Dedicated to Ian (John) McLean - January 5, 1952 - June 17, 2025

A discussion about passing down working class consciousness through generations and what we choose to do with that knowledge.

To pay tribute Host Jessa McLean's late father we are resharing their interview together from 2023. He shares how he too was politicized at a young age, and how his involvement in the trade union movement shaped how he understood power structures, politics and his own purpose.

Together, they sound off on their own experiences with the NDP, which are unsurprisingly similar.

Jessa would like to thank the great healthcare workers at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto for their care and compassion, as well as the many comrades who have sent their condolences and shared their own memories of her father in the good fight.

Activists from StopGenAI.com provide a litany of reasons why they think we should be ridding ourselves of this pervasive technology altogether: Its environmental impact, privacy concerns, exploitation, and even detrimental impacts to our individual and collective abilities to think or create.

It is also replacing jobs at incredible rates, albeit inadequately. But this is of no concern to the technocrats pushing GenAI or the politicians prioritizing it.

This is where mutual aid comes in. Guests Kim Crawley and Neha share the creative ways they're also raising funds for folks most impacted by the expansion of GenAI.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: StopGenAI Fundraising Initiatives

Previous Episodes with Kim Crawley:

• COVID Conscious Under Capitalism, looks at individual human behavior, the response of our governments and how the greed of our 'capitalist overlords' plays into it all.
• To Vote or Not to Vote, where Kim talks about her political transformation from libertarian to an NDP Convention delegate to someone disillusioned with the entire system.

More Resources:

• StopGenAI.com
• Book Review: Palo Alto – A history of California, capitalism, and the world - Northern California Section of the American Planning Association
• Stop Gen AI mutual aid charity bundle 1 - itch.io
• AI Job Crisis is Here by Brian Merchant

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

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Labour 4 Palestine Ontario Education Workers issued a scathing report in April 2025, on anti-Palestinian racism within the Province's school boards. The report, School Delegations for Palestine, documents and analyzes months of delegations given to Trustees across the Province that mostly went ignored.

Four Education Workers from various backgrounds talk about their personal experiences with suppression, weaponized antisemitism and other ways their workplaces are unwelcoming to any displays of humanity towards Palestine.

They also talk about the work being done to pressure school boards to cut ties with the problematic organizations that are largely responsible for fostering an environment of fear and anti-Palestinian racism.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Stay in Contact with Labour 4 Palestine

Related Episodes:

• A Space to Exist, a discussion with Toronto Palestinian Families and Toronto Jewish Families
• Our interview with Jews Say No to Genocide, on their work to dispel the Zionist narrative and advocate for a Free Palestine.
• Answering the Call: Labour for Palestine. A discussion with Anna Lippman on why this IS a Labour issue.

More Resources:

• VIDEOS: Watch various delegations and Board Updates
• Toronto school board to force educators to undergo mandatory re-education on ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ | The Post Millennial | thepostmillennial.com
• The Maple: A List Of Some People In Canada Fired For Pro-Palestine Views
• About — Labour 4 Palestine
• School Delegations Report (Revised).pdf - Google Drive

Intro Clip Source: Critiquing the TDSB Israel Proposal: A Jewish Perspective | TikTok

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

A cross-posted episode from The Skeptical Leftist podcast that features Blueprints of Disruption Host, Jessa McLean.

Together with Cory Johnston, they discuss the NDP collapse, the rise of another corporate technocrat and more reactions to the Canadian federal election results.

Also on the table: why the left keeps falling for electoral traps, what the NDP's collapse means for the broader left, and why organizing outside the system is more urgent than ever.

Related Episodes:

• Nourishing Community with Krish Dineshkumar; and,
• Inside the NDP Playlist, a collection of interviews that help explain just what happened to the NDP.
• Skeptical Leftist Podcast (YT)

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

Migrant workers in the gig economy are arguably the most exploited labour force in Canada.

