habibti please

For International Women’s Day, the Habibti Team wanted to release one of our most cherished episodes to date. Nashwa and Ryan reflect on where they were this time last year as well as the origins of International Women’s Day as a socialist and workers’ celebration. The two watched Angela Davis in a packed audience at the University of Toronto; they saw people they loved and who inspired them and r...

Last Fall, Nashwa and Ryan sat down with Don Davies, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway. This episode features a pre-show chat about February 24, 2021’s 2nd reading of Bill C-213, An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act. Davies was the sponsor of the 2018 motion for Pharmacare. Despite that vote failing, there is a clear hunger in Canada to have pharmacare embedded into the fabric of ou...

To celebrate Hawa Y. Mire’s nomination as the federal NDP candidate representative of York South—Weston, we’re unlocking her previously paywalled episode! Not only that, but we have a small companion piece to go with it—a brief bonus episode where Hawa returns to the show to talk about the YSW region and the various factors which have motivated her to run for the position. Be sure to check it out...

In this bonus episode, Nashwa sits down with Hawa Y. Mire to discuss her decision to run for the position of NDP candidate for York South—Weston. The two talk about the York South—Weston community, the conditions affecting the region that inspired Hawa to run for a position as a party representative for YSW (and why she chose the NDP specifically), the lack of black and muslim women in Canadian po...

This week, Nashwa sits down with Dr. Naheed Dosani, a palliative care physician and health justice activist who cares for homeless and vulnerably housed individuals. They speak about how Covid-19 is socially impacting different groups throughout Canada. Some topics they cover include vaccine hesitancy among some communities and how to combat it, and how Covid-19 has differentially impacted people...

This week, Nashwa and Ryan chat with Laurel Collins, the NDP MP for Victoria, British Columbia. The three discuss the push for climate accountability, the possibility of a Canadian equivalent of the Green New Deal, the perpetual prolongement of water crises within Indigenous communities, and the question of whether or not degrowth is the only way we can save the environment. Other subjects touched...

This week’s exclusive features a casual but thoughtful conversation between Nashwa and Yasmin Nair. Enclosed is a preview, if you want to unlock the full episode you can by subscribing on Patreon or Substack . Together they chat about her article On Nostalgia, Sex Work, and the Dancing Girls of Lahore . They discuss how the courtesan has been and is viewed in Paksitan and how sex work is flattened...

This week, Nashwa chats with Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association and author of the upcoming book Border and Rule , Harsha Walia.  They unpack the insidious nature of Canada being framed as “better” than America when it comes to marginalized people. The conversation highlights the faultlines of Canada’s immigration system especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite precari...

In this episode, Nashwa sits down with two transit organizers to discuss the TTC. Austin Jafri of TTCriders and Jamaal Myers of Scarborough Transit Action share present issues with the TTC as well as some small victories; they also shed light on the ways they have organized to push back and ongoing issues with how transit is made and built in Toronto. This episode highlights the need for ongoing a...

In this episode, Nashwa sits down with Vicky Osterweil, the author of  In Defense of Looting .  Nashwa interviews Vicky about her entry into left politics, her newest book, the politics of looting while also exploring the limits of electoral politics, and so much more. Nashwa and Vicky cover a range of topics including the history of looting, and whiteness as property. They also dive into liberati...

In this episode, Nashwa and Ryan sit down with Hamilton Centre MP Matthew Green and discuss the progress of defunding the RCMP (as well as its many failings), the marginalized communities left behind by the distribution of CERB, the ongoing process of decolonization, and the possibility of a a green new deal. Also, the habibis ask Matt about what it’s like being a progressive Black person in Parli...

This was an episode requested a few times so here we go habibis, an episode on Dune. Nashwa is joined by her online habibis Shaadie and Rob to discuss some spicy takes on Dune. Although we aren’t exactly sure if Edward Said would be satisfied with our analysis we had a lot of fun and Nashwa is sci-fied out.  Guest Information: Cohosts of this episode : Rob and Shaadie Rob aka @smoothposer is host...

Before the pandemic, the fight against police and carceral forms of punishment already had a long history unique to specific communities. Throughout the pandemic people have re-imagined what a world without police could look like. After the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020, global uprisings occurred and actions continue to be ongoing. It is important to recognize that police violence is no...

