The Skeptical Leftist Podcast

For this episode of Solidarity Across Borders, Owen brings two stories from his week that highlight a recurring theme in political life. He spoke with a conservative teacher who works in an underfunded classroom and still blames parents instead of the system. He also talked with a liberal vegan who sees ethical clarity in individual choices but avoids examining the global forces shaping the food industry. We look at how both viewpoints fall short and why systems analysis matters if we want real change.Owen's Linkshttps://www.youtube.com/@owenmacdonald7428https://bsky.app/profile/owenmacdonald.bsky.socialMy Linkshttps://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

Stafford Taylor joins me to talk about his path from homelessness to writing The Transcendence Manifesto. We get into life in Goa, lessons from community work, and what it means to build something better when the world keeps people isolated.Stafford’s links:https://www.youtube.com/@StaffordGraymanhttps://www.instagram.com/blueeyedphoenix1991/https://www.facebook.com/stafford.taylor.18 https://www.amazon.ca/Transcendence-Manifesto-Secular-Gospel/dp/1036909654 Find all my links here:https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

 We start by reflecting on criticism from a past discussion and what it says about how people hear and respond to political conversations. Then we talk about a stream Owen did with someone who says they’ve left the left and explore why anger and burnout push people toward reactionary thinking. The episode ends with a look at how solidarity can survive in a world that rewards outrage and division.Links:https://www.youtube.com/@owenmacdonald7428https://bsky.app/profile/owenmacdonald.bsky.socialMy Linktreehttps://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Qatar#Stadium_constructionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_issues_involving_the_2022_FIFA_World_Cup#https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar#FIFA_World_Cup_preparations_and_reported_abuseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_controversies#

Graham Culbertson joins me to talk about anarchism as a lived practice, how people already cooperate without coercion, why authority rarely works the way we think it does, and what it means to resist systems of control in everyday life.We also get into the pressures of podcasting in an algorithmic world and how staying authentic can itself be an act of resistance.Guest: Graham Culbertson – https://everydayanarchism.com All links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

From Gaza to Ecuador, governments are cracking down while people fight back. Nick and I talk about global uprisings, the criminalization of protest, and why power always reacts the same way when ordinary people demand justice.We cover Gaza marches, Ecuador’s Indigenous protests, Assata Shakur’s legacy, media capture by billionaires, Apple’s censorship of an anti-ICE app, and the right’s obsession with calling antifascists terrorists.Sources:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/5/mass-protests-from-amsterdam-to-istanbul-denounce-israels-gaza-genocidehttps://truthout.org/articles/indigenous-led-movement-against-austerity-is-gaining-momentum-in-ecuador/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/05/police-to-get-new-powers-to-crack-down-on-repeated-protests-says-home-officehttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/assata-shakur-black-revolutionary-who-fought-for-freedom-in-exilehttps://gizmodo.com/apple-caves-to-trump-pressure-removes-app-that-let-immigrants-track-ice-activity-2000667208 https://www.salon.com/2025/10/06/from-dan-rather-to-bari-weiss-how-far-cbs-news-has-fallen/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/05/trump-behavior-online-postshttps://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/ The Guardian – Trump signs order designating antifa as a “domestic terrorist organization”https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-wants-to-designate-antifa-as-a-major-terrorist-organization-can-he-do-that?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-is-antifa-and-why-trump-wants-to-label-it-a-terrorist-organizationhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-designating-antifa-terrorist-organization/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/18/what-is-antifa-what-does-trumps-major-terrorist-label-meanNick’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickdgirard/ My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist Mutual Aid:Regina Cathedral Community Fridge — volunteer-run, 24/7 mutual aid fridge in Regina; feeding local neighbours every day. Help them here: https://www.cathedralcommunityfridge.com/Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) — offering medical care, food, and humanitarian aid to children and families in Gaza and the West Bank: https://www.pcrf.net/donateTaylor Mcnallie is an activist and organizer from out of Calgary Alberta who has a number of pages to help support others and also she needs help with legal fees after being targeted by the Calgary police for her activism  https://linktr.ee/taylor_mcnallie. SomeRandomG33k gives a lot of their income to people in need so you can either donate to them through streamlabs https://streamlabs.com/somerandomg33k/tip or check out their charity links page https://charitylinks.page/ 

 Simon Enoch from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives joins me to talk about how neoliberalism reshaped Canadian policy and what privatization has done to public services. We cover the rise of corporate think tanks, the loss of economic democracy, and why evidence-based policy still matters.Links:https://www.policyalternatives.ca/ https://bsky.app/profile/simonenoch.bsky.social https://linktr.ee/Skepticalleftist

Cory Doctorow joins me to talk about Enshitification, his new book about the long decline of the internet. We go through how platforms start out good for users, turn on them once they’re locked in, and finally become unrecognizable corporate machines. Cory explains how this pattern connects to monopoly power, labor exploitation, and government capture, and why it’s not just a tech problem but a political one.Cory Doctorow’s links:https://craphound.com/https://craphound.com/shop/https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/https://x.com/doctorow  My links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

