Past Episodes

Tune in to CBC Radio One on Monday, April 9 for a one-hour special from the Type A team!

They took big risks and we were all rewarded.

Clive Beddoe: Founding shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of WestJet

Rita Tsang: Founder and CEO of Tour East Group

Tony Lacavera: Founder and CEO of WIND Mobile and Globalive.

Kathleen Pedro: Co-founder and owner of Brazen Hussy Inc.

Richard Anderson: Former director and Chief Executive of First Calgary Petroleum

And we ran a LIVE WEB CHAT during the show. Check out the replay below!

This week on Type A, we look at life in a post-resource economy. Canada is blessed with natural resources that will likely drive the economy for the next few decades. But what about after? Some argue we need to start making the shift to a new economy driven by ideas ASAP! And more importantly, how to get those ideas to market to create wealth and the jobs of the future! 

Guests include economist and author Todd Hirsch, social media consultant Giles Crouch, physicist Marie D'iorio, Canada Research Chair on the challenges of a knowledge economy Diane Gabrielle Tremblay and founder of Real Life U Geoff Dubrow.

Monday, March 12 at 2:00 pm and Friday, March 16 at 8:00 pm.
Air times are half an hour later in Newfoundland and parts of Labrador.

Listen to the full show here:

Canada's employment landscape has shifted dramatically.
Ontario has been bleeding jobs.
Premier Dalton McGuinty blames a "petro dollar" and it's true, the loonie is sailing high because of the global demand for energy in western Canada. But is that such a bad thing?

Guests include Sask. Premier Brad Wall, Toronto-based author Gordon Pitts and a whole host of fresh-faced young Maritimers enjoying their cross-country journey.
 
This week on Type A, Karin Klassen and Rod Love explore the implications of a hot economy in the West and what that means for relations with the rest of Canada. 

Monday, March 5 at 2:00 pm and Friday, March 9 at 8:00 pm (half an hour later in Newfoundland) on CBC Radio One. 

Listen to the show here:

Rod Love has seen the enemy and it is "debt". He was part of the Alberta government that slayed the beast - well at least, temporarily. Like other governments, Alberta is back in the red.

But is debt really something to be feared? 

This week on Type A, hosts Rod Love and Karin Klassen crunch the numbers to see how Canada stacks up with the rest of the world in terms of government and household debt.

Listen to the full show here:

Canadians are told we're somewhat immune to the economic turmoil in the US and European countries. But the key to future growth will be productivity and Canada is a laggard in this area. Canada is ranked 12th among its peer group of 17 countries. How do we pull up our boot straps up and get going? Guests include: Author of In Praise of Slow Carl Honore, president of Canadian Auto Workers Union Ken Lewenza, founder of Creating People Power Linda Maul and Calgary astrophysicist Stephen Achal.

Tune in Monday, February 20 at 2:00 pm and Friday, February 24 at 8:00 pm (That's half an hour later in Newfoundland and parts on Labrador)

Listen (pop up player)

Rod Love has a line he likes to use: "If you can find it in the Yellow Pages, government shouldn't be doing it." Love thinks the private sector should take over more public services because they're proven to be more cost-efficient even while generating a profit. But his co-host, Karin Klassen, isn't quite ready to concede that the private sector always does it better. She thinks privatization has its pitfalls, and that sometimes the moral imperative is more important than the mighty dollar. The two will discuss and debate the hits and misses of privatization on this week's TYPE A.

LISTEN HERE:
OR download the podcast of the episode here

Monday, Feb. 13 at 2:00 / 2:30 pm and Friday, Feb. 17 at 8:00 / 8:30 pm


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Do we really need to cozy up to the moribund US economy anymore? After sleeping next to the elephant for the better part of 200 years, globalization is providing plenty of opportunity to 'step out' with our products and investment dollars. If the Americans don't want our oil, the Chinese will gladly take it (by pipeline, rail or any means). We explore the opportunities and the pitfalls of a future that's less reliant on the U.S. market.

Monday, February 6 and Friday, February 10

LISTEN TO THE FULL SHOW HERE:

Should a business model be applied to public education?

French philosopher Victor Hugo once observed that "he who opens a school door closes a prison". Education is a key underpinning of any successful economy. There are those in Canada who advocate applying a business model to the education system, and that means offering parents more choice, making schools compete and enticing teachers with merit pay. We're pushing the envelope in Alberta; it shows in our results, and it's being noticed by the rest of the world. On the other hand - a similar move in the US has pushed students right off the table. We'll debate some of these ideas and ask the question: are they innovative or destructive? That's this week on TYPE A, where we go in search of straight A's.

Monday, January 30 and Friday, February 3 on CBC Radio One

Listen to our show on education (pop up player)

Listen to our first show (pop up player)

In his award-winning documentary, The Corporation, Canadian Joel Bakan argues the modern day corporation shares the same characteristics as a psychopath.

The Corporation - and its leaders - have been demonized in popular culture.

Their very existence has been questioned by Occupy protestors. We hear about the inherent problems of this economic cornerstone - as well as rebuttals from people who run the companies and sit in the boardrooms.