Sick Man Talking Podcast
A chronically ill man has been trapped in a room for the majority of his adult life, exploring the limits of agony, sanity, and time. Armed with failing wits, growing pain, Turner Classic Movies, and a variety of recording devices, he navigates his mind and the world as it exists to him. Welcome to Sick Man Talking.
Episode 89
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about drugs.
In the first of a three-part series, he traces the arc from ancient poppy fields and shamanic rituals through empires weaponizing substances for control - the British Opium Wars in China, CIA heroin operations in Marseille and Vietnam, Iran-Contra cocaine trafficking, and the Sackler family’s systematic destruction of North American communities. Then he describes how he got caught in the crossfire.
This is a series on how drugs stopped being a problem to solve and became a tool of power.
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Episode 88
In this episode, the Sick Man puts you to sleep, Sick Man style.
Guided meditations for sleep are everywhere these days - millions of people listen to them every night. Now he’s decided to get into the market.
Your host hasn’t slept since 2019. And yet he’s confident this will work on you.
Contains totally absurd language, graphic images of cereal, and professional concern.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien <...
Episode 87
In this episode, Fake Cop returns for the shocking and explosive final chapter of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy, Frontier Fake Cop: Part III
Dead Eye Dolan gets his shot. Fake Cop gets his gun - from a very unconventional holster. Jasper Creed gets… exposed. Karate is involved. So is Connor McDavid. Again.
This is Frontier Fake Cop: Part III - Bottoms Up.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad...
Episode 86
In this episode, Fake Cop returns for Part II of the shocking and explosive new Fake Cop Trilogy: Frontier Fake Cop.
Fake Cop is on the run in Devil’s Kettle, 1887. He teams up with an outlaw. Things escalate. An awkward horse ride is involved. So is a coffin. So is Connor McDavid… Somehow.
This is Frontier Fake Cop: Part II - Coffin Break.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound...
Episode 85
In this episode, Fake Cop returns for Part I of the shocking and explosive new Fake Cop Trilogy: Frontier Fake Cop.
Fake Cop wakes up in a Wild West town called Devil’s Kettle in 1887 - no explanation, no room temperature water, no Froot Loops, no pizza, but somehow a hockey league. He gets arrested for existing too loudly, and he totally doesn’t use his shoelaces to strangle somebody. Or maybe he does. Kind of. Sort of. Allegedly.
This is Frontier Fake Cop: Part I. You ain’t from around h...
Episode 84
In this episode, the Sick Man goes looking for the greatest library the ancient world ever built - and finds out how little of it actually made it to us.
Hundreds of thousands of scrolls. Centuries of mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, entire plays we’ll never read. Gone, mostly, long before anyone could agree on who to blame.
It’s a story about how knowledge disappears - not in one dramatic fire, but through decades of neglect and war nobody thought to stop in time. And about a lifelong, slightly unreasonable love o...
Episode 83
In this episode, the Sick Man descends into Dante’s Inferno.
Nine circles. Demons. Fire and ice. It’s one of the most famous stories in literature - and one of the most misunderstood.
Beneath the nightmares, it’s a story about being lost… about the moment the person you thought you were and the person actually making your choices become strangers to each other. And about what refuses to let you stay lost.
Along the way, he explores heresy, violence, treachery, greed, other rings, and exactly ho...
Episode 82
In this episode, the Sick Man returns to ancient Greece to tell the myth of Demeter and Persephone.
On the surface, it’s a story about the changing seasons. Beneath that, it’s about the moments that divide life into before and after - the experiences that change how we move through the world, even when the world itself appears unchanged. Along the way, he explores grief, transformation, identity, and why some of the oldest stories ever told still understand us better than we understand ourselves.
Oh… and Hades finally explains...
Episode 81
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the Canadiana Roller Rink.
For a generation of kids growing up in Aurora, Newmarket, and the surrounding area, the Canadiana Roller Rink was more than just a a place to skate. It was a place almost everyone seemed to pass through, and decades later it’s still one of those places people immediately start talking about when it’s mentioned.
Along the way he explores the history of roller skating, why the Canadiana became such a fixture of local childhood, nostalgia, school field trips, cruising, moon...
Episode 80
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about space.
He follows the history of how human beings have looked up and tried to figure out what exactly is going on up there - from early humans sitting under the night sky making sense of patterns, to ancient astronomy, Greek cosmology, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, telescopes, modern space exploration, and where all of that leaves us now.
Along the way he talks about how people assign meaning to the sky, why the universe keeps getting bigger every time somebody invents a new t...
Episode 79
In this episode, the Sick Man examines an old Chinese parable called “We’ll See”. If nothing else, this is a great episode for sleep therapy.
What started off as a powerful philosophical meditation on an old Chinese parable about how good and bad events may not mean what we think they mean, quickly spiralled out of control to the point where the Sick Man’s audio engineer phoned him and literally asked, “Where is this going?”
The Sick Man replied:
“We’ll see.”
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Host: Brad Cartner <...
