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Dynasties: in-depth reporting on the wealthy, influential political and corporate families that not-so-secretly rule Canada
The latest podcast from the Canadaland network (previously) is Dynasties, wherein host Arshy Mann delves into the scandals, backroom deals, and secret string-pulling employed by the "great families" of Canada, where wealth and political power have been gathered into just a few hands, all clinging tight to that power.
Mann starts by observing that his city councillor is a Layton, his mayor is a Tory, his premier is a Ford and his PM is a Trudeau, painting a picture of a nation in the grips of a hereditary political class, before pivoting to the other nexus of power: money.
Episode one focuses on the Stronachs, whose dynasty was founded by Frank Stronach and his company, Magna, the world's largest auto-parts company. Frank's daughter, Belinda, dabbled in politics, made a bid to run the Conservative party, crossed the floor and joined the Liberals, took up with hockey bad-boy Tie Domy, and, according to her father (who sued her for half a billion [Canadian] dollars), stole the company out from under him.
Frank Stronach, meanwhile, has embarked on a series of commercial and political misadventures, including the creation of a flaming bronze the size of the Statue of Liberty of a pegasus kicking the shit out of a dragon; he also founded a far-right party in his native Austria, modestly called "Team Stronach for Austria," which failed miserably. He's also the author of a risible book in which he proposes a method for making everyone in the world happy (spoiler: the secret is deferring to billionaires). Read the rest
Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/kMumM_3ZK9Q/team-stronach-for-austria.html