It’s election season in Bubble City, the ultra-protected enclave that keeps the rich safe from the mutants of the so-called Uninhabited Zone. When veteran officer Swamp Cop embarks on a dangerous undercover mission, politics just might wind up coming between him and his beloved partner, Officer Schitt. Team Advantage chats with Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson, authors of Justice Warriors Vol. 2: Vote Harder, and discusses the quaint features of placid Canadian life.

Follow Matt Bors on Twitter @mattbors and BlueSky @mattbors.bsky.social

Follow Ben Clarkson on Twitter @benclarkson and Bluesky @benclarkson.bsky.social

Purchase Justice Warriors: Vote Harder direct from Matt’s webstore or wherever fine books are sold.

This past year saw a sequence of labour unrest: Teamsters locked out of both CPKC and CN railways, Westjet mechanics striking over Canada Day long weekend, Air Canada pilots reaching a last-minute deal, grain terminal workers in Vancouver striking, and dockworkers getting locked out in Montreal. How is the post-war labour “peace” holding up, and should we be thinking and planning beyond the Rand formula?

Thanks to Adam D.K. King for joining this episode. Read more of his work here, and follow him @AdamDKKing1.

The 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have been on a nationwide strike since November 15th after negotiations at the bargaining table stalled with their employer Canada Post. Workers are fighting to protect pensions, improve working conditions, and a wage increase that keeps pace with inflation.

As CUPW enters its second week on strike, Team Advantage goes to the picket line to hear what striking workers have to say. Recorded on Wednesday, November 20th, 2024.

Support your local CUPW picket line!

Support the Duncan Kinney Legal Defense Fund

In this live recording, Jeremy tells us how Kenney has shaped Alberta politics, and expounds on his ideological commitments, his flair for conspiracy and his effective use of political stunts. We also learn of Kenney’s taste in music and get Jeremy’s response to the toughest question he’s been asked since the book came out. 

Gaza solidarity encampments on university campuses in the U.S. and Canada are experiencing violent police crackdowns. How do the student movements of the past inform what’s going on now? Team Advantage digs into the history of student radicalism and speaks to encampment supporters about their experiences with police.

What can we learn about the ongoing pandemic and how it’s been handled? How’s the whole global public health infrastructure, campaign for clean air, and renewed push for workplace going? Does this bode well for future pandemics and crises, and how can we learn from what’s happened so far to shape our future demands?

Israel is on a genocidal rampage through Gaza. Team Advantage, joined by intrepid independent journalist Jeremy Appel, examine the historical roots and basic assumptions that underlie Zionism, and discuss a few light topics, like discourse-policing, denouncing Hamas, antisemitism, and settler-colonialism.

In late September 2023, Canadian Parliament clapped for “Ukrainian hero” Yaroslav Hunka, who fought with the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), a unit in the Nazi German military.

Why did Canada let so many Ukrainian Nazis into the country after WW2, and how did this wave of right-wing Ukrainian nationalist shape Canada’s Ukrainian diaspora? Team Advantage digs into the working-class origins of Ukrainians in Canada, Canada’s efforts at post-war anticommunism, and the Canadian government’s careful management of “multiculturalism.”

The area burned by wildfires in Canada this year exceeded 18 million hectares and burned 1,740 megatonnes of CO2, roughly three times Canada’s human-made emissions from 2022. As fire season winds down, Team Advantage examines this new, fun, half-year-long weather phenomenon, and considers the role of fossil fuels and the end of “cheap nature.” 

Further reading:
John Vaillant – Fire Weather
Edward Struzik – Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future
Alex Callinicos – The New Age of Catastrophe
Jason Moore – Capitalism in the Web of Life 

Rachel Notley led the Alberta NDP to their second major electoral defeat in Alberta’s latest general election. What does this election say about Albertans? How might we make basic social democratic values popular? How should we organize as we anticipate Premier Danielle Smith? And what’s next for the Alberta NDP?