Sprawlcast: Recent Episodes
The Sprawl
A show for curious Calgarians who want more than the daily news grind. Hosted by Jeremy Klaszus. A collaboration between CJSW 90.9 FM and The Sprawl.
In July, Rogers yanked two longstanding Calgary radio stations off the air: 660 News and 960 The Fan. What happens when stations go silent? We look at what Calgary is losing. We also hear from Jacqueline Donoghue, a former AM 960 broadcaster, about breaking into the radio industry as a woman in the 1950s.
Calgary cartoonist and author Teresa Wong is the author of the 2024 graphic memoir "All Our Ordinary Stories." Her great-grandfather came to Calgary more than a century ago—but the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 kept the rest of his family from following. Now Wong has created a new piece of artwork specifically to be printed on The Sprawl's Pop-Up Press in homage to Chinatown. Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Wong about her family’s roots in Calgary and what she’s created for the Pop-Up Press—and why.Join The Sprawl for a printing pop-up with Wong on Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m. Meet at Sien Lok Park in Chinatown and make a print of Wong's artwork!
All grew up in Calgary—but only one stayed. Featuring Don Stewart of MacLeod's Books (Vancouver), Céline Chuang of Paper Birch Books (Edmonton), Rodney Clarke of The Paper Hound Bookshop (Vancouver) and David Sidjak of Sigla Books (Calgary).
A slowdown on sprawl? New councillors consider it as Calgary city hall reckons with a looming $49 billion price tag for infrastructure over the next decade.
After opposing Calgary 2026, Mayor Farkas considers 2038. We speak with the mayor about what changed—and ask city councillors what they think about the prospect of another Calgary Winter Games.
A decade ago, under Mayor Nenshi, city council started work on a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. It went downhill from there.
With 40+ new communities being built on Calgary’s outskirts, city hall is struggling to reach them all with services, including transit. We look at how Calgary's new city council is tackling an old problem.
Can local journalism be... joyful? You bet it can. Sprawl editor Jeremy Klaszus catches up with roving election reporter Asad Chishti to reflect on Calgary's 2025 election and why we covered it the way we did.
Mayoral candidates are bickering about which arena deal was best and who got fleeced. The Sprawl dug into how the $1.2B deal for Scotia Place—which has city hall putting up $853 million—got approved by council with no public debate. (Most of this episode originally aired in 2023.)
Fort Calgary's anniversary has traditionally been celebrated as the city's "birthday" but this time city hall isn't celebrating. Is this historical awareness—or amnesia?
Calgary’s urban tree canopy coverage is among the lowest in Canada. We dig into why—and what city hall is doing about it.
In the 1970s, a new freeway cut one side of Calgary off from the other. We dig into why the city remains divided when it comes to amenities and infrastructure on each side of Deerfoot Trail.
We dig into a 60-year fight against density by the reservoir shores in southwest Calgary. It's a saga about class, conservation and community politics. History is repeating itself at Glenmore Landing—but with some new twists.
Will municipal parties strengthen local democracy or undermine it? We speak with some of the candidates and parties that will be on the ballot—and dig into how the 2025 election will be different.
City hall's decision to close Inglewood's swimming pool left many Calgarians scratching their heads. We dig into why city council cut inner-city pools in the first place after oil prices crashed a decade ago.
When it comes to rail projects in Alberta, the Green Line is one piece of a larger puzzle. We dig into who's been setting the agenda when it comes to these projects—and to what extent they are complementary or competing with each other as Calgary city hall's Green Line plans collapse.
A week after the groundbreaking for the new Flames arena, city hall cut the Green Line nearly in half. We dig into the Green Line's delay-plagued history—and how one city megaproject has affected the other.
Where does our water come from—and how is climate change altering that water source? We zoom out from the feeder main that broke in June, following a drop of water from the Rocky Mountains and glaciers west of Calgary, into the pipes beneath our feet, and out the taps in our homes.
City hall went big—and is feeling the pinch. We dig into what it really cost to build a new convention centre building and what it means for the city's finances.
It's not unusual for Alberta governments to tinker with municipal election laws. But Bill 20 is far more than the usual tinkering. We dig into the evolution of municipal elections in Alberta and look at what Bill 20 means for local democracy in Calgary—and beyond.
Should neighbourhoods set their own direction? Should city hall impose it from the top down? Or is there a role for both? We go to Inglewood, Calgary's oldest neighbourhood, in search of answers.
As the debate about blanket rezoning heats up in Calgary, we dig into the Sprawlcast vault for a deep-dive on NIMBYism. Full transcript on our website at sprawlcalgary.com.
