From Embers

An interview on multiple intersections of art and activism with Stefan Christoff, a longtime community organizer and musician living in Montréal / Tiohtià:ke. This interview will highlight various forms of expression of the arts within social movements against systemic oppression, injustice and for collective liberation.   Stefan will highlight active collaborations and efforts to build support within networks of artists and cultural workers for efforts to defend the rights of precarious workers within the context of the pandemic who are holding down frontline positions. Stefan has collaborated with artists and activists globally and this interview will focus on the intersections of his work within this sphere.

Sarah Marcha speaks to the revolutionary science of women's equality called Jineoloji that was developed in the autonomous region of Rojava. Jineoloji is an international movement spanning Europe and the Middle East. In this interview, Sarah discusses the leadership roles of women in the system of Democratic Confederalism, and provides examples of the transformative nature of womans' struggles against patriarchy in Rojava. Of particular importance in Sarah's discussion is her account of the all-encompassing role of self-defense in ensuring and maintaining the revolutionary women's struggle. More information about the Jineoloji Academy can be found at: http://jineoloji.org/en/ If you have questions, feel free to email: jineolojicenter@riseup.net Theme music by AwareNess

Hawaiian activist and land defender Kahala Johnson discusses anarchism through the lens of Indigeneity and shares insights regarding resistance struggles, including land reclamations and direct action blockades that halted the construction of a massive telescope on Mauna Kea, one of the most sacred volcanos in Hawaiian culture.

In this interview, Gord Hill discusses the making of his new edition of The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book and tactics and strategies the history of Indigenous resistance teaches us. He provides an analysis of present day resistance against the right wing, as well as an account of the difference between the ideology of pacifism and civil disobedience tactics. For an archive of Indigenous resistance visit: https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com

Welcome to Day Two of the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair! In this episode, Uri Gordon discusses some issues surrounding the use of the terms ‘prefiguration’ and ‘prefigurative politics.’ He is the author of several books and articles on contemporary anarchism, including Anarchy Alive!: Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory, and Prefigurative Politics between Ethical Practice and Absent Promise. He is co-editor of Anarchists Against the Wall: Direct Action and Solidarity with the Palestinian Popular Struggle, and The Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics. Uri co-founded the Anarchist Studies Network and his work has been translated into 13 languages. The essay discussed can be found on Crimethinc's website: https://crimethinc.com/2018/06/12/prefigurative-politics-catastrophe-and-hope-does-the-idea-of-prefiguration-offer-false-reassurance

Welcome to the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair! N.O. Bonzo is an anarchist street artist and illustrator whose work is much admired in the activist community. In this interview, Bonzo discusses their beautifully illustrated edition of Peter Kropotkin’s most famous book, Mutual Aid, and the politics of anarchy and art. Check out Bonzo's edition of Mutual Aid: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1185  

The Terrain Vague, which loosely translates into English as the "wasteland,"  is a large de-industrialized and partially wooded area on the outskirts of Hochelega, a neighbourhood in Montreal’s east end, and close to the Port of Montreal. That space is under threat from several major development projects, and those who care about the Terrain Vague have been getting organized in the past years, connecting the developments to broader colonial-capitalist strategies at play by the Quebec government, making links with neighbourhood groups, and taking direct action to physically defend the space. I spoke with a francophone anarchist from Montreal about the history and context of the Terrain Vague, the Quebec government vision for the St. Lawrence River, logistical hubs as points of anarchist intervention, questions around settler-led land defence and how it relates to indigenous land defence, and how this project might connect to a renewed push to “Shut Down Canada.” Terms: Terrain Vague - Wasteland Avantage St Lau

An interview with Mike Gouldhawke about Truth and Reconciliation Day, the Canadian state,  and #LandBack.  Find more of Mike's work here: https://mgouldhawke.wordpress.com/ Also check out his new chapter "By All Means, Anti-Politics" in the new Little Black Cart anthology "Not On Any Map." Music in this episode by AwareNess.    

Writer, researcher and teacher Dr. Alex Khasnabish talks about a recent workshop he gave at the Halifax Anarchist Bookfair called “You Can’t Police Yourself Out of a Pandemic: Anti-Authoritarian Strategies in an Age of Crisis.” We discuss both state and far right responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the tensions surrounding vaccination, anti-authoritarian strategies for collective care, and questions about where to go from here. In the later part of the episode, Alex briefly references an article he wrote for Roar magazine entitled "From white fragility to white power in the age of COVID-19" - you can read it here

Interview with Tawinikay about her essay released in spring 2021 Settlers on the Red Road: On Indigeneity, Appropriation and Belonging which addresses the problem of race-shifting in anarchist and anarchist-adjacent spaces.  Music from Snotty Nose Rez Kids.

