This week, two labour historians talk about their new books on Canadian and US workers’ movements in the 20th century, books which offer important and practical lessons for unions today. First up, I speak with Barry Eidlin, Assistant Professor

How Doug Ford won and how to challenge him

Jun 14th, 2018 59m 11s

Last Thursday was a dark day in Ontario as the Conservative Party led by businessman-bully-bullshitter Doug Ford won a majority in the provincial election. Two guests assess the factors behind the Ford’s win and the chances for building an effe

West Virginia teachers strike to win

Mar 23rd, 2018 1h 2m

This episode is dedicated to the recent, inspiring and victorious teachers’ strike in West Virginia. West Virginia teachers went out on strike in late February over low pay and continued attacks on the health insurance plan they share with all

The problems with progressive free trade and a divided labour movement

Feb 20th, 2018 49m 37s

…And we’re back to regularly-scheduled programming. Apologies for the podcasting hiatus to (now really faithful) listeners; I hope to be back to regular episodes once again. I’m restarting the show this week with two great guests. First up, I s

What do we do when we Fight for $15

Jul 20th, 2017 52m 45s

On this episode, three guests provide some perspective on the politics and the economics of the Fight for $15. First, I speak with Jonathan Rosenblum, campaign director at the first Fight for $15 at SeaTac Airport, just outside Seattle, Washing

Jeremy Corbyn is Prime Minister

Jun 26th, 2017 42m 30s

Looking to the UK, it definitely feels like a series of those weeks where decades happen. Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour narrowly lost but really won the election, its vote share up by the most since 1945. Corbyn himself looks more like the Prime-Minis

Neoliberalism restructures work and pensions

Apr 28th, 2017 47m 52s

On today’s show, two sociologists talk about aspects of neoliberal restructuring. First, Nicole Aschoff, sociologist, author of The New Prophets of Capital and until very recently managing editor of Jacobin magazine speaks with me about the aut

Budgeting for the oil bust in Saskatchewan and Alberta

Apr 5th, 2017 44m 55s

The resource price bust is already a few years old but it’s still hitting parts of Canada hard. Two guests talk about the impact of the downturn on fiscal policy in the Canadian prairies and what this augers for the bigger question of a transfo

Women on strike in the US and Poland

Mar 8th, 2017 45m 4s

For International Women’s Day, two interviews on women’s protests and strikes, in the USA and in Poland. My first guest is Barbara Smith. Barbara is an icon of the US women’s movement, particularly it’s Black radical wing. She helped establish

Ours to own, not theirs to profit

Feb 16th, 2017 44m 52s

It seems the public sector is under attack from all directions these days. Despite historically low public financing costs, despite proven efficiency and innovation, the public sector gets a bad rap in the public eye—something all manner of pol

Learning from the rise of the right in the global South

Jan 18th, 2017 48m 27s

With only two days left until Donald Trump’s inauguration, today’s two guests look at the turn to the right that’s already well under way across parts of the global South. First, I speak with the historian, journalist and author Vijay Prashad a

#RealChange wearing thin: A look back at Trudeau’s first year

Dec 22nd, 2016 46m 12s

We’re one year into Justin Trudeau’s government of #RealChange, yet it’s mostly the rhetoric not the policies that have changed. Some of the shine is finally wearing off. Whether approving pipelines, settting electoral reform up to fail or priv

No shortcuts: Jane McAlevey on organizing that can transform unions and society

Dec 5th, 2016 1h 5m

Today’s epsiode was recorded live at an event with union organizer and author Jane McAlevey in Toronto last week to launch her new book, No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age. I was honoured to share the stage with Jane and S

Don’t mourn, organize! Sarah Jaffe on organizing before and after Trump

Nov 10th, 2016 28m 10s

You could almost hear the whole world hold its breath as the night of November 8th dragged on and Donald Trump’s march towards the presidency became clearer. While it may be trite, Joe Hill’s famous dictum “Don’t mourn; organize!” rings true to

Focus on Latin America: Colombia’s rejected peace and the Pink Tide in trouble

Oct 19th, 2016 41m 5s

Political Eh-conomy Radio returns with a new logo, new life and a new episode focused on Latin America. First up: Aaron Tauss, assistant professor of International Political Economy at the Universidad National in Medellin, Colombia. I spoke wit

When the left takes the city

Aug 17th, 2016 40m 10s

This week, the focus is on experience of left parties and organizations at the municipal level. Although the left has still exercised only limited political power in many places since the financial crisis, some cities have seen left projects co

The improbable rise of Jeremy Corbyn

Jul 7th, 2016 27m 52s

So far this week, Jeremy Corbyn has caused over 100,000 new members to join the UK Labour Party he leads, has apologized for a war he opposed from the beginning and appears to have survived a coup attempt on his leadership. And despite his back

Canada’s spring of occupations

Jun 7th, 2016 42m 40s

Welcome back to the first podcast episode after a two-month hiatus! This week, three guests talk about two significant occupations of public space that have happened in Canada in the interim: the Black Lives Matter occupation of police headquar

Defending Bernie-nomics and debunking the housing market

Feb 29th, 2016 36m 56s

This week, I interview two guests on fairly different topics linked by the fact that they both give very effective debunkings of some mainstream economic thinking. First, I speak with JW Mason, economics professor at John Jay College in New Yor

Where is Quebec going after the strikes, where is Canada’s economy going after the oil crash?

Feb 10th, 2016 36m 45s

I have two Canadian updates this week. The first is from Nora Loreto on what’s happening in Quebec after the fall’s anti-austerity strikes. Nora is a Quebec City-based journalist and labour activist. She gives an account not only of what happen

The return of the modernist left

Jan 21st, 2016 28m 6s

In the past few years, what has been loosely called the modernist left has seen some revival. Whether coming out of the ultimate failures of the Occupy movement, dissatisfaction with moralistic lifestyle politics or an attempt to analyze the cu

2015: Podcasting year in review

Dec 30th, 2015 25m 20s

As 2015 comes to a close, here’s a podcast and a post that’s something in between a best of and a year in review. It’s a look back at some of my interviews from 2015, both in terms of significant subjects and personal favourites. First up, it i

COP21, climate inaction and corporate power

Dec 2nd, 2015 29m 59s

This week marks the beginning of the COP21 climate talks in Paris, the latest episode in a UN framework that has been trying, and failing, to reduce global carbon emission for over two decades now. For my first interview, I caught up with Oscar

Climate and the state – refugees in Europe

Nov 17th, 2015 33m 5s

Two interviews this week on two human-made crises: first, my conversation author and academic Christian Parenti on the climate crisis and the role of the state followed by journalist Jesse Rosenfeld with an update on the refugee crisis in Europ

What’s next for anti-austerity in Portugal and Greece?

Oct 28th, 2015 45m 55s

Two updates from Southern Europe this week: Catarina Principe brings us up-to-date on the situation in Portugal and Andreas Karitzis recounts the search for a new politics in Greece after (and under the rule of) Syriza. My first guest, Catarina