Dhanraj’s new podcast exposes CBC management recordings

Former CBC anchor Travis Dhanraj used the first episode of his new podcast, titled partially “CBC Tried to Shut Me Up,” to air hidden recordings of tense meetings with CBC management and HR.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Former CBC anchor Travis Dhanraj used the first episode of his new podcast, titled partially “CBC Tried to Shut Me Up,” to air hidden recordings of tense meetings with CBC management and human resources. He detailed what he described as retaliation and censorship inside the taxpayer-funded broadcaster.

Dhanraj, who resigned earlier this year after alleging censorship, a toxic workplace, and bias at CBC, told co-host Karman Wong that even discussing his experience carries risk.

“There’s a bit of a fear factor right now even talking,” Dhanraj said. “I do feel like, you know, a bit scared right now going out there because they’re a giant entity and they have teams and teams of lawyers.”

While the podcast is titled Can’t Be Censored, Dhanraj warned that there could actually be some things censored in the episode, “because I’d like to keep my home… The stakes are pretty real for me right now.”

In fact, the episode began with a disclaimer.

“The following episode contains my personal experiences and perspectives regarding my time at CBC, as well as details from the formal human rights complaint I have filed. These are allegations that remain under review and have not yet been decided by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The views expressed are my own. This content is being shared in the public interest, given CBC’s role as Canada’s taxpayer-funded public broadcaster,” it read.

The episode featured various clips of management and human resources; however, the names of the participants were censored. In one audio-only clip, CBC management threatened to remove him from a national broadcast after a dispute with another host.

“You guys are now saying that you’re pushing me off the show because the team can’t get over something that happened a month ago,” Dhanraj is heard saying. “Put on your big boy pants. We’re all professionals.”

Dhanraj argued that these conflicts were part of a broader pattern.

“I find it problematic that we are in a meeting where we are discussing something that is in the interests of the corporation. I’m not seeing the separation right now between journalism and the interest of the corporation,” he told CBC executives in a separate leaked recording.

One segment revealed CBC human resources instructed him to stay silent about being pulled off the air after tweeting criticism of then-president Catherine Tait.

“They wanted you to return to work. They wanted you to say nothing. They didn’t want you to explain it,” Wong summarized during the podcast.

Dhanraj responded: “I had a problem with that because there was a national conversation going on… You can’t have senior executives that have the interests of the corporation impacting the work that journalists are doing. We should not have to be operating in like a state of fear for calling somebody out. It’s our job to hold people accountable, right?”

The podcast also highlighted what Dhanraj described as editorial gatekeeping that blocked him from booking Conservative politicians.

“When Mr. Dhanraj attempted to book guests, particularly conservatives, he was met with resistance,” his earlier human rights complaint alleged.

He recalled being disciplined after interviewing Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman. He said he was punished for trying to book Conservative politicians or voices on his show, and was even forced to apologize to the Ottawa bureau for not following “protocols.”

Dhanraj explained that Tucker Carlson called him, trying to come on the show.

“I was told that he’s banned from the network, and then I was pulled into a meeting,” he said. “They’re like, well, he’s a white nationalist. And I’m like, I don’t necessarily know if that’s the case.”

He said he was pulled off the air the day after he hosted a Conservative on the network.

Another clip played on the podcast captured executives acknowledging protocols that effectively prevented him from interviewing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

“The answer is always, I will connect you with my friends at Power and Politics because it is our premier politics show,” a manager said in the recording. However, Dhanraj explained that Power and Politics would not end up accepting Poilievre’s interview.

He further alleged CBC’s diversity was “performative,” citing forms requiring producers to categorize interview subjects’ race and sexual orientation.

“I thought I was being hired to actually do what they laid out in the job description. I didn’t think I was being hired to be the little brown boy that filled 7 to 9 with filler content,” Dhanraj said.

He added that CBC talks a big game about DEI but doesn’t practice what it preaches.

“My opinion is they’re actually not doing any of the things that they publicly profess,” he said after explaining management questioning whether they should book a “prominent black journalist” again.

He said that his podcast wouldn’t just be about hounding the CBC.

“But it’s an opportunity not to just cancel people, not to censor people, to listen to people and hear them out,” he concluded.