Revolt, propaganda, and border control, in this episode we talk about uprisings in Nepal and Indonesia, Trump’s visa scams, digital IDs in the UK, propaganda around Charlie Kirk, AI pushing people into violence, and an economy rigged for the few.Sourceshttps://people.com/charlie-kirk-martyr-allegedly-threatens-shoot-up-gay-bar-11813937https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/no-evidence-charlie-kirk-shooting-left-wing-groups-rcna232513https://factkeepers.com/right-wing-extremist-violence-is-more-frequent-and-more-deadly-than-left-wing-violence/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-us-h1b-visa-changes_n_68cdd347e4b02387cfec20c8https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-starmer-set-push-digital-id-plans-ft-reports-2025-09-19/ https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/how-gen-z-protests-over-corruption-jobs-ousted-nepal-pm-oli-2025-09-09/ https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2025/09/18/deadly-gen-z-protests-expose-decades-systemic-rot-nepal https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/gen-z-protests-in-nepal-result-in-19-deaths-prime-minister-resignation-and-social-media-ban-repeal/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/8/six-killed-in-nepal-amid-gen-z-protests-after-social-media-ban-all-to-knowhttps://archive.is/20250913093923/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/09/13/nepal-protests-gen-z-uprising/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nepals-deadly-protests-social-media-ban-lies-anger-125389219https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2025/09/13/revolt-in-indonesia/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/20/irish-band-kneecap-says-canada-ban-aims-to-silence-opposition-to-genocidehttps://futurism.com/man-chatgpt-psychosis-murders-motherhttps://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/19/trumps-destruction-of-the-us-economy/Nick’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickdgirard/AnCom’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ancomscicomm.bsky.social My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

In this episode Owen Macdonald and I talk about capitalism’s gospel of greed. We start with AI’s effect on work, move into how exploitation underpins the global economy, and look at how Christian nationalism keeps people tied to an unjust system. We also discuss the hypocrisy of right-wing religion through Owen’s debate with a Trump supporter and the selective outrage over Charlie Kirk’s death.I've started calling my collaborations with Owen Solidarity Across Borders. I've created a logo and found new music for the intro and outro. Hopefully, Owen and I can continue these chats, and they'll become their own standalone playlist on YouTube and a subseries for the show. I hope you enjoy themFollow Owen: YouTube | BlueSky Support my work: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist  | https://www.patreon.com/skepticalleftist

This week, Nick Girard joins me to dig into another week of manufactured emergencies and systemic collapse. From Trump’s military occupation of DC, to Romana Didulo’s arrest, to the slow-motion disaster of AI harms and ecological breakdown, it’s all crisis all the time. We also talk about capitalism’s state-capitalist mask slipping and the shifting views on socialism in the U.S.Nick is also sending out his book for free. Just reach out to him on Instagram at @nickdgirard or email me at mindofaskepticalleftist@gmail.com and we’ll get you a copy.Solidarity is the strategy.Sourceshttps://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalobserver.com%2F2025%2F09%2F03%2Fnews%2Fai-chatbots-are-changing-online-threat-landscape-ottawa-reviews-legislation https://globalnews.ca/news/11391128/saskatchewan-rcmp-richmound-investigation/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/rcmp-richmound-didulo-1.7624038 https://leaderpost.com/news/sha-declare-queen-of-canadas-compound-a-threat-to-public-safetyhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trans-gun-ban-trump-mental-illness-b2820372.htmlhttps://climateandcapitalism.com/2025/09/07/60-of-land-area-is-now-out-of-the-safe-operating-zone/https://www.commondreams.org/news/we-are-all-dc-tens-of-thousands-march-to-white-househttps://www.cbc.ca/news/business/google-antitrust-order-1.7623824https://apnews.com/article/socialism-socialist-capitalism-big-business-free-enterprise-poll-c052ca687269a2cc075423877b7904e6 https://www.ft.com/content/db610f93-https://apnews.com/article/socialism-socialist-capitalism-big-business-free-enterprise-poll-c052ca687269a2cc075423877b7904e6d48d-4c49-a394-68aeee0500a6 Mutual aid shoutouts or action itemsSupport KJ’s fight against a brain tumor — donate to the GoFundMe campaign for Eric’s nephew: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kj-with-his-battle-against-a-brain-tumorRegina Cathedral Community Fridge — volunteer-run, 24/7 mutual aid fridge in Regina; feeding local neighbours every day. Help them here: https://www.cathedralcommunityfridge.com/https://linktr.ee/reginacommunityfridge Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) — offering medical care, food, and humanitarian aid to children and families in Gaza and the West Bank: https://www.pcrf.net/donateTaylor Mcnallie is an activist and organizer from out of Calgary Alberta who has a number of pages to help support others and also she needs help with legal fees after being targeted by the Calgary police for her activism  https://linktr.ee/taylor_mcnallie SomeRandomG33k gives a lot of their income to people in need so you can either donate to them through streamlabs https://streamlabs.com/somerandomg33k/tip or check out their charity links page https://charitylinks.page/ Check out Nick’s book In the Beginning Buy Nick’s book in Canada https://a.co/d/bbtJsT4Buy Nick’s book in the US https://a.co/d/czu4MawNick on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nickdgirard/ My links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist