In this discussion educator and researcher Bengı Akbulut, based at Concordia University in Montreal, shares reflection on building alternatives institutions in a time of fascism. This conversation revolves around the fact that liberal institutions within western contexts are also under attack at a time of rising authoritarianism. This question is about not thinking only about a simplistic defence of liberal frameworks but going deeper into questions around how radical grassroots networks and activists can face the challenge around building alternative infrastructures.

This interview program is supported in 2025 by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.

Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:

CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am

CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Thursdays 8am

CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am, Fridays 1:30pm

CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am

CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am

Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am

CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm

CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Tuesdays at 4pm

CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am

On this edition of the Art in Action interview series we hear from Ante Zvonimir Stamać speaking on alternative music today in Croatia. Ante works with local artists in Croatia, building independent music cultural landscapes in the Balkan country and also works on the SHIP festival annually. https://ship.hr

The music on this broadcast, airing after the interview, are two contemporary bands from Croatia that Ante speaks on in the interview. They are linked below:

Nemeček

https://nemecek44.bandcamp.com

Mimika Orchestra

https://mimikaorchestra.bandcamp.com

Stefan Christoff produces this artist interview series, Art in Action, the theme music is by Anarchist Mountains. This program broadcasts monthly on:

Radio AlHara, Palestine

On the first Friday of each month at 4:30pm in Bethlehem and 9:30am eastern time (radioalhara.net)

CKUT 90.3 FM, Montréal

On the third Friday of each month at 11am (ckut.ca)

CJLO 1690 AM, Montreal

On the second Thursday of each month at 8:30am. (cjlo.com)

On this edition we speak with author and researcher Aaron Vansintjan who speaks on why Canada needs public grocery stores. This interview was recorded in the context of discussion surrounding an important report on the political debate around having a public grocery option in Canada, link below to the piece that Aaron worked on. Importantly in this conversation Aaron locates the context surrounding this public policy proposal in relation to other public options for grocery stores in different parts of the world.

https://breachmedia.ca/why-canada-needs-public-grocery-stores/

This interview program is supported in 2025 by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.

Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:

CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am

CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Thursdays 8am

CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am, Fridays 1:30pm

CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am

CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am

Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am

CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm

CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Tuesdays at 4pm

CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am

On this edition of Cultural workers for Palestine we hear from composer and musician Clarissa Bitar. Clarissa is a Palestinian oud musician and composer born, raised, and based in Los Angeles. In this conversation we visit the dynamics of Arabic music as an improvisational universe, also looking at the tonality of Arabic scales. Clarissa speaks about the sustaining role that culture and music plays in the Palestinian cultural diaspora.

Info : http://clarissabita.com

This interview series hosted by Stefan Christoff airs on the first Monday of each month on Radio AlHara at 5:30pm, Palestine time, 10:30am eastern time. Also this series airs on CKUT 90.3 FM on the third Friday of each month at 11:30am. To listen in on Radio AlHara visit : radioalahra.net

On this edition of Free City Radio we hear from author and educator Max Haiven speaking on the book : Revenge Capitalism The Ghosts of Empire, the Demons of Capital, and the Settling of Unpayable Debts. The book is described this way:

"Capitalism is in a profound state of crisis. Beyond the mere dispassionate cruelty of ‘ordinary’ structural violence, it appears today as a global system bent on reckless economic revenge; its expression found in mass incarceration, climate chaos, unpayable debt, pharmaceutical violence and the relentless degradation of common life.

In Revenge Capitalism, Max Haiven argues that this economic vengeance helps us explain the culture and politics of revenge we see in society more broadly. Moving from the history of colonialism and its continuing effects today, he examines the opioid crisis in the US, the growth of ‘surplus populations’ worldwide and unpacks the central paradigm of unpayable debts – both as reparations owed, and as a methodology of oppression."

https://www.plutobooks.com/product/revenge-capitalism

This interview program is supported in 2025 by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.

Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:

CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am

CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Thursdays 8am

CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am, Fridays 1:30pm

CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am

CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am

Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am

CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm

CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Tuesdays at 4pm

CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am

On this edition of Free City Radio we hear reflections and contemporary ideas from Emma Feltes, who articulates a legal framing for understanding Canada as unceded territories. This perspective is particularly important in the context of understanding the territorial realities of lands and waterways that today are at the heart of the major national development projects that the current Liberal government of PM Mark Carney is pushing. This is a critical voice of context on the territorial realities on this point.

