Best Calgary Journal Podcasts (2025)

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Activists Make History: Women United — Toronto Book Launch 53:55

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4d ago53:55

53:55

The new book by Peggy Nash & Julie White tells the untold stories of dozens of women leaders in the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Union. In November 2025, Between the Lines books published Women United: Stories of Women’s Struggles for Equality in the Canadian Auto Workers Union by Peggy Nash and Julie White. The co-authors were interviewed by Tricia…

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Social Democrats of the North: Francis Marion Beynon, Feminist Firebrand 16:01

8d ago16:01

16:01

What was the place of feminism in early Canadian social democracy? This episode looks at one of the first feminist social democrats in Canadian history: Francis Marion Beynon. Her work as journalist in Winnipeg in the early 1900s was critical for pointing out how exploitation wasn’t just about workers and bosses — it was also about the way that wom…

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Social Democrats of the North: Olivar Asselin, The Radical Journalist 17:50

25d ago17:50

17:50

In the early 20th century, Montreal was a hotbed of radical thinking on working-class politics and Quebec’s place in Canada. Amidst working-class poverty and the upheaval around the First World War, Olivar Asselin emerged as one of Montreal's most famous journalists who advocated for Quebec's working poor. Named, in-part, after Latin American revol…

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Activists Make History: Draw the Line with Atiya Jaffar 34:00

1M ago34:00

34:00

The 350 Canada Campaigns Manager collaborated with climate, labour, Indigenous, and social justice movements to draw the line against fossil fuel expansion. On September 20, 2025, thousands of Canadians took to the streets uniting climate justice, migrant justice, economic justice, Indigenous rights, and anti-war movements, calling for government a…

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Social Democrats of the North - Phillips Thompson: Labor Reform Songster 16:31

1M ago16:31

16:31

The prolific satirist-turned-labour-leader penned the first full account of working-class struggles in 19th century Canada. Shortly after Confederation, Canadian cities were teeming with impoverished workers and rapid industrialization. While socialist movements were taking shape across Europe, Phillips Thompson became a leading voice for Canadian …

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On Fascism with Jon Weier 22:04

2M ago22:04

22:04

In September 2025 the Broadbent Institute joined left–wing think tanks from Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain to support the establishment of a global network of think tanks that produce rigorous analysis, foster data-driven debate, and contribute to the search for proposals in defense of democracy. In the declarative agreement beh…

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Social Democrats of the North - Médéric Lanctôt: Canada's First Social Democrat 15:14

2M ago15:14

15:14

It’s 1867 and Canada has just officially separated itself from Great Britain and become its own country. But, are there any social democrats around? In this episode, we meet Médéric Lanctôt - the journalist, politician, and union leader from Montreal who can be considered to be Canada’s first social democrat. From working with the homeless to organ…

1
Carney and the Calgary School with Mack Penner 28:13

2M ago28:13

28:13

In the the Summer 2025 issue of Perspectives Journal, University of Calgary post doc and Parkland Institute board member Mack Penner wrote ‘Carney and the Calgary School: or, Passive Revolution and Canada’s Social State in the Neoliberal Era,’ tracing the origins of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s economic thinking to the Calgary School. The Calgary S…

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Activists Make History: Holding the Line with Wesley Lesosky, CUPE Air Canada Component President 37:00

2M ago37:00

37:00

Peggy Nash chats with Air Canada flight attendants union leader Wesley Lesosky about the recent strike and the fight for fair pay in the airline industry. In August 2025, Air Canada flight attendants made headlines for striking when the employer left the bargaining table and for refusing to follow back-to-work orders issued by the Carney government…

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Naomi Klein: The Rise of End-of-the-World Fascism and Resistance from the Global South 29:36

4M ago29:36

29:36

At the 2025 Panamerican Congress in Mexico City, held August 1st to 3rd, hosted by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and her Morena Parliamentary Group, Canadian journalist Naomi Klein gave remarks at the Esperanza Iris theatre. The author of 'The Shock Doctrine,' 'No Logo,' and most recently the memoir 'Doppelganger,' presented remarks to delega…

