Stafford Taylor joins me to talk about his path from homelessness to writing The Transcendence Manifesto. We get into life in Goa, lessons from community work, and what it means to build something better when the world keeps people isolated.

Stafford’s links:

https://www.youtube.com/@StaffordGrayman

https://www.instagram.com/blueeyedphoenix1991/

https://www.facebook.com/stafford.taylor.18

https://www.amazon.ca/Transcendence-Manifesto-Secular-Gospel/dp/1036909654

Find all my links here:https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

We start by reflecting on criticism from a past discussion and what it says about how people hear and respond to political conversations. Then we talk about a stream Owen did with someone who says they’ve left the left and explore why anger and burnout push people toward reactionary thinking. The episode ends with a look at how solidarity can survive in a world that rewards outrage and division.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/@owenmacdonald7428

https://bsky.app/profile/owenmacdonald.bsky.socialMy Linktreehttps://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Qatar#Stadium_construction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_issues_involving_the_2022_FIFA_World_Cup#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Qatar#FIFA_World_Cup_preparations_and_reported_abuses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_controversies#

Graham Culbertson joins me to talk about anarchism as a lived practice, how people already cooperate without coercion, why authority rarely works the way we think it does, and what it means to resist systems of control in everyday life.

We also get into the pressures of podcasting in an algorithmic world and how staying authentic can itself be an act of resistance.

Guest: Graham Culbertson – https://everydayanarchism.com All links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

Simon Enoch from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives joins me to talk about how neoliberalism reshaped Canadian policy and what privatization has done to public services. We cover the rise of corporate think tanks, the loss of economic democracy, and why evidence-based policy still matters.

Links:

https://www.policyalternatives.ca/ https://bsky.app/profile/simonenoch.bsky.social

https://linktr.ee/Skepticalleftist

Cory Doctorow joins me to talk about Enshitification, his new book about the long decline of the internet. We go through how platforms start out good for users, turn on them once they’re locked in, and finally become unrecognizable corporate machines. Cory explains how this pattern connects to monopoly power, labor exploitation, and government capture, and why it’s not just a tech problem but a political one.

Cory Doctorow’s links:https://craphound.com/https://craphound.com/shop/

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

https://x.com/doctorow

My links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

Revolt, propaganda, and border control, in this episode we talk about uprisings in Nepal and Indonesia, Trump’s visa scams, digital IDs in the UK, propaganda around Charlie Kirk, AI pushing people into violence, and an economy rigged for the few.

Sources

https://people.com/charlie-kirk-martyr-allegedly-threatens-shoot-up-gay-bar-11813937

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/no-evidence-charlie-kirk-shooting-left-wing-groups-rcna232513

https://factkeepers.com/right-wing-extremist-violence-is-more-frequent-and-more-deadly-than-left-wing-violence/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-us-h1b-visa-changes_n_68cdd347e4b02387cfec20c8

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-starmer-set-push-digital-id-plans-ft-reports-2025-09-19/

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/how-gen-z-protests-over-corruption-jobs-ousted-nepal-pm-oli-2025-09-09/ https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2025/09/18/deadly-gen-z-protests-expose-decades-systemic-rot-nepal https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/gen-z-protests-in-nepal-result-in-19-deaths-prime-minister-resignation-and-social-media-ban-repeal/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/8/six-killed-in-nepal-amid-gen-z-protests-after-social-media-ban-all-to-knowhttps://archive.is/20250913093923/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/09/13/nepal-protests-gen-z-uprising/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nepals-deadly-protests-social-media-ban-lies-anger-125389219

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2025/09/13/revolt-in-indonesia/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/20/irish-band-kneecap-says-canada-ban-aims-to-silence-opposition-to-genocide

https://futurism.com/man-chatgpt-psychosis-murders-mother

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/19/trumps-destruction-of-the-us-economy/

Nick’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickdgirard/

AnCom’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ancomscicomm.bsky.social

My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist

In this episode Owen Macdonald and I talk about capitalism’s gospel of greed. We start with AI’s effect on work, move into how exploitation underpins the global economy, and look at how Christian nationalism keeps people tied to an unjust system. We also discuss the hypocrisy of right-wing religion through Owen’s debate with a Trump supporter and the selective outrage over Charlie Kirk’s death.

I've started calling my collaborations with Owen Solidarity Across Borders. I've created a logo and found new music for the intro and outro. Hopefully, Owen and I can continue these chats, and they'll become their own standalone playlist on YouTube and a subseries for the show. I hope you enjoy them

Follow Owen: YouTube | BlueSky

Support my work: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist | https://www.patreon.com/skepticalleftist