Out of Left Field

We're back, folks! After a bit of a hiatus we return to chat about the recent American election, some of our favourite moments from the Trump presidency, the upcoming economic collapse and of course everybody's favourite: COVID-19.

Today we are joined by author Yves Engler to discuss the not-so-benign role of Canada on the world stage. He challenges the widely held view that Canada is a "peace-keeping country" and shows that from the mining sector to backing coups in foreign countries, Canada does its best to protect its own corporate interests abroad at the expense of democracy and human rights. You can check out his content here: https://yvesengler.com

The crew returns today for some hop takes on all the recent elections! From the NDP's crushing victory in British Columbia, the ongoing bedlam South of the border in the United States, and even further South with the victory of the Movement Towards Socialism party in Bolivia. We give our thoughts on how the NDP will govern BC, what's going to happen in a few short days in America, and how the MAS victory in Bolivia might affect the region. We also take a few moments to dunk on Elon Musk near the end of the episode, because why not? You can read the article Ben mentioned here: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/after-john-horgans-smashing-bc-ndp-victory-now-is-the-time-to-be-bold

Today we are joined by director of the Centre for Future Work, Jim Stanford! We discuss his recent findings regarding how union organising has increased during the pandemic, how COVID is laying bare the contradictions in Canadian capitalism, and how in times of crisis people need someone to have their back. You can check out the Centre for Future Work as well as Jim's article below: https://centreforfuturework.ca/ https://centreforfuturework.ca/2020/09/09/in-a-crisis-you-want-someone-at-your-back/

Senior BC Political Correspondent Ian Bushfield is back on the show for a very special BC election forecast episode! With the first (and only) leaders debate just behind us, we explore the political situation in British Columbia, the state of the BC NDP, Green and Liberal parties, and what this might mean for the politics of BC going forward. You can watch the full leaders debate here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFmhJ0x7oY Check out Ian's podcasts below for more BC and Vancouver political commentary: https://www.politicoast.ca/ https://www.cambiereport.ca/ You can follow Ian on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ibushfield Also, apologies for the lacklustre audio quality on this episode, Ben was not in his natural recording habitat so we had to improvise!

Today we are joined by three activists from the Victoria based Retail Action Network! We chat about their organisation, their work in the community helping retail and service sector workers, union activism and more! If you want to get involved, or if you live outside of Victoria and want to network with them check them out here: https://retailaction.ca/

The Canadian CERB has given voice to many supporters of Universal Basic Income. Today we discuss UBI, some of the potential benefits of it, and as well as many ways that it could fall short of its promises. Is UBI progressive policy? Could it have unintended consequences? Is it a worthwhile endeavor, or are the demands for it a symptom of a more systemic anemia of the Canadian social safety net? We also have a cameo appearance by Andre Goulet to announce the formation of the Harbinger Media Network which we, along with many other left wing Canadian shows, will be a part of! https://harbingermedianetwork.com/

On today's episod, educator and union activist Adrienne Roberts joins us to discuss school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-host of Out of Left Field Mackenzie made a cameo appearance on Kino Lefter, the socialist movie review podcast! We've been a little behind on our episodes as of late, but we've got some great interviews booked and coming up soon, so hopefully this will tide you all over until we can get those recorded & posted. And yes, we did get permission from Kino Lefter to post this premium episode of theirs!

Today on the show we have Green party leadership candidate Meryam Haddad to talk about her campaign to turn the Green Party of Canada socialist, the Canadian Green New Deal, defunding the police and much more.

Today we are joined by Craig from the Acid Horizon podcast to talk about the prison industrial complex, private prisons and his own experiences working in the industry. We also chat about prisons in Canada a little bit as well, the role of the police, and what it means to defund the police and abolish prisons. You can check them out here, including an episode Anthony was featured on recently! https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/acid-horizon The short docu-series from Shane Bower that Ben mentions can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7FWr6whNWmhueSwdXFBsNJkZXkMIQ9lf

It's a laid back episode today! The crew discusses some recent events ranging from the We charity scandal with the federal Liberal government, Chrystia Freeland's checkered past, the protests in Portland, Alberta's new draconian anti-protest law and more!

Journalist Morgana Adby from The Canada Files joins us to discuss the shifting policy in British Columbia on evictions. As provincial economies in Canada continue to slowly reopen and go back to "normal" this also means that the ban on evictions will also begin to be rolled back. We chat about some of the implications of that and what might happen down the road. You can read her article and check out The Canada Files here: https://www.thecanadafiles.com/canada/bnrdrs

Back on the show is our Senior Computer Security Correspondent to discuss best practices for protesting safely and securely. We chat about the recent uprisings in North America about police violence and abuse, the best ways to keep yourself safe while exercising your Charter sanctioned and 1st Amendment (depending on your country) rights, explore some of the details of cell phone safety as well as alternative methods of communication such as mesh networks.

Back on the show to discuss the recent uprising in the USA is author, journalist & blogger Cory Doctorow! We discuss the wave of protests, racism in North America, some of the technical (and business) aspects of police surveillance and more! Audio credit: https://twitter.com/theBrianAlan/status/1266939580579672064 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ecy0QLVES8

Joining us today from Edinburgh, Scotland is Laurie Macfarlane, economics editor for opendemocracy.net and author of a recent novella entitled "A Spectre is Haunting the West – the Spectre of Authoritarian Capitalism" which you can read here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/a-spectre-is-haunting-the-west-the-spectre-of-authoritarian-capitalism/ We discuss the global power balance between the USA and China, the difference between the two countries' responses to the crisis, how COVID is expediting the shift of the global balance of power Eastward, the shift in global financial markets, and lots more. You can check out more podcasts on the Ricochet network here: https://ricochet.media/en/podcast If you want to support the show (which we appreciate very much) you can chip in here: https://www.patreon.com/outofleftfieldpodcast

Here's an excerpt from our recent premium episode. We promised that we weren't going to talk about the god damned coronavirus and to the surprise of no one ended up talking about it anyway. On the full episode we discuss the recent snowbird crash, Trudeau's gun legislation, incels and more. We're trying to do more Patreon episodes, so if you're able to and want to support the show we always appreciate it: https://www.patreon.com/outofleftfieldpodcast

Fellow podcaster from Politicoast and friend of the show Ian Bushfield joins us to discuss the reopening of the BC economy, the response of governments around the world to the coronavirus, the changes to the rental markets, the right wing protests against the lock down measures and more!

On today's show we have Canadian documentary filmmaker and author Mark Sakamoto to discuss his new series on CBC: Good People. Covering topics from homelessness, opioid addiction and veterans issues. We discuss his experiences making the series, what he learned and how he was always able to find a silver lining in whatever topic he covered.

Today we are joined by Matthew Klippenstein, a chemical engineer who's spent his career in decarbonistation to talk about climate science, climate change, renewables and politics. Matthew Klippenstein is an engineer with 20 years' experience in the clean energy sector, ranging from fuel cells and electric vehicle infrastructure to wind and solar energy. He has tracked the Canadian electric vehicle market since 2013 and writes for the National Observer. A few links of interest: https://www.thedrive.com/tech/27065/the-bug-in-the-battery-take-all-perspective.

We managed to catch friend of the show Rob Rousseau (host of 49th Parahell and The Insurgents podcast) while he was cooking dinner to discuss the end of Bernie Sanders' campaign and the effect this will have on left wing movements around the world. We chat about the brazen corruption that the democratic party engaged in to stop his movement (along with the British Labour Party crushing Corbyn , where to go from here and more. Special cameo appearances by a boiling pot of rice, miscellaneous kitchen utensils, and Rob's adorable children! You can find both Rob's show and ours on the Ricochet Podcast Network: https://ricochet.media/en/podcast

Some choice excerpts from our premium Patreon episode. The crew chat about what it's like to work in a grocery store during the coronavirus pandemic, the city of Victoria's move to grow more local food, tenants action groups, and the cratering of the global oil price and the effect on Alberta & more!

We are joined by long time friend of the show and Jacobin science writer Leigh Phillips to discuss the global coronavirus pandemic. We salute the hard working grocery store employees and health care workers! We discuss how free market capitalism is unable to deal with this crisis, social distancing, the perils of technocracy, open science and more,

All too often the discussion on Canadian health care starts and ends at "At least we aren't America." but our system deserves a critical look. Joining us in the midst of a global pandemic is The Tyee’s legislative bureau chief Andrew MacLeod. We talk about how our public health care system isn't really a system at all, could use some improvements, and that privatisation is still bad.

We're back! Today we discuss the ongoing democratic primary as well as the ongoing protests surrounding the LNG project in northern BC. We chat about the insane & kafkaesque primary system in the USA, the democratic party manipulation of votes, and the widespread revolt & struggle against the Canadian petrostate.

Today we are joined by two activists from the fight to organize Whole Foods. After years of corporate, dishonest and awful policies, workers have decided to strike back. From nightmare-like employee score cards and pop quizzes to empty shelves, we talk with two workers who were directly affected by these policies and decided to fight back.

Today we're joined by progressive Victoria city councilor Jeremy Loveday! We discuss the role that municipal politics plays in the broader context, the housing crisis that many cities across the world face, public transportation, bike lanes and more.

Special bonus episode! We're joined by marine biologist Sarika-Cullis Suzuki to discuss her upcoming documentary film The Kingdom of the Tide airing on CBC's The Nature of Things this Friday February 7th. The film explores the tidal ecosystem of both the west and east costs of Canada and the small, tiny creatures that inhabit them. We also talk about the environmentalist movement, climate change, activism, and how Ben still feels bad about slagging off the BC Eco-Socialists in the last episode.

Today the crew talks about BC politics and reviews the performance of the milquetoast BC NDP / Green Party government. We discuss their overall failure to deliver social democracy, dragging their feet on a $15/hour minimum wage, the LNG development up north that will annihilate our greenhouse gas emissions targets, the Unist'ot'en blockade and other protests, the implementation of ride sharing scabs in BC, their mistreatment of the BC Teachers Union, the legacy of the Dave Barrett government of the 1970's and more.

With us today to talk about the recent brinkmanship between Iran and USA is Derek Davison, foreign policy analyst & publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter. We discuss situation in the Middle East, the recent downing of a Boeing airliner with many Canadians on board, Trump's foreign policy and more. Read the full article here: https://fx.substack.com/p/well-that-escalated-quickly Big ups to Win Without War: https://winwithoutwar.org/

In a very special episode to close out the decade, the Out of Left Field crew reviews the last 10 years of important & influential events, elections, protests and strikes on the left from around the world.

Every lost election feels like the end of the world, but this time felt particularly awful. With us to sort through this existential dread is friend of the show Mike Watson, author of recently released book Can the Left Learn to Meme https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/can-left-learn-meme

One of our favourite guests is back on the show! Renowned author, journalist, blogger and activist Cory Doctorow joins us to discuss the recently approved "smart city" development in Toronto by Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet company. We talk about the prospects of technologically integrated cities, democracy, whether the market can really be an effective tool in meeting human needs and the vision for the future. Read the full article here: https://boingboing.net/2019/10/30/citizen-scores-eh.html

There's an old joke in Latin America: Why are there never any coups in the United States? Because there's no American embassy there to organise them. Today we're joined by journalist from www.thegrayzone.com Ben Norton to discuss the recent right-wing coup in Bolivia and the greater context of socialist experiments throughout South America. The so-called "Pink Tide" has been receding in recent years with the right wing claiming victory in a number of formerly socialist or social democratic countries. We also discuss Venezuela, Ecuador, how Bolivia's massive lithium deposits relates to the Green New Deal, the history of American military and CIA involvement in the region and more. You can read some recent articles about the Bolivian coup from The Gray Zone here: https://thegrayzone.com/2019/11/11/bolivia-coup-fascist-foreign-support-fernando-camacho/ https://thegrayzone.com/2019/11/13/bolivian-coup-plotters-school-of-the-americas-fbi-police-programs/ As I type this, there are reports of a massive march of protestors from El Alto heading down to La Paz, a police weapons depot that was taken over by anti-coup protestors, and the military using live ammunition on protestors in Cochabamba.

Today we discuss the latest federal election results with friend of the show and temporary NDP candidate from Kamloops Dock Currie. We discuss how the NDP did, the utter nonsense which is #WEXIT and what the next four years (or four weeks) may hold in store for Canada. You can follow Dock on twitter @DockCurrie

On today's episode we have the masterminds behind the /r/canadaleft subreddit on our show to discuss the state of online discourse about Canadian politics. https://www.reddit.com/r/canadaleft/

Today we are joined by editor of Rabble.ca Sophia Reuss to discuss her recent article in Briar Patch Magazine: https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/theres-no-journalism-on-a-dead-planet We chat about the sate of Canadian media, journalism, climate change & activism. We also discuss corporate consolidation of media in our country, the climate crisis, whether online media can act as alternative and even the Canadian 2019 federal election. Enjoy!

The writ has been dropped! Today the socialist crew discusses the Canadian federal election, the first debate (sans Trudeau), how all the parties seem to be doing, the we're-all-going-to-boil-alive climate crisis, the almost-reopened abortion debate and more!

On our back to school special episode with speak with PHD student & activist Jonathan Turcotte-Summers about his recent article at activisthistory.com about the student struggle in Canada. We discuss the student protests/strikes in Quebec, debate the merits of decentralised organising structures, the notion of student labour vis a vis other unpaid labour, as well as the emergence of fascist groups on university campuses in recent years. Check out his article here: https://activisthistory.com/2019/08/26/students-as-workers-and-the-2019-quebec-student-strike/?fbclid=IwAR0G5rtbYCv4WFWxJct_aHM5pY1RyS7_nFOoR3CFS_xev6A4eywxERQnQ0U The anti-fascist Students Against Bigotry group page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/ubcsab/

Today we are joined by one of our favourite guests, journalist and author Leigh Phillips! In the wake of multiple & tragic mass shootings by self-proclaimed "eco-fascists" in Christchurch NZ and El Paso USA, we take a close look at the origins of this worldview and the interconnections between modern day environmentalism, de-growth / austerity economics and radical, neo-Malthusian politics.

Today we're joined by a Marxist law student and comrade of ours to discuss the law, it's theoretical underpinnings and ways that we can re-imagine its role in society.