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Canada’s Tax Haven Dilemma with Jared Walker 19:54

4M ago19:54

19:54

At this time last year in late July 2024, Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad announced that G20 finance leaders were poised to endorse a joint declaration on international tax cooperation that would hopefully help to clamp down on so-called “tax havens” by encouraging G20 countries to standardize taxes on billionaires. Since then, Canada, a…

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Carney's Cuts with Angella MacEwen 28:10

4M ago28:10

28:10

Angella MacEwen explains what is at stake with Carney’s chosen course of “cuts, cuts, and more cuts.” Mark Carney’s new liberal government is making it loud and clear that they’re switching things up on economic policy. Following record high public service growth under his predecessor, Carney’s recent call for massive cuts to public services have s…

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Activists Make History: Mobilizing a Movement with Sandy Hudson 49:04

5M ago49:04

49:04

Peggy Nash sits down with Sandy Hudson to talk about the roots of Black Lives Matter – Toronto, and her new book Defund. In this episode of Activists Make History, Peggy Nash sits down with Sandy Hudson—organizer, author, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter – Toronto. Reflecting on the movement’s grassroots foundations, Hudson shows the value of C…

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Class & Climate: Colombia’s Just Transition with Lala Peñaranda and Matt Kirkegaard 45:10

5M ago45:10

45:10

Colombian oil workers and la Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) are leading the charge for a just transition. Here's what Canada can learn from their worker-led climate plan. Lala Peñaranda of Trade Unions for Energy Democracy Matt Kirkegaard of Progressive International present the Colombian Oilworkers' Plan — a bold strategy for a worker-led public path…

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Class & Climate: Winds of Change with Alex Connolly 23:24

5M ago23:24

23:24

The fight for better workplace conditions doesn’t stop at renewable energy. Workers in renewable energy need union representation, collective bargaining and a voice in their workplace for the energy transition to benefit all Canadians. Alex Connolly, a renewable energy worker in Nova Scotia, compares the workplace conditions from his time in the oi…

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Neoliberalism's Failure and What the Left Must Do 1:36:11

6M ago1:36:11

1:36:11

2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecturer Grace Blakeley sits down with Luke Savage in Toronto, Canada, for a conversation on the failures of neoliberal capitalism, the age of individualism it has produced, and what the left must do if it is to win the working-class. Blakeley and Savage examine how the far-right have taken advantage of the gaps and inequit…

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Class & Climate: The Sustainability Class with Vijay Kolinjivadi and Aaron Vansintjan 36:37

6M ago36:37

36:37

Does the so-called green consumption of the “sustainability class” really work to help save us from climate catastrophe? Without challenging capitalism, can everyone afford the cost of living, reduce emissions, and achieve climate justice? Aaron Vansintjan and Vijay Kolinjivadi are the authors of The Sustainability Class, published by The New Press…

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Genuine Democracy in an Age of Hyper-Individualism with Grace Blakeley 37:01

6M ago37:01

37:01

The 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was delivered by Grace Blakeley, illustrating why neoliberal capitalism has overruled democracy and why we must organize to take back democratic power for the working-class. The 2025 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was held on Tuesday, May 20th in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts. A…

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Public Education at the Tipping Point 45:47

6M ago45:47

45:47

Hear from frontline educators at the 2025 Progress Summit on what’s driving the crisis and how we can defend democracy by fighting for strong, inclusive, and well-funded schools. Canada’s public education system is in crisis mode. From chronic underfunding and privatization to attacks on teachers and burnout—these aren’t isolated issues. Across the…

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Class & Climate: Moving Canada for Climate Action with Blandine Sebileau 27:55

7M ago27:55

27:55

Equiterre's Sustainable Mobility Analyst shows how clean mobility can help working class Canadians save money while making our communities cleaner and healthier. Canada is falling behind its G7 peers. Our public transit systems need major investments to serve ordinary Canadians — by cutting costs associated with personal vehicles — and by limiting …

