geopolitical ecology

CONTINENTAL SHIFT (4/4): Extraction North of Empire

In Canada, intensive resource extraction has long been baked into the country’s political economy and, arguably, to nation-building itself. Resource booms and policy choi

CONTINENTAL SHIFT (3/4): Extraction South of Empire

The ratification of NAFTA—the North American Free Trade Agreement—in 1994 transformed Mexico in profound ways. Over the next thirty years it deepened and expanded the res

CONTINENTAL SHIFT (2/4): A (Not So) New Gold Rush

The term “critical minerals" suddenly seems to be all over the headlines. Securing access to this group of commodities, from familiar metals like lithium and copper to mo

CONTINENTAL SHIFT (1/4): Free Market Fictions and Trade Frictions

Welcome to Continential Shift, a series from The Break—Down and Geopolitical Ecology, where we examine the global rush for critical minerals and the struggle for resource

Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature w/ Alyssa Battistoni

In this episode we speak with Alyssa Battistoni about her most recent book, Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature published back in August 2025 by Princeton U

Can the State Protect Nature? w/ Rosemary Collard and Jessica Dempsey

In this episode, we talk with Jessica Dempsey and Rosemary Collard about how to think about the capitalist state not as a unified actor, but as a contradictory and often

Organizing the Tenant Class w/ Ricardo Tranjan

In this episode, we’re joined by Ricardo Tranjan, political economist and author of The Tenant Class (2023). Ricardo’s work reframes housing—not as a temporary crisis—b

Critical Minerals, Critical Conflicts w/ Emily Iona Stewart

In this episode, we speak with Emily Iona Stewart to unpack the complex and deeply political dynamics behind the global rush for critical minerals. Why are these mineral

Chennai Floods: a decade’s hindsight w/ Priti Narayan

In this episode, we speak with Priti Narayan about the devastating floods that hit Chennai, India—a city grappling with the compounding effects of climate change and urba

A state without borders; borders without states w/ Hicham Safieddine

I had the honor to host Dr. Hicham Safieddine, a brilliant Lebanese scholar and historian at the University of British Columbia.  His work has included a detailed study

The Present Moment in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine w/ Karim Safieddine

A lot has happened and changed in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine since we last spoke with Karim Safieddine over a month ago in our episode titled “Anti-Establishment Posit

on fire

As wildfires rage across Los Angeles, Erika takes a moment to reflect on the personal and the political dimensions of this catastrophe. We urge listeners to think criti

Anti-Establishment Positions in Lebanon and Beyond w/ Karim Safieddine

Karim Safieddine is a PhD student interested in understanding the ways in which social movements, for what they represent in terms of various aspects of intellectual and

From Urbicide To Solidarity: the fight for Palestine from campus and beyond w/ Hammad Jabr

In this episode, we have a heartfelt and eye-opening conversation with Hammad Jabr, a dedicated Palestinian activist and emerging scholar whose work has been central to s

a diasporic note

Tending to this podcast and putting out episodes, let alone tending to our daily responsibilities, has been incredibly challenging. Our hearts break every day as we witne

On Worldviews and Climate Justice w/ Osprey Orielle Lake

In this episode, we sit with Osprey Orielle Lake and dig into the topics she explores in her book The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake

A People's Green New Deal w/ Max Ajl

In this episode, we sit with Max Ajl, author of A People’s Green New Deal (2021), to discuss a range of issues pertaining to climate justice. We discuss the GND’s (lack o

City Planning for Just Transitions w/ Holly Caggiano

Holly Caggiano is an Assistant Professor in Climate Justice and Environmental Planning at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning.

Extreme heat and uneven urban development: Planning & community responses to climate adaptation w/ Sophie Van Neste

Sophie L. Van Neste is an associate professor in urban studies at INRS (Tiohtià:ke/Montreal), holder of a Canada research chair in urban climate action. Her research focu

On Extractivism & "Sustainable" Development w/ Philippe Le Billon & Erik Post

In this episode, we sit with Philippe Le Billon and Erik Post and discuss a wide array of topics all connected by a thread of seeing ‘sustainable development’ as yet anot