Alberta Advantage Podcast

Fresh from the birthplace of the CCF! Commentary and analysis on local and provincial politics from a left perspective.

James Wilt on the Winnipeg Police 01/20/2025

James Wilt on the Winnipeg Police ! The Winnipeg Police Service is 100 years old - a century they've used to repress dissent, censor media, bungle investigations and devour city budgets. Author James Wilt joins Team Advantage to discuss his new book, which explores this history of policing, resistance, and what a vision for a Winnipeg beyond police might look like. by Leon Laidlaw by Sara A. Seo by Barry Friedman by Fadi Ennab /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/34918760

Vote Harder! Justice Warriors 2 w/ Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson 12/07/2024

Vote Harder! Justice Warriors 2 w/ Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson It’s election season in Bubble City, the ultra-protected enclave that keeps the rich safe from the mutants of the so-called Uninhabited Zone. When veteran officer Swamp Cop embarks on a dangerous undercover mission, politics just might wind up coming between him and his beloved partner, Officer Schitt. Team Advantage chats with Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson, authors of Justice Warriors Vol. 2: Vote Harder, and discusses the quaint features of placid Canadian life. Follow Matt Bors on Twitter and BlueSky Follow Ben Clarkson on Twitter and Bluesky Purchase Justice Warriors: Vote Harder or wherever fine books are sold. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/34329565

Canada's Hot Union Summer: what comes next? 11/29/2024

Canada's Hot Union Summer: what comes next? This past year saw a sequence of labour unrest: Teamsters locked out of both CPKC and CN railways, Westjet mechanics striking over Canada Day long weekend, Air Canada pilots reaching a last-minute deal, grain terminal workers in Vancouver striking, and dockworkers getting locked out in Montreal. How is the post-war labour "peace" holding up, and should we be thinking and planning beyond the Rand formula? Thanks to Adam D.K. King for joining this episode. , and follow him . /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/34198545

Posties on Strike! On the Picket Line with CUPW 11/25/2024

Posties on Strike! On the Picket Line with CUPW The 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have been on a nationwide strike since November 15th after negotiations at the bargaining table stalled with their employer Canada Post. Workers are fighting to protect pensions, improve working conditions, and a wage increase that keeps pace with inflation. As CUPW enters its second week on strike, Team Advantage goes to the picket line to hear what striking workers have to say. Recorded on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024 in Calgary. ! /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/34130006

Kenney vs Jeremy Appel 09/24/2024

Kenney vs Jeremy Appel In this live recording, Jeremy tells us how Kenney has shaped Alberta politics, and expounds on his ideological commitments, his flair for conspiracy and his effective use of political stunts. We also learn of Kenney's taste in music and get Jeremy's response to the toughest question he's been asked since the book came out. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/33195712

Sous les pavés: Student radicalism from the '60s to today 05/13/2024

Sous les pavés: Student radicalism from the '60s to today Gaza solidarity encampments on university campuses in the U.S. and Canada are experiencing violent police crackdowns. How do the student movements of the past inform what's going on now? Team Advantage digs into the history of student radicalism and speaks to encampment supporters about their experiences with police. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/31280492

COVID-19 in 2024 04/07/2024

COVID-19 in 2024 What can we learn about the ongoing pandemic and how it's been handled? How's the whole global public health infrastructure, campaign for clean air, and renewed push for workplace going? Does this bode well for future pandemics and crises, and how can we learn from what's happened so far to shape our future demands? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/30713598

Zionism Sucks 12/17/2023

Zionism Sucks Israel is on a genocidal rampage through Gaza. Team Advantage, joined by intrepid independent journalist , examine the historical roots and basic assumptions that underlie Zionism, and discuss a few light topics, like discourse-policing, denouncing Hamas, antisemitism, and settler-colonialism. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/29112398

Why does Canada love Ukrainian Nazis? 11/20/2023

Why does Canada love Ukrainian Nazis? In late September 2023, Canadian Parliament clapped for "Ukrainian hero" Yaroslav Hunka, who fought with the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), a unit in the Nazi German military. Why did Canada let so many Ukrainian Nazis into the country after WW2, and how did this wave of right-wing Ukrainian nationalist shape Canada's Ukrainian diaspora? Team Advantage digs into the working-class origins of Ukrainians in Canada, Canada's efforts at post-war anticommunism, and the Canadian government's careful management of "multiculturalism." /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/28715513

Wildfire Season Concludes 11/05/2023

Wildfire Season Concludes The area burned by wildfires in Canada this year exceeded 18 million hectares and burned 1,740 megatonnes of CO2, roughly three times Canada's human-made emissions from 2022. As fire season winds down, Team Advantage examines this new, fun, half-year-long weather phenomenon, and considers the role of fossil fuels and the end of "cheap nature." Further reading: John Vaillant - Fire Weather Edward Struzik - Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future Alex Callinicos - The New Age of Catastrophe Jason Moore - Capitalism in the Web of Life /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/28516769

