Latest podcasts
- Episode 15: The fight is now, with Gil McGowan
Thursday, September 17th 2020
If the United Conservative government in Alberta is hell bent on picking fights with the province’s workforce, the Alberta Federation of Labour says, “Bring it on.”
Premier Jason Kenney knows the labour movement is the biggest threat his government faces in its pursuit of a more private, less public Alberta where corporations are freer than ever to continue their decades-long exploitation of the province’s people and its resources. That’s why the UCP has taken aim at organized labour on multiple occasions — workers have power.
The Forgotten Corner welcomes AFL president Gil McGowan to the show this week for a spirited conversation about what the province’s workforce faces from its own government in the coming months and years. Gil is a born-and-raised Albertan who caught the bug for journalism in his youth but was quickly scooped up by the labour movement, and is now in his eighth elected term at the helm of the province’s labour umbrella.
Nearly 16 years and seven premiers later, Gil and the AFL face their biggest challenge yet, all while the government they face is writing laws to weaken their resolve. But if Kenney wants a fight, Gil says he’s got one.
Follow Gil on Twitter at @gilmcgowan
Alberta Federation of Labour:
https://www.afl.org/Read about the AFL resistance:
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https://www.kenneyscuts.ca/ - Episode 14: Unseparating Church and State, with Rev. Dave Pollard
Thursday, September 10th 2020
When we hear “religious” we often think “right wing,” and in The Forgotten Corner, there’s no shortage of reasons why that might be.
But being a person of faith is not a life sentence to being conservative, and you don’t even have to venture out of Medicine Hat to find a prime example of that.
Rev. Dave Pollard, a born-and-raised Albertan, has been the minister at Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church for the past four-and-a-half years, and has been an outspoken member of the city’s small but not insignificant progressive community the entire time.
Dave joins the Forgotten Corner this week for a truly spirited conversation that takes listeners through his childhood in Fort Saskatchewan and his eventual decision to join the clergy. He talks about how he became a progressive minister, and why he believes it’s essential for the church to be openly critical of government when the good of the collective is being jeopardized.Follow Dave on Twitter at @TheRevDave
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ - Just Us 6: More than a game
Thursday, September 3rd 2020
The Forgotten Corner’s official stance on the business behind professional sports would not be a favourable one, and the idea of idolizing celebrity would not do much better.
But that being said, as sports fans ourselves, it’s not hard to wrap our brains around the idea that professional sports figures have real power to influence. Athletes in the National Basketball Association have been influencing our society for decades, from the clothes people wear to the music they listen to. And in 2020, as racial tensions once again reach a boiling point in the United States, these athletes have come together in an effort to do something much bigger than simply shaping pop culture.
In the wake of yet another black man suffering at the hands of white police officers — this time a 29-year-old father clinging to life after being shot seven times in the back — NBA players launched a wildcat strike and refused to play playoff games.
How much good can they do? How much power do they have? What can everyday workers learn from these players? What happens next?
The Forgotten Corner sits down with best friend of the show Dr. Roberta Lexier to discuss this in our latest instalment of Just Us.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ - Episode 13: Sounding the SOS, with Barb Silva
Thursday, August 27th 2020
For the past five years, Calgary-based Support Our Students has been a vocal advocate for strong, universal public education system from the perspective of Alberta’s youth. Barb Silva, who has handled the non-partisan group’s communications during that time, has made a name as the outspoken public voice of SOS, drawing attention from politicians and private citizens as a no-holds-barred, no-nonsense representative.
The Forgotten Corner welcomes Barb to the show this week to discuss the United Conservative’s so-called plan for a safe return to schools, which will occur province-wide on Aug. 31. Barb takes listeners through her life growing up in Canada with her father, a political refugee of Augusto Pinochet’s Chile, and her personal journey through becoming an engineer, then teacher, then mother of three, before taking aim at the current provincial government and the Alberta Teachers Association regarding their lacklustre efforts for the betterment of the province’s education system, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barb is leaving Alberta with her family for personal reasons, but as one of her final acts as a member of SOS, she lays out exactly how she feels about the upcoming return to school and the plan(s) in place to ensure safety for all. Join us for one of our more passionate conversations to date, especially if you or someone you know has kids heading back to school next week.
Follow Barb on Twitter:
@thatSilvaLining
Learn more about Support Our Students:
https://www.supportourstudents.ca/
Read the UCP’s ‘plan’ for a safe return to school here:
https://www.alberta.ca/k-to-12-school-re-entry-2020-21-school-year.aspx
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ - Episode 12: Out of time and Energi, with Markham Hislop
Thursday, August 20th 2020
For all its promises of the good ol’ days, the United Conservatives’ handling of Alberta’s oil industry has been one of its most prominent failures to date… and there have been plenty.
Longtime journalist Markham Hislop has been exclusively covering the energy industry long enough that, although hesitant to admit it, he’s become an expert in the field. Most notably, Markham has focused his efforts on the coming (and already here) transition away from fossil fuels, clean energy, technology and just a little bit of politics.
As the publisher and No. 1 contributor to Energi Media, Markham has dedicated his career to properly educating the public — and politicians — on the energy industry and the challenges it faces. Markham joins The Forgotten Corner this week to discuss how he came to run an Alberta energy-centric media outlet from Vancouver Island, his recently drafted Energy Declaration and why he thinks you need to sign it, and, of course, some of the ways in which the Alberta government is blowing a crucial opportunity at a crucial time.
Follow Markham on Twitter at @politicalham
Read Markham’s work at Energi Media here:
https://energi.media/Read the Energy Declaration here:
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
https://energi.media/the-energi-declaration/