As the Bow Valley gets filled with development, a critical wildlife corridor is being threatened. We dig into Canmore's effort to resist two new housing projects that are expected to nearly double the town's population. This episode is Part 2 in a Sprawlcast series about Three Sisters Mountain Village, and is a collaboration with The Narwhal. Drew Anderson contributed research and reporting.
Coal mining drove Canmore's economy for nearly a century. But as the Canmore Mines struggled in the 1970s, speculators saw a new business opportunity in what was then called the Canmore Corridor: tourism. This episode is Part 1 in a Sprawlcast series about Three Sisters Mountain Village, and is a collaboration with The Narwhal. Drew Anderson contributed research and reporting.
Two years ago, progressives were rooting for Jyoti Gondek to defeat Jeromy Farkas in the race for mayor. But numerous Calgarians who voted for Mayor Gondek have found themselves in agreement with Farkas more recently—and disappointed by the mayor on files like the arena deal. We speak with both Farkas and Gondek, looking at what's changed since the last election and what's taking shape for the next one.
We dig into a deal that's less transparent—and far more expensive—than the 2019 one. We also follow up with with city councillors who campaigned against more subsidies for the Flames, but voted "yes" to hundreds of millions more.
City council approved a new housing strategy—but the rumble over rezoning is still to come. Hear for yourself what Calgarians and council members had to say during an epic three-day meeting.
In June 2022, city council created an affordable housing task force—and then balked at its recommendations, particularly on upzoning.
An update on The Sprawl—and Jeremy Klaszus's TED Talk on the case for quiet journalism.
For the first time in its 140-year history, the Calgary Herald has no fixed address. But the paper has been in slow decline for decades. What do we lose when the city’s largest newspaper is decimated?
Team Sprawl gathers by the (metaphorical) fireside to reflect on the year that was—and to look ahead. Featuring Ximena González and Sam Hester.
It was supposed to be the foundation of Calgary's transit system: CTrains and buses arriving every 10 minutes. But it didn't last long. We dig into what happened—and what's next.
To thwart densification, two residents of the northwest Calgary community of Banff Trail fight developers and the City of Calgary in court. Their case against multifamily housing is built on a little-known planning instrument from 1952—and is being closely watched outside the neighbourhood.
Zoning shapes our lives. But for many of us, this powerful tool remains hidden and confusing. Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Sara Bronin, a Cornell University professor and director of the National Zoning Atlas in the U.S., about why zoning matters—and how to better understand it.
This episode begins with a quick crash course on the history of zoning in Calgary:
—How zoning bylaws were created in the 1930s to protect property values —How Calgary's growth pattern was established in the 1950s, then entrenched —How city hall shied away from changing zoning in the '60s and '70s, instead embracing a status quo that perpetuated car-reliant sprawl
In my conversation with Sara Bronin, we discuss:
—The hidden ways zoning affects our lives socially, economically and environmentally —How zoning 'kills housing by a thousand cuts’ —How requirements like parking minimums further perpetuate sprawl
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After fast-tracking five new communities this summer, council members grapple with whether or not to go through with it in light of their own climate policies.
This summer, city council approved a climate strategy and fast-tracked more new suburban communities. Now Mayor Jyoti Gondek wants city administration—and not council—to be the ones deciding whether or not future communities get built.
Some love him. Some hate him. But for better or worse, Stephen Carter has altered Alberta politics. Journalist Taylor Lambert digs into the many ups and downs of Carter's career: his business debts, his politics, his graceless departures from three chief-of-staff roles, and his many grievances.
In July, Calgary city council is slated to vote on a new climate strategy. But will this one be any different than past plans that have been passed—and then ignored? This episode features interviews with Christine Laing of the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good and Tony Snow of the Calgary Climate Hub.
Dr. Leroy Little Bear, the renowned Blackfoot scholar, on the differences between Western and Blackfoot understandings of reality—and how they intersect with climate change.
Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Councillor Courtney Walcott, who sits on the Calgary Police Commission. Why has the thin blue line patch become such a flashpoint—and what's really beneath the controversy?
Today marks four years of Sprawlcast. We observe the occasion by revisiting our first—and possibly best—episode, a deep dive on NIMBYism. What do we miss when we apply that label too hastily? We peel away the NIMBY label and go underground to see what lies beneath.
Jeremy Klaszus visits Mahogany in the city's deep southeast for a conversation with Councillor Evan Spencer. They discuss the idea of “abundant community,” how to build connections in new neighbourhoods, and the realities versus the myths of the suburbs.
Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Iman Bukhari and Michelle Casten Magbanua about a gap they saw in Alberta classrooms—and how they mobilized to fill it. Iman Bukhari is founder and CEO of the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation. Michelle Casten Magbanua is a teacher.
Jeremy Klaszus speaks with Jared Wesley, a University of Alberta political scientist who leads the Common Ground project. They discuss political polarization, what an Albertan looks like, the rise of white nationalism, and that tricky question of what to do when your family or friends are sympathetic to political views you find abhorrent.
Jeremy Klaszus speaks with David Goa, a religious scholar who lives in Edmonton's Old Strathcona neighbourhood, about the need for difference and conviviality—rather than homogeneity—in communities.
On Commercial Drive, people from all walks of life rub shoulders with one another on lively sidewalks. Jeremy Klaszus speaks with longtime community member Zakir Suleman to find out more about what makes this many-layered neighbourhood work.
Jeremy Klaszus sits down with Lisa Murphy Lamb, director of Loft 112, to explore how she has welcomed—and been welcomed by—her neighbours in East Village.
A conversation with three of Calgary's next city councillors: Jasmine Mian (Ward 3), Courtney Walcott (Ward 8) and Kourtney Penner (Ward 11).
Jeremy Klaszus speaks with John Fischer, co-chair of the Indigenous Gathering Place Society of Calgary, to find out more about the project—how it's taken shape, and why it’s needed.
It's municipal election forum season! Six mayoral hopefuls are asked about the costs of new communities and the future of the Green Line. This episode features audio from the Calgary Real Estate Board mayoral forum on September 14. Featuring Jan Damery, Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas, Brad Field, Jyoti Gondek and Grace Yan.
A summer mini-episode! The shared experience of live music gives a sense of togetherness. But as venues and artists struggle through a tough stretch, is there an opportunity to rebuild the performing arts sector for the better? Featuring Jaxon McGinn, Miranda Martini, Maud Salvi, Kerry Clarke and more.
Our absent-minded city hall reporter gets locked outside a big LRT announcement in Calgary—and then lands an interview with the Prime Minister. Also in this episode: Jeremy Appel's exit interview with Calgary Councillor Shane Keating, who considers himself the "father of the Green Line."
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Mekwun Moses and Cheryl Baptiste live in different cities, and they’ve never met in person. But that didn’t stop the two women, both in their early 20s, from organizing a vigil to mourn the 215 victims of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
Sprawl deputy editor Hamdi Issawi speaks with Moses and Baptiste about their relatively recent foray into activism.
This episode contains content about residential schools that may be triggering. Support for survivors and their families is available at the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. Please call 1-800-721-0066 or 1-866-925-4419 for the 24-7 crisis line.
In the run-up to Calgary's 2017 election, the Green Line became an election issue when mayoral candidate and former PC president Bill Smith proposed halting the project. Now the UCP has put construction procurement on pause. With the project mired in endless delay and politicking, it all feels very familiar.
Since she was first elected in 2001, Calgary Councillor Druh Farrell has pursued an unabashedly progressive vision for the city's future, fighting for projects such as affordable housing, the Green Line and the Peace Bridge—often in the face of intense opposition. Jeremy Appel, The Sprawl's municipal politics reporter, sits down with Farrell for a wide-ranging interview about the highs and lows of her career—and what's ahead for both her and the city.
Miranda Martini speaks with Alberta musician Corb Lund about why he chose to speak up about coal mining in the Eastern Slopes—and what's next in that struggle.
Jeremy sits down with Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley to discuss the province's changing political landscape, universal basic income, the case for a PST—and more.
In the fall of 1990, drivers hit three pedestrians on Elbow Drive in the span of a week—including a seven-year-old boy. It ignited a decades-old debate about speed limits and led city hall to create a long and contentious playground zone. We tracked down the boy's parents, and a former community organizer, to learn what happened.
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Outrage sells. But what do we miss when we only focus on the latest outrage? Jeremy speaks with Calgary journalist Christina Frangou, Sprawl assistant editor Ximena González and comics artist Sam Hester about the stories we need right now. Plus: Sprawl municipal affairs reporter Jeremy Appel explains how the Alberta government has welcomed "dark money" into civic elections.
As COVID-19 cases surge in Alberta, Kenney doubles down on "personal responsibility"—ignoring doctors and echoing the rhetoric of Republican governors in the U.S.
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Calgary has an oversupply of housing and a budget crunch. But developers are lobbying hard to build another batch of costly communities on the city's outskirts.