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Class & Climate: Union Power with Brandon Dyck - IBEW 17:46

7M ago17:46

17:46

The energy transition runs on union power. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is one of the labour unions that will generate the electricity needed to seize the potential and jobs of a just transition. Brandon Dyck, government affairs coordinator at IBEW, joins the show to discuss how rank and file IBEW members experience cl…

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Class & Climate: Building a Green Workforce with Lindsay Amundsen 16:18

7M ago16:18

16:18

Lindsay Amundsen of Canada's Building Trades Unions explains what a just transition really means for workers—and how union-led training programs are preparing the workforce for the green economy. What does a just transition look like on the ground—for workers, apprentices, and communities? In the second episode of Class & Climate, Lindsay Amundsen,…

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Class & Climate: Green Industrial Policy with Jim Stanford and Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood 37:24

8M ago37:24

37:24

The climate crisis overlaps with the cost-of-living crisis, amid the US tariff threat. As our fossil fuel dependence exposes us to inflation and trade threats from the US, the labour and climate movements are uniting to demand more for working-class Canadians. Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work and Canadian Centre fo…

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Activists Make History: Democracy in Action with Josel Angelica Gerardo 26:01

8M ago26:01

26:01

Josel Gerardo is a young activist and shares how she is driving democratic engagement in the Filipino-Canadian community. In this episode of Activists Make History, Peggy Nash sits down with Josel Angelica Gerardo to explore her journey as a community organizer and advocate for Filipino-Canadian political engagement. From growing up in the Philippi…

1
A Better Way Forward with Liliana Camacho 21:15

9M ago21:15

21:15

Liliana Camacho explains that while rising costs are squeezing businesses, increasing wages and capping rent are not the problem—they’re actually part of the solution. Even Canadian businesses know that low wages and the high cost of housing are two big factors in the cost-of-living crisis, and are hurting customers and business itself. Liliana Cam…

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Activists Make History: Campaigning for Progress with Alexa Gilmour 30:04

9M ago30:04

30:04

The first-time candidate for Parkdale–High Park says progressive campaigning can be the antidote for despair. In this episode of Activists Make History, Peggy Nash sits down with Alexa Gilmour, Ontario NDP candidate for Parkdale–High Park, to learn about her journey as a first-time candidate in the 2025 Ontario election. Alexa shares what inspired …

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Industrial Policy after Neoliberalism with D.T. Cochrane 35:21

10M ago35:21

35:21

For decades, social democrats have championed industrial policy, prioritizing the governance of the economy and market regulation as a way to build a more just and democratic society. But as a new era of neoliberalism — or post-neoliberalism — dawns, economist D.T. Cochrane sees Canada at a crossroads, in urgent need of a renewed vision of industri…

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Activists Make History: Meeting the Moment with Lana Payne 50:06

10M ago50:06

50:06

Unifor president Lana Payne explains what’s at stake for Canadian workers in response to Donald Trump’s tariff threats and how unions are adapting to meet the moment. In this episode of Activists Make History, a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal, we sit down with Lana Payne, president of Unifor and a trailblazer in Canada’s labour moveme…

1
Power for the Public with Edgardo Sepulveda 32:38

11M ago32:38

32:38

Earlier this fall, The Alberta Federation of Labour released a new report entitled Power in the Public Interest: Re-regulation and increased public ownership in Alberta’s electricity sector. A headline from a press release of the report reads: “Albertans have overpaid $24 billion for electricity since 2001.” This is long before the interruptions an…

1
Why Canadians are Stuck Waiting for the Bus with Nate Wallace 27:11

12M ago27:11

27:11

In a joint statement by Environmental Defence Canada released on October 28th at the Transit for Tomorrow Summit in Ottawa, a number of mayors and municipal representatives from cities across Canada, public transit activist groups and transit agencies like the STM in Montreal, declared: “Transit is the most powerful method of tackling traffic conge…