Learn more about Emma's work here:

https://www.crimsl.utoronto.ca/news/crimsl-welcomes-new-faculty-member-dr-emma-feltes

This interview program is supported in 2025 by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.

Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:

CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am

CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Thursdays 8am

CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am, Fridays 1:30pm

CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am

CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am

Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am

CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm

CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Tuesdays at 4pm

CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am

On the Feb. 2026 edition of Cultural workers for Palestine we hear from Eleni Mustaklem of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music speaking about their ongoing projects in Gaza.

Learn more about the conservatory projects here:

https://ncm.birzeit.edu/en

This interview series hosted by Stefan Christoff airs on the first Monday of each month on Radio AlHara at 5:30pm, Palestine time, 10:30am eastern time. Also this series airs on CKUT 90.3 FM on the third Friday of each month at 11:30am. To listen in on Radio AlHara visit : radioalahra.net

On this edition of Free City Radio we hear from filmmaker Margarita Jimeno speaking on gentrification and cities as cinematic characters. Margarita speaks particularly about experiences working on films in Berlin, but also reflects on time in NYC. In this exchange we develop a sense of Margarita's understanding of the city landscape and character of the city as a character in a film that plays a key role in depicting the ideas and storyline of a film. Margarita also speaks about the ways that gentrification today is impacting artists and many communities today.

In this interview Margarita speaks specifically about two film projects, Atalanta and Grind Reset Shine.

Learn more about Margarita's work here:

http://www.majimafia.com/projects

This interview program is supported in 2025/2026 (winter/spring) by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.

Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:

CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am

CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Thursdays 8am

CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am, Fridays 1:30pm

CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am

CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am

Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am

CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm

CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Tuesdays at 4pm

CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am

On the Feb. 2026 edition of Art in Action São Paulo based artist Ding Musa speaks about his practice working at the intersections of personal creative practice and urban based social struggles. Ding particularly speaks about working with the gallery at Ocupação 9 de Julho, a major squatted building downtown that is organized by Movimento dos Sem Teto do Centro (MSTC). This is a movement of unhoused people and communities who squat unused buildings, turning them into public housing and also social spaces. Ding with a group of artists worked together to create a gallery at Ocupação 9 de Julho.

Stefan Christoff produces this artist interview series, Art in Action, the theme music is by Anarchist Mountains. This program broadcasts monthly on:

Radio AlHara, Palestine

On the first Friday of each month at 4:30pm in Bethlehem and 9:30am eastern time (radioalhara.net)

CKUT 90.3 FM, Montréal

On the third Friday of each month at 11am (ckut.ca)

CJLO 1690 AM, Montreal

On the second Thursday of each month at 8:30am. (cjlo.com)

On this edition of Free City Radio we hear from Washington State based visual artist Saiyare Refaei on visualizing solidarity with the people of Gaza. Saiyare is a member of the Justseeds artists' cooperative (www.justseeds.org). Over the last years Saiyare has been creating moving and meaningful work expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and has created a couple of particular pieces that express support for Palestine as a member of the Iranian Diaspora, aiming to intervene into Iranian conversations that can hold many divergent political and cultural positions in relation to Palestine.

Learn more about Saiyare Refaei's work here:

https://justseeds.org/artist/saiyarerefaei

In the interview Saiyare highlights the following artists: Ashtli Tavera, Thea Gahr (www.theagahr.com) and Tala Khanmalek (www.talakhanmalek.com) who worked on the key pomegranate graphic in solidarity with Palestine that is discussed in this interview.

This interview program is supported in 2025/2026 (winter/spring) by the Social Justice Centre at Concordia University. The music track is Passage by Anarchist Mountains.

Free City Radio is hosted and produced by Stefan Christoff and broadcasts on:

CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal - Wednesdays at 11am

CJLO 1690 AM in Montreal - Thursdays 8am

CKUW 95.9 FM in Winnipeg - Tuesdays 8am, Fridays 1:30pm

CFRC 101.9 FM in Kingston - Wednesdays 11:30am

CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria - Saturdays 7am

Met Radio 1280 AM in Toronto - Fridays at 5:30am

CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa - Tuesdays at 2pm

CJSF 90.1 FM in Vancouver - Tuesdays at 4pm

CHMA 106.9 FM in Sackville, New Brunswick - Tuesdays at 10am