We discuss how the officer deaths were politicized to further consolidate power and resources for police as an institution, and examine how institutional failures of police may have even led to these officer deaths.

We also talked with the Asilu Collective, a grassroots abolitionist organization working towards policing-free schools in Ontario, about a more holistic definition of abolition and moving away from state options.

We’re unraveling the current situation with policing downtown, where the province has deployed 12 sheriffs to the already heavily policed Chinatown area and self-identifying “liberal” politicians are more openly pro-police than ever.

We also got to talk with an anonymous worker in the nonprofit sector, who shared some thought-provoking insights about the ways that organizations are set up to fail and why he will ultimately be leaving the sector.

We’re diving into some ways that our system of governance tries to control or eliminate threats to their power. From a deliberately inaccessible city budget engagement process, to local pundits endlessly for a return to the status quo when we never left in the first place. Oumar interviewed Calgary community organizer Taylor McNallie about the relentless attacks she’s faced from police and the media’s ignorance.

The theme of this episode is our society’s comfort with silent racism and covert discrimination. We’re diving into the fourth police budget increase of the year so far, the police DNA phenotyping scandal, Alberta's new premier, the announcement that the provincial province will be providing $187M towards homelessness and addiction supports, and the Black Class Action lawsuit supporting Black federal workers.

Edmonton’s city council recently committed to funding the Chinatown Healthy Streets Operation Centre, a $15M hub meant to deploy additional officers into Chinatown. We interviewed councillor Michael Janz about the decision, his “insider-outsider” theory of change, and whether meaningful progresscan be achieved from within city council.

We're turning our focus to the devastation inflation that has been hitting low-income households especially hard while companies like Loblaws are making record profits. We also have some on the ground reporting from the Pope's visit to Edmonton.

We interviewed Ashlynn Chand about some great reporting she did on Amazon’s union-busting at the Nisku warehouse. We discuss our government’s alignment with corporate interests at the expense of workers and how politicians co-opt working class struggles. And we even detail some recent victories in the labour movement in Alberta.

Oumar and Nicholas discuss the recent school shooting in Texas and its relevance to Edmonton’s school resource officer program. We also discuss the violence and challenges in Chinatown, as well as the tendency from politicians and the community to support further enforcement of the same system that causes those challenges.

Canadian media is terrible when it comes to holding powerful institutions accountable and challenging the status quo. In this episode we’re talking about the media’s failure of students criminalized by the School Resource Officer Program, and examples of how both independent and traditional media can be shaped by toxic work environments and politics of recognition.

We’re looking back on this especially unfortunate February, from revelations that the Edmonton Police Service owns a plane (!) and is gearing up to purchase yet another, to the Calgary Police killing of community member Latjor Tuel. We also brought back Tom Engel to the show for a great interview about the Police Act, an important piece of legislation that we should all be focusing on ahead of the next provincial election.

The police budget continues to be increased, for the second time in a row since the killing of George Floyd. We break down the recent history of police funding in Edmonton and the complicity of media and politicians in this cycle of growing police power, and talk with Rob Houle about the roots of policing in the west and the ultimate impact of the Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force.

With the recent federal election in Canada and local election in Edmonton, we continue the thriving era of neoliberal politics that leaves harmful institutions unchecked, despite everything that has come to prominence in public discourse since we started the show. We had a chance to interview Edmonton's new mayor Amarjeet Sohi to dig a bit deeper into the emptiness of performative politics and why politicians can't save us.

The Community Safety and Well-Being Task Force was formed by Edmonton city council last summer in response to protests and hearing on anti-Black racism in the city. Oumar talks to task force member Irfan Chaudhry about the recent release of the task force’s recommendations, the nature of committees in creating change or exposing hypocrisy, and the police’s attempts to keep any change within their own purview.

We’re seeing a lot of performance politics these days, particularly from our elected officials who fancy themselves progressive leaders. This allows them to evade criticism from media, would-be allies, and others in power while they remain complicit in systems of anti-Black violence.

Though we are increasingly aware of how carding and street checks disproportionately impact Black and Indigenous communities, we are decreasingly aware of the myriad of ways in which we are constantly surveilled.

Our communities have been calling to defund the police for decades. But despite a wealth of research, lived experiences, and successful examples of divestment from police, our local government continues to increase the police budget while cutting community services.

It’s plainly obvious that the most vulnerable people are the most heavily policed. Along with a lack of mental health and addiction supports, this creates a cycle where vulnerable populations remain in poverty or enter our punitive justice system.

Oumar and Hannan look into Canadian media’s friendly relationship with police forces, the sinister ways in which Canadian media organizations actively silence BIPOC journalists, and how this method of “journalism” leaves racism unchecked.

As a podcast that strives to properly communicate the experiences of Black Edmontonians, it’s been difficult to produce content with only one voice. Today we’re introducing a co-host, Hannan, who will bring important perspectives and talents to the project!

After a failed school board motion to suspend Edmonton’s school resource officer (SRO) program, police will remain in schools this September. Oumar meets with a teacher who provides exclusive insight into her horrific experience with an SRO.