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Neoliberalism’s Undead with Alex Himelfarb 35:44

12M ago35:44

35:44

Alex Himelfarb argues that neoliberalism – or “capitalism with the gloves off” – has become embedded in the fabric of Canadian government and society, and has not yet died off despite its reckoning. Neoliberalism is not dead, according to former Clerk of the Privy Council and Broadbent Institute research fellow Alex Himelfarb. The ideology that per…

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Activists Make History: Winning Renters’ Rights with Chiara Padovani 30:48

12M ago30:48

30:48

Chiara Padovani details her political journey in organizing renters and defending tenant rights against the encroachment of for-profit interests in housing. Toronto, like other cities across Canada, has been coping with the rising housing affordability crisis as inflated rents, increased evictions, and massive real estate investment firms have beco…

1
Correcting the Record on Trans Deaths with Dylana Thompson 26:56

1y ago26:56

26:56

It is important for policymakers to use evidence, like data and statistics, to make sound policy decisions. However, governments across Canada and in other places around the world continue to make policy decisions that affect trans lives and livelihoods, while data collection and maintenance on trans people remain lacking or incomplete. Despite adv…

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The Continuing Battle for Universal Pharmacare with Marc-André Gagnon 32:47

1y ago32:47

32:47

Despite Canada’s celebrated health care model, a lack of robust and universal drug coverage has resulted in a “fragmented system” that leaves ordinary Canadians without adequate care. Bill C-64 titled An Act Respecting Pharmacare was recently passed in Canada. Providing the framework for universal public drug coverage in Canada, Bill C-64 has been …

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Activists Make History: Organizing the First Walmart Warehouse Union in Canada with Angela Drew Kimelman 27:18

1y ago27:18

27:18

Walmart is notorious for its anti-union practices, pouring millions of dollars into union-busting campaigns every year. But this didn’t stop Angela Drew Kimelman, an Organizer at Unifor, from helping unionize over 800 workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ontario. In our first episode of Activists Make History, a new podcast series from Pe…

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Activists Make History - Series Preview 1:09

1y ago1:09

1:09

'Activists Make History' is a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal, hosted by Peggy Nash, author of 'Women Winning Office: An Activist’s Guide to Getting Elected' As a union activist, feminist advocate, and former member of Parliament in Canada's House of Commons, Nash knows what it's like to start from scratch against the odds. In Activist…

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Opening the Black Box: Nursing Agencies in Canada with Joan Almost 26:23

1y ago26:23

26:23

Private nursing agencies are have grown in number and use amid the crises facing the healthcare sector by filling the gaps in chronic understaffing. The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions’ new report Opening the black box: Unpacking the use of nursing agencies in Canada reveals just how much this reliance on nursing agencies has cost. Dr. Joan Al…

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Corporate Tax Breaks, Housing Heartbreaks with Silas Xuereb 17:59

1y ago17:59

17:59

Corporate tax breaks and loopholes in Canada have contributed heavily to the affordability crisis argues Silas Xuereb, researcher at Canadian for Tax Fairness, PhD candidate at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and author of a new report entitled, How tax breaks are worsening Canada's housing affordability crisis. Outside of calls to build hous…

1
Escaping the Consulting Trap with Chris Hurl and Leah Werner 40:08

1y ago40:08

40:08

When public services malfunction, such as the Phoenix Pay scandal or the failure of the pandemic travel ArriveCan app occur, it is easy to point the finger at the government and the political party in power. As Chris Hurl and Leah Werner describe in our latest Perspectives Journal podcast episode, there is some truth to this, but The Consulting Tra…

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Is Market-based Climate Action Working for Canadians? with Brendan Haley 23:18

1y ago23:18

23:18

The price of carbon is in the news again with Conservatives in Canada, and around the world where carbon pricing schemes exist, fuel backlash against the climate policy. Adding to their opposition to carbon pricing policy is today's profit-induced inflation and affordability crisis. For the centrist regimes that pushed for this market-mechanism as …

