After five years of commenting on Alberta politics, The Daveberta Podcast is going on "semi-permanent hiatus." The show signed off on Feb. 14 with one last episode, which reverted to the show's original premise: "Two friends of different political leanings actually talk about politics without yelling at each other," as host Dave Cournoyer put it. "You may disagree, but it doesn't necessarily mean you need to fight to the death in every single conversation."
Ryan Hastman, the right-leaning member of the original cast, left the podcast in 2019 to work for the newly elected UCP government. The left-leaning Cournoyer has been a constant since 2017, as well as producer Adam Rozenhart, who would chime in from time to time, especially for the show's popular segments featuring listener questions.
The finale also features an interview with Alberta Party leader Barry Morishita. "You bring a very steady voice, one that's very considerate," Morishita said. "If more of us took on that role, in all pieces of political discourse ... we would be far better served."
Cournoyer's time as a political commentator both predates and will outlast the podcast, as he has been blogging at daveberta.ca since 2005 and said he plans to continue, perhaps even popping up on the podcast feed again.
The Daveberta Podcast was named the outstanding news and current affairs series at the 2020 Canadian Podcast Awards, and has been a member of the Alberta Podcast Network (which was started by your correspondent) since 2018.
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