Announcement: landlord trouble + schedule changes from 2021-06-07T10:00

Oats for Breakfast has gone without publishing an episode for an unusually long period of time. Landlord trouble is the cause. I explain some of the details in this audio clip. And I highlight h...

Episode 66: India's COVID catastrophe from 2021-05-10T10:00

In collaboration with Jamhoor, Oats for Breakfast hosts a discussion on the ongoing public health catastrophe in India.

Those interested in supporting relief efforts in India ca...

Episode 65: The failed Amazon organizing drive w/ Adam King from 2021-04-26T10:00

Oats chats with post-doctoral fellow Adam King about the failed attempt to organize an Amazon fulfillment centre in Bessemer, Alabama. You can read the piece that our discussion is bas...

Episode 64: The Indian farmers' protest from 2021-04-01T10:00

We chat with Professor Navyug Gill about the ongoing farmers' protest in India. The discussion touches on:

• the intent of the Indian government to further neoliberalize and...
  Listen

Episode 63: Challenging the Right, Augmenting the Left w/ Julian von Bargen from 2021-03-15T11:00

Oats chats with Julian von Bargen about a book he recently co-edited, 'Challenging the Right, Augmenting the Left: Recasting Leftist Imagination.' We dig into the book's treatment of t...

Episode 62: Housing injustice in Toronto w/ Brendan Jowett from 2021-03-01T11:00

Oats chats about housing injustice in Toronto with Brendan Jowett, a tenant lawyer who has fought to prevent the clearance of homeless encampments in city parks during the pandemic. We...

Episode 61: Primary Obsessions w/ Charlie Demers from 2021-02-15T11:00

We chat with author and activist Charlie Demers about Primary Obsessions, a novel about a psychologist who helps people overcome mental health problems by day and tries to solve a murd...

Episode 60: Stakeholder capitalism against democracy w/ Kyle Bailey from 2021-02-01T11:00

Oats chats with Kyle Bailey about the limits of stakeholder capitalism, corporate citizenship, and corporate social responsibility. The discussion is based on a journal article Kyle wr...

Episode 59b: The urban agriculture movement from 2021-01-22T21:14

We follow up our broad discussion about agriculture by zooming in on the local urban agriculture movement -- we chat about its positive aspects as well as its limits.

Learn more...

Episode 59a: Agriculture, technology, and tradition from 2020-12-30T18:14

Episode Notes

Oats chats about the problems within the modern-day food system, whether technological achievements like GMOs are a good thing, and about the limits of traditional agricul...

Episode 58: Racism and inequality w/ Adolph Reed Jr. from 2020-12-01T11:00

Episode Notes

This episode of Oats for Breakfast features a discussion with Adolph Reed Jr. that was organized and live-streamed by Ryerson University's Centre for Free Expression. You ...

Announcement: November break from 2020-11-01T12:00

Oats for Breakfast will be on hiatus for the month of November. We'll be back again in December.

The Patreon billing has been paused so patrons won't be charged this month.

Bonus: The Harbinger Media Network w/ Andre Goulet from 2020-10-26T11:00

Oats for Breakfast chats with podcaster Andre Goulet about the recently-launched Harbinger Media Network, an initiative that's bringing together left-wing content creators from around the countr...

Episode 57: Defending the Common Good w/ Lisa Kowalchuk from 2020-10-15T11:00

Oats interviews sociologist Lisa Kowalchuk about 'We Resist: Defending the Common Good in Hostile Times', a volume she co-edited. We also chat about the working conditions of nurses in Central A...

Episode 56: 'Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism' from 2020-10-01T11:00

Oats for Breakfast sits down to chat about Kirsten Ghodsee's 2018 book 'Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence.' The discussion explores the nat...

Episode 55: 'Capitalist Pigs: Pigs, Pork, and Power in America' w/ Joseph Anderson from 2020-09-15T11:00

Oats for Breakfast chats with Joseph Anderson about his recent book, 'Capitalist Pigs: Pigs, Pork, and Power in America.' The book surveys the role that swine played in the making of American ca...