Episode 78
In this episode, Fake Cop returns in an absurd satire of the 1976 film Taxi Driver. Working nights as a deeply unqualified Uber driver in Newmarket, Ontario, Fake Cop descends into obsession as he battles unleashed dogs, a collapsing Uber rating, local politics, hockey players, and his own increasingly questionable grip on reality.
A tale of loneliness, delusion, civic responsibility, room-temperature water, shoe polish abuse, and a night at the movies that goes terribly wrong, Taxi Driver collides with suburban Ontario in the latest Fake Cop story.
This is Uber Driver. Fi...
Episode 77
In this episode, the Sick Man returns with the shocking and explosive finale of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy.
The Toucan Man is still on the loose and Fake Cop can’t find him. So he does something he hates more than anything: he gets introspective.
So he’s going to do what he usually does: double down in the worst possible direction. Going deeper. Not into the streets, but into whatever the hell is going on inside his mind. Trying to track down the Toucan Man the only way left…...
Episode 76
In this episode, the Sick Man returns with part two of the shocking, explosive, new Fake Cop Trilogy.
Will Fast Bobby return with information about the Toucan Man? No idea. Will Fake Cop finally confront his role in the death of his son? He doesn’t really know how to, so probably not. Will the Bonanza survive the night? Unlikely. Most importantly, will any of this actually lead somewhere … for once? Maybe. Depends on your definition of “somewhere”.
This … is Warning Label.
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Host: Bra...
Episode 75
In this episode, the Sick Man returns with part one of the shocking, explosive new Fake Cop Trilogy.
Will Bobby find information on the Toucan Man? Probably not. Will Fake Cop finally confront his role in the death of his son? Probably not. Most importantly, will he finally get rid of that body in the trunk? Same answer.
This is the Last Breakfast.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Bra...
Episode 74
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about a story we all think we know; Pandora, the box, and the moment everything went wrong. But instead of telling it the usual way, he slows it down and looks at what actually happened in that moment. Not just what escaped … but what stayed behind, and why that matters. How does hope actually survive?
From there, he moves into the modern world and the “boxes” we deal with every day - physical ones, social expectations, technology, even the ones we create for ourselves. Most of the time, we don’t even n...
Episode 73
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the ancient Greek concept of hubris; an excess of pride that distorts judgment and pushes individuals and systems beyond their limits; how certainty can override caution, and how ambition, when left unchecked, begins to reshape reality in ways that can’t be ignored. Using myth, literature, history, and personal experience, this episode looks at hubris as both a personal and collective force, something that appears whenever people or institutions begin to believe they are beyond consequence.
As the episode unfolds, it builds toward a broader warning: hubris carries a co...
Episode 72
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the invisible choreography of modern life.
Navigating bureaucracies has reached the level of an Olympic sport. Government agencies, banks, corporate offices, and customer service all insist you follow rules that change while you’re watching. Let’s explore the absurd perfection of these systems and what it means to try to stay human in a world that already assumes you’re not.
This is Catch-22.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien<...
Episode 71
In this episode, the Sick Man steps onto the ice to talk about one of hockey’s strongest traditions: fighting.
How it began. How it survived. Who does it. And why the sport that prides itself on speed and skill still makes room for a man whose job description includes punching people in the face.
Along the way, he examines the culture that produced it, and the enduring legend of the “Polite Canadian.”
Featuring real-life hockey enforcer Steve Hughes, who explains the mentality, duties, and code of the man who fights… while somehow managing n...
Episode 70
In this Very Special Episode, the Sick Man talks about the summer of 1987, and his very first job working for a printing factory in Toronto’s Financial District.
Before there was ambition, before there was a crash, before there were podcasts recorded in basements, there was ink. Industrial ink. The perfume of capitalism. And there were cigarettes. Lots and lots of cigarettes.
A coming of each story about paper, panic, and pretending.
This is the summer of ‘87.
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Host: Brad...
Episode 69
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about childhood myths from the 80s; paying extra attention to one that still haunts him. He also flips the 80s on their head, and presents them from a different perspective.
TRIGGER WARNING FOR GEN X LISTENERS: I know Generation X doesn’t believe in trigger warnings, but this one is necessary.
This is the Lost Nut.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Ca...
Episode 68
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about fear; why it happens, what it does, why we need it, and how it has evolved. He then shares some of his own personal fears, many of which are irrational, contradictory, or just plain weird.
This is the Fear Episode.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
...
Episode 67
In this episode, the Sick Man talks (melts down) about technology.
Who are these people? What are they doing to us? Why are they doing it to us? Do we have any choice in it? Will there be a Borg appearance?
Then he traces his own history with technology, detailing his many psychological breakdowns, while suffering several more during the episode.
This is the Technology Episode.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: ...
Episode 66
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about sleep deprivation. What it does, why it happens, and how it feels. He gives a history of his own problems, tracing them back to before birth, and reenacts a scene from a hospital room that just couldn’t contain him.
This is the Sleep Deprivation Episode.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Ca...
Episode 65
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about vengeance. He traces it back to Ancient Greece through an old myth, examines its philosophical and legal roots, questions whether it has any place in justice, looks at how it’s portrayed in film, and finally turns inward, confronting his own complicated relationship with it. What does vengeance actually do, and who does it really serve? Does it deliver what it promises?
