th, 2024

This week Paul Wells and three friends share their summer reading. Globe and Mail reporter Shannon Proudfoot, veteran Liberal strategist Scott Reid, and Juno-winning singer-songwriter Donovan Woods each discuss a book they're reading this summer — and a book they'd recommend from all their earlier summers of reading. It's a feast for bookworms.

New York Times writer Max Fisher talks about his book, The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds And Our World. Relying on international reporting, leaked corporate documents and social science, he lays out the case that the problem with social media is not just about amplifying the wrong messages; it’s that social networks are designed to bring out the worst in everyone. This episode originally aired on November 2nd, 2022.

Singer-songwriter Sarah Slean talks about Joni Mitchell’s enduring influence on music and women in the arts, as she prepares to perform orchestral versions of Mitchell’s songs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Audio sources: Glenn Gould, Joni Mitchell, Sarah Slean This episode originally aired on October 5th, 2022

Timothy Garton Ash has chronicled some of the biggest moments in European history for over 40 years. In his new book, Homelands: A Personal History of Europe, he offers a history of postwar Europe, told through personal memoir. He talks to Paul about the future of Europe, the war in Ukraine, advising George W. Bush on how to think about the European Union, having Victor Orbán as a student, and why these days, his main concern is about the United States. This episode was recorded at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. It originally aired on October 11th, 2023

Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger joins Paul to talk about his storied career and his new book, The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. He also discusses ghostwriting Caitlyn Jenner’s memoir, why he left Twitter, his time at Vanity Fair, and why he’s considering leaving the US. Thank you to Perfect Books in Ottawa for hosting this conversation. This episode was originally published February 8th, 2023.