Bonus episode: Memes, anthropology, and podcasting w/ Deathnography from 2020-09-09T10:00

On this bonus episode of the podcast Oats sits down with Henry, a left-wing content creator known as Deathnography. We chat about memes, podcasting, music, and anthropology.

Episode 54: Contesting the Green Party leadership election w/ Meryam Haddad from 2020-08-29T10:00

Oats for Breakfast interviews Meryam Haddad, a socialist candidate in the Green Party of Canada's leadership race. We chat about Meryam's platform, why she calls herself a socialist, how she int...

Episode 53: Life and politics in Brazil w/ Rhaysa Ruas from 2020-08-15T10:00

Oats for Breakfast chats with Rio de Janeiro-based human rights lawyer Rhaysa Ruas about social and political circumstances in Brazil. The wide-ranging discussion touches on the COVID-19 crisis,...

Episode 52: The Cult of Smart w/ Freddie deBoer from 2020-08-01T10:00

Oats interviews Freddie deBoer about his book, "The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice." In the book Freddie argues that, to the extent that educational ...

Episode 51: Socialism in Trump country w/ Yana Ludwig from 2020-07-15T10:00

Oats for Breakfast chats with Yana Ludwig, a socialist running for office in one of the most conservative states in the US. Yana is a candidate in Wyoming's Democratic Party Senate primary, set ...

Episode 50: Contesting the Green Party leadership election w/ Dimitri Lascaris from 2020-07-01T09:00

Oats chats with Dimitri Lascaris about his candidacy in the Green Party's leadership race. Dimitri tells us about how he became a socialist, the need to abolish billionaires, the impact that COV...

Episode 49: The George Floyd protests, policing, and anti-racism from 2020-06-22T09:00

Oats for Breakfast chats about the recent wave of protests that were sparked by George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis. We get into a critical discussion about the potential impacts of the protests o...

Episode 48: Reassessing COVID-19 and China's response from 2020-06-08T09:00

Oats first hosted a discussion about COVID-19 on episode 40 (which was published on February 10, 2020), well before the pandemic attained global proportions. In this episode we go back to review...

Episode 47: Travel&testing in the time of corona from 2020-06-01T09:00

We return from our month long hiatus to chat about our experience of travelling back to Canada and (after developing some symptoms) our efforts to try to get tested for COVID-19. Everything wor...

Announcement: Taking a break during May from 2020-05-05T10:00

Oats will be on hiatus during May. A couple of us need to travel back to Canada and managing the logistics of that are going to make it difficult to continue publishing podcast content.

S...

Episode 46b: COVID-19 - The view from the Global South from 2020-04-28T09:00

We continue the discussion we were having last time about the way the COVID-19 crisis is playing out in the Global South. We chat about preachers who want to protray the virus as a form of divin...

Episode 46a: COVID-19 - The view from the Global South from 2020-04-20T09:00

In this episode we chat a bit about the experience we've had with the COVID-19 crisis while being in the Global South before getting into a broader discussion of the social and political develop...

Episode 45: Building a rent strike movement w/ Dru Oja Jay&Sam Hersh from 2020-04-13T09:00

Oats chats with Dru Oja Jay and Sam Hersh about the ongoing efforts to organize rent strikes across Canada. We talk about the impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on renters, the desperation that'...

Episode 44b: Life and politics in South Asia from 2020-04-06T09:00

In the second part of our collaborative discussion with Jamhoor.org, we chat about some of the protest movements currently active in India and Pakistan, including the anti-war Pashtun Tahafuz Movem...

Episode 44a: Life and politics in South Asia from 2020-03-30T09:00

Oats for Breakfast, in collaboration with Jamhoor.org, hosts a discussion about South Asia. We chat about Hindutva and the closing off of space fo...