Notley Loses Again! Alberta's 2023 Election 06/08/2023

Notley Loses Again! Alberta's 2023 Election ! Rachel Notley led the Alberta NDP to their second major electoral defeat in Alberta's latest general election. What does this election say about Albertans and our political culture? How might we make basic social democratic values popular? How should we organize as we anticipate Premier Danielle Smith? And what's next for the Alberta NDP? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/27080337

Clearing the Plains in 2023: Alberta's Drug Poisoning Crisis 05/29/2023

Clearing the Plains in 2023: Alberta's Drug Poisoning Crisis ! What link is there between pushing Indigenous people off land, into reserves, into residential schools, and into forced treatment? How are conversations about "public safety" and policing being mobilized to harm vulnerable people? How has the politicization of the opioid epidemic obscured what's needed to address increasing drug poisoning deaths? Harm reduction advocate Euan Thomson joins Team Advantage to discuss the realities of Alberta's drug poisoning crisis. Follow Euan and subscribe to his . Listen to our . Mentioned in this episode is Dustin Godfrey's video essay Also mentioned is a recent . /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/26976435

Can Socialists Like Hockey? 05/14/2023

Can Socialists Like Hockey? Culture wars, long-term injury, workplace violence, sexual assaults, nationalistic militarism, and the appropriation of working-class aesthetics... is it possible to like hockey from the left? Can sport unite the working class? Is hockey a serious game for serious men, or a silly game for silly people? Cass Kislenko, Tyler Shipley and Doug Nesbitt join Team Advantage to discuss Canada's game. Doug mentions Tyler refers to the . Follow Cass Kislenko Follow Tyler Shipley Definitely don't follow Doug Nesbitt because he's not /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/26832570

Take Back Alberta (from Woke Jason Kenney) 05/01/2023

Take Back Alberta (from Woke Jason Kenney) A group known as Take Back Alberta appears to have seized control over sizable parts of the United Conservative Party and secured the leadership of Danielle Smith. What is this group? What motivates them, and who are their key figures? PressProgress writer Stephen Magusiak joins Team Advantage to discuss his recent piece, Follow Stephen at , PressProgress at , and . Further reading: /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/26706111

Recession Ahead? w/ Jim Stanford 03/30/2023

Recession Ahead? w/ Jim Stanford this podcast! Watch our ! Sign up for our ! The Bank of Canada is explicitly trying to increase unemployment by raising the cost of borrowing money. Is excessive employment the cause of inflation, and if not, what are the consequences of this policy likely to be? Economist Jim Stanford joins Team Advantage to talk about profiteering, the housing market, and the potential for a recession within the next year. Follow Jim Stanford on twitter , and check out Economics for Everyone at . /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/26398353

TORIES: Calgary Laundry Workers vs Ralph Klein 02/28/2023

TORIES: Calgary Laundry Workers vs Ralph Klein Building a Community Movement for Better Transit feat. James Wilt: Saturday, March 18th | University of Alberta. RSVP: A few short years into Alberta PC Premier Ralph Klein’s deficit-slashing austerity regime, Calgary’s hospital laundry workers were given devastating news: they were going to be fired. Having been pushed to the brink, they took to the streets the next day on a wildcat strike. Soon, the city would be galvanized by the strike, with sympathy strikes soon forcing Klein’s government to cancel health spending cuts and talk of a general strike in the air. Our episode ends with an , laundry worker and CUPE 8 member. Listen to our previous episode on TORIES: , and check out our two-part series on why Ralph Klein sucked: , . Further Reading: Chambers, Allan. . Edmonton: Alberta Federation of Labour and Alberta Labour History Institute, 2012.. Foster, Jason. “Revolution, Retrenchment, and the New Normal: The 1990s and Beyond.” In Working People in Alberta: A History, edited by Alvin Finkel, 205–241. Edmonton: AU Press, 2012. Reshef, Yonaton, and Sandra Rastin. Unions in the Time of Revolution: Government Restructuring in Alberta and Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. Taylor, Jeff. “Labour in the Klein Revolution.” In The Trojan Horse: Alberta and the Future of Canada, edited by Gordon Laxer and Trevor Harrison, 301–313. Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1995. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/26074467

Declaring Sovereignty 01/30/2023

Declaring Sovereignty Alberta, under the incredible leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, has declared sovereignty — or rather, proclaimed itself "sovereign within a united Canada," whatever that means. What even is sovereignty? How might it to relate to Indigenous sovereignty? Who even wants this? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/25767396

Danielle Smith Thought 10/03/2022

Danielle Smith Thought You see, the woke establishment wants to control what media Albertans see, what vaccines we take, the resources we develop — and even what we are allowed to grow and eat. Independent journalist Jeremy Appel joins Team Advantage to explore Danielle Smith Thought. Follow Jeremy and subscribe to his newsletter, The Orchard, at this podcast! Watch our ! Sign up for our ! /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/24563553