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Why has Alberta's premier been so quiet on racism? We hear from the Black and Indigenous Alliance, among others. Featuring an interview with Heather Campbell, co-chair of the Alberta Anti-Racism Advisory Council.
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After a year and a half of UCP rule, some Albertans are choosing to leave the province and build their lives elsewhere. Hadeel Abdel-Nabi sits down with Dr. Tehseen Ladha, an Edmonton pediatrician, to find out why she's eying the exits. Hadeel also shares why her friend, Adeel Khan, is leaving.
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The Sprawl relies on readers and listeners to crowdfund its independent Alberta journalism. Become a Sprawl member today by pitching in just a few dollars a month!
Whose voice matters at Calgary city hall—and whose doesn't? Amid calls for anti-racist action in every segment of society, including urbanism, we take a deeper look at who the Green Line is for.
"The grief that I've experienced in the last week is very familiar." Cheryl Foggo has been writing about racism and Black life in Alberta for more than 30 years—as an author, playwright and filmmaker. Jeremy and Cheryl discuss the history of Black people in Western Canada, and Foggo's upcoming myth-busting documentary on John Ware. Features music by Miranda Martini.
On June 1, the Green Line goes is going before a Calgary city council committee—yet again—amid public debate over whether the LRT project should go ahead or not. We look at what's at stake and the politics behind it.
In Alberta, as elsewhere, people of colour are bearing the brunt of COVID-19. "Why isn't there a voice among community members, among Canadians, defending these workers?" asks Marichu Antonio, executive director of Action Dignity.
Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro has doubled down on his fight with the province's doctors—and misused his power to threaten and intimidate his critics. We look at the fallout.
In 2009, city council approved Plan It—a long-range blueprint to shift growth into established neighbourhoods and introduce more transportation choice. But a decade later, we're falling short on key targets—and moving backwards on transit.
In July 2018, a month after passing a new climate plan, Calgary city council approved 14 new communities on the city's outskirts. But the housing market has slowed, and now city hall is bracing for a shortfall of $57-million—and counting—as developer levies fail to keep up with infrastructure costs.
Adora Nwofor and Shifrah Gadamsetti are organizing the fourth annual Calgary Womxn's March on Saturday, January 18. This year they're rolling out something new: an afternoon of post-march civic conversations at the Central Library. Jeremy speaks with Adora and Shifrah about what's in store—and why it's needed now.
Fariza Thraya and her husband bought Stanley Jones Grocery in 1987. It was a tough business then; it's even harder now. Today a new couple runs the century-old Renfrew store, and Fariza's grandson hopes to make it a busy neighbourhood hub once again.
Before Premier Jason Kenney handed Steve Allan a plum $290,000 gig, Allan pushed for a new Flames arena—while also calling for a halt to the Green Line. We continue our investigation into how city council prioritized an NHL arena over the biggest transit project in the city's history.
The story of how Calgary city council prioritized a new NHL arena over the Green Line, helping the UCP jeopardize the biggest public transit project in the city's history. This is Part 1.
Working as a boilermaker in the oilsands, Lliam Hildebrand started exploring how his skills might fit into the burgeoning renewable sector. Today Hildebrand heads up Iron & Earth, a worker-led non-profit that focuses on renewable energy training and "upskilling" so workers can make the transition. We also hear from Alison Cretney of the Energy Futures Lab, a group trying to depolarize dialogue about energy in Canada.
As Alberta's UCP government reviews supervised consumption sites, we look at what these places mean for the people who live in and around them. Full transcript at www.sprawlcalgary.com.
The Green Line drama continues. Two years after city council approved the final Green Line alignment, Councillor Jyoti Gondek wants to revisit it. Meanwhile Councillor Evan Woolley is calling for a pause on the project. We take a closer look at what was originally decided and why—and how new changes could affect the project, for better and worse.
Is Calgary's Green Line being derailed? City admin is wary of tunnelling under downtown, as planned. Meanwhile, a group of well-connected businessmen are lobbying to halt the project. And Premier Jason Kenney continues to cast doubt on the soundness and scope of the project. We take a closer look at what's going on.
Jeremy speaks with Calgarians who are taking climate action in different ways, pushing for systemic change while also making their own changes on a small scale.
In Part 1 Jeremy speaks with Sharon J. Riley, The Narwhal's Alberta reporter, about forest fire smoke and the concept of ecological grief—and how it can be a motivating force. In Part 2, Jeremy goes to city hall to meet the teenagers who lead the Calgary Youth Climate Strike every Friday. In Part 3, local business owner Janine Vangool decides to add to her monthly bill by phasing out plastics.
