rabble radio

This week on rabble radio, Thomas Ponniah joins rabble editor Nick Seebruch to talk about the heavy influence of the U.S. on the world stage. They break down why massive military power hasn't led to a better quality of life in the States and how a better future is possible.

Thomas Ponniah is a co-writer of Unholy Trinity: the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, co-editor of Another World is Possible: World Social Forum proposals for an Alternative Globalization, co-editor of The Revolution in Venezuela: Social and Political Change Under Chávez, and is a contributor to rabble.ca.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

Representing King Charles III in Canada, serving as the federal representative of the Head of State, the newly appointed Governor General-designate is Louise Arbour, a former human rights lawyer and Supreme Court Justice.

Prime Minister Mark Carney made this announcement on Tuesday, May 5, and stated she will be an exemplary "steward of our tradition of peace, order and good government."

This week on rabble radio, rabble editor Nick Seebruch sits down with parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg to discuss what Louise Arbour brings to the role and the history behind the title.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This May Day (International Workers Day), labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Aaron Westaway from the Ottawa Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP). The two go over the plans OCHRP has in store for this year's May Day celebrations and discuss how the rights of workers globally are something Canada should care about.

Aaron Westaway is an organizer with the Ottawa Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP). Originally from North Bay, Ontario Aaron works to organize Canadians in Ottawa to inform and mobilize people in solidarity with the struggles of workers, farmers and indigenous peoples in the Philippines against abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This week, in honour of Earth Day, we're sharing something a little different on rabble radio: a series of soundscapes, taking you across the world, visiting rabble staff and friends, old and new, in nature.

As the national director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Sandra Schwartz recently shared on the Courage My Friends podcast series: "There is good scientific evidence to show that time in nature reduces stress. It creates a sense of community. It creates a sense of wanting to protect what's around you too."

We hope you enjoy this week's episode and that it encourages you to get out and appreciate the nature surrounding you—not just this Earth Week, but all year long. Take a listen.

Featured in this week's episode are:

• Nick Seebruch, editor

• Sarah Sahagian, publisher

• Gabriela Calugay-Casuga, labour reporter

• Karishma Joshi, digital engagement producer

• Breanne Doyle, podcast producer

• Stephen Wentzell, former national politics reporter

• Bridget Potasky, former Jack Layton Journalism for Change fellow (2025/26)

• Bryan Carney, technical lead

• Mads Bayliss, administrative assistant

Effective April 20, 2026, Rob Halpin will assume the role of executive director of ACTRA Toronto. ACTRA, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists is the national union of professional performers working in recorded media in Canada.

This week on the show, Halpin joins rabble editor Nick Seebruch to discuss his goals for the union, the exploitative nature of AI, and why it's so important to support union performers.

Halpin is coming to ACTRA Toronto from the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) where he brings more than a decade of experience, most recently as general secretary, in worker advocacy, government relations, research communications, campaign strategy, leadership, administration and movement-building across Ontario's labour community.

Rob Halpin has an undergraduate degree in Communications from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master's degree in Labour Policies and Globalisation Studies from the University of Kassel and Berlin School of Economics and Law.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

On April 18, 2026, rabble.ca will celebrate 25 years of sharing 'news for the rest of us.'

Ahead of our birthday celebration, rabble publisher Sarah Sahagian sits down with rabble founder Judy Rebick to hear about the creation of rabble all those years ago, why it was so important (and still is) to be a progressive, feminist, independent news source, and where rabble should go next.

To help celebrate our 25th anniversary, consider becoming a donor at rabble.ca/donate.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This summer, Vancouver will host seven matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In the lead-up to major global sporting events like this, a familiar narrative tends to resurface: fears of a spike in human trafficking, particularly for sexual exploitation. Yet, time and again, these claims have been widely circulated without credible evidence or data to support them.

Advocacy organizations such as SWAN Vancouver have raised concerns about newly introduced RCMP anti-trafficking units, warning that such initiatives may conflate consensual sex work with trafficking. Critics argue this approach risks further marginalizing sex workers and could ultimately undermine the safety of already vulnerable communities.

This week on rabble radio, rabble labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Crystal Laderas, the communications manager at SWAN Vancouver, to talk about this issue and why advocating for sex workers' rights and protections is as essential as it is for any other workers in Canada.

Crystal Laderas is the communications manager at SWAN Vancouver, an organization that promotes the rights, health and safety of im/migrant women engaged in indoor sex work. She focuses on public education, advocacy, and debunking misinformation. As a former reporter who worked across Western Canada, she encourages ethical and accurate reporting of the community SWAN supports. Crystal also manages ResponsibleReporting.ca, an online resource hub with quick facts, explainers and information for reporting on sex work and human trafficking.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This week on rabble radio, we're sharing a clip from the latest episode of the Courage My Friends, featuring Kara Anderson (Mining Injustice Solidarity Network) and Rachel Small (World Beyond War) on Canada's defence spending and the connections between militarism and mining.

The full episode can be found here. Listen to the entire series of Courage My Friends on Needs No Introduction.

Kara Anderson is an organizer with the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto working on food justice.

Rachel Small works as the Canada Organizer for World BEYOND War, a global grassroots organisation and network working to abolish war and the military industrial complex, is a founding member of the Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition, and coordinates the Arms Embargo Now Campaign. She has done grassroots organizing within local and international social/environmental justice movements for nearly two decades, with a special focus on working in solidarity with communities harmed by Canadian extractive industry projects.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This week on rabble radio, author Jowita Bydlowska joins rabble publisher Sarah Sahagian in the rabble book lounge to discuss her latest memoir Unshaming, and reflect on how her 2014 memoir Drunk Mom transformed her life.

Jowita Bydlowska is the author of Unshaming (March 2026). She is also the author of Monster(September 2024), Possessed, the best-selling memoir Drunk Mom, and the best-selling novel GUY. She's also a prolific short-story writer, journalist and a mentor. She divides her time between Tkaronto and Treaty-9. She is obsessed with her chihuahua.

​Learn more about Bydlowska on her website here.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This week, rabble editor Nick Seebruch and publisher Sarah Sahagian review the top stories in the news this week, including the attacks on Iran from the US and Israel and the upcoming NDP leadership convention.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.