We know we all got to indulge in some laughs this week but it was also a reminder of the rising fascism we are witnessing globally and the need for popular education and movement building. For our first episode of 2021, we hope we do a bit of popular education as Nashwa sits down to chat with Marxist historian Vijay Prashad. Vijay is currently the director of Tricontinental which we hope people ch...

In this episode, Nashwa and Ryan sit down with Niki Ashton, MP for Churchill–Keewatinook Aski. Together they explore the political landscape of the prairies and building a larger left in Canada. They also discuss the Regina Manifesto , the NDP’s labour origins, and current contradictions, and Ashton’s leadership run. International politics also gets some airtime, a favourite topic for Nashwa and R...

In this episode, Ryan and Nashwa have a second chat with Leah Gazan, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre. They discuss Erin O’Toole’s egregious comments, Canada’s role and complicity in violence abroad, UNDRIP and the Medical Assistance in Dying Legislation. We also get an update on Motion 46. Additional Resources: Read the text of Motion 46 here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/leah-gaz...

In this episode, Nashwa sits down with two tenant organizers to discuss the eviction blitzes we are presently witnessing in Toronto. She’s joined with Johnny Dib of the York South-Weston Tenant’s Union and Matt Wittman of Parkdale Organize .We recommend people check out Keep Your Rent and People’s Defence Toronto , both groups are mentioned on the show and doing amazing work. We also suggest peopl...

Hi habibtis and habibis! This is the special tenth episode of Habibti Please. In this episode, Nashwa co-hosts with friend of the pod Arif Hasan; together the two interview special guest Noam Chomsky. While preparing for the interview, Nashwa and Arif set out to thoughtfully curate a set of questions that were diverse in range and are rarely asked of Dr. Chomsky in recent years. As a result, in th...

This week, Nashwa and Dawson sit down to discuss the American election. They talk about the Biden/Harris win, small scale electoral wins and what’s left for the left. It’s great the Cheeto man is now Cheeto dust but let’s remember the neoliberal shills that Biden and Harris are.  Thanks for getting to episode 9! October was our first official month as a podcast and we appreciate everyone’s support...

In this episode, Nashwa sits down with Vicky Osterweil, the author of In Defense of Looting . Nashwa interviews Vicky about her entry into left politics, her newest book, the politics of looting while also exploring the limits of electoral politics, and so much more. Nashwa and Vicky cover a range of topics including the history of looting, and whiteness as property. They also dive into liberation...

Friend of the show Dawson Kimyon joins Nashwa again to analyze the treasure that was the presidential debate. We also discuss Alaskan queen, Miss Sarah Palin’s latest antics. Don’t forget fracking is bad actually! Thanks for getting to episode 7! October was our first official month as a podcast and we appreciate everyone’s support. Upcoming episodes include guests like Niki Ashton and Vicky Oster...

In this episode, Ryan and Nashwa sit down with Meryam Haddad to discuss left politics in the Green Party and beyond. *Please note that this episode was recorded before Annamie Paul was declared party leader.* The duo ask Meryam about campaigning during a pandemic, her own politics, and the thirst young people have for left politics in Canada. Additional topics explored in this episode include Indi...

This week, Nashwa is joined by Dawson Kimyon for the first of *fingers crossed* many more American politics check-ins, which he will co-host. In this episode, we discuss the ABCs of American politics this week which includes the notorious ACB, Biden’s sad attempts to pander and whether we need left intellectuals. We also have the conversation about Chomsky we wanted to avoid, as a treat.  Producti...

Hello friends,  Hope this finds you well midweek, whatever “well” means in this whack wild world. Enclosed is a preview to an episode I did with my brother-friend Ryan Deshpande. We are so grateful to have chatted with the lovely Hawa Y. Mire on a Sunday in September. This episode hopes to fill gaps regarding Me to We, Somalis in Canada, the ever racist Children’s Aid Society, the “Canadian” under...

This week, Nashwa joins Rob Rousseau of 49th Parahell for a great conversation about why Canadian media sucks and how we are planning on changing that, the problem with Liberals, establishment journalist gatekeepers learning nothing from the last six months, Green Party entryism, and the potential to build a bigger left through posting (just kidding...but seriously 👀).  If you liked this episode,...