Whenever the prospect of "51st state" is mentioned, many Canadians wonder what would happen if it really came to that. Others wonder what they'd do in that situation? How could they help? Could they really fight for their country?

The easiest way to be ready should anything—emergencies, natural disasters and, yes, a hostile neighbour—threaten Canadians is to join the country's reserve forces. But many Canadians don't understand that process. How big are our reserve forces? Who serves in them? What kind of commitment is it? What kind of test to you have to pass? And how might your skills apply to what they do?

A number of listeners told us they'd been wondering if they'd qualify, and how to do it. So we're speaking to Commander Paul Smith (6:49), Commanding Officer of HMCS York, which is Toronto’s Naval Reserve Division, to learn everything you need to know about the reserves.

Afterwards (23:28), we read listener emails and tease some upcoming episodes. And (32:26) we've got another song for you...

For more information about the reserves, including jobs that are currently available, you can visit https://forces.ca/en/reserve-force/.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

A stated objective of President Trump's trade war is to cause Canada economic pain, in an apparent effort to bully Canada into becoming the 51st state. That strategy assumes there is a level of financial hardship at which Canadian resolve will weaken. The tactic is designed to cost the country—and more importantly, every person in it—money, in lost jobs, lost sales, higher prices and in many other ways.

So far, Canada stands strong. A massive push to #BuyCanadian has us squinting at the fine print on every purchase. But it shouldn't stop there. Nor should it break your budget.

After Jordan and Laura trade their own tips on keeping their spending on this side of the border, Jordan interviews Jessica Moorhouse, the author of Everything But Money, host of the More Money podcast and an accredited financial counselor, about how to Buy Canadian and how to thrive in difficult economic times(3:19), how to manage your emotions when it comes to your money in a volatile economy (13:07) and what to do with big purchases and investments and the feeling this is all going to hell (21:48).

Afterwards (29:11), Laura joins Jordan to introduce what will hopefully be the first of many original, patriotic Canadian songs recorded during the current crisis. Today, Lark of Canada, by Chris Rawlings. (Yes, that's Jordan's dad.)

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

Basically everything Canadians send digitally, even just to one another, runs through huge American tech companies—Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon, and dozens more. We've never had to worry about that. Now we do. So what are we going to do about it?

On an individual and national level, we need to get serious about protecting our digital infrastructure. The good news is that it's a lot easier for this country to win a technological or media war than a physical one, and there's real opportunity here. Canada's tech talent, from developers to hackers and everything in between, is among the world's elite. We have everything we need to not only secure ourselves, but to become an option for the rest of the world when they no longer trust American technology. Let's get going.

Host Jordan Heath-Rawlings and producer Laura Palmer speak with Canadian technologist and futurist Jesse Hirsh about getting serious about security and winning a tech war.

Intro: 0:00

Welcome Jesse: 3:31

Participatory cybersecurity: 11:35

Every Canadian's role: 21:41

Listener emails and sign off: 33:49

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.