Alberta Advantage Podcast

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, Who Is 'Take Back Alberta' and What Do They Really Want? Follow Stephen at @...

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream ! Sign up for our newsletter ! 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 poten...

Building a Community Movement for Better Transit feat. James Wilt: Saturday, March 18th | University of Alberta. RSVP: michaeljanz.ca/transitcamp2023 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...

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?

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 @JeremyAppel1025 and subscribe to his newsletter, The Orchard, at theorchard.substack.com. Support this podcast! Watch our...

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 ta...

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream ! Sign up for our newsletter ! 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 a...

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.

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 @Emily_Leedham_ and click here to sign up for Shift Work .

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 Associati...

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...

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream ! Sign up for our newsletter ! 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...

Support this podcast 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...

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 Adv...

Support this podcast 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....

Support this podcast 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...

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? Learn more about the CPC by contacting them at info[at]cpc-pcc.ca, 416-469-2446, and communist-party.ca

Support this podcast Team Advantage convenes to discuss a few pressing matters— like the pandemic, forest fire smoke, climate change, mass graves of Indigenous children, refugees, and billionaires in space. Given how these crises are being handled, what can we expect from the future? Cover art of the "This Is Fine Dog" stolen with gratitude from KC Green .

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has decided that Alberta should hold a Senate election— and Progress Alberta's Executive Director, Duncan Kinney, has answered the call. Duncan joins Team Advantage to discuss the rich history of Senatorial activism, declares his support for Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism, and weighs in on the important issues facing Canada's chamber of sober second thought...

Support this podcast Peter Lougheed is often fondly remembered as Alberta's "good" Premier across the political spectrum. But what was so great about Alberta's first Progressive Conservative Premier, who kicked off 44 years of uninterrupted rule? Team Advantage digs into Peter Lougheed's fabled economic development and planning, his treatment of Alberta's workers, and the role of the 1970s oil-pri...

Support this podcast Filmmaker, climate activist, educator, and federal NDP candidate Avi Lewis joins Team Advantage to discuss his leap into electoral politics. Was the reaction to his work at the 2016 federal convention what made him decide to toss his hat in the ring? How does he expect to maintain his integrity and his outspoken voice within this new setting? Why does Canada seem to be missing...

Support this podcast For ten days every summer, Calgary's corporate office workers dress up like cowboys and enjoy a western-themed festival of settler colonialism. What work is the Stampede doing when it draws on the myth of the frontier— especially today, when it is largely funded by fossil fuel companies? Kimberley Williams, author of Stampede: Misogyny, White Supremacy and Settler Colonialism...

Support this podcast Did you know that the Canadian state once funded the National Action Committee on the Status of Women Canada, funding salaries and projects that allowed for shelters, child-care and daycare centres, women's drop-in centres, bookstores, and crisis lines? Writer and activist Nora Loreto joins Team Advantage to discuss her book, Take Back the Fight: Organizing Feminism for the Di...

Guest host and seasoned newsletter-writer Clinton Hallahan sits down with writer, director, filmmaker, prankster, organizer and comedian Sean Devlin. In addition to joining The Yes Men in their exploits and storming the stage to frighten Stephen Harper, Sean Devlin is a seasoned stand-up comic, and his debut comedy album, Airports, Animals , is out July 9, 2021. Check out this interview to explore...

Support this podcast The coal-mining town of Blairmore, Alberta elected a slate of Mine Workers' Union nominees to town council in 1933— resulting in Canada's first communist town council. With Mayor Bill Knight at the council's helm, they would proceed to implement a range of substantive measures. They gathered fame for abolishing Remembrance Day and replacing it with October Revolution Day, nami...