Episode 316 of UnSpun with Jody Vance and George Affleck dives deep into Vancouver's City Hall soap opera, a wave of journalists jumping into politics, the slow walk to a Liberal majority, and a war with no end game in Iran.

Here's what's inside:

⚖️ Sean Orr Sues Ken Sim — The councillor launches a GoFundMe to sue the mayor for defamation after the drug dealer comments. George questions whether it'll succeed, raises campaign finance red flags, and explains why the city will likely cover Sim's legal costs. Meanwhile, the affordable housing debate that started it all is completely buried.

🏛️ Vancouver's 2026 Election Chaos — Too many parties, too many candidates, and the left keeps splitting the vote. George breaks down why ABC could still win despite Ken Sim's implosion, and why celebrity name recognition alone doesn't win council seats.

🗞️ Journalists Jump Into Politics — Frances Bula, veteran civic affairs reporter, announces a run for Vancouver council. Janet Brown enters the race in Surrey. George compares the policy wonk versus retail politician skill sets and shares his own 2011 campaign strategy of winning through micro-markets.

🇨🇦 Crossing the Floor to a Majority — A Nunavut NDP MP joins the Liberals, the first New Democrat to cross. Three Conservatives already have. Carney's now within one or two seats of a majority, with by-elections set for April 13th. George disagrees with floor-crossing on principle. Jody says this one actually makes sense given Nunavut's unique position.

🇳🇴 Carney Heads to Norway — The PM visits the North, then flies to Norway to talk oil, pipelines, and resource management. George points out Norway's $5-trillion sovereign wealth fund, no debt, and protected coastline as the model Canada should follow.

💣 Iran War Escalates — The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Ships are being attacked. Terror threats emerge on US soil. No congressional approval, no stated end game, and a new reason every day for why the US and Israel went in. George says Netanyahu benefits from regional chaos and Trump thought it would be as easy as Venezuela.

📍 From a GoFundMe lawsuit at City Hall to a war with global supply chain consequences, Episode 316 covers it all.

📬 Follow Jody: @jodyvance 📬 Follow George: @george_affleck 🌐 unspunpodcast.com

⏱ Chapters: 00:00 – Sean Orr's GoFundMe Lawsuit Against Ken Sim 05:00 – Political Mudslinging & the Lost Housing Debate 07:00 – Journalists Enter the Race: Frances Bula & Janet Brown 10:00 – Celebrity vs Policy Wonk: Who Wins Council Seats? 13:00 – How George Won in 2011: Micro-Market Strategy 16:00 – Crossing the Floor: NDP MP Joins the Liberals 18:00 – Carney's Path to a Majority 20:00 – Norway Trip & Resource Management Lessons 22:00 – Iran War: No Plan, No Approval, No End Game 24:00 – Strait of Hormuz, Oil Prices & Global Fallout 28:00 – Final Thoughts

Episode 314 of UnSpun with Jody Vance and George Affleck swings from Olympic hockey outrage to Vancouver City Hall scandal to the geopolitical chess game Canada's playing on the world stage.

Here's what's inside:

🏒 US Hockey Team's Locker Room Moment — The men's Olympic gold medal team's call with Trump and Cash Patel goes sideways. The women's team laughs it off in real time. Jody goes deep on why "locker room talk" stopped being an excuse decades ago. Some players are apologizing. Most aren't.

🏙️ Councillor Lenny Zhou's WeChat Scandal — A Vancouver councillor goes on WeChat in Mandarin and calls fellow councillors drug dealers and users. He apologized — but only because he got caught. Mayor Ken Sim's response? A thank-you note for saying sorry. Then he literally ran from the media.

🌎 Mexico Under Siege — George just got back from Puerto Vallarta as cartel violence erupted. Buses, banks, and taxis on fire. Tourists watching from hotel rooftops. A bizarre personal encounter with what may have been a cartel message at a resort.

🇨🇦 Canada's Unity Surge — Polling shows Canadians more united than they've been in decades. Mark Carney's approval hits record highs, Poilievre drops to minus 16, and defence deals with South Korea, Norway, and the UK fly under the radar.

🇺🇸 Trump's State of the Union — Ten thousand words, zero connection to reality. George and Jody break down the "bizarro world" speech, the sycophant applause, and why Andrew Scheer's "where's the deal?" line may be the worst political read of the year.

🤖 AI, Anthropic & Pete Hegseth — The US Defence Secretary pressures Anthropic to loosen AI safeguards while Canada pushes to tighten them. Jody and George discuss what that means for the future.