Derailing Dignity, an art installation and sound piece opening May 16th, encourages people to make the connection between the convenience of online food delivery services and the human beings making it all happen. The exhibit opens May 16th, and is part of the 40th annual Mayworks Festival in Toronto.

It was created by Krish Dineshkumar, a cook, sound producer, activist and artist, who is constantly looking for creative ways to build empathy. He joins the Blueprints studio to share his creative process, the motivation behind using art as a tool of engagement and the other ways he works on nourishing the community.

He calls it 'heartwork', and makes the caring case that its something we could better prioritize when we think about organizing.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Support Gig Workers United

Related Episodes:

• Our interview with Justice for Migrant Workers
• Rabble Rant from August 2023, on the Temporary Foreign Workers Program

More Resources:

• Migration and Migrant Labour in the Gig Economy: An Intervention
• Migrant Rights Network
• Mayworks 2025 Festival Guide and Archive
• Krish's Cooked Until Tender on IG

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

In order to best understand what happened to the NDP in the 2025 federal election, one has to learn about the decisions made under Jack Layton.

Who better to help us do this than historian and author of From Layton to Singh, Matt Fodor. This is a follow up to Matt's first appearance on the show where he explained in great detail how the team responsible for the Orange Crush deliberately and possibly permanently changed the course of the Party.

Hear why a leadership change just won't do and what Labour's role in all of this has been. Its essential listening for anyone considering reforming the NDP, as is the rest of the Inside the NDP playlist.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Related Episodes:

• Matt Fodor's first interview on Blueprints, A Deliberate Turn to Centre.
• Host Jessa McLean's deeply personal account, Why They Came for Me.

More Resources:

• Judy Rebick - The Future of the NDP after a Disastrous Election | In Bed with the Elephant
• Referenced Article: Mark Carney, Cutthroat Capitalist | The Walrus

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

Did you know that some public sector pensions, like the Ontario Municipality Employees Retirement System (OMERS) invests in the very companies that contribute to the exploitation of retirees and the commodification of aging?

That is just one example of 'social investments gone awry' that author and researcher Tom Fraser brings to our discussion from his book, Invested in Crisis, Public Sector Pensions Against the Future. He explains how we got to the point where (mostly unionized) workers are heavily invested in real estate across the globe, pipelines, privatized healthcare and water infrastructure, and other industries we're mobilizing against.

Good news is Tom also talks about potential solutions and ways out of this cycle of trying to secure power over industries by investing in them.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Support the Campaign to Divest Ontario Teachers Pension Plan

Related Episode:

• The Tenant Class, with Ricardo Tranjan, where the subject of real estate investment trusts is raised and the barrier pensions present;

More Resources:

• The Maple: Major Canadian Union Calls for Divestment of Tesla
• Buy Tom's Book: Invested in Crisis – Between the Lines
• Huff Post: COVID-19 Has Killed 164 At Revera's Care Homes. Their Families Want Answers.

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

Find out why and how the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) chose to intervene in the 2025 Federal Election.

VotePalestine.ca is more than a listing of candidates who have signed onto the Palestinian Platform. Yara Shoufani of the PYM explains the strategy behind the campaign, their expectations of politicians and, its long terms goals around mobilizing power.

The discussion also provides a great overview of the work the PYM has been doing since we last spoke to them, and specifics on how they're continuing to build capacity and bring people into the movement for a Free Palestine.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Take the Vote Palestine Pledge

Related Episodes:

• Our previous discussion with PYM, Return and Liberation;
• Canada's Colonial Imagination, with Tyler Shipley helps explain Canada's reaction to the occupation; and,
• Our entire Free Palestine Playlist

More Resources:

• PYM on Instagram
• Guelph News: Which federal candidates support the Palestine Platform? - An example of a local news outlet covering candidates' positions on the Palestine Platform.
• Trends in International Arms Transfers (2021) - On Canada's growing prominence in the arms industry.
• Vote Palestine FAQs

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📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky