Unionizing Prison Labour
From Embers
An interview with and , authors of the book . We discuss the background of the book, some historical and legal precedents, the pros and cons of right-based approaches, the core strategic arguments for a prisoners union, and an exciting new initiative by prisoners in Laval, QC to form a union. If you're around Montreal, check out their upcoming at Concordia University on Friday, November 24th. With music from .
info_outline
AudioZine: Under New Management
From Embers
On this special edition of From Embers, we’re sharing a reading of Under New Management: Resistance to Prisons in Ontario & Quebec. Originally published in 2018 on It's Going Down under the title this article discusses the establishment of the Canadian prison system and highlights some examples of prisoner resistance in Ontario and Quebec over the decades, with an emphasis on the widespread unrest throughout the 1970s. This AudioZine was first broadcast by in Kingston and has been edited and republished with permission. With music from , Christian Collins, and .
info_outline
Dispatches from the Fediverse
From Embers
Our correspondent Lenny returns to discuss the FBI seizure of the servers of , the largest anarchist instance on Mastodon. We also talk about the continuing discrediting of big tech companies such as Twitter, Meta and Reddit, and what that might mean for people working to build an open-source, decentralized alternative to corporate social media platforms. LINKS (Statement on seizure) Reddit alternatives & With music from
info_outline
Drag Defence in Quebec
From Embers
Talking with Louve Rose from P!nk Bloc Montreal about Quebec’s transphobic far right, drag defence, and building a revolutionary anti-capitalist queer organization for both community self-defence and to intervene against gay assimilationism. Links P!nk Bloc MTL – , , August 12 Rad Pride () Music
info_outline
The Public Order Emergency Commission
From Embers
Interview with an anti-fascist observer about insights gained from the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings, a public inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to repress the so-called Freedom Convoy in February 2022. We discuss why governments invoke emergencies, OPP's Project Hendon, how the Convoy was funded, the relationship between convoy organizers and police, comparisons with #ShutDownCanada, liberal conspiracy theories, the scale of economic disruption during the Convoy, and more. Links Our previous episodes on and the - Crimethinc report on the...
info_outline
New Communication Infrastructure For Anarchists
From Embers
Interview with the author of the , a zine discussing secure digital communication tools from an anarchist perspective. We discuss Signal and its critics, and some new tools being released that incorporate peer-to-peer communication, end-to-end encryption and the . Further reading: Signal PET apps
info_outline
Quebec Nationalism and Settler Futurity - Refusing Innocence
From Embers
A conversation with two anarchists following a workshop they gave at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair entitled 10 years since the strike: the place of nationalism within militant struggle. We discuss the history of Quebec nationalism and its influence in anarchist and radical milieus, responsibilities of settlers in anti-colonial struggle and in relating to land, possibilities and uncertain futures opened up by anarchism as a guiding practice, and more. Further reading: Keshena Robinson - Québec Redux: Settler Coloniality and Reactionary "Decolonialism" Robin Maynard and Leanne...
info_outline
Escaping Tomorrow's Cages
From Embers
is a six-part essay being published throughout the month of May that lays out the coming wave of provincial jail expansions in Ontario and propose a strategy for how they might be opposed. We spoke with 3 anarchists involved with the project.
info_outline
Student Organizing with Divest McGill
From Embers
In this episode I chat with two members of , a student-led organization at McGill University in so-called Montreal. They are fighting to force McGill to divest from the fossil fuel industry and transform the university into something liberatory and accountable to the people whose lives it affects. This spring, they led a more than two-week-long open, social occupation of a university building. All music in this episode is from the 2012 anti-folk opera "" about anarchist participation in the 2012 Quebec student strike. Check it out on Soundcloud here: Learn more about Divest McGill here: ...
info_outline
Solidarity with the people of Ukraine - Against the Russian State
From Embers
Conversation with the author of , available online at praleski.org. We discuss some of the political and historic context for Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine including Russian state mythology of anti-fascism, the importance of solidarity with people in Ukraine facing Russian imperial agression, and more. Music in this episode is from a benefit compilation released by titled . Also check out from Anarchist Black Cross Musical Solidarity Group Links: (leftist journal from Ukraine) Letters from Ukraine series published...
info_outlineInterview with Kevin Tucker about his latest book The Cull of Personality, which tells the story and surrounding context of the murder of Shipibo-Conibo healer and indigenous rights activist Olivia Arevalo at the hands of Canadian ayahuasca tourist Sebastian Woodroffe in the Peruvian Amazon. Woodroffe was subsequently lynched by members of Arevalo’s community, which became a big story in the Canadian press. We discuss the story, ayahuasca, colonialism, and new age spirituality in a civilized world.
Music by Slugdge