A joint effort between the police agencies that make up the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has led to the seizure of 189 kilograms worth of cocaine at Alberta's southern border crossing.

Starting this year, I began to make more use of the podcast function of this newsletter, releasing regular in-depth interviews with authors, journalists, academics, activists and politicians.

My original plan was to make the Orchardcast an exclusive feature for paid subscribers only, save for a five to 10-minute preview, but I decided a few months ago to expand the preview to provide the first half of each episode for free to anyone.

Below are the top 5 performing episodes of the podcast’s first year, as calculated by Substack through a somewhat arcane combination of views, preview downloads, full-episode downloads, likes and subscriptions.

I’ve got some good interview ideas lined up for 2025, so if you want full, untrammelled access to future episodes, plus the 20 episodes I released this past year, sign up as a paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Views: 3,057

Preview downloads: 1,148

Downloads: 61

Likes: 12

Subscribers: 6 (2 paid, 4 free)

Views: 2,781

Preview downloads: 423

Downloads: 87

Likes: 12

Subscriptions: 5 (4 paid, 1 free)

Views: 2,333

Preview downloads: 197

Downloads: 239

Likes: 10

Subscriptions: 5 (2 paid, 3 free)

Buy me a coffee

Views: 2,712

Preview downloads: 582

Downloads: 88

Likes: 8

Subscriptions: 6 (1 paid, 5 free)

Views: 3,861

Preview downloads: 1,226

Downloads: 169

Likes: 3

Subscriptions: 45 (17 paid, 28 free)

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The Calgary police homicide unit is investigating a pair of deaths that occurred in different locations in the city's northwest.

Ernie Tsu, owner of Trolley 5 and president of the AHA, told CBC News it was difficult for restaurants to adjust to not adding taxes to certain items.

At its core, the museum began as a way to tell the story of a small Alberta hamlet, but in the hands of the next generation, that view is expanding.

Victoria Desjardins died in hospital Thursday afternoon after the car she was in with both her sister and mother was hit by another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle had run a red light.

Mayor Amerjeet Sohi, the one-time bus driver-turned-politician, did a year-end interview with CBC while riding along the Valley Line Southwest LRT.

Of the three people taken to hospital, two were seriously hurt, while the third was treated for non life-threatening injuries, police say.

The words "why not me" are tattooed on the back of Alexandria Loutitt's hand between her thumb and wrist. That motto has served her well. The 2026 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are on the horizon for Canada's first world champion in ski jumping.

Firefighters in Edmonton have been awarded a retroactive deal with the city after five years without a contract. The contract that was just awarded expired at the end of 2023, so firefighters and the city are expected to begin bargaining again soon. 

There's no shortage of things to do in Edmonton and surrounding areas on New Year's Eve. Read on to see a list of places you can go. 

Nearly 40 years ago, Calgary’s Big M Drug Mart challenged the Lord’s Day Act, sparking a Supreme Court case that redefined religious freedom and paved the way for Sunday shopping in Canada.

Ski mountaineering — or "skimo" for short — involves racing up and down mountains, either on skis or carrying them.

Dwayne Lakusta, chief of the Grande Prairie Police Service, says the transition away from the RCMP has so far been smooth. He's looking forward to the next steps in the new year when more recruits are set to work alongside RCMP officers as the transition continues.

Fort McMurray sits at the junction of two rivers, which makes it susceptible to ice jam floods in the spring. It experienced a large ice jam flood in 2020. Now, Fort McMurray has extensive infrastructure to prevent a repeat — and is building more.

In 2024, it was a roller-coaster of a growing season for Alberta farmers. While some challenges still remain, an agroclimate specialist says there has since been a very significant reduction in overall drought conditions.

CBC News obtained two letters sent Friday by the Calgary Skyview MP, one to the entire Liberal caucus calling for Trudeau to step down immediately and another to Liberal Party president Sachit Mehra asking him to start planning for a leadership change.

The details of a Boxing Day multi-vehicle collision in south Calgary that took the life of a child are coming into focus as charges are laid.

Temporary housing and what may be a slow rebuilding process has many in Jasper, Alberta feeling anxious heading into the new year. About 2,000 people lost their homes in July, when a wildfire destroyed one-third of the Rocky Mountain tourist town.

The City of Calgary is continuing to pour big money into the building known as Big Blue or new city hall.

After nearly a decade, the Alberta NDP chose a new leader in 2024. Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi spoke to the CBC about his move into provincial politics.

Health Canada is asking Canadian families to check any stuffed animals that may have appeared under the tree this year, because there could be a choking hazard.

