Blueprints of Disruption

08/18/2026

When the State becomes desperate enough to target soup lines with a heavy-hand - they've lost legitimacy.

This is, in part, why Food Not Bombs resonates with so many people - with over 1000 chapters worldwide.

Listen to our interview with co-founder Keith McHenry- link in the comments.

08/06/2026

Journalists Euan Thomson and David Slater tell how they uncovered secret chats between Canadian universities, and national networks of school administrators and police - all seemingly tasked with infringing on the Charter Rights of students, and dismantling Palestinian Solidarity encampments, before they even started.

It took Euan and David almost two years to compile all of the documents they needed to write their recent piece for The Breach, largely due to sustained efforts to deny access to, what should be, public documents. Hear how they worked as a team, sharpened their tactics and caught many of these institutions contradicting themselves.

The episode also includes a discussion on the degradation of access to public documents across Canada. From new legislation, to the normalization of secrecy in public institutions, the powerful are finding new ways to avoid accountability.

Its really two stories in one! We hear the details of those secret chats and the lengths to which universities worked together to prevent protests from even happening, and then violently shutting them down when they did. But we also get to hear how these same players work when it comes to operating in secret and covering their tracks.

Get the Blueprints of Disruption podcast anywhere you listen.

07/28/2026

AI is here - but it won't last.

Cyber security expert, author, and activist, Kim Crawley makes the case that generative AI is unsustainable, and will eventually meet its demise. But not before our power grids, our water supplies and our minds take a hit.

An GenAI abolitionist, Kim is researching for a new book; one that will examine the impacts of this relatively new and unchecked technology the oligarchs are "pushing down our throats". It will also help lay the plans for a recovery from GenAI.

Host Jessa McLean asks Kim about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's promised investments in AI, and the efforts by some to 'democratize' the technology, rather than reject it altogether. Listen in to hear her takes, learn more about AI and plug into ways you can help.

Listen in: https://pod.fo/e/44fe5c

07/02/2026

Deana Sherif has been called a lot of things. A perpetual protestor, an Antifa ringleader, a criminal…but she’s also been described as a fierce advocate for her community, a tireless activist, and a protective presence to those around her.

All of these things made her a target of the Police, the Crown and the right-wing propagandists who serve them.

The legal saga that is Deana’s story starts off at a routine action for Palestine, and ends with a criminal conviction for making noise and just over 17 months time-served for a single mother of two with no prior criminal record.

As Deana describes her initial arrest, the bogus charges, and the unconstitutional bail conditions she faced for using a Fox40 electronic whistle, it is clear the system is looking to make an example of her.

Then comes the squeak-toy incident. You have to hear it to believe it, but Police are able to weaponize ridiculous bail conditions to again lock up an activist exercising their Charter Rights - for over 300 days.

Both Deana and host Jessa McLean make the case that cases like this are part of a larger effort to silence the loudest amongst, and incapacitate social movements. But it isn’t working.

Deana was able to realize community in jail, learn more about the legal system being used against her, and steel her resolve even more so - despite still not being on the other side of this ordeal yet.

Go to our bio for ways to listen.

06/04/2026

Chris Wiebe is one of the few lawyers repping protestors who've had their Charter Rights breached by agents of the Canadian State.

Hear about a lawsuit he's filed against the University of Calgary & Calgary Police on behalf of 9 pali solidarity activists - in the latest Blueprints of Disruption.

Check comments for ways to listen.

05/21/2026

Two years ago we saw encampments set up across the world - they were there to increase pressure on Universities to DIVEST from companies complicit in the occupation and destruction of Gaza.

Many institutions, like the University of Calgary, responded by criminalizing them and calling cops to brutalize them.

Some of those activists are now fighting back, through the courts. Nine Plaintiffs have launched a lawsuit in response to the encampment clearing and arrests by Calgary Police on May 9, 2024.

The first part of this series is an interview with Dr. Raheleh Tarani, who was there to support her son and speak up for Palestine. Hear how she's reclaiming power from those who ignored her Charter Rights.

Get the whole story by subscribing and catching the rest of the series - to be published over the next two weeks.

Solidarity with those pushing back. If you have a story to tell, be sure to reach out at [email protected] or DM us for our Signal.

(IG)

05/19/2026

See the script and contact info provided below.

Activists from across the globe have been kidnapped in international waters - folks from the Global Sumud Flotilla are asking for help ⬇️

🚨ACT NOW 🚨

Script:
My name is [name], I am a Canadian citizen from [city].

I am calling regarding Canadian citizens illegally intercepted at sea while on a humanitarian mission.

6 Canadian citizens who are part in the peaceful, non-violent humanitarian mission to carry aid to Gaza have been under threat of drone strikes, invasion, and kidnapping by israeli forces in international waters, where they do not have jurisdiction to do so under international law. Canadian citizens and passport holders Umir Tiar, Ko Tinmaung, Sebastian Tow, Safa Chebbi, Michael France, and Omar Shaban have been confirmed to be abducted.

The critical actions needed are:
* Locate and protect Canadians
* Secure their safe release
* Ensure the safe passage for the mission
* Sanction israel now!

05/08/2026

We wouldn't have missed it! Make sure YOU don't miss our coverage of the Toronto Tenant Union founding convention.

We spoke to tenant organizers, newly elected leadership and observers. All of them were excited for Toronto's first city-wide tenants union and the possibilities of scaling up the great work that's already being done.

Hats off to everyone involved.

Get the whole episode anywhere you listen to podcasts - or travel to the comments for links.

05/06/2026

Our episode this week is something special.

Scaling UP: Toronto Trnants Tenants Union

On April 18th, hundreds of tenants gathered inside a school cafeteria to help shape Toronto’s first city-wide tenant’s union – the TTU. There were elections, robust policy discussions and plenty of stories from tenants. Blueprints of Disruption was there to capture it all, and provide analysis afterwards.

On-scene interviews from inside the Toronto tenant Unions’s founding Convention start off with Ricardo Tranjan, housing policy expert and author of The Tenant Class. Tranjan talks about his expectations for the day, and his excitement at the prospect of “taking another step” towards building the tenant class consciousness he wrote about in his book.

There are also interviews with tenant organizers from different buildings across the city – including Jerry and Steve from 240 Markland. They talk about their saga with an REIT buying their building, applying for five consecutive above-guideline rent increases (AGIs) and trying to push legacy tenants out of the building.

We also interview Bridgette, a resident of the Caseway building – outside of which convention participants rallied after the day’s more official proceedings. She talks about why its been such a battle with their landlord, and how she felt about being a part of something bigger.

Organizers of the event, and leaders within the ‘parent’ organizations of the TTU, also took time to speak with Santiago Helou Quintero and Jessa McLean as things wrapped up.

Aniket Kali, formerly of Climate Justice Toronto, and Bruno Dobrusin of YSW Tenants Union talk about their new roles (both elected during the Convention), the scaling up of their models, and their vision for the TTU in the years to come.

We of course added it to our:

Tenant Power Playlist
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Challenging the status quo one episode at a time. We started as a podcast for activists, organizers & rabble rousers, but we're growing into so much more... Click to read Blueprints of Disruption, a Substack publication.