Brad Skistimas of Five Times August on his new single, cancel culture and the culture wars

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This Just In is a new single by Brad Skistimas, the independent singer-songwriter behind Five Times August.

The tune and the video were inspired by the Convoy for Freedom to Ottawa, the truckers' protest that began in opposition to the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers and grew into an avatar against remaining lockdown restrictions for everyone. The convoy remained in the nation's capital for nearly four weeks, peacefully protesting, feeding the homeless, playing shinny hockey, cleaning the sidewalks, and hosting street concerts in the evenings.

That is until Prime Minister Trudeau had just about enough of being internationally embarrassed in such a way that the bought-and-paid-for Canadian mainstream media could no longer spin or contain. He invoked the never before used Emergencies Act to euthanize the protest, arrest the leaders and seize trucks and bank accounts the most effective political enemies he has ever faced: blue-collar freedom fighters and their friends.

But the protest inspired an entire country, scared the daylights out of provincial leaders and captivated the world. Many people outside of Canada saw Trudeau for what he really is: petty, cowardly and fragile.

One of those people is Brad Skistimas, of Five Times August, a musician who during the pandemic has produced many anthems of liberty and carols of criticism for lockdown enforcers who pushed us into this civil liberties quagmire much of the Western world finds itself crawling out of now.

Brad's latest single, This Just In, is a play on who and what Justin Trudeau is under his thin veneer of cool socks and sloppy hair. But it's also a play on the role of the media in rewriting the narrative about the peaceful truckers as violent terrorists, worthy of the heavy hammer of the Emergencies Act.

Brad joins me tonight from his studio in Dallas, Texas to discuss his new single, cancel culture, and the role of freedom-minded people in the culture wars.