Episode 43b: Reflections on the Left w/ Sam Gindin from 2020-03-23T10:00:05

We continue our discussion with Sam Gindin. This time we chat about how the Left should engage with the working class, what socialism means, and the linkages that can be made between the environ...

Episode 43a: Reflections on the Left w/ Sam Gindin from 2020-03-16T10:30

We sit down to chat with Sam Gindin, former director of research for the Canadian Auto Workers, about how he came to find himself on the Left as well as about the developments that he has witnes...

Episode 42b: Jagmeet Singh's vacuousness from 2020-03-09T09:00

Oats continues the dicussion about Jagmeet Singh's 'Love & Courage.' In this segment, while digging deeper into Singh's book, we try to take stock of his recent condemnation of the pro-Pales...

Episode 42a: Jagmeet Singh's vacuousness from 2020-03-02T10:00

Oats hosts a critical discussion about Jagmeet Singh's book, 'Love & Courage: My Story of Family, Resilience, and Overcoming the Unexpected.' (We're not trying to mean — we promise! We're ju...

Episode 41: Indigenous sovereignty, pipelines, and resource development w/ Charlie Demers from 2020-02-24T10:00

Oats chats with Vancouver-based writer, activist, and comedian Charlie Demers about indigenous sovereignty, pipeline resistance, and the contradictions of resource of development.

Episode 40b: The coronavirus outbreak, conspiracy theories, and anti-Chinese sentiment from 2020-02-17T10:00

The second part of our discussion about the coronavirus outbreak. This time we chat about some of the conspiracy theories that are spreading about the virus as well as about the rise of anti-Chines...

Episode 40a: The coronavirus outbreak and the nature of the Chinese state from 2020-02-10T10:00

We sit down to chat about the coronavirus outbreak, its social and cultural implications, and we use the opportunity to highlight some aspects of the Chinese state — especially the capacity of t...

Episode 39b: HBO's 'Watchmen' and the mainstreaming of anti-racism from 2020-02-03T10:00

We continue our discussion about HBO's 'Watchmen.' This time we get into chatting reparations, particularist and universalist policy measures, as well as the tendency of liberal storytellers to see...

Episode 39a: HBO's 'Watchmen' and the mainstreaming of anti-racism from 2020-01-27T10:00

Oats hosts a discussion on HBO's 'Watchmen,' a superhero drama series that deals with issues of race and racism in the present-day United States.

Episode 38c: Islam - Identities, Belonging, Phobias from 2020-01-20T10:00

The last instalment in our series on Islam and Muslims. We chat about the Arab Gulf, terrorism, and whether Muslims would benefit from socialist universalism.

Episode 38b: Islam - Identities, Belonging, Phobias from 2020-01-13T10:00:06

The second part of our series on Islam and Muslims. We continue chatting about and developing the themes we started discussing last week.

Episode 38a: Islam - Identities, Belonging, Phobias from 2020-01-06T10:00:03

We kick off the new year with a three-part series on Islam and Muslims. Over the course of the series, Muslim contributors to Oats for Breakfast will take part in discussions about their relationsh...

Episode 37b: Life and Politics in South Africa w/ Michael Smith and Claire-Anne Lester from 2019-12-30T10:00:33

We continue chatting with Michael Smith and Claire-Anne Lester. This time the discussion looks at the range of the political spectrum in South Africa, the student and labour movements, as well as t...

Episode 37a: Life and Politics in South Africa w/ Michael Smith and Claire-Anne Lester from 2019-12-23T10:00:23

Oats chats with Michael Smith and Claire-Anne Lester about South Africa. Our discussion touches on Nelson Mandela's legacy, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as how the South African...

Episode 36: Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman' and the corruptions of capitalist society from 2019-12-16T10:01:03

Oats chats about Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman' as well as the book that the film is based on, Charles Brandt's 'I Heard You Paint Houses.' Our discussion explores the interface between the labou...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on Wexit and western alienation from 2019-12-09T10:00:33

We continue our discussion about Wexit and Western Alienation. This time we also get into chatting a bit about Quebec (and the role that regionalist politics has played there), the failed attempts ...

Episode 35: Wexit, western alienation, and oil culture from 2019-12-02T10:00:13

Oats sits down to comment on all the recent hubbub about 'Wexit.' Our discussion goes into the roots of Western Alienation and the kind of political culture that reliance on oil extraction seems to...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on Bong Joon-Ho's 'Parasite' from 2019-11-25T10:00:03

We continue chatting about Bong Joon-Ho's 'Parasite' and the travails of working class life. This time we get into discussing the gender dynamics portrayed in the film, how the attempts by the poor...

Episode 34: Bong Joon-Ho's 'Parasite' and the travails of working class life from 2019-11-18T10:00:33

Oats for Breakfast sits down to chat about 'Parasite,' a widely-acclaimed black comedy written and directed by the Korean film-maker Bong Joon-Ho. The film offers a superb depiction of how the stru...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment w/ Justin Podur from 2019-11-11T10:00:14

We continue the discussion we were having with Justin Podur, author of 'Siegebreakers'. In this segment, we chat about what the process of writing the novel was like, class divisions among Palestin...

Episode 33: 'Siegebreakers: A Novel' w/ Justin Podur from 2019-11-04T10:00:12

A novel that seamlessly combines thrilling action sequences, political intrigue, and moving character development, 'Siegebreakers' imagines what it might take to break the Gaza siege. Oats intervie...

Episode 32: Post-election roundup w/ Martin Lukacs from 2019-10-29T09:00:12

Oats catches up with Martin Lukacs, author of 'The Trudeau Formula,' to chat about the political landscape in post-election Canada.

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment w/ Monica Mason and Mayuran Sivalinghem from 2019-10-21T09:00:22

Oats continues chatting with Monica Mason and Mayuran Sivalinghem. This time the discussion goes into the role rich countries should play in assisting the Global South deal with climate change. We ...

Episode 31: The Climate Strike in Toronto w/ Monica Mason and Mayuran Sivalinghem from 2019-10-15T09:00:26

Oats chats with Monica Mason and Mayuran Sivalinghem, both members of Climate Justice Toronto—CJTO helped organize (along with a number of other groups) the climate strike that took place in Toront...

Episode 30: The Trudeau Formula w/ Martin Lukacs from 2019-10-08T10:00:24

Oats interviews Martin Lukacs about his recent book, The Trudeau Formula: Seduction and Betrayal in an Age of Discontent. The discussion goes over the unrivalled capacity of Canada's Liberal Party ...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on UAW strike w/ Sam Gindin from 2019-10-01T10:00:44

Oats for Breakfast continues the discussion with Sam Gindin about the ongoing United Auto Workers-GM strike in the US. This time around we broaden the discussion to include trade policy, the role o...

Episode 29: The United Auto Workers Strike w/ Sam Gindin from 2019-09-27T10:00:35

Oats for Breakfast interviews Sam Gindin about the United Auto Workers-GM strike, which involves 49,000 workers. We talk about what's at stake for the strikers, the corruption charges that are bein...

Episode 28: Oats for Breakfast highlights from 2019-09-20T08:00:35

This episode features highlights from content that we've published over the course of the last year—including excerpts from our interview with Adolph Reed, our first attempt at engaging in cultural...

Episode 27: Should GM Oshawa be publicly owned? w/ Tony Leah and Rebecca Keetch from 2019-09-13T10:00:26

The Oats podcast interviews Tony Leah and Rebecca Keetch about GM's decision to wind down vehicle assembly at its facility in Oshawa, Ontario. Tony and Rebecca work at GM Oshawa. They are also both...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on Western Canada from 2019-09-06T10:00:45

Our discussion about life and politics in Western Canada continues. We talk more about indigenous-settler relations and get into chatting about the oil sands, forest fires, and about whether there'...

Episode 26: Life and politics in Western Canada from 2019-08-30T10:00:26

Oats for Breakfast sits down to discuss life and politics in Western Canada. We get into talking about Alberta's premier Jason Kenney, what public education is like in Alberta and British Columbia,...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on labour standards w/ Adam King from 2019-08-23T11:00:36

We continue our discussion about labour standards with sociologist Adam King. This time we get into talking about what it's like to be a temporary employee and also compare labour standards in Cana...

Episode 25: Labour standards in the US and Canada from 2019-08-16T11:00:06

Oats for Breakfast chats with sociologist Adam King about labour standards. Adam recently wrote an article "assessing what a Sanders presidency would mean for labour." We talk to him about the arti...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on public transit w/ Benjamin Bilgen from 2019-08-09T11:00:15

We continue talking with the Toronto-based independent journalist Benjamin Bilgen about public transit. In this segment we compare our experiences using transit in Toronto with transit systems else...

Episode 24: Policing public transit in Toronto w/ Benjamin Bilgen from 2019-08-02T11:00:25

The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) recently unveiled an ad campaign that uses images captured by security cameras to publicly shame those trying to avoid paying the fare. We talk to the independe...

Episode 23: Organizing Toronto's Foodora Couriers w/ Brice Sopher from 2019-07-26T11:00:05

Food delivery couriers working for the app-based company Foodora recently launched a union organizing drive in Toronto. We talk to Brice Sopher, who works as a Foodora courier, about the effort. Ch...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on HBO's Chernobyl from 2019-07-19T11:00:14

We continue our discussion of the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. In this segment, disagreements arise over whether the series offers a critique of Trumpian populism as well about the nature and limits o...

Episode 22: HBO's Chernobyl and the limits of the liberal imagination from 2019-07-12T11:00:24

Oats takes up the takes up the recent HBO miniseries Chernobyl. We talk about the political commentary the series is trying to offer, the fact that historical inaccuracies were a major part of tell...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on building socialism in Canada from 2019-07-05T11:00:20

Sadia Khan, Corvin Russell, and Sharmeen Khan continue their discussion on how we can work to build socialism in Canada. They talk about the role of disruptive tactics, the logistics of organizing ...

Episode 21: How do we build socialism in Canada? from 2019-06-28T11:00:04

Sadia Khan, Corvin Russell, and Sharmeen Khan have a discussion based on the following question: “How do we work to build socialism?” The discussion touches on the challenges posed by electoralism,...

Episode 20: The US Strike Wave, the DSA, and Transforming the State w/ Eric Blanc from 2019-06-21T10:59:59

Eric Blanc is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Oats talked with Eric about his recent book, "Red State Revolt: The Teachers’ Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics" (Verso: 2...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on Wikileaks, Data Activism, and Information Freedom from 2019-06-07T11:00:05

We continue our discussion with Julian von Bargen on the contradictions of hacktivism. We get into talking about the efforts that have been taken by state and corporate actors to try to deligitimiz...

Episode 18: Wikileaks, Data Activism, and Information Freedom w/ Julian von Bargen from 2019-05-31T11:00:27

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is under arrest in the UK and facing possible extradition to the US. We talk to data scientist and PhD candidate Julian von Bargen about the saga of Wikileaks, the ...

Episode 17: Stop The Attacks On Our Schools! from 2019-05-22T11:00:27

Ontario's provincial government has announced sweeping cuts to funding for public education. People across the province are mobilizing to stop the attacks on our schools. The Socialist Project's Ac...

Unlocked: Patreon-exclusive segment on Zizek/Peterson debate from 2019-05-05T12:01:36

We continue our discussion about the Zizek/Peterson debate. This time, we talk about the reactions that others have had to the debate and also discuss what we would've liked to see in the debate.

Episode 15: The Zizek/Peterson Debate from 2019-05-02T12:00:19

Slavoj Zizek and Jordan Peterson recently debated in Toronto. Oats sits down to discuss what was supposed to be "the debate of the century."