A crash involving multiple vehicles has sent several people to hospital, closing a section of major Calgary road, police confirm to CBC News.

Canada kicks off its quest for a 21st title when it takes on Finland tonight to headline the opening day of the 2025 world junior hockey championship.

In a year-end interview, Smith reflected on pressing issues and said her next steps will be revealed in the government’s budget, set to be tabled on Feb. 27.

Boxing Day once reigned supreme in Canada. However, with the rise of the internet and American companies like Amazon, has Black Friday officially taken the crown? We asked shoppers what they thought.

See how a volleyball-sized cyst helped Bunsen, a seven-year-old Bernese mountain dog, become a marvel to veterinarians.

Calgary-based Sun Cycle Farms conducted a pilot project that grazed cattle inside a grid-connected solar farm in southern Alberta in an attempt to prove that livestock production and renewable energy can successfully co-exist.

A woman in her 90s was hit by a Honda Civic driven by a woman in her 50s at around 10:20 a.m. on Christmas Eve. OG HL: Elderly woman hit by car in grocery store parking lot suffers 'life-altering' injuries

Digital cameras have become trendy among Gen Z photographers. Some say the renewed popularity is part of a countercultural practice.

Federal parole documents shed light on ongoing concerns about the risks posed by a woman charged in the killing of a young Edmonton security guard.

Linda Trinh knows what it’s like to live through hard times. Her family struggled when they moved from Vietnam to Canada. So, when the doorbell rang and strangers came with a Christmas hamper, it showed her the meaning of kindness, human connection and seeing past differences.

Investigators believe a BMW driven by a 19-year-old man with two passengers, an 18-year-old man and a 21-year-old man, was travelling east on Glenmore Trail S.W. when it failed to negotiate a bend in the road.

The move comes in the wake of threats from Trump, who has said he would impose 25 per cent tariffs if Canada and Mexico do not handle the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs.

In a letter sent on Dec. 19, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for several assurances related to Jasper’s wildfire recovery. Those requests include expanding Jasper’s town boundaries and clearing more trees inside Jasper National Park. Smith has requested a response by Jan. 6. The CBC’s Acton Clarkin has more.

Financial restraint and a focus on housing are the city's top priorities in 2025, Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen told CBC Lethbridge Bureau reporter Ose Irete in a year-end interview.

The Wood Buffalo Military Museum in Fort McMurray, Alta., has thousands of artifacts. Cataloguing them is a priority. The museum is working on digitizing its collection of documents and books, which can be fragile. Yet it still wants its artifacts to be seen by the public.

The North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, is used to monitoring the airspace over Canada and the United States. But during the holiday season, they turn their satellites toward the big guy, Santa Claus. This important mission has been operating for the past 69 years, and each year, hundreds of volunteers field phone calls from around the world, keeping children updated on when Santa may be approaching their home.

Within the span of two days, two inmates died at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

A little more than two weeks after 20-year-old Harshandeep Singh was killed in a shooting while working as a security guard in a central Edmonton apartment building, the city is shutting the property down under an emergency order.

The holidays might be a time for turkey dinners, but recent data shows that Canadian turkey consumption has been on the decline. Turkey farmers are hoping to encourage Canadians to turn to turkey once again as production caps, which are controlled through supply management, have mostly decreased over the past decade.

With a $500-million budget, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) managed to deliver the BMO Centre expansion this year on time and on budget.

Canada’s decreasing dollar may not be great for the economy, but the exchange rate is welcome news for the film industry hoping for U.S. productions to choose Canada as a filming location.

Set to be completed in 2022, the 253-hectare, 120-megawatt solar farm on what is now a canola field on the west side of the airport lands was touted as one of the largest at an airport anywhere in the world.

We’re introducing you to Ernie Bastide, a veteran ETS bus driver who delivers passengers to the Edmonton International Airport aboard the 747 bus.

A Peace River RCMP officer is pairing up with community leaders and bringing guest speakers to the Peace Country. The goal is to inspire and motivate youth in rural and remote areas and show them what's possible.

After weather warnings for large parts of Alberta were issued midway through last week, skiers will be disappointed to learn that the snow didn’t find its way to all the slopes equally.

A former president of the Calgary Homeless Foundation says he is deeply concerned by the Alberta government's recent decision to overhaul the funding scheme for organizations providing services to homeless people.

Karaar Digital Address has test-piloted a system that assigns formal addresses to homes in Somalia to reduce remittance fees for Somali-Canadians.

Food bank executive director Marjorie Bencz said about 45,000 people are being served through the organization's hamper program, roughly 10,000 more than at this time two years ago.