This episode features an interview with two members of the Halifax Anarchist Bookfair collective. We talked about how and why to organize an anarchist gathering during the pandemic, anarchy in Halifax, and why we need anarchist bookfairs in 2021. Music by Slow Man Tofu (Kingston) and Desperate Times (Halifax).

For this episode I sat down (in person!) with author, farmer and organizer Aric McBay. We talked about the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, what climate scientists are now saying about the future of the planet, whether it's still worth trying to stop climate change, and whether and how to maintain hope in the face of increasingly apocalyptic news. To learn about Aric's most recent book, Full Spectrum Resistance, check out the full episode we did with Aric two years ago when the book came out. To find the book and more from Aric, check out https://www.aricmcbay.org/. You can also find his recent handbook on civil disobedience, co-authored with Pamela Cross, here: http://directaction.works/Direct-Action-Works-Mar-22-2020.pdf. 

This episode features an interview with Skyler Williams of 1492 Land Back Lane, a land reclamation on the edge of the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve near Caledonia, Ontario. This week marks the one year anniversary of the camp which was reclaimed last July in response to plans to develop a subdivision on Six Nations Territory. Skyler speaks about a year spent at the camp, the recent announcement that the McKenzie Meadows subdivision has been cancelled by the developer because of Six Nations resistance, and what’s next for folks at Land Back Lane.   Music in this show is all from artists who have performed at Land Back Lane: Six Nations singer-songwriters Derek Miller and Logan Staats, as well as Ottawa-based “powwow-step” group The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red.

A discussion with an anarchist participant in the Fairy Creek blockades on so-called Vancouver Island.  Further reading: Five Months of Direct Action... (No More City) The Return of the War in the Woods? (BC Blackout) Desert (The Anarchist Library)

After nearly a year on hiatus, we're excited to finally be re-launching From Embers. In this mini-episode we briefly explain our absence, reflect on why the show still feels important to us, and tease two upcoming episodes.

Tsastilqualus is an elder of the House Umbas from Ma’amtagila (Kwakwaka’wakw) territory. In this final episode of the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair's week of podcasts, Tsastilqualus speaks about her life and views on how Indigenous resistance can be combined with cultural renewal to realize ecological sustainability and Indigenous sovereignty. For years she has been involved in fighting fish farms and clear cuts in her traditional unceded territories to ensure the survivability of wild salmon. Currently, Tsastilqualus is in the process of rematriating the lands she calls home. She is the founder of the Matriarch Camp, located on unceded Ma’amtagila territory where she recently installed a tiny ‘Big’ house. Please support the Matriarch Camp by sending e-transfers to: matriarchcamp at gmail.com.

As in other places, unhoused people in Victoria face severe challenges in their daily lives ranging from a lack of food, sanitation and medical services to harassment by police and security. One particularly disturbing development are growing resentments and assaults by community members who are unwilling to share green spaces with those who need them for survival. In this episode we hear from a grass-roots front-line supporter and member of the Lived Experience of Homelessness Network (LEOHN) about the increased challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the importance of mutual aid and a caring community. To support and donate visit or contact: https://www.facebook.com/Indigenous-Harm-Reduction-Team-2268634883463900/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MutualAidVictoria leohnetwork@gmail.com https://solidvictoria.org/ https://www.safersexwork.ca/ http://avi.org/ For more information follow: https://povertykills2020.ca/ https://twitter.com/BeaconHillFolks https://www.facebook.com/LkwungenWSANEC

Ozlem Goner is a steering committee member of the Emergency Committee for Rojava, New York, and associate professor at the City University of New York. Her research interests focus on political sociology, ethnographies of the state and nationalism, comparative and historical sociology, race and ethnicity, social movements, qualitative methods, and classical, poststructural, postcolonial and feminist theory.  For updates concerning the situation in Rojava and to donate to the struggle, visit: https://www.defendrojava.org/rojava  

Ruth Kinna is a world-renowned political theorist and historian of ideas who has authored numerous books on anarchism, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century socialist thought, utopianism and contemporary radicalism. She is a professor of political philosophy at Loughborough University and editor of the UK-based journal, Anarchist Studies.

Ann Hansen is former member of the anarchist organization Direct Action and served over 7 years in prison for her involvement with that collective. She is now living on a self-sufficient farm and works on prison-related issues as a member of the Prison for Women (P4W) Memorial Collective. Naphtali is a white non-binary trans Jew who is into prison abolition, anti-zionism, indigenous and black liberation, night-bouquets, and community care.