The Free Trade Debate: Then and Now 06/27/2022

The Free Trade Debate: Then and Now In the 1980s and 1990s, free trade and economic integration were intensely debated topics and the subject of debate in national elections, and generally opposed by the political left. Most recently, right-populist political formations — like Trump and Brexit — have resurfaced the issue of free trade, critiquing it for their own purposes. Why is it that nobody except the political right wants to talk about free trade anymore, especially when our countries have strategic decisions on the horizon— like resourcing pandemic responses and mitigating climate change? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/23557205

Canadian vs U.S. Unions 04/25/2022

Canadian vs U.S. Unions this podcast! Watch our ! Sign up for our ! What explains the drastic differences between labour unions in Canada and the United States? Why is U.S. union density roughly one-third that of Canada's, despite the similarities both share? How have different political and legal regimes in the respective countries shaped labour's efforts? Team Advantage explores all this and more in this hour-long discussion. When you're done, watch the . /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/22893161

Inflation Fantasies 02/07/2022

Inflation Fantasies What's inflation and why does it happen? If labour costs go up 1% but consumer prices go up 4.8%, who's pocketing that difference? Why do the CEOs of big corporate banks seem to care so much about inflation? Team Advantage explores the hottest economic phenomenon of 2022. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/22046324

Shift Work! feat. Emily Leedham 01/31/2022

Shift Work! feat. Emily Leedham What's better than a newsletter? A weekly national roundup of labour news, that's what. Reporter Emily Leedham joins Team Advantage to discuss Shift Work, a curated newsletter summarizing strikes, lockouts, and new organizing initiatives— all while engaging the next generation of workers and organizers. Follow Emily on Twitter and . /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/21960293

Faculty on Strike! 01/08/2022

Faculty on Strike! The first faculty strike in Alberta's history has begun, with members of the Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association braving frigid temperatures and taking to the picket line on January 4th. Why is the Concordia University of Edmonton purchasing mansions when their faculty are amongst the lowest paid in the sector? Glynis Price of the Concordia university of Edmonton Faculty Association joins Team Advantage to discuss the strike and the future of post-secondary education in Alberta. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/21715259

Austerity in Saskatchewan: Roy Romanow's NDP 01/03/2022

Austerity in Saskatchewan: Roy Romanow's NDP What happens when sensible social democrats pick up the pieces after a terrible, no-good conservative government ruins the province? Team Advantage examines the reign of Saskatchewan NDP Premier Roy Romanow from 1991-2001, who oversaw the closure of rural hospitals and fostered the skills of a young Janice McKinnon as his Finance Minister. What does the all-party austerity consensus look like when it's orange? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/21656291

100 Years of the Communist Party of Canada 11/29/2021

100 Years of the Communist Party of Canada What is the history of Canada's second-oldest political party, and how does it inform their politics today? In this in-depth examination of the Communist Party of Canada, Team Advantage serves up a broad historical overview of the Party's history, and considers what role the CPC could play in the struggle for socialism today. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/21307808

The Postwar CCF 11/12/2021

The Postwar CCF What happened to the CCF in the post-war period? The 1940s saw the CCF soar in popularity, with the party forming official opposition in Ontario in 1943, and public opinion polls showing nationalizing industries to be widely popular among the Canadian population. How did the popularity of the CCF's positions get diffused, managed, or attacked in the years following the Second World War? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/21140768

ORPHANED: Alberta's Oil and Gas Wells 10/24/2021

ORPHANED: Alberta's Oil and Gas Wells What happens when a symbol of prosperity becomes one of decay? There are thousands of idle oil and gas wells stranded throughout the Canadian west, orphaned by companies that went bankrupt and refused to clean them up. These orphan wells are a symptom of an industry in crisis, with the financial and ecological burden being unfairly placed upon the public. Filmmaker Gillian McKercher joins Team Advantage to discuss her new documentary film, Orphaned. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/20920982

What's Ideology? 10/02/2021

What's Ideology? What is ideology? How does it function? Is it something that affects only our opponents— because they're blinded by ideology, forced into believing a cult-like worldview? Could it be that ideology is also present among experts and people who consider themselves "objective," free-thinking individuals? Join Team Advantage as we explore ideology in theory, history, and practice. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/20681159

Politicizing the Economy 09/18/2021

Politicizing the Economy What have you done to help The Economy today? We live in a world where growing The Economy seems to be everyone's primary concern— nurturing it, jump-starting it, stimulating it. What is this notion of The Economy anyways, and where does it come from? Team Advantage delves into the history of economic thought and explores what's hidden or obscured when we refer uncritically to this concept. /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/20517440

Vote Communist! with Elizabeth Rowley 09/04/2021

Vote Communist! with Elizabeth Rowley Elizabeth Rowley, leader of the Communist Party of Canada, joins Team Advantage in a busy community hall in Calgary. What does the Communist Party propose in its program this election, particularly in terms of a response to the pandemic and growing inequality? /episode/index/show/albertaadvantage/id/20366720

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