🏛️ Vancouver's Official Development Plan — A massive public hearing on March 10th will codify the Vancouver Plan into policy. Over 130 development projects are in the pipeline for 2026, double last year. The sidewalk budget triples — but it'll still take 500 years to catch up.

⚽ World Cup & ICE in Vancouver — Pete Fry's motion to ban US immigration agents from Vancouver during the FIFA World Cup gets ruled out of order. George calls it performative. The question remains: what happens at the border?

📍 From Olympic hockey scandal to Vancouver's biggest planning decision in 40 years, Episode 314 is packed.

📬 Follow Jody: @jodyvance 📬 Follow George: @george_affleck 🌐 unspunpodcast.com

⏱ Chapters: 00:00 – Trump's State of the Union Spin 02:00 – US Hockey Team's Locker Room Disgrace 07:00 – Councillor Xo's WeChat Scandal 11:00 – World Cup, ICE & Vancouver Border Politics 13:00 – Lenny Zhou, Drug Slander & Ken Sim Runs Away 17:00 – Carney's Record Polling & Canada's Unity Moment 20:00 – Poilievre's UK Trip & Conservative Collapse 22:00 – Andrew Scheer's Worst Take of the Year 25:00 – Trump's Bizarro State of the Union 27:00 – Vancouver's 130 Development Projects & the ODP 29:00 – AI, Anthropic & the Hegseth Problem 31:00 – Final Thoughts & the Vancouver Plan

Episode 315 of UnSpun with Jody Vance and George Affleck goes from a Vancouver City Hall apology tour to the end of daylight saving time to an actual war breaking out in the Middle East.

Here's what's inside:

🏙️ Ken Sim's Full Mea Culpa — After video surfaced of the mayor himself calling Councillor Sean Orr a drug dealer, Sim held a second press conference and went full apology mode. Orr rejected it. George breaks down the crisis comms strategy and what Sim should have said instead.

🏘️ Affordable Housing Gets Lost in the Spin — The controversy started over housing for seniors and people with disabilities. Not SROs, not the Downtown Eastside. Jody's frustrated that the real issue got buried under political mud-slinging.

🕐 BC Kills Daylight Saving Time — Premier Eby announces BC will spring forward one last time and stay on permanent daylight time. 97% of the public wanted it. Every business group, the airport, and the border opposed it. George predicts Eby will reverse it within a month under pressure from Washington State.

⚽ Granville Street Goes Pedestrian for FIFA — Vancouver plans to close Granville to traffic for the World Cup fan zone. George and Jody reminisce about the 2010 Olympics energy and hope FIFA brings the same magic. The new PNE amphitheatre — $184 million, triple the original budget — will host a 10,000-person fan zone.

🏴 Musqueam Agreement — The federal government quietly dropped a First Nations ocean and waterway management deal on a Friday afternoon. MP Wade Grant and Musqueam leaders try to calm the backlash while the news gets buried by the weekend's war coverage.

💣 US Launches War on Iran — Operation Fury begins. Six US service members killed, over a thousand Iranian casualties, and no clear articulation of an end game. Congress wasn't consulted. George and Jody debate whether toppling the regime is justified when there's no plan for what comes next.

🇨🇦 Carney's Global Trade Blitz — While the US wages war, Canada's Prime Minister is in Australia, Japan, and India signing defence and trade deals. Saskatchewan farmers get canola relief through a China deal. The steel and auto sectors still suffer, but momentum builds.

📺 Media Landscape Shifts — CNN may become Fox 2.0 under new ownership. Netflix circles displaced journalists. YouTube lands the Academy Awards through 2030. Christy Noem gets fired. Her replacement can't tell Iran from Iraq.

📍 From Ken Sim's apology to a new war in the Middle East, Episode 315 is the wildest UnSpun yet.

📬 Follow Jody: @jodyvance 📬 Follow George: @george_affleck 🌐 unspunpodcast.com

⏱ Chapters: 00:00 – Ken Sim's Drug Dealer Video Surfaces 03:00 – The Full Mea Culpa Press Conference 07:00 – Affordable Housing Lost in the Spin 08:00 – BC Kills Daylight Saving Time Forever 11:00 – Granville Street Pedestrian Mall & FIFA Fan Zone 14:00 – PNE Amphitheatre & 2010 Olympics Nostalgia 18:00 – Musqueam Waterway Deal Buried on a Friday 20:00 – US Launches War on Iran 23:00 – No End Game, No Congressional Approval 25:00 – Carney's Trade Blitz: Australia, Japan, India 27:00 – Poilievre in London, Conservatives Adrift 28:00 – CNN, Netflix & the New Media Order 30:00 – Christy Noem Out, MMA Fighter In 31:00 – Final Thoughts