The Orchardcast

Abde Amr, a senior investigations strategist for Greenpeace, joins the show to discuss a new report he co-authored on a shadowy network of oil and gas industry front groups that are shaping public perceptions of fossil fuels. I’m fundraising to attend the UCP AGM in Calgary on Nov. 27 and 28. I’m currently 11 paid subscribers away from my goal. If you’d like to see critical on-the-ground reporting...

Los Angeles-based labour educator Cole Rockarts has a new book out today, Fired Up About Unions . They join the podcast to talk about why Gen-Z is organizing their workplaces, the corporate onslaught against unionization and how to fight back against AI-assisted workplace surveillance. Related Links * Fired Up About Unions (Between the Lines, 2026) * Work Sucks, Let’s Unionize! Counterpunch * Amaz...

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Thank you Dave Cournoyer , Shama Rangwala , ClimateLunchClub , Tim W Callaway , Patricia Hughes-Fuller , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

On Tuesday, I went on CTV’s Your Morning Edmonton to speak to Kent Morrison about Danielle Smith’s astonishing political comeback and how her communicative talents from her years as a radio host help her maintain power. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Counterpunch managing editor Joshua Frank has a provocative new book out. Bad Energy , which outlines the environmental and human pitfalls of the capitalist-led green energy transition. He compellingly argues that replacing fossil fuel consumption with increased mining for precious metals, massive solar fields and wind farms, and speculative nuclear technology from the U.S. military-industrial com...

Preorder Links * Shop Local (Preferred) * Amazon (25% off preorders) * Indigo (25% off preorders) In addition to purchasing a copy of the book, don’t forget to order it to your local public library! Book Events * Edmonton: Book launch at the Aviary - Oct. 13 * Calgary: Alberta Advantage live recording, followed by book signing and social - Nov. 6 * Toronto: TBD. If you’re involved with a community...

Watch part one here: Thank you Dave Cournoyer , Clearing a New Path , Alessia Rosanna , Janet Pennington , and many others for tuning into my live video with Nora Loreto ! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed has a new book out today, Crossing the Red Line , which takes an inside look at the internal machinations behind President Joe Biden’s support for Israel as it destroyed Gaza. Related Links * Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War in Gaza (W.W. Norton, 2026) * How Former Biden Officials Defend Their Gaza Policy , New Yorker * ‘Unprecedented In Mo...

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Scholar of right-wing populism Carmen Celestini recently released a book, God’s Angry Men: The Political Legacy of the John Birch Society , which details how the John Birch Society’s paranoid conspiracism influenced the trajectory of right-wing politics in the U.S. Reaching the zenith of its political power during Barry Goldwater’s ill-fated 1964 presidential campaign, there’s a clear parallel wit...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Featured Stories * Retired judge appointed to electoral boundary panel donated to UCP , Michelle Bellefontaine, CBC News * Former Alberta judge tapped to chair panel redrawing electoral boundaries , Lisa Johnson, Canadian Press * Carney government follows CUSMA letter with proposals to revive U.S. trade talks , Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star * Some Palestinian student visas being expedited after l...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Featured Stories * Guilbeault to resign as an MP over Carney government’s climate policies , Vassy Kapelos and Stephanie Ha, CTV News * Steven Guilbeault expected to quit Liberal caucus as early as Wednesday, sources say , Marieke Walsh and Stephanie Levitz, Globe and Mail * Carney says House of Commons won’t weigh in on Alberta’s referendum question , Darren Major, CBC News * Alberta separatist l...

You may know Adam H. Johnson as the co-host of the Citations Needed podcast. He has a new book out, How to Sell a Genocide: The Media’s Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza , which provides a rigorous, data-driven critique of how liberal American media outlets helped facilitate the Gaza genocide. Related Links * How to Sell a Genocide (Pluto Press, 2026) * We Analyzed Thousands of News Articles:...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe

Globe and Mail opinion page editor and former National Post Alberta reporter Tyler Dawson charts the rise of Alberta separatist sentiment in his new book, The Republic of Alberta: An Idea That Won’t Go Away . He joins me to discuss how the Alberta independence movement went from fringe to mainstream. Related Links * The Republic of Alberta (Sutherland House, 2026) * Separating from Canada Would Be...

You may know David Griscom as the co-host of Left Reckoning or host of the Jacobin Show . He’s now also an author, having released The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South . David joins the podcast to discuss the hidden history of Texas socialism. Albertans might recognize some parallels. Related Links * The Myth of Red Texas (O/R Books, 2026) * Unlearning the M...

Featured Stories * The Dishonest Online Campaign to Support Alberta Separatism , Charles Rusnell, The Tyee * A network of YouTube accounts is promoting U.S. annexation to Albertans, researchers say. It has 40M views , Alex Boyd, Toronto Star * Ottawa favours southern route for new Alberta-B.C. pipeline, sources say , Robert Fife and Emma Graney, Globe and Mail * Possible changes to Alberta’s elect...

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.readtheorchard.org/subscribe