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 Cl…

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 sh…

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 o…

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. Order Kenneyism by Jerem…

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 Ukra…

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." Furt…

Support this podcast! 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 and our political culture? 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 …

Support this podcast! What link is there between pushing Indigenous people off land, into reserves, into residential schools, and into forced treatment? How are conversations about "public safety" and policing being mobilized to harm vulnerable people? How has the politicization of the opioid epidemic obscured what's needed to address increasing dr…

Culture wars, long-term injury, workplace violence, sexual assaults, nationalistic militarism, and the appropriation of working-class aesthetics... is it possible to like hockey from the left? Can sport unite the working class? Is hockey a serious game for serious men, or a silly game for silly people? Cass Kislenko, Tyler Shipley and Doug Nesbitt …

A group known as Take Back Alberta appears to have seized control over sizable parts of the United Conservative Party and secured the leadership of Danielle Smith. What is this group? What motivates them, and who are their key figures? PressProgress writer Stephen Magusiak joins Team Advantage to discuss his recent piece, Who Is ‘Take Back Alberta’…

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter! The Bank of Canada is explicitly trying to increase unemployment by raising the cost of borrowing money. Is excessive employment the cause of inflation, and if not, what are the consequences of this policy likely to be? Economist Jim Stanford joins Team Advantage to talk about …

Building a Community Movement for Better Transit feat. James Wilt: Saturday, March 18th | University of Alberta. RSVP: michaeljanz.ca/transitcamp2023 A few short years into Alberta PC Premier Ralph Klein’s deficit-slashing austerity regime, Calgary’s hospital laundry workers were given devastating news: they were going to be fired. Having been push…

Alberta, under the incredible leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, has declared sovereignty — or rather, proclaimed itself "sovereign within a united Canada," whatever that means. What even is sovereignty? How might it to relate to Indigenous sovereignty? Who even wants this?

You see, the woke establishment wants to control what media Albertans see, what vaccines we take, the resources we develop — and even what we are allowed to grow and eat. Independent journalist Jeremy Appel joins Team Advantage to explore Danielle Smith Thought. Follow Jeremy @JeremyAppel1025 and subscribe to his newsletter, The Orchard, at theorch…

In the 1980s and 1990s, free trade and economic integration were intensely debated topics and the subject of debate in national elections, and generally opposed by the political left. Most recently, right-populist political formations — like Trump and Brexit — have resurfaced the issue of free trade, critiquing it for their own purposes. Why is it …

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter! What explains the drastic differences between labour unions in Canada and the United States? Why is U.S. union density roughly one-third that of Canada's, despite the similarities both share? How have different political and legal regimes in the respective countries shaped labo…

What's inflation and why does it happen? If labour costs go up 1% but consumer prices go up 4.8%, who's pocketing that difference? Why do the CEOs of big corporate banks seem to care so much about inflation? Team Advantage explores the hottest economic phenomenon of 2022.

What's better than a newsletter? A weekly national roundup of labour news, that's what. Reporter Emily Leedham joins Team Advantage to discuss Shift Work, a curated newsletter summarizing strikes, lockouts, and new organizing initiatives— all while engaging the next generation of workers and organizers. Follow Emily on Twitter @Emily_Leedham_ and c…

The first faculty strike in Alberta's history has begun, with members of the Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association braving frigid temperatures and taking to the picket line on January 4th. Why is the Concordia University of Edmonton purchasing mansions when their faculty are amongst the lowest paid in the sector? Glynis Price of the …

What happens when sensible social democrats pick up the pieces after a terrible, no-good conservative government ruins the province? Team Advantage examines the reign of Saskatchewan NDP Premier Roy Romanow from 1991-2001, who oversaw the closure of rural hospitals and fostered the skills of a young Janice McKinnon as his Finance Minister. What doe…

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter! What is the history of Canada's second-oldest political party, and how does it inform their politics today? In this in-depth examination of the Communist Party of Canada, Team Advantage serves up a broad historical overview of the Party's history, and considers what role the CP…

Support this podcast What happened to the CCF in the post-war period? The 1940s saw the CCF soar in popularity, with the party forming official opposition in Ontario in 1943, and public opinion polls showing nationalizing industries to be widely popular among the Canadian population. How did the popularity of the CCF's positions get diffused, manag…