Sandy and Nora

Episode 27 – Dutty Doug Ford

Doug Ford’s campaign of shock and awe is well underway. Sandy and Nora talk about some of the changes, and how Ford’s “For the People” rhetoric leaves behind anyone who isn’t white and male and healthy and rich.

Since we recorded, Ford cancelled all Ministry work on Truth and Reconciliation curriculum and a $100 million fund to fix schools. Students, teachers : not “people” under Ford’s regime.

Episode 26 – HAPPY CANADA DAY TO …

It’s the Canada Day episode! Nora and Sandy talk about all the things that they’re thinking about for Canada Day. Are you thinking about the same things we’re thinking about? Tune in to find out. Also, please consider donating to:

https://www.gofundme.com/justice-for-olando-brown

We will add the GoFundMe for Jon Styres when we have the link.

This is a duplicate page trying to fix a bad link.

Episode 25 – job losses at Rogers Media and a master class in organizing

Sandy and Nora look at the right way and the wrong way to respond to the news that Rogers Media has laid off one-third of their digital media workers (first third of the episode). Then, they offer a master class in organizing: what do we mean when we say we must organize, and how can we collectively be as effective as possible?

Episode 24 – Resistance in Fordtario

Doug Ford is about to become Ontario’s Premier. How did we get here and how must we resist? Sandy and Nora have your answers.

 

Image: National Post

Episode 23 – is the left failing to train new activists?

Where do young activists learn their skills? In this episode Sandy and Nora talk about the student movement and how the left needs to renew itself through targeting training (education, campaigns, jobs) for young people.

Episode 22: it’s time to shittalk #ONELXN

With just over one week to go, the Ontario election is spinning out to be the most exciting one to watch in a generation — if by exciting we mean hilarious, which we do!

Sandy and Nora take time with each party and examine all the reasons for why they cannot be taken seriously, and give many kudos to the grassroots activists running for the ONDP. They are making this shitshow very worth it.

Episode 21: Canada’s racist border policies

Sandy and Nora talk about Canada’s borders: from refugee claimants from the United States to CBSA, where innocent people are housed in maximum security facilities, Canadians need to start asking questions about what their government is doing to families who are seeking Canada for a better life.

Episode 20: Profits, pipelines and progressive confusion

After many requests from friends, Sandy and Nora have finally decided to talk about pipelines.

Episode 19: To be not a man online.

Sandy and Nora dive into the Toronto attack and what we know of the world that Alek Minassian is thought to have been a part  of. From MRAs to real-life violence, why don’t men believe women, and where are men in responding to other men?

Episode 18: Right-wing extremism on trial: is Canada paying attention?

The shooter of the Quebec City mosque, Alexandre Bissonnette’s sentencing hearing is underway. What have we learned about his extremist views? Now that Islamophobia and racism have been clearly identified as his motivation, is the rest of Canada paying attention and learning from what we now know?

Episode 17, part two: the eye of the alt-right online hurricane

Nora and Sandy conclude their discussion about what it looks like when the [extreme] right chooses a target and organizes its minions to swarm.

Make sure you listen to Part One first!

Episode 17, part one: the eye of the alt-right online hurricane

Nora and Sandy talk about the news that has bombarded them both this week: that it’s never the right time and it’s never the right place to talk about systemic injustice.

Episode 16: Ontario’s free tuition lie

Do Ontario students get free tuition? The short answer is no. In this episode, Nora and Sandy go through the long answer, which is also no, but much more passionate and funny than the short answer.

Episode 15: fighting gentrification

Gentrification is one of the most pressing problems that currently faces the left — and yet, the left often struggles to identify, explain and effectively fight the forced displacement of poor, racialized and minority communities. Sandy and Nora explore gentrification in Toronto’s Regent Park, Weston and Eglinton West neighbourhoods to identify and argue for how activists should engage and struggle for change.

Photo c/o OCAP: http://ocap.ca/tchboardinguphomes/

Episode 14: The Financial Literacy Hoax

The Ontario Liberals have announced that Grade 10 students will have new financial literacy education. Sandy and Nora ask: why? What’s missing in the curriculum that makes this a necessary promise? Or, is this a vacant and crass political promise that’s primarily meant to garner votes?

