Leftie Jane Podcast

leftiejane

Musings on pop culture, disability, and this lil life under fascism leftiejane.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Mar 1

    Our kids worship Elon Musk

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit leftiejane.substack.com "Generations from now, when future anthropologists try to make sense of this moment in the American experiment, looking to our idols for clues about our priorities, they will need to contend with a perplexing but undeniable fact: in America, we worship our bosses." - David Gelles in The Man Who Broke Capitalism (2022) Recently, I asked one of my Grade 4 students to write a paragraph about their favourite superhero. They wrote a paragraph about none other than Elon Musk. In today’s episode, I draw on David Gelles’ recent book The Man Who Broke Capitalism, as well as my own research on capitalist annihilation to reflect on the current state of capitalist worship that plagues our society. What does it say when a society’s heroes are morally bankrupt billionaires? In today’s podcast episode, we deep dive into: * The debate of whether capitalism is broken, or is merely functioning as it was designed to (ie. to self annihilate) * The process of manufacturing capitalism following the downfall of the welfare state, and the insidiousness of capitalism to impact our worldview * Blurring the lines between celebrity, politician, and capitalist, so as to render capitalists aspirational and thereby normalize capitalism * The effects of ignoring moral bankruptcy, in spite even of evidence in the Epstein files * Policy solutions, and their limitations so long as we don’t dismantle capitalism at the level of our minds

    9 min
  2. Feb 22

    Canada's denial of visas to Palestinian students reveals its systemic racism

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit leftiejane.substack.com 130 Palestinian students are currently trapped in Gaza, the West Bank, and Egypt as a result of the Canadian Government’s refusal to offer a biometrics exemption and expedite their Visa process. Each of these students has been accepted to a Canadian University, many of them with funding, but are now trapped in limbo, many in life-threatening conditions, as a result of Canada’s inaction. In fact, two students have died while waiting for their Visa. PM Mark Carney, Minister of Public Safety of Canada Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand have blood on their hands. Canada’s refusal of entry of Palestinian students is a clear example of the Palestine exception. It is vital that we challenge Canada’s anti-Palestinian racism, and urge the government to follow in the footsteps of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Ireland, and allow these students immediate entry. In today’s episode, we deep dive into this case, and in specific discuss: * The current governmental conditions which have trapped 130 Palestinian University students in Gaza, the West Bank, and Egypt * Recent decisions by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that have threatened the wellbeing and lives of migrants * The concept of the Palestine exception and the reality of anti-Palestinian racism, and the ways in which the refusal to expedite Visas and wave biometrics is a case of Palestinian exceptionism * Individual stories of Palestinian students impacted by the IRCC’s racism * Action items that we can take to support Palestinian students in coming to Canada for their studies - including an announcement of my upcoming in-person event in Toronto! To access Leftie Jane podcast, and to reveal the action items and links behind the paywall, you can purchase a paid subscription, which is less than the cost of a coffee per month. And you’ll be supporting an independent, queer, disabled creator :)

    7 min

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Musings on pop culture, disability, and this lil life under fascism leftiejane.substack.com