The industry, culture and use of marijuana in Canada has transformed over the past decade as the substance was legalized in 2018 and billions of dollars were on the line.

In this episode of Books in 5, the author of "Catch a Fire: The Blaze and Bust of the Canadian Cannabis Industry" joins us to detail the build-up to this major moment, the policy dynamics in the nation's capital regarding health & safety and the entrepreneurs & influencers who hoped to cash in on the moment.

With unparalleled access to the major protagonists and keen understanding of the critical events, Catch A Fire reveals how the legal cannabis industry developed in Canada.

Ben Kaplan is a writer and editor who worked at GQ, New York Magazine, and the National Post. Originally from Brooklyn, Kaplan is a founder and editor of KIND Magazine, distributed in Canada’s legal weed shops, and the owner of iRun, the country’s largest running magazine. His writing has been published in the New York Times and Spin, and he is a frequent television commentator. He lives in Toronto.

https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459754652-catch-a-fire

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https://x.com/irunningben?lang=ko

Technology companies have grown to such size and influence that they now rival states in command of the world.

In this episode of Books in 5, the author of The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley joins us to reveal how Silicon Valley executives frame the conversation surrounding innovation & economic growth to favour their interests, the ways that technology powers so much of the modern experience in ways that is harmful to civic life and the threats to national sovereignty when the government outsources so much to private firms.

Bringing an insider's view into the manner that policymakers have allowed democracy to be undermined by investors & companies who are motivated by the bottom line, The Tech Coup demonstrates the critical need for leaders to stand up for the rights of their citizens.

Marietje Schaake is international policy director at Stanford University Cyber Policy Center and international policy fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Between 2009 and 2019, she served as a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands. She writes a monthly column for the Financial Times on technology and governance.

https://press.princeton.edu/books/har...

x:@MarietjeSchaake

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Mass incarceration is a uniquely American phenomenon but it is not simply the result of electoral politics.

In this episode of Books in 5, the author of Justice Abandoned:

How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration joins us to highlight the role of the Supreme Court in enabling the trend of ever-more prisoners as the Justices made a number of key rulings over the past few decades that led to changes in the criminal justice system.

Through an in-depth historical investigation increase of pre-trial detention, plea bargaining, stop-and-frisk policies and a number of other critical judicial decisions, Justice Abandoned showcases how the Supreme Court has deviated from their mandate to safeguard the Constitution of the United States.

Rachel Elise Barkow is the Charles Seligson Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at NYU School of Law. A past member of the United States Sentencing Commission, she is the author of Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration.

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978...

x: @RachelBarkow

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