Justin and Dan (that’s Dan Freeman-Maloy, for new listeners) talk about Chomsky – and not just manufacturing consent, but Chomsky’s influence on their political thinking, where they might have tiny disagreements, and how they try to use Chomsky’s work to think through political problems in 2020.
Audio
The Anti-Empire Project Episode 42: US Troops at the Venezuelan border
We recorded quickly to react to the attack on a naval patrol boat (the Naiguata) off the coast of Venezuela and the positioning of US troops at the Venezuela-Colombia border. With Maria Victor and Joe Emersberger.
The Anti-Empire Project Episode 41: The magic bullet for COVID-19 with Drs. Thomson and Loubani
I talk to nephrologist Ben Thomson and ER doc Tarek Loubani about the magic bullet for COVID-19 (there isn’t one). The key messages: medical people – switch to reusable masks. Everyone: social distancing works, don’t lose your nerve. So do social democratic reforms, like having a public health system.
The Anti-Empire Project Episode 40: The pandemic and the marginalized, with Dr. Ritika Goel
I talk to Toronto doctor and activist Ritika Goel about the first few weeks of the pandemic here in Toronto, some of the emergency measures anti-poverty activists have called for, and the ways the pandemic should force some thinking about the importance of solidarity.
The Anti-Empire Project Episode 39: Might, the novel, by Brian Dominick
Brian Dominick is the author of Present as Prologue: A GenZero Novella, which describes the first phase of a youth-led, high-tech revolution in America. We talk about youth liberation, education, capitalism, and the liberatory possibilities and limitations of technological change. Interesting discussion about the idea of youth as a class.
The Anti-Empire Project Episode 38: The East is a Podcast
I talk to Sina Rahmani, host of The East is A Podcast, about everything from genre conventions to Orientalism and Edward Said to podcasting culture and trying to reach an audience as a podcaster.
The Anti-Empire Project Episode 37: Postcoloniality and the Racist Legacy of the British Empire
A wide-ranging and admittedly bookish discussion with William Patterson historian Navyug Gill and frequent guest and sometimes host of the show, Dan Freeman-Maloy. We talk about postcolonial studies, history, and the British Empire, and the ways that its racism lives on.
Anti-Empire Project Episode 36: Siegebreakers at York University
On November 19, 2019, York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies hosted a panel called “The Art and Politics in Imagining a Free Gaza: A Discussion of Justin Podur’s new novel, Siegebreakers.” It featured poet, theatre worker, and Associate Professor Honor Ford-Smith; writer and Professor Catriona Sandilands; and Lebanese-Palestinian activist and Executive Director of Canadian Friends of Sabeel, Yara Shoufani. The event began with me reading Chapter 1 of Siegebreakers, and interventions by the panelists followed.
So, if you still haven’t read Siegebreakers, you can let me read the first chapter to you!
The Ossington Circle Episode 35: The Turkish Invasion of Northern Syria with Sardar Saadi
I talk to friend and Kurdish Edition podcaster Sardar Saadi about the Turkish invasion of Syrian Kurdistan in October 2019, the brutality of Erdogan’s assault on the Kurds, the impossible dilemmas faced by the Kurds in the complex Syrian and regional war(s), and the role of the Empire in all of it.
Check out Sardar’s podcast, the Kurdish Edition
The Ossington Circle Episode 34: Colombia’s Peace Process Fails, with Manuel Rozental
I talk to friend and frequent guest Manuel Rozental about the breakdown of the (probably inaccurately named) peace process in Colombia, as FARC dissidents announce that the accords have failed and they are returning to war. We talk about war and peace in Colombian history and a global economy that profits more from war than from peace.