Blueprints of Disruption

Topic 1: Dismantled and Dispersed The City of Toronto, aided by Police, evicted an encampment community in the Kensington Market area of the city from a tiny parkette outside a church that welcomed them. The excuses used by the City and local Councilor Diane Saxe don't fly with our hosts or housing advocates. Topic 2: Prisoner Exchanges but no Peace We give updates on the release of hostages and p...

We interview former political prisoner Danny Morrison to help compare and contrast the Irish nationalist movement of the 1960s-1970s, which most notably included the IRA, to the modern day Palestinian resistance. The historical, political, social and economic similarities are seemingly endless. Many lessons can be drawn from Danny's 50+ years experience fighting against the British empire by any m...

Topic 1: Witnessing Genocide in Gaza We check in with each other and the audience in terms of the emotional toll of watching ethnic cleansing happening in real time, and reaffirm the need to keeping talking about Palestine. Reports from a WHO visit to Al-Shifa Hospital, verification of certain reports and political responses globally are all part of the discussion. Topic 2: Ontario Paying for Priv...

Various media figures, organizations and politicians have been sharing, in some cases creating, misinformation with seemingly malicious intent. Bad faith actors stoking and weaponizing people's fears. But to what end? Hosts Jessa McLean and Santiago Helou Quintero give their takes on some of the worst offenders from this week's attacks on the pro-Palestinian movement, including Ben Mulroney, Bob R...

Globally, workers ARE taking a stand, and refusing to transport Israeli weapons, or refusing to offload them at major ports. They are answering calls from Palestinian workers to disarm Israel and stop the siege on Gaza. This episode's guests are part of some of those actions, which are at their core - economic disruptions aimed to isolate Israel politically and cut off their well funded supply of...

We start off by asking Jeremy Appel what the last three weeks have been like for him both as a journalist and a Jewish person demanding a Free Palestine. He also shares his thoughts on the state of global reporting in Canadian media, and the political implications of leaders so out of step with everyone else. Does he think the tide is turning on the narratives around the occupation? What does he s...

As Israel continues to bombard Gaza and perpetuate violence in the West Bank, millions of people across the world are escalating their efforts to Free Palestine. The Canadian government may not want a ceasefire, but activists and polls across Canada are telling a different story. Coordinated sit-ins of MPs offices, massive rallies and blockades of weapons manufacturers are sweeping the nation. Thi...

Labour Activist Ramzi Abdi and Community Organizer David Alton from Ground UP Waterloo give practical advice on how small community groups can do big things. Like how to effectively deploy community defences against hate, or garner the support of your local labour unions. We also talk about why these things are so important to securing victories and to the larger movement. We also talk about what...

Our hosts Jessa McLean and Santiago Helou Quintero let it all out on the Ontario NDP, Doug Ford's censuring of MPP Sarah Jama, and the attempts to silence Palestinian advocacy. We give a run down of the solidarity being shown and share some key reactions to the Ontario NDP kicking the courageous MPP from their Caucus. What will the political implications be for the Ontario NDP? What is the point o...

Tyler Shipley, Professor and author, starts the episode off by explaining just what the term 'colonial imagination' means. He tells us how it was used to justify the genocide of Indigenous peoples here, and how it STILL shapes how Canada interacts with the world. He gives countless examples of Canada's modern day colonial interventions in the global south, often with our eyes on resource extractio...

The work to manufacturer consent around Israel's collective retribution of Palestinians is in high gear. The media, our politicians have all lined up behind one another - and there have been considerable efforts to silence dissenters to genocide. With Gaza under a full siege and the death toll climbing, there are activists across the globe doing what they can to shift the narrative around Palestin...

With the conflict in Palestine and Israel at a fever pitch, emotions are running high. We challenge some of the more dangerous narratives emerging, give updates on peoples’ reactions and do our best to provide the context needed.   But unpacking the conflict between Palestine and Israel doesn't start with the devastating attack on civilians by Hamas in early October 2023. 75 year occupat...

In our interview with Ghada Sasa of McMaster University it becomes clear that advocating for a Free Palestine requires nothing short of courage. Whether that is the diaspora forced to live abroad or the many fighting the occupation on the ground. Ghada is pursuing her PhD on Israel's use of colonial greenwashing to erase Palestinian land. She is a long time advocate in her community and has experi...

To mark Truth and Reconciliation Day, hosts Santiago Helou Quintero and Jessa McLean discuss some of the many acts of Indigenous resistance happening across so-called Canada. The Land Alliance to stop mining in the Ring of Fire marched on Queen's Park in Ontario last week. Doug Ford is using typical political maneuvering and false claims of consultation to push another dangerous project through. F...

We are over three years into the COVID pandemic, is anyone even paying attention anymore? As we see health officials start to wear masks again, it seems a good time to talk about the COVID conscious community who has never stopped taking precautions. Host Jessa McLean sits down with Kim Crawley, a cyber security expert who has gone through great lengths to prevent exposure to the virus that has no...

Topic 1: Holding the Line Against Hate On Wednesday September 20th thousands of people across Canada geared up for confrontation. The so-called 1 Million March for Children were targeting school board buildings with a clear anti-lgbtq agenda. Knowing this, community groups, social movements and labour teamed up to organize counter-protests to send an entirely different message. Was it a victory fo...

Topic 1: Waterloo Outdoor Shelter 'Community' Although 50 individuals in the Region of Waterloo now have a roof over their head, the purposeful isolation of unhoused people and the model of building shanty towns as a solution isn't going to cut it. From the dangerous narratives it reinforces and the politicians it lets off the hook, these new camps being installed outside urban centres remind of h...

Listen to longtime migrant rights activist, Chris Ramsaroop detail many of the ways Canada's Temporary Foreign Workers' Program amounts to indentured slavery, how workers are fighting back and what we need to do as allies to help. Organizing as unprotected workers isn't easy and it comes with heavy repercussions. Chris talks about the different tactics and supports used by Justica /Justice for Mig...

Topic 1: Bakery Workers Fight to Win In Mississauga, non unionized workers are using every tool at their disposal to pressure bosses into paying back stolen wages. Meanwhile... Topic 2: Binding Teachers to Arbitration (OSSTF) Union Executives for the OSSTF (Ontario High School educators) are pushing binding arbitration on their members. We examine this capitulation to power within the context of w...

Topic 1: End the Air Show For five days straight Torontonians have been subjected to the roars of warplanes overhead their city. For many years folks have been calling for an end to this noisy, costly display of nationalism, aviation and implied violence. So why does it continue? Topic 2: Outing Trans Students Provincial politicians in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and now Ontario are telling school...

Ethical, sustainable agriculture and corporate interests are just not compatible. In Canada, the bulk of our farmland is dedicated to monocropping, cash crops we don’t even eat. More and more farmers are leaving the business, selling their land to developers or their farm to large corporations. The results are an increase on food imports and higher prices at the grocery store.  Ashley, a newb...

Topic 1: Temporary Foreign Worker Exploitation Jamaican Migrant Farm Workers in Ontario have long been decrying the poor working and living conditions they face as part of the longstanding Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SWAP). A recent one day protest by workers on a farm in Norfolk County resulted in 6 being sent home to Jamaica early. We look at the whole Temporary Foreign Worker Program,...

Advocate and Community Worker, Diana Chan McNally unloads on all of the anti-homeless rhetoric and harmful policies that make living on the street even harder.

The entire city of Yellowknife was evacuated after wildfires that have been burning nearby for weeks got too close to leave anything to chance. This massive fire in the NWT has already razed communities to the ground and shows no signs of slowing. The remoteness of the area and the lack of control we have over our resources means long delays, difficult displacements and very little supports for pe...

The Peace Country Progressive Alliance are a small network of activists with the daunting task of "fighting hate" in their rural community. That fight utilizes a variety of tactics, including physically standing up to venomous right-wing protestors outside drag story time events. Why do they do it? How do they mobilize in remote parts of the country with very little resources? What does defending...