See You in Court

After his conviction for spreading false news with his pamphlet Did Six Million Really Die?, Ernst Zundel is granted an appeal and the chance to go to court a second time. His witnesses include a rogue researcher who chisels rocks from the walls of Auschwitz to prove it wasn’t a gas chamber and other self-proclaimed experts. And every day in court, Holocaust survivors are there to bear witness. In the end, Zundel is convicted again, but this time he has a new legal tool to use in his appeal — the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Howard Goldenthal dive into the legal battles that led R. vs. Zundel all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and how the court's decision to strike down Canada’s “false news” law set in motion a debate about free speech that continues today. This episode is part two of two. Find part one here: https://link.mgln.ai/DMEsr3

Ernst Zundel is a Holocaust denier, using his “bunker” in Toronto to publish pamphlets like Did Six Million Really Die? Sabina Citron is an Auschwitz survivor who’s determined to stop his lies. In 1985, her push to stop Zundel sparks a fierce battle over false news, with the trial becoming a nightmare for Jewish survivors who are forced to prove the Nazi death camps really happened. And while Zundel loses this first court battle, he wins the spotlight he craves and a chance to appeal his conviction. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Howard Goldenthal recount the tension and the questions behind the trials to convict Zundel: Is a court case the best way to stop him, or does it give his Holocaust denialism the wider platform he desperately wants? This episode is part one of two. The second part will come out on October 20, 2026.

Sixteen-year-old Alex is a Canadian kid living the American dream. A house with his parents in a leafy suburb, family trips, good schools, and champagne on his brother’s birthday. But when the FBI comes knocking on his door, the high schooler’s world is shattered. His parents are arrested for being Russian secret agents, and the person he thought he was turns out to be a lie. After winding up in Russia, where he’s never been, and being given the surname Vavilov, which he can’t pronounce, he longs to return to Canada, sparking a legal battle over whether his parents’ role as spies should be grounds for cancelling his Canadian citizenship. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Catherine Rolfsen tell the story of Canada vs. Vavilov — the family that inspired the FX series The Americans — and how the ensuing court battle over their son’s Canadian citizenship forever changed how administrative government decisions are made.

Willie Blackwater’s abuser is in jail, but for him, justice hasn’t been served. Twenty-eight of Arthur Henry Plint’s victims — including Willie — launch a civil suit to seek damages from the federal government and the United Church of Canada. The trial to hold these authorities vicariously liable for the horrors of residential schools is brutal and explosive, and not everyone makes it out alive. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Jackie McKay trace Willie’s quest for justice as Blackwater vs. Plint heads to the B.C. Supreme Court — a trial that exposes the widespread damage done by residential schools, and sets in motion the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This episode is part two of two. Find part one here.

Willie Blackwater is just 13 when he holds a knife to his rapist's throat, demanding an end to his recurring abuse. It’s the first time Willie stands up to his residential school supervisor, but it’s far from the last. Years later, after a fateful encounter with a cop, Willie decides to break his silence — joining a group of survivors that help convict Arthur Henry Plint of 18 counts of sexual assault. But for Willie and his friends, it’s not enough. And a risky idea starts to form. Can they take on the architects of the residential school system? Host Falen Johnson and journalist Jackie McKay meet the man behind Blackwater vs. Plint, one of the first court cases where residential school survivors took their abuser to court, eventually paving a legal path for thousands of other Indigenous children forced to attend these schools. This episode is part one of two. Listen to part two here.