Stephen Carter, Shannon Phillips, and Producer Haxim talk about what happens when a weekend joke turns into a national political story. After Producer Haxim launches his satirical Alberta referendum site and “becomes a podcaster,” the crew breaks down why the government’s referendum campaign feels more like a persuasion machine than public education. They also dig into Carter’s Alberta Liberal Party referendum plan, and whether the rules were quietly changed to shut it down. Shannon Phillips discusses her article for Forward Weekly on how the Alberta NDP lost its advantage and how it might win it back. Is Alberta’s referendum fight really about the questions on the ballot? Can a political party raise money around an idea instead of a candidate? And how many headlines before Haxim starts asking for his own comms team?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Producer Haxim's Referendumb Site

https://albertareferendumb2026.ca

Shannon's Forward Weekly Article

https://archive.forwardweekly.ca/?issue=05

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