Today's episode marks our second installment of the Out of Left Field reading series! Today we read through Ben's favourite article ever: Why Even Driving Through Suburbia is Soul Crushing. It goes into the nitty gritty details of exactly HOW and WHY suburbia is a hostile environment to human beings. Original article can be found here: https://likewise.am/2016/05/08/why-suburbia-sucks/ Image credit: https://qz.com/698928/why-suburbia-sucks/ Music credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BLaLv-jPQU

Today we are joined by Victoria city councilor & upcoming federal NDP candidate Laurel Collins! We discuss the NDP's New Deal for the People platform as well as the climate crisis and how we can respond to it. We also touch on the lack of affordable housing, some things we can do to help alleviate that issue, the Green party making inroads on Vancouver island, and lots more!

On today's show we are joined by a computer security researcher and friend of the show to discuss the latest controversy surrounding the Chinese telecommunications juggernaut Huawei. We chat about the recent trade war and ban on its technology being used in the American government, the detainment of one of its executives at the Vancouver International Airport some months ago and whether or not the paranoia surrounding the company is more about preserving the existing economic model and Western imperialist domination rather than a real security threat. Audio credit: AlJazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2019/03/huawei-controversial-190307181920819.html ABC News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXhnvp8PT7c FactPointVideo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H05UJtb5d84 How to pronounce Huawei: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LsWyL5DKAY

On our third installment of HOP TAKES we discuss the very crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic Party nomination & the importance of on-the-ground social movements that support them. During the full episode we also discuss pride, some local Victoria political controversy, the upcoming Canadian election & why the idea of breaking up Facebook is bad. Sign up to our Patreon to hear the whole episode as well as more HOP TAKES and other goodies. Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast/Photos Getty

On today's show we are joined by culture editor of The Tyee Dorothy Woodend to discuss the recent anti-abortion legislation taking hold across the United States and the implication for women's rights and access to reproductive healthcare here in Canada. You can read her article in full here: https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2019/05/15/War-On-Women-New-Phase/ Audio credit: Rachel Maddow, MSNBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BTGwICuYAE March For Life 2019, Ottawa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTxrSB1AknM Amy Goodman from DemocracyNow! https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/17/what_does_a_post_roe_america "how is prangent formed" by J.T. Sexkik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EShUeudtaFg George Carlin on pro-life conservatives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmMvsAjCkog

On today's show we take a deep look at the recent and radical student activism going down at the University of Victoria and how activists across the country and around the world can learn from their experiences. Read more here: https://www.martlet.ca/the-students-strike-back-uvic-students-take-over-senate-chambers We discuss how the struggles of students more and more intersect with those of the working class and residents of the city, the ongoing predatory nature of profit-seeking post-secondary institutions, as well as some ways to get involved. The list of demands can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/divestuvic/photos/pcb.1921409207962889/1921404997963310/?type=3&theater If you're a local comrade and want to get involved with the Tiny House project check this out: https://chuffed.org/project/tiny-house-warriors-resistance-edition Photo by Mike Graeme, Senior Staff Writer at the Martlet

For this weekend's double episode release we are joined by author & art curator Mike Watson to discuss his upcoming book: Can the Left Learn to Meme? We talk about the radicalisation and hopelessness of the millennial generation, the role that online discourse plays, the dominance of right wing figures like Steve Bannon & Jordan Peterson, the posting wars and of course, memes.

We're back, folks, with a double release this weekend! Normally our Hop Takes episodes are for Patreon subscribers only but since there was a bit of a delay in our recent interview release we decided to release this into the wild. Today we start out by discussing some local politics and move onto talking about some recent news and events around the country and around the world. We chat about the Alberta election, the free speech lawsuit lodged against our friends at Ricochet Media, the Zizek / Peterson debate as well as the recent talk in the media (again) of an NDP / Green party merger. Enjoy!

On today's show we have Bryan Carney, journalist & director of web production at The Tyee. We discuss with him his recent article describing a newly unearthed surveillance programme titled Project Wide Awake which involves a more active role by the RCMP in monitoring social media. We discuss how he came to find out about this new programme, the implications of it, whether or not some degree of surveillance has its place and the probability of a total lack of oversight of this programme (we really just don't know). You can read Bryan's article here: https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/03/25/Project-Wide-Awake/ Photo credit: Shutterstock

Articles 13 & 11 pertaining to copyright reform recently passed by the European Parliament pose an existential threat to the free and open Internet as we know it. On the show today we are very happy to have renowned journalist, author, blogger & activist Cory Doctorow! We discuss the terrifying details of the so-called link tax and upload filters as well as the broader implications from this both in Europe and across the globe. Cory also gives us a run-down on his new book Radicalized, a collection of four very awesome sounding novellas. Enjoy!