''Red Man Laughing'' is a comedy podcast hosted by Ryan McMahon that focuses on indigenous art, culture, and storytelling in Canada.

Background

McMahon interviewed

Romeo Saganash Diom Roméo Saganash (born October 28, 1961) is a Cree lawyer and former politician from Canada. Saganash served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou in Quebec from 2011 to 2019. A member of the New Demo ...

on Red Man Laughing in 2015. The show includes interviews with guests such as Nick Sherman,

Richard Van Camp Richard Van Camp (born September 8, 1971) is a Dogrib Tłı̨chǫ writer of the Dene nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada.

, and

Joseph Boyden Joseph Boyden (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer of Irish and Scottish descent. He also claims Indigenous descent, but this is widely disputed. Joseph Boyden is best known for writing about First Nations culture ...

. McMahon interviewed

Elizabeth LaPensée Elizabeth LaPensée is an assistant professor in the Departments of Media & Information and Writing, Rhetoric, & American Cultures at Michigan State University. She is of Irish, Anishinaabe, and Métis descent. She studies and creates video g ...

on her experience in the academic world and the need for creating new things. The show started out as a comedy podcast, but the fifth season began with McMahon angrily calling out the celebrations surrounding the

150th anniversary of Canada The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation. Planning Major pl ...

for ignoring problems that indigenous communities are dealing with such as indigenous food security,

missing and murdered Indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acros ...

, and the impacts caused by

residential school system In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sys ...

. On the second to last episode of the season, "Land", McMahon addresses indigenous land claims and the important role that returning land to indigenous people plays in reconciliation. Even though the show receives up to 10,000 listeners every episode McMahon has had difficulty making money from ad revenue. Red Man Laughing is one of the podcasts on Ryan McMahon's Indigenous multimedia network called Indian & Cowboy.

Format

The show includes a "rant" section where McMahon talks about whatever is bothering him at the time.

Reception

The show won the 2020 Canadian Podcast award for "Outstanding Indigenous Series". The

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

included the podcast on their list of "podcasts for Canada 150". The Water Shed Watch Salmon Society included the podcast on their list of their "2020 Podcast Recommendations".

Live events

In 2014, there were some anonymous online threats to "shoot up" the Alberta Theater where there was going to be a live showing of Red Man Laughing. Red Man Laughing had a live show at the 2nd Annual Vancouver Podcast Festival in 2019. In 2020, Red Man Laughing was performed live for the opening of the Available Light Film Festival. McMahon went on tour for his 9th season of the show.

Adaptations

In 2014, the show was adapted into a national comedy special on CBC Radio One for

National Indigenous Peoples Day National Aboriginal Day (informally National Indigenous Peoples Day) is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada. The day was first celebrated in 1996, ...

and was being adapted into a television series.

References

External links

* * *{{URL, https://makoonsmedia.org/red-man-laughing/, Red Man Laughing at Makoons Media 2011 podcast debuts Audio podcasts Comedy and humor podcasts Podcasts adapted into television shows Native American podcasts