Lean Out with Tara Henley

Throughout the month of December, here on Lean Out, we’ve been having conversations with the independent journalists that we admire. Today, Tara is happy to welcome back to the podcast a writer and thinker whose work kept us sane during the pandemic.Meghan Daum is an essayist and author. She’s a former columnist for the L.A. Times, host of The Unspeakable podcast, and with Sarah Haider, co-host of the podcast A Special Place In Hell.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

Today is a day of rest and reflection for many of us — and, with any luck, of joy and gratitude and communal celebration as well. With that in mind, we have a surprise bonus episode of Lean Out, featuring a special guest. He’s here to offer us all a little hope and inspiration for Christmas, and for the year to come. Reverend Christopher White is the minister at Kedron United Church in Oshawa, Ontario, in the greater Toronto area.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

This month at Lean Out, we've been speaking with journalists we admire — and having conversations about the state of the mainstream media, and the rise of the independent press.Tara's guest today runs an independent outlet in Ottawa, and she joins Tara to talk through some of the year’s biggest stories.Holly Doan is an award-winning journalist, and the publisher and owner of Blacklock’s Reporter. Lean Out did request comment from the Parliamentary Press Gallery on the recent eviction of Blacklock’s Tom Korski. You can read the statement it sent, in full, below. The Press Gallery would like correct the record about a decision made last Friday regarding one of its members.The Press Gallery Executive Committee received a complaint, from several members, of serious misconduct as defined in by-law No.10 of our Constitution, regarding a Gallery member, Tom Korski. The subcategory of serious misconduct at issue in the complaint was that set out in paragraph 2(b) of by-law No.10, which may be described as pertaining to harassing or otherwise inappropriate conduct by a member. The complaint did not pertain to any issue of journalistic practices or principles. The Executive considered the complaint in accordance with the Constitution and the procedures set out in theGallery’s “Complaint Procedures”.A mediation process was offered, without, however, resolving the complaint.Mr. Korski was given the opportunity to respond to the complaint, but the Executive did not receive any representations in that regard.The Executive, after careful scrutiny of the facts alleged by the complainants, has determined that the complaint was well-founded and that the conduct complained-of constituted serious misconduct, as defined in paragraph 10(2)(b) of the Constitution, by the member concerned.In determining whether any sanctions were required in light of its conclusions on the merits of the complaint, and if so, what sanctions would be appropriate, the Executive gave consideration to both the seriousness of the misconduct and the importance of protecting members who are using Gallery facilities from harassing or otherwise inappropriate conduct by other members. Accordingly, the Executive decided to prohibit the member mentioned in the complaint from having access to certain shared spaces managed by the Gallery, such as the Hot Room, Room 172-B in West Block, the Poliquin Lounge, and the 6th floor boardroom, for a period of 90 days.The member in question still holds their membership status with the Press Gallery as well as their access card to enter parliamentary buildings for journalistic purposes and will therefore retain the ability to access the Chamber of the House of Commons, committees, and press conferences.Contrary to certain accounts of these events circulating on social media, Mr. Korski was not escorted by a police officer off the Gallery premises, he was advised of the decision of the Executive andgiven to the end of the day to comply with the decision by leaving the premises.Mr. Korski was notified of the decision by the president of the Press Gallery, Guillaume St-Pierre, accompanied by the vice-president, Louis Blouin, on Friday, December 2.The media outlet with which Mr. Korski is associated, Blacklock’s Reporter, retains two members in the Press Gallery, including Mr. Korski. The decision in question pertains only to the access of Mr. Korski himself to Gallery facilities shared by other members.Guillaume St-PierrePresident, Canadian Parliamentary Press GalleryYou can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

What does it mean to be politically homeless? Tara's guest today describes herself this way, and jokes that her tribe is tribeless. We relate. A lot.This month at Lean Out, Tara has been speaking with independent journalists who are changing the media landscape. Today’s guest is an opinion writer that always makes us think — and laugh.Bridget Phetasy is a comedian, writer, and podcaster in Los Angeles. She’s a columnist and contributing editor at The Spectator, and host of the shows Dumpster Fire, Walk-Ins Welcome, and Factory Settings. Her Substack is Beyond Parody.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

This summer on her podcast, Bari Weiss described Tara's guest today as one of the best writers in America. We think she’s right.During the month of December, here at Lean Out, we're speaking with independent journalists that we admire. And we're particularly pleased to bring you today’s conversation, with a Substack writer who’s had a big impact on Tara's thinking.Freddie deBoer is an independent journalist in Brooklyn, New York. He’s the author of The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice, and he writes an eponymous newsletter at Substack. (This was recorded on December 6, before the latest revelations on The Twitter Files from Bari Weiss.)You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

On the Lean Out podcast this year, we’ve talked a lot about the failings of the mainstream media, and the reasons why the press has lost the public’s trust.But for the month of December, we’ll be focusing on one of the bright spots of the media landscape — and that is the independent press. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be speaking with some of the journalists that I most admire, who are doing fantastic work, at Substack and elsewhere.We kick off this series today with Leighton Woodhouse. He’s an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker in Oakland, California. His Substack is called Social Studies. (This episode was recorded last week, before the Twitter Files revelations.)You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

On the Lean Out podcast, we spend a lot of time delving into the big problems of our age. But one thing we haven’t paid enough attention to is the forces that distract us all from solving these problems.What are the bread and circuses of our time?Tara's guest on the podcast today argues that we are in thrall to shopping — and that this shapes our culture in profound ways.Paul Berton is an award-winning Canadian journalist and the editor-in-chief of The Hamilton Spectator. His new book is Shopomania: Our Obsession With Possession.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

On the Lean Out podcast, we’ve been talking about the state of the modern male.And today, Tara's guest on the podcast is going to walk us through his landmark study on an invisible crisis afflicting prime working-aged men in America — and that is the collapse of work.Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. His latest book is Men Without Work; it’s recently out in a post-pandemic edition.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

There’s a group of people in our society who are in deep trouble. They lag behind in education and employment — and disproportionately die of suicides and overdoses.Who are we talking about? Boys and men.Tara's guest on the podcast today says that while this issue has long been taboo, it’s time for a conversation about it, as its impacts are felt all around us.Richard V. Reeves is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he directs the Boys and Men Project. His new book is called Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com

“I hate it when I find myself agreeing with people with whom I usually disagree.” These are the opening lines of a book written by Tara's guest on the podcast today. She’s a progressive professor, but she now finds herself breaking ranks with the left over which works of literature are acceptable to be read and discussed in America’s classrooms. Deborah Appleman is the Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies at Carleton College, and an instructor at the Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater. Her latest book is Literature and the New Culture Wars: Triggers, Cancel Culture, and the Teacher’s Dilemma.You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com