Professional unprofessional strategists Stephen Carter, Zain Velji, and Shannon Phillips break down the news of the day. Not just what’s happening, but how it’s being played. Policy is one thing. Politics is another. The show dissects the strategy behind the headlines: what governments are doing, why it matters, and the political incentives driving every move. They don't tell you what to think. They make you harder to spin. Originally hosted with Corey Hogan (now inside the machine), The Strategists now anchors a growing podcast network: • The Strategists — weekly strategy, sharp takes, and questionable professionalism • Ministry of Podcasts — Corey Hogan reports from inside Parliament • Balance of Power — Annalise Klingbeil, Shannon Phillips, and Leah Ward bring a distinct lens to power and politics Described as “shockingly insightful” and “sports talk radio for politics.” Not sponsored by Flair Airlines.
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Booking probability
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Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchProfessional unprofessional strategists Stephen Carter, Zain Velji, and Shannon Phillips break down the news of the day. Not just what’s happening, but how it’s being played. Policy is one thing. Politics is another. The show dissects the strategy behind the headlines: what governments are doing, why it matters, and the political incentives driving every move.
Recent episodes include "Episode 4062: Pulling an Eby" (26 October 2026, 43 minutes), "Episode 4061: Original Sin" (23 October 2026, 48 minutes), and "Episode 4059: Six Days, Ten Questions, No Good Answers (Live)" (18 October 2026, 57 minutes).
The Strategists publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 49 minutes across 111 episodes.
Booking probability for The Strategists is 34%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. The Strategists requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. The Strategists's contact route on record: verified email.
The Strategists is a news podcast with 111 episodes published.
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The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips unpack David Eby calling an early election, and how he may have permanently added his name to the Canadian political dictionary. Can the BC NDP rebuild, or has the political landscape...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dissect David Eby’s snap election gamble in British Columbia and Danielle Smith’s search for new enemies after Alberta’s referendum. Was calling the election Eby’s original sin? Why...
Live from Edmonton, six days before Alberta’s referendum, Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips game out the final stretch of the campaign. With ten questions on the ballot and campaigns scrambling for every last vote...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dive into an emergency episode after Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly endorses “No to the Nine,” just days before Alberta's referendum. Will Carney's endorsement give the No to...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down the final week of Alberta’s referendum campaign, the conflicting polling on the nine questions, and whether persuasion or voter turnout will decide the outcome. Can the No...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Zain Velji break down the final two weeks of Alberta’s referendum campaign, whether Danielle Smith is on the defensive, and why the separatist movement may already be looking toward the next...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down British Columbia’s suddenly competitive election and what David Eby and the BC Conservatives need to do over the next month. Can the Conservatives win by focusing on...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dive into Alberta’s referendum fight and the political chaos engulfing British Columbia. Is Danielle Smith trying to use the nine referendum questions to contain separatism, or simply...
The Strategists
Shannon Phillips and Conspiracy Zain dive into the Alberta NDP’s surprise Calgary-Shaw victory, what it says about the UCP’s vulnerability in Calgary, and whether the result changes the political calculus heading into...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down Alberta’s new $4 million referendum advertising campaign, what the government’s creative says about its polling, and whether a massive spending advantage can actually...
The Strategists
Shannon Phillips and Leah Ward dive into Elections Alberta’s referendum headaches, the growing pressure around the province’s special-ballot process, and whether the agency is actually resourced to pull off one of the...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips rank the people, politicians, and campaigners on Alberta’s stay-in-Canada side. Who is actually moving votes? Are the BC Conservatives about to split themselves into two parties? And...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down Mark Carney’s response after Canada walks away from a trade deal with the United States, and what comes next when the relationship shifts from negotiation to trade war. Was...
The Strategists
Shannon Phillips and Zain Velji talk about what the Alberta NDP should actually be doing this summer, from candidate recruitment and Calgary-Shaw to the referendum and rural opposition to AI data centres. Should the NDP...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips talk about what happens when the strategist becomes the spokesperson, whether the political backroom still exists, and why Carter is discovering that dealing with the public may be...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down the increasingly crowded campaign to keep Alberta in Canada and ask whether anyone has the money or the nerve to run the air war the referendum may require. Then they...
The Strategists
Be it resolved that the Minister of Podcasts, Stephen Carter, together with the Chair of Oral Questions, Zain Velji, do hereby call this sitting of The Ministry of Podcasts to order, notwithstanding an abandoned first...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down the ways Mark Carney’s extended political honeymoon could finally come to an end, from a weakening economy and progressive defections to Liberal insider culture and the...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down the emerging fight between moneyed interests and economic populists in the Democratic Party, and ask whether progressive candidates need broader coalitions, better slogans...
The Strategists
Stephen Carter and Zain Velji break down the politics of being seen, from Naheed Nenshi’s controversial Stampede photo with the Israeli ambassador to the staffers whose job is to keep politicians out of pictures they...
Recent guests on The Strategists. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
Managing Director of Digital Inclusion & Research, United Conservative Party
Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing, Government of British Columbia
former Alberta NDP cabinet minister, College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina
leader of the school’s Business Innovation Program, Greater Atlanta Christian School
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