Living in the Empire of Crisis

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 [email protected] 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 

Drew Adamick walks me through what financial survival looks like when the system is built to exploit us. From RRSPs and pensions to credit traps and estate planning, we talk about how to navigate capitalism while still fighting to change it.Support Drew’s work: https://divergentfp.ca Find all my links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

Kaytlin Bailey joins me to talk about the panic around sex work and pornography, how stigma shapes our culture, and why sexual freedom is always political. We dig into her work with Old Pros and the fight for decriminalization.Here are the links to follow Kaytlin and Old Proshttps://oldprosonline.org/https://www.instagram.com/oldprosonline/https://x.com/oldprosonlinehttps://linktr.ee/oldproshttps://www.instagram.com/kaytlinbailey/And go to my linktree to follow me or support the showlinktr.ee/skepticalleftist

In this episode I dive into the rising tide of authoritarianism and the corporate overreach fueling it. From Canadian soldiers flashing Nazi salutes, to mass surveillance spreading across the UK, to Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard in Chicago — the pattern is clear. Add in YouTube secretly altering creators’ videos and scraping billions for AI training, and it’s obvious we’re living in the tightening grip of authoritarianism. I also cover Canada finally admitting famine in Gaza, the Air Canada strike over unpaid hours, and the Trump DOJ’s bizarre deportation push.Sourceshttps://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/soldiers-hateful-conduct-nazi-salute-1.7612928https://www.nacion.com/tecnologia/sistema-de-reconocimiento-facial-masivo-en-tiempo/HNRBX6ESRBF5LMJOWGL2D7US7M/story/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brandon-johnson-chicago-trump-national-guard_n_68ab93b3e4b0176c52bfa5f7https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-clowns-arent-funny-anymorehttps://www.ipolitics.ca/2025/08/25/ottawa-slams-israel-after-official-finding-of-famine-urges-halt-to-escalating-war/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg3ze0yxy0ohttps://www.rawstory.com/trump-justice-department-2673919484/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/25/kilmar-abrego-garcia-uganda-deportation-trump?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://apnews.com/article/uganda-us-deportations-criticism-692a6cbf61c96ac3ed837b567bf2d72chttps://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/23/kilmar-abrego-garcia-deportation-00521576https://apnews.com/article/abrego-garcia-deportation-uganda-ice-2bad172b72c4871bc20bfa221b49b8bdhttps://www.axios.com/2025/08/25/kilmar-abrego-garcia-deportation-uganda-pause-judgehttps://euroweeklynews.com/2025/08/24/youtube-is-editing-billions-of-users-videos-and-training-ai-without-their-consentMutual Aid/SupportSupport 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/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/donatehttps://linktr.ee/taylor_mcnallie Multiple ways to help people across CanadaAlso check out https://bsky.app/profile/lefttexascongress.bsky.social Support the show Patreon: patreon.com/skepticalleftist Substack: theskepticalleftist.substack.com Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/skepticalleftist Linktree: linktr.ee/skepticalleftist 

Borders divide people and enforce cruelty. In this conversation with Owen McDonald, we look at how the far right exploits immigration panic, how liberals reinforce the same narratives, and how austerity and capitalism depend on scapegoating migrants.Owen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@owenmacdonald7428 • Owen on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/owenmacdonald.bsky.social Find all my links here: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist