This week we're taking another look at Canada's foreign policy, through the framing of Ed Burmila's "Naught by NATO" -- an article we've referenced before. Since the last time we tried to talk about this was frankly a bit embarrassing, we brought in a ringer to help us stumble through. Kaliene Jackson has studied the rhetoric and impacts (and the gap between them) of Canada's Feminist Foreign Aid program and helps us envision what a truly leftist foreign policy would look like.  ..read more

We've been taking a little summer break and this week we're bringing you an episode we recorded in the midst of the Ontario election. As a bulwark against the ongoing trudge into barbarism and cynicism, we've dreamt up some grounded, realistic "demands" to immediately make worker's lives materially better.  Steve takes a quick look at improvements that could immediately improve housing affordability, desirability and walkability. And continues to gind his axe about landlords. Tim (of course) wanted to talk about trains. H-hey guys? We really should fix that enviornment, eh?  And ..read more

This week, Tim and a very congested Steve are joined by indigenous activist and labour organizer Carissa Taylor. A recent transplant to the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations -- also known as Vancouver -- Carissa shares how she's navigated her work with indigenous peoples on the Western Coast and how she understands Canada Day through the lens of her own identity as a settler-passing Métis woman and an anti-colonial activist.  TL;DR: fuck the flag; they can have it.  Stavros Halkias "Canada is Stupid" (RE: Land Acklowledgements) htt ..read more

Well, it's a month late and an (Australian) dollar short, but we are finally releasing a fascinating conversation with labour organizer (and Shadowfist player) Cameron Watson. From ranked ballot voting to whacky independents and democracray sausages, there's a lot to envy about Australia's political landscape. At the very least, you can't say it's boring (which is a lot more than we can say about Ontario's now-thankfully-over provincial election.  How the Australian Senate Works:  https://www.aec.gov.au/voting/counting/senate_count.htm You're welcome:  https://letmegooglethat.c ..read more

This week, Tim (all by himself) brings you a fascinating conversation about populism with political scientist Simon Black. Tim and Simon discuss how the rhetoric and "thin" political strategy of appealing to working people as a class has been so effective on the political right and what the left can do in response. Find Simon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_SimonBlack What's The Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805077742/whatsthematterwithkansas Prisoners of the American Dream by Mike Davis https://www.versobooks.com/books/2759-prisoners-of-the-america ..read more

Thank god it's over. The election has come and gone and 33% of Ontarians have spoken: we apparently forgot what the last two years have been like and decided we want more of the same -- plus a new highway, I guess.  Steve and Tim do their best to recap the final day of the election and talk about what the left can do now.  ..read more

This week we tried to come up with things to say about this dismal, boring election, which seems like it's heading directly into the PC's pockets. In brighter news, the NDP is set to elect more landlords than unionists and the Liberals are accusing them of hating women. It's been a great week.  ..read more

This week we took a little listen to the leaders' debates. Steve tries to highlight some better moments and, in typical academic tradition, Tim discusses the futility of debates in general. We discuss some late campaign promises from the NDP and Liberals and lament the fact that we are stuck with the leaders (and parties) we have, not the ones we wish we had.  ..read more

We're back at it with another campaign update. This week we discuss the northern Ontario leader's debate, some new campaign promises, including the various ways that the platforms overlap (especially the NDP and Liberals). We try our best to make sense of so-called strategic voters and Tim confonts Steve with the polls -- lest we get too excited about the future of our province, god forbid.  ..read more

The race to the premier's office has begun and we're here to pretend we understand what is going on. This is the first of our four-part weekly election coverage. In this episode, we talk about the major party platforms; the lack of ambition and enthusiasm from the supposedly left-leaning NDP; and the Liberals' half-measures that seem to only help suburban homeowners. We also fret about the popularity of Doug Ford and the polls that seem to indicate we're in for another PC majority. Oh goodie.  ..read more