Episode 13: Is the NDP supporting Jagmeet Singh enough?

This week, Sandy and Nora talk about how journalists have let racism take over their coverage of Jagmeet Singh, and whether or not the NDP is really doing what it must to support Singh through these attacks.

Episode 12: Douggie F, the new leader of the Ontario PC Party

The people of the “Progressive” Conservative Party of Ontario have spoken, and Doug Ford is their leader. What does this mean for progressives, if anything? How should they respond, if at all? In this podcast, Sandy and Nora discuss this and whether or not we should even care. Spoiler Alert: we should.

Episode 11: Post-mortem on the NDP convention

The NDP policy convention happened mid-February in Ottawa. Nora and Sandy talk about what happened, what didn’t happen, and why Palestinian solidarity remains so hard for the party apparatus to embrace.

Episode 10: Liberal schemes redux: when the scheme intends to undermine organizing

What’s behind the Federation of Black Canadians? Sandy and Nora talk about everything they know about how the Liberals use, manipulate and influence organizations to help promote their own policies, and warn folks to be careful when an organization seems to be operating in lock-step with government.

Episode 9: Injustice and Tina Fontaine

In this podcast, Sandy and Nora talk about the Raymond Cormier trial, his acquittal, and the racist, colonial systems at play that consistently deny justice to Indigenous women and girls, like Tina Fontaine.

There can be no justice on stolen land.

Episode 8: From Me too Us: the limits of the Me Too movement

This episode explores the Me Too movement. From Patrick Brown, to the poisonous and pervasive sexism within politics, to broader movement issues and questions, we take a tour of the state of feminism today.

This issue deals with the matter with a mix of humour and anger: our best survival tools. Skip the first 15 minutes if you don’t want to hear about all the ways in which Patrick Brown’s press conference was a disaster.

Episode 7: No justice for Colten Boushie — Canada’s white supremacy problem

This episode starts off featuring Jade Tootootsis, Colten Boushie’s cousin, at a press conference following the acquittal of Gerald Stanley in Colten’s death. Jade reminds people to get organized and be mobilized to fight for justice.

Sandy and Nora talk about colonialism, injustice and how nothing will change if people don’t heed Jade’s call: that nothing is possible unless we organize ourselves.

Episode 6: police, racism and journalists who just don’t get it

On the long-awaited Episode 6, Sandy and Nora talk about financial literacy curriculum, Nazis in the Toronto Library and police in schools, and how on each story, journalists keep getting it wrong.

Episode 5: Scheming Liberals and their Schemey Schemes

Has there ever been a scheme with a progressive veneer and a regressive outcome that the Liberals haven’t loved?

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the Ontario budget, Liberal Schemes and how progressives need to resist Liberal logic that is intended to confuse Canadians into supporting them. Specifically we talk: free tuition fees, the basic income, pharmacare and the racist implications of the marijuana policy discussions.

Episode 4: police, Pride and protecting their own

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the Ottawa police and wristbands, remembering Abdirahman Abdi, Pride Toronto and the history of policing in general.

The police show — not likely to be our last police show.

Episode 3: The white supremacy episode

2017 might just be the year where mainstream Canada reckons with white supremacy — or maybe not. From Justin Trudeau being a white supremacist to marches promoting hatred happening across Canada, Sandy and Nora make the necessary connections of these flashpoint events to broader systems and structures of white supremacy. With M103, the anti-Islamophobia motion soon to be debated in the House of Commons, it’s critical to understand this debate in the context of white supremacy.

The White Supremacy episode: from “should I punch a Nazi?” to: “here are the range of ways to disrupt, bother and challenge Nazis in the streets”

Episode 2: “Feminist” Trudeau provides progressive cover for sexist Trump

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about Trudump: the meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump. Spoiler: feminism was used to hide deeply unfeminist cross-border cooperation plans.

Episode 1: How can anyone think Toronto road tolls are progressive?

In this episode, Sandy and Nora examine the arguments that some progressive men have made about the road tolls that had been proposed on the DVP and the Gardiner Expressway.

They also sign on for the first time in what will certainly be, an historic show.