Episode 13: The impacts of austerity in Greece w/ Ilias Gerakos from 2019-04-11T12:00:14

Oats talks to Ilias Gerakos, a teacher and activist from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, about the impact that years of austerity have had on the country.

Unlocked: Extended Interview w/ Adolph Reed Jr. from 2019-04-01T12:00:32

We continue our discussion about race and class with Adolph Reed Jr.

Episode 12: Race, Class, and the Left w/ Adolph Reed Jr. from 2019-03-25T18:25:24

Oats for Breakfast talks to Adolph Reed Jr. about race and class. We begin the interview with a discussion about the legacies (and baggage) of the Black Power period. We then move into discussing t...

Episode 11: The Left and the US Democratic Party w/ Adam Hilton from 2019-02-26T14:00:06

Bernie Sanders has recently announced his second bid for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination in 2020. What does it mean for a self-proclaimed democratic socialist to enter the mainstream o...

Episode 10: Freedom of Speech in Capitalism w/ Samir Gandesha from 2019-01-24T02:44:12

What does a socialist conception of free speech look like? Can we really trust the capitalist state to protect the free speech rights of socialist critics? As free speech has become an increasingly...

Unlocked: Extended interview w/ Tanner Mirrlees from 2018-11-30T13:00:24

We continue our discussion with Tanner Mirrlees. We talk about what the Munk Debates are, whether no-platforming is a justifiable tactic, as well as the lessons the Left might want to take to heart...

Episode 09: The alt-right and the Bannon-Frum debate w/ Tanner Mirrlees from 2018-11-22T13:00:24

Oats sat down with Tanner Mirrlees to chat about the rise of the "alt-right" as well as the recent debate between Steve Bannon and David Frum in Toronto.

Unlocked: Extended interview w/ Jordan House from 2018-11-07T17:00:28

This is a sneak peek of the extended segment of our interview with Jordan. We continue the conversation about the struggle for justice in the prison system.

Episode 08: The Struggle for Justice in Prisons w/ Jordan House from 2018-10-31T12:00:13

From 21 August and 9 September, prisoners across the US went on strike. One set of Canadian prisoners — at Burnside jail in Nova Scotia — decided to join the strike effort. We chat with Jordan Hous...

Episode 07: The Toronto Overdose Prevention Society w/ Sarah Ovens from 2018-10-15T03:55:54

Canada is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. In 2016 there were 3,005 opioid-related deaths in Canada. In 2017 the figure jumped to 3,996. The Canadian government's response has been inad...

Episode 06: Free Public Transit w/ Herman Rosenfeld from 2018-10-03T12:00:39

Canadians consider healthcare to be a right — we don't think the amount of money people have should determine whether they can see a doctor. Is it possible to think of public transit as a public go...

Episode 05: Palestine Solidarity and Freedom of Speech w/ William Robinson from 2018-09-05T11:00:36

Expressing solidarity with Palestine and criticizing the state of Israel can be a challenge. To explore this challenge, we talk to William Robinson about his recent book "We Will Not be Silenced: T...

Unlocked: The sex ed controversy in Ontario w/ Sadia Khan from 2018-08-20T12:00:18

This extended interview builds on the discussion that took place in Episode 4. Toronto-based community organizer Sadia Khan reflects on her experience as a public-school teacher and activist to und...

Episode 04: Why did minorities vote for Doug Ford? w/ Sadia Khan from 2018-08-13T21:55:45

The Progressive Conservatives, led by Doug Ford, attracted a great deal of support from non-white voters during the recent provincial election in Ontario. Why would minorities support a hard-right ...

Episode 03: The Days of Action w/ Sam Gindin from 2018-08-06T13:13:02

When the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris came to power in Ontario in 1995 and began implementing its agenda of cuts, the labour movement decided to organize a response. The respo...

Episode 02: Ford's victory and the limits of the NDP w/ Sam Gindin from 2018-07-30T12:00:14

The victory of Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives in the Ontario provincial election appears to be part of a broader trend—the hard-right has been going from strength to strength around the worl...