Calgary has become the most income-unequal city in Canada, with Calgarians increasingly being sorted into different parts of the city by income. We take a closer look at what's changed since the 1970s, when most neighbourhoods were middle-income—and take a tour of the 3 distinct cities that have emerged within the larger city of Calgary.
UCP leader Jason Kenney set off a culture war in the middle of an election campaign. He also says his views on LGBTQ2+ rights have changed. So what does real change look like? Taylor Lambert interviews Laurie Moore, who squared off against Kenney when they were both students at the University of San Francisco. In Part 2, Jeremy interviews activist Pam Rocker, who works to build affirming faith communities in Calgary.
What's beneath the recent craziness of Alberta politics? Melanee Thomas, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, has a hypothesis on that. Jeremy speaks with her after Rachel Notley calls the election.
Part 1: We hand over the mic to Grade 9 students in the pop up newsroom for a special report on racism. Part 2: Jeremy speaks with activist Donna Clarke, an organizer with the Renters Action Movement (RAM).
Where is Calgary headed next—and what do we have going for us right now? A conversation between Sprawlcast host Jeremy Klaszus, author Shaun Hunter ("Calgary Through the Eyes of Writers"), urban planner Francisco Alaniz Uribe (assistant professor and co-director of The Urban Lab at the U of C's Faculty of Environmental Design) and Ward 3 Councillor Jyoti Gondek. This episode was recorded at the new Central Library on February 2, 2019.
We begin 2019 by asking: how can we have better political conversations? And what role does journalism play? Jeremy speaks with American journalist and Atlantic contributor Amanda Ripley, who has been investigating how to revive complexity and curiosity in tense times.
On Nov 26, Calgarians took the mic at city hall to share their stories, knowledge and wisdom on everything from climate change to poverty to main streets. In doing so they illuminated what Calgary could do next.
The Sprawl sits down with Mayor Naheed Nenshi to discuss his role in Calgary's Olympic pursuits. Why did he refrain from championing the bid early on—and what's changed?
Also: the city can't afford all the mega-projects on the horizon and Olympics consistently go over budget. How would Calgary keep its Games truly lean and mean?
We get you up to speed before the November 13 Olympic plebiscite, taking a closer look at the funding deal on the table—and what it could mean for Calgary's future.
Many of Calgary's early pioneers are buried here. We visit at night to pay tribute to our journalistic hero, Bob Edwards. Then we find out why hundreds of people gather here every September for a new Calgary tradition of honouring the dead.
Jeremy learns to love Calgary's most roundly-ridiculed piece of public art. Calgary artist Alana Bartol walks the city limits. This episode was partially recorded at a d.talks forum on public art in June, and also features Ciara McKeown, Iman Bukhari, Dan Jacobson and Michelle Reid.
After getting into a Twitter spat with Councillor Jeff Davison over city council's enthusiasm for a new NHL arena, Jeremy sits down with Davison to hash it out in person.
Forest Lawn was built on the promise of connectivity: a streetcar line from Calgary to Chestermere. Instead, the community got 17 Avenue SE—which, by the 1970s, had become an unsightly auto-centric thoroughfare.
This summer 17th Avenue, a.k.a. International Avenue, is being substantially remade with wide sidewalks, dedicated BRT bus lanes and public art.
We investigate the street's dramatic transformation.
One of Calgary's most popular streets is getting a facelift this summer. But does the $44-million revamp of 17 Ave SW go far enough—or is it a missed opportunity? We go investigate, coffee in hand.
City council just voted 9-6 to continue pursuing an Olympic bid. In our first Sprawlcast Slice, we take you beyond the headlines and let you listen in on highlights of the debate.
We talk #Calgary2026 with city councillor Jyoti Gondek (no, she's not the one doing the dodging).
When city council first approved exploring another Olympics, Mayor Naheed Nenshi called the decision "a risk that could have enormous payoffs." But nearly two years later, with a $30M bid corporation planned, council is still skirting the big question: should Calgary bid?
In the absence of an answer, confusion, miscommunication and frustration have filled the void.
We retrace council's steps and speak with Councillor Gondek about where things have gone sideways on this file—and how to get them back on track.
Not In My Back Yard. We call people NIMBYs when they fight against basement suites, bus lanes or condo towers in their neighbourhoods. But what do we miss when we apply that label too hastily? We peel away the NIMBY label and go underground—literally—to see what lies beneath.