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Effective Change Podcast: Caring for Cancer with Ace Jakeman 24:50

1y ago24:50

24:50

In this episode, Ace Jakeman explores fundraising in Alberta aimed at improving the lives of children with cancer and their families. He speaks to Marlee Higginson, the outreach program coordinator at Kids Cancer Care, and associates Aren Godberson and Madison Tutt. Jakeman also speaks to Gage Sweeney, a first-time participant in a Kids Cancer Care…

1
Effective Change Podcast: Trans Voices with Quinn Curtis 17:12

1y ago17:12

17:12

In this episode, Quinn Curtis speaks in-depth to two transgender Albertans about what life is like for them in this province. Faust was raised in Fort St. John, in B.C. and now lives in Calgary. April Friesen is president of the Trans Equality Society of Alberta (TESA), whose mission is to be a witness to and a voice for matters concerning trans-Al…

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Effective Change Podcast: Naloxone with Charlotte Vos 18:16

1y ago18:16

18:16

In this episode, Charlotte Vos talks to Mount Royal University’s Telaina Sewers about training available on campus on how to safely administer the drug naloxone to help prevent opioid overdoses. Naloxone is a drug that only works on opioids. It comes in kits, and are administered with vanish point syringes to ensure safety. The interview includes a…

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Effective Change Podcast: The Opioid Crisis with Mia Bare 21:00

1y ago21:00

21:00

In this episode, Mia Bare explores the social and structural stigma that surrounds getting help with drug addiction. She interviews a mother who lost her son to Alberta’s opioid poisoning crisis. She also speaks to David Lewry, the executive director and addictions counsellor at Freedom’s Path Recovery Society in Calgary. Albertans are increasingly…

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Good Enough to Work, Good Enough to Stay: Fixing Canada's Immigration System with Pablo Godoy 33:53

1y ago33:53

33:53

After a long summer break for the Perspectives Journal Podcast, we’re back! With the problematic Temporary Foreign Workers Program in the news, as well as growing anti-immigrant sentiment across Canada and other Western countries, we kicked off this season asking what’s behind this narrative, who’s to blame, and what the working-class is doing to f…

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Profits, Inflation and Survival in an Age of Emergencies with Isabella Weber 50:05

1+ y ago50:05

50:05

The 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was held on Thursday, May 30th in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts. A special thanks to TMU Interim Dean of Arts Amy Peng for hosting this Broadbent Institute event. Ellen Meiksins Wood was one of the left’s foremost theorists on democracy and history, and often promoted the ide…

1
The Rise of Investor Ownership and the Housing Crisis with Jeremy Withers 37:49

1+ y ago37:49

37:49

The housing crisis is apparent for most ordinary Canadians, especially for those paying rents and mortgages that feel increasingly out of reach. Recent data shows that among wealthy countries, Canada's housing cost increases have seen the fastest decoupling from income growth, and with that accelerated price inflation, according to Jeremy Withers, …

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Is Canada Falling Behind on Green Industrial Policy? with Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood 13:16

1+ y ago13:16

13:16

To help make Canada into a “good society,” Ed Broadbent was a major proponent of “industrial strategy” throughout the 1970s and 80s as leader of Canada’s NDP, to use this policy vision for social democratic change and challenge the dominance of market mechanisms, ultimately to the working-class the tools to build a just and equal economic democracy…

1
A Place Kids Can Feel At Home 18:30

1+ y ago18:30

18:30

This podcast on the Cornerstone Youth Centre discussed on the organization has stood against the odds and employed creative methods to raise funding while keeping the youth as their priority.By Calgary Journal

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Profits? Productivity? Affordability? Talking Economics with Angella MacEwen 18:01

1+ y ago18:01

18:01

In today’s apparently well-performing capitalist economy, working-class ordinary Canadians aren’t feeling like they live in a "Good Society" and acutely feel these economic pressures. Price inflation, lagging productivity, and record profits. These are the economic indicators that policymakers use to say that the economy is doing so well, and which…