Category: Political Eh-conomy Radio

This episode looks at the political economy of land in Canada and the Canadian state’s relationship with First Nations as mediated by land. I’m happy to bring together two guests who deal extensively with these issues and pose challenges to rethink the way land is governed.

My first guest is Hayden King, Anishinaabe from Beausoleil First Nation in Ontario and director of the Centre for Indigenous Governance at Toronto’s Ryerson University. He joined me to discuss his recent piece in the Globe and Mail on land and the institutions that govern it.

My second guest is Lynn Gehl, an Algonquin Anishinaabe researcher, writer and activist with a PhD in Indigenous Studies. We discuss her recent article in Ricochet, written with Heather Majuary, on how the current Algonquin land claims process may be undermining those First Nations. It is based on her book The Truth that Wampum Tells: My Debwewin on the Algonquin Land Claims Process.

Tags Algonquin, dish with one spoon, land claims, settler colonialism, treaty settlement

Austerity Greece Political Eh-conomy Radio

Leo Panitch on Syriza and Greece

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date February 19, 2015
3 Comments on Leo Panitch on Syriza and Greece

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Update: the transcript of this interview has now been published in Jacobin.

This week I’ve devoted the entire show to discussing the most recent developments in Greece. While there is a great deal of day-to-day drama at the level of the ongoing negotiations between Greece and European institutions, I wanted to take a broader strategic and political look at what the election of Syriza both for Greece and more broadly for the left around the world, including in Canada. To that end, I’m happy to present an extended conversation with Leo Panitch. Leo is professor of political science at York University, author most recently of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Politcal Economy of American Empire, written with Sam Gindin, and knows Greece well.

Tags Greece, international left, Leo Panitch, state power, Syriza

Austerity Crisis Europe Government Political Eh-conomy Radio

Yanis Varoufakis on the Greek elections plus the state of the left in Poland

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date January 21, 2015
2 Comments on Yanis Varoufakis on the Greek elections plus the state of the left in Poland

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I’ve been visiting family in Poland for the past few weeks so, fittingly, this week’s podcast deals with the situation of the left at two opposite ends of the European periphery: Greece and Poland. My first guest is Yanis Varoufakis, professor of economics at the University of Athens and candidate for SYRIZA in this Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Syriza is the main Greek left party and is poised to take the most votes, potentially even form a parliamentary majority, on Sunday. Yanis spoke with me about Greece’s economy on the eve of the elections and Syriza’s economic program.

My second guest is Jakub Dymek, Polish academic, journalist and editor. Jakub is, among other things, the Polish correspondent for Dissent Magazine and a member of the editorial collective of Krytyka Polityczna (Political Critique), the major journal of Poland’s “New Left”. Unlike its Greek counterpart, Poland’s electoral left is currently at its lowest point since the post-Communist transition. I spoke with Jakub to get a sense of this electoral decline, the situation of left social movements and the future prospects of Poland’s left.

Very briefly, I say that Greece and Poland are at the opposite ends of the European periphery for two reasons. First, Greece has undergone years of recession and brutal austerity in response to the global crisis of 2007/8; Poland, on the other hand, has managed to grow through the crisis, at least according to the major economic measures. Greece and Poland are also opposed when it comes to the fortunes of the electoral left. It is in Greece that the left has may well take government this Sunday or at least become the largest force in parliament, whereas in Poland the electoral left is currently virtually non-existent. Looking at these two lefts and the political economic conditions that led to their different fortunes makes for a fruitful juxtaposition.

Tags Austerity, ECB, EU, Greece, Krytyka Polityczna, neoliberalism, Poland, SLD, Syriza, troika, Yanis Varoufakis

Canada Political Eh-conomy Radio

Talking Canada’s economy with Jim Stanford

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date December 10, 2014
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Today’s episode is the last of 2014 as I’ll be away spending the holidays with family. For a bit of a year-end summary of Canada’s economy, my one guest is Jim Stanford who joins me for an extended conversation. Jim is the chief economist at Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, and author of the popular economics book Economics for Everyone. Our chat touches on everything from the consequences of the falling oil price to the new batch of free trade agreements to Canada ‘s economic standing stands six years out from the global meltdown all the way to popular economic education and its lessons for today. My conversation with Jim Stanford.

As always, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. You’ll hear from me again in 2015!

Tags Canadian economy, CETA, Economics for Everyone, free trade agreements, Jim Stanford, oil price, popular economics education, Unifor

British Columbia China Climate change Political Eh-conomy Radio USA

Climate deals and pipeline steals

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date November 27, 2014
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Today’s episode is focused on the economics and politics of climate change: my two guests look at climate negotiations in light of the recent US-China climate deal and the corporate history and dodgy tax practices of Kinder Morgan, looking to expand its tar sands pipeline into Vancouver.

To get a global perspective on the state of climate negotiations and the recent US-China climate deal, I speak with Leigh Phillips, a science writer and journalist who has written for Nature, the EU Observer and many other publications. His article on the China-US climate deal is here and he also has a book coming out early in 2015 so be on the lookout for that.

My second guest is economist and former head of ICBC Robyn Allan who updates us on oil pipelines here in Canada. She describes the cost-benefit analysis that somehow always comes out in favour of the interests of large oil companies as well as her investigative work into the corporate structure of Kinder Morgan. Kinder Morgan, of course, is looking to greatly expand the existing Transmountain pipeline from the tar sands to Vancouver and its work site on Burnaby Mountain is currently subject to daily protest and civil disobedience.

As always, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, following this link.

Tags Burnaby Mountain, climate negotiations, Enron, infrastructure build-out, Kinder Morgan, nuclear power, pipeline, Richard Kinder, tax shelter, Transmountain, US-China climate deal

Crisis Political Eh-conomy Radio USA Welfare state

Doug Henwood on US economics and politics

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date November 12, 2014
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This week, it’s my great pleasure to present a feature interview with Doug Henwood — economic analyst, author of books including Wall Street and host of the wonderful Behind the News radio show and podcast that inspired this show. Doug always introduces his show by saying his guests will be “taking a look at worlds of economics and politics.” Today, I’ve turned the tables and asked him to take up this very task for the present-day US. The result is a wide-ranging interview on everything from the sluggish economic recovery to Obamacare, the changing character of elites, why Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be president all the way to prospects for a renewed American left.

Remember that you can now subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, just follow this link.

And finally, I’ve started to standardize my segments into roughly 30-minute lengths, so if you’re interested in syndicating the show on local, community or campus radio, get in touch.

Tags Behind the News, Doug Henwood, fiscal stimulus, Hillary Clinton, middle class, neoliberalism, Occupy moment, quantitative easing

China Political Eh-conomy Radio Unions Workers

Focus on China’s political economy

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date October 30, 2014
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The focus of today’s podcast is China: its development over the past several years, the situation of workers and unions as well as future directions. To get some perspective second largest economy in the world and one still expanding at breakneck, albeit slower, pace, I spoke with two guests: Minqi Li and Cathy Walker.

My first guest is Minqi Li. Minqi is professor of economics at the University of Utah and specializes in China’s economy and offers. He previously taught at York University in Toronto and received his PhD from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

My second conversation is with Cathy Walker. Cathy was for many years a health and safety officer with the Canadian Autoworkers Union and is now retired. Both while still at CAW, and now during her retirement, she has participated in a number of exchanges with Chinese unions and is able to offer a unique perspective on trade unionism in both countries.

Tags ACFTU, All China Federation of Trade Unions, China strike, ecological crisis, export-oriented growth, Honda strike, labor unrest, migrant workers, neoliberalism

Canada Government Political Eh-conomy Radio Welfare state

Looking towards childcare in Canada, with lessons from Sweden

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date October 16, 2014
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This week, the federal NDP reignited a national debate over childcare by proposing a universal $15 per day childcare program. This is the focus of today’s episode, which features two guests. First up, Angela MacEwen. Angella is an economist with the Canadian Labour Congress and has long been a strong advocate for public childcare in Canada. I spoke with her about the economics of universal childcare.

My second guest is Petter Nilssen, who is the press secretary for the Left Party in the Stockholm municipality and is a board member of the Institute for Marxist Social Studies, also in Stockholm. I spoke with him about the recent history of the Swedish model of the welfare state, something he wrote about recently in Jacobin Magazine under the title, “Sweden Without Illusions“.

Remember, you can now also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, directly via this link.

Tags $15 per day, Left Party, NDP, New Democratic Party, social services, Sweden, Thomas Mulcair, universal childcare, welfare state

Class Climate change Minimum wage Political Eh-conomy Radio USA

Kshama Sawant talks socialism in Seattle and beyond

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date October 2, 2014
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Last year, Kshama Sawant shocked the continent by winning a seat on Seattle’s City Council. She defeated an incumbent Democrat to become the first openly socialist city councillor in Seattle in a century. Sawant, an immigrant from India with a background as a software engineer and an economics professor, is a militant socialist activist who played a major role in the 2011 Occupy protests. Not your typical politician to say the least.

Sawant’s surprise electoral win in Seattle has sparked discussion across North America. Last week, she made her first speaking appearance in Canada, addressing a fundraising event organized by the Coalition of Progressive Electors in Vancouver. I sat down with her before the event for a wide-ranging discussion touching on everything from her background in economics to the minimum wage compromise in Seattle and the role of transitional demands in fighting climate change to the history of sectarianism and building today’s left.

Side note: you can now subscribe to Political Eh-conomy Radio on iTunes. Follow this link.

Tags 15 Now, building the left, democratic public ownership, Kshama Sawant, Seattle, socialist, transitional demands

Climate change Political Eh-conomy Radio

Climate catastrophism and building a climate movement

Post author By Michal Rozworski
Post date September 19, 2014
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This will be a weekend of global climate activism. Marches and forums are planned around the world, with the largest set for New York City: the three-day Climate Convergence and the People’s Climate March on Sunday expected to draw hundreds of thousands. I spoke with Arun Gupta, co-founder of The Indypendent, author and journalist living in NYC for a critical but constructive take on the weekend’s events and climate politics more generally.

Tags Arun Gupta, catastrophism, climate change, Climate Covergence, Naomi Klein, peak oil, People's Climate March, This Changes Everything