This is the Vengeance Episode.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Soun...
Episode 64
In this episode, the Fake Cop returns in the explosive finale of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy.
Will he find the Toucan Man? No idea.
Will he continue getting used to his long-lost son? Maybe. Possibly. Temporarily.
Will he be able to keep his son safe in an increasingly dangerous world? Of course he will.
He keeps everybody safe around him. Well … kind of.
And most importantly - will he finally get rid of that body in the trunk? ...
Episode 63
In this episode, the Fake Cop returns in the explosive second instalment of the latest Fake Cop Trilogy.
Newmarket is dealing with a Froot Loops epidemic. The Fake Cop may be responsible. Will he fix it? Probably not. Will he take responsibility? No. Will he manage to save his own dumb-ass, loop-addicted son? Remains to be seen.
The batch has been sweetened. The hooks are in. The loops are now a noose around the town.
This … is the Froot Loops Files.
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Host: Brad Cartner
...
Episode 62
In this episode, the Fake Cop returns in Part 1 one of the explosive new Fake Cop Trilogy. He learns he has a long lost son - and for the first time in his life feels rattled.
How does a corrupt, immoral, anti-social man built on lies, intimidation, and bad decisions handle the unexpected responsibilities of a child? Not very well.
This is Fake Cop Family Ties.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek...
Episode 61
In this episode, the Sick Man launches a new series - or maybe not. He’s not sure yet; it depends on a few factors, mostly his own laziness, because a lot of research went into this. But he’s doing at least one episode called If They Were Alive.
Here, he takes famous historical figures and deposits them into the modern world. What would they be like? What would they be doing? How much money would they make, and how? Whet would they think of today’s society and the people living in it?
In this...
Episode 60
In this episode, the Sick Man drags Greek mythology through the streets of Newmarket. Join him on his mythic and totally absurd journey through suburban haze clutching his side, facing obstacle after obstacle, terrifying monsters, a seductive sorceress, faceless bureaucrats, and questionable municipal spending, trying to reach his final destination - the gates of Southlake Regional Hospital. Will he find relief? Does he complete his journey? Will his hapless companion Greg totally screw everything up? This is the Odyssey of Bradicles.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’B...
Episode 59
In this episode, the Sick Man returns to the land of Greek mythology to confront Oedipus - though he’d really rather not. Do we have free will, or are we just acting out a script we didn’t write? And most importantly, how will the Sick Man’s parents feel about this one?
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
Episode 58
Back with his first episode since 1987, the Sick Man returns from his absence to talk about what he is doing, and why he is doing it. And it gets a little weird sometimes.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEWS AND DIRECTORIES
visit us on our MAIN WEBSITE at
Announcement 57
The Fake Sick Man has an announcement from the Real Sick Man.
Support the show
Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEWS AND DIRECTORIES
visit us on our MAIN WEBSITE at
https://www.sickmantalking.ca/
or visit our HOST WEBSITE on BuzzSprout at
h...
Episode 56
In this episode, the Sick Man talks about the history and psychology of murder.
This is the Murder Episode.
Support the show
Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEWS AND DIRECTORIES
visit us on our MAIN WEBSITE at
https://www.sickmantalking.ca/
or visi...
Episode 55
In this episode, the Sick Man man talks about dreams. What they are, why we have them, and the different kinds.
He then risks his personal and professional reputation by revealing several of his own dreams and interpreting them.
This is the Dreams Episode.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST DETA...
Episode 54
In this episode, the Sick Man returns to his youth (and first principles) to play a simple, yet incredibly meaningful game.
Grab a ball and find a wall.
Support the show
Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEWS AND DIRECTORIES
visit us on our MAIN WEBSITE at
...
Episode 53
In this episode, the Sick Man examines an ancient philosophical question known as the Problem of Evil. In other words, why do bad things happen under a benevolent God? Let’s open up the Book of Job to find the answer. Hopefully we’ll find something. Anything.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST DETAILS, NEW...
Episode 52
In this episode, the Sick Man plays the role of Prometheus; the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity so we could do stuff (and to piss off Zeus).
Light your inner spark for the Myth of Prometheus.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL PODCAST D...
Episode 51
In this episode, join the Sick Man as he brings you the shocking, explosive finale of the Fake Cop Trilogy.
The Fake Cop is back from Beverly Hills and back in Newmarket. Prepared to start a new life, a new nemesis steps forward, threatening the Fake Cop’s job and dream, leading to a showdown Newmarket has never seen before.
Some men play by the rules. Some men break them. They will all face the heat.
This is Newmarket Heat.
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Host: Brad Cartner <...
Episode 50
In part two of the Fake Cop Trilogy, the Fake Cop goes to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of a childhood friend.
Froot Loops, fentanyl, bearer bonds, and a fake cop on the edge who absolutely hates traveling.
This is Beverly Hills Fake Cop.
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Host: Brad Cartner
Show Producer: Greg O’Brien
Sound Engineer: Derek Welsman
Music: Brad Cartner
Officer Wilfert: Adam Carter
FOR FULL...
