This week on the pod: the other 9/11. On September 11th, 1973 a fascist coup, backed by the USA, overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Chile and installed Augusto Pinochet, a brutal and murderous dictator. Two Albertans whose families were caught up in the coup tell the story and make the connections between current Alberta politics and Chile. 

The only way to defeat organized greed is with organized labour--so how much do you know about organized labour?

On Friday, August 16th, the UCP dropped a gigantic announcement. They appointed 61 people to some of the province’s most important and powerful institutions. Almost 20 separate agencies, boards and commissions saw people fired and replaced with more conservative operatives, donors, and CEOs than Alberta’s few remaining politics journalists can count. 

Well, we counted. We at Progress Alberta have attempted to document the connections between these new appointees and the conservative political project. Here are the lowlights:

If you haven’t yet go and read You Must Be This Conservative To Ride: The Inside Story of Postmedia’s Right Turn from Canadaland. It’s a crucial piece for anyone who wants to understand the current state of news media in Canada, and Alberta especially--the Postmedia corporation owns nearly all of Alberta’s newspapers.

Faisal Khan Suri was giving his suggestions to the Justice Committee in the House of Commons on how to combat online hate when Conservative MP Michael Cooper confronted him by reading from the Christchurch shooter's deranged manifesto. We explore that moment and its fallout, and share a broader discussion on the ideology and goals behind white supremacist terrorism as well as how to defeat it.

This week on the Progress Report podcast: you might think Alberta is Canada's Texas. Actually, it's Oklahoma. Duncan and our guest Russell Cobb break down Oklahoma's failed austerity experiment--soon to be repeated by Alberta's UCP government.

Also, some breaking news on AIMCO divesting from the companies running Trump's immigrant concentration camps.

Episode 3 of the Progress Report, "Left Wing Podcast All Star Team Up" is out!

This week Duncan and special guests Abdul Malik (from Kino Lefter) and Kate Jacobson (from Alberta Advantage) meet to talk chat about Alberta journalism, Unplanned, Calgary's horrible austerity and giveaways to billionaires, and also to celebrate AUPE kicking UCP ass in court.

The second episode of your Progress Report pod is now available! Guests Bashir Mohamed and Avnish Nanda join Duncan to explore how conservative politicians are using SLAPP lawsuits to intimidate their critics into silence--with a focus on the local example of Kerry Diotte, the Conservative Party MP who threatened to sue several young people of colour after they dared to call him out for associating with Faith Goldy, one of Canada's most prominent white nationalists. Also, analysis of Alberta's painfully white media ecosystem, their ineptitude in discussing race, and Alberta's long history of citing free speech to defend white supremacy.

The first episode of the Progress Report podcast is up! Progress Alberta's director Duncan Kinney and guest host Dr. Shama Rangwala break down the good and the bad from the UCP's first session as government--spoiler alert, it's mostly bad. Also: the Slumtown podcast and why it sucks; Safe City Edmonton, and why it also sucks; and a reading from Alberta's second-worst columnist, who is very pro-horse-murder.