Cory Johnston
@skepticalleftist.bsky.social
Trying to combine good evidence-based critical thinking and left anarchist politics. I host The Skeptical Leftist podcast, check it out on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1ye9lJfPq7SZkXdOVrEtB9?si=wNQsMjAhRgK0sUCUnT7Y7Q
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- YouTube
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People talk about fixing schools and food systems like it all comes down to personal choices. Owen and I walked through two stories that show why that never works. Systems shape everything long before you make a decision.
The vegan conversation in this one surprised me. It showed how harm gets reduced to personal purity while the global machine producing that harm goes untouched. This is why structure matters.
Individualist Solutions Can't Solve Systemic Problems
In this episode of Solidarity Across Borders, Owen and I talk through two conversations he had this week that reveal something important about our political culture. One was with a conservative teacher who believes parents need to “work harder” instead of asking why his school in Mississippi has mor
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
The vegan conversation in this one surprised me. It showed how harm gets reduced to personal purity while the global machine producing that harm goes untouched. This is why structure matters.
Education debates often end with “parents should do more.” That line collapses the whole system into a personal failing. We talk through why that framing protects the people who created the crisis.
Individualist Solutions Can't Solve Systemic Problems
Solidarity Across Borders with Cory Johnston and Owen Macdonald
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Education debates often end with “parents should do more.” That line collapses the whole system into a personal failing. We talk through why that framing protects the people who created the crisis.
Libs can't help but try to rehabilitate the worst people in history. Its almost like they think politics is just some game they play instead of policies that have real effects on the lives of real people
November 21, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Libs can't help but try to rehabilitate the worst people in history. Its almost like they think politics is just some game they play instead of policies that have real effects on the lives of real people
Stafford Taylor’s story moves from homelessness to community work and writing The Transcendence Manifesto. It’s a reminder that utopia is a process built through small acts of care and persistence.
Trying To Build Utopia with Stafford Taylor
Stafford Taylor returns to share stories from the last few years, sleeping in his car, building a homeless garden, and traveling to India.
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Stafford Taylor’s story moves from homelessness to community work and writing The Transcendence Manifesto. It’s a reminder that utopia is a process built through small acts of care and persistence.
From honest feedback to reactionary drift, we tried to trace how communication breaks down and how to rebuild it. Everyone’s Angry and No One’s Listening is about finding clarity and compassion in the middle of all that noise.
Everyone's Angry and No One's Listening
Owen and I start by talking about criticism we received after a previous episode and how it made us think about the limits of communication in political spaces. That leads into a discussion about a stream Owen did with someone who says they’ve left the left, and what that mindset reveals about anger
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 6:51 PM
From honest feedback to reactionary drift, we tried to trace how communication breaks down and how to rebuild it. Everyone’s Angry and No One’s Listening is about finding clarity and compassion in the middle of all that noise.
Reposted by Cory Johnston
“[Nestor] Makhno’s project was short-lived but provided inspiration for left-wing revolutionary movements in the following decades.”
The Eccentric Ukrainian Rebel Who Built an Anarchist Republic
Patrick Bodovitz @thecollectorx.bsky.social #anarchism #history
The Eccentric Ukrainian Rebel Who Built an Anarchist Republic
Patrick Bodovitz @thecollectorx.bsky.social #anarchism #history
The Eccentric Ukrainian Rebel Who Built an Anarchist Republic | TheCollector
Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno was among the factions who took advantage of the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917.
www.thecollector.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
“[Nestor] Makhno’s project was short-lived but provided inspiration for left-wing revolutionary movements in the following decades.”
The Eccentric Ukrainian Rebel Who Built an Anarchist Republic
Patrick Bodovitz @thecollectorx.bsky.social #anarchism #history
The Eccentric Ukrainian Rebel Who Built an Anarchist Republic
Patrick Bodovitz @thecollectorx.bsky.social #anarchism #history
If you missed it earlier, the new Solidarity Across Borders episode is up. It looks at why individual responsibility gets used as a substitute for material analysis. Owen brought some wild stories to break it open.
Individualist Solutions Can't Solve Systemic Problems
The Skeptical Leftist Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM
If you missed it earlier, the new Solidarity Across Borders episode is up. It looks at why individual responsibility gets used as a substitute for material analysis. Owen brought some wild stories to break it open.
We covered how underfunded classrooms, food politics, and moral choices all tie back to the same problem. When a system fails, people get blamed for things they cannot control. It does real harm.
Individualist Solutions Can't Solve Systemic Problems
In this episode of Solidarity Across Borders, Owen and I talk through two conversations he had this week that reveal something important about our political culture. One was with a conservative teacher who believes parents need to “work harder” instead of asking why his school in Mississippi has mor
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 12:21 AM
We covered how underfunded classrooms, food politics, and moral choices all tie back to the same problem. When a system fails, people get blamed for things they cannot control. It does real harm.
Reposted by Cory Johnston
Wait ... people actually want that look intentionally? I thought it was a result of badly done procedures. 🤷🏽♀️
Plastic surgeons wrestle with requests for ‘Mar-a-Lago face’: ‘You’re going to look like Maleficent’
Plastic surgeons wrestle with requests for ‘Mar-a-Lago face’: ‘You’re going to look like Maleficent’
The puffy, artificial look is rising in popularity - thanks to Maga elite such as Kristi Noem and Matt Gaetz
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Wait ... people actually want that look intentionally? I thought it was a result of badly done procedures. 🤷🏽♀️
Reposted by Cory Johnston
New episode of Antifascist Dad out this morning w/ David Inczauskis, S.J., the liberation theologian who is helping lead the faith-based protest movement against ICE in Chicago.
youtu.be/SKRjcBcDCt0
youtu.be/SKRjcBcDCt0
Antifascist Dad Podcast Ep out now: Antifascist Father w/ David Inczauskis, S.J.
YouTube video by AntifascistDad
youtu.be
November 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
New episode of Antifascist Dad out this morning w/ David Inczauskis, S.J., the liberation theologian who is helping lead the faith-based protest movement against ICE in Chicago.
youtu.be/SKRjcBcDCt0
youtu.be/SKRjcBcDCt0
At first, I thought all the people doing math wrong on purpose on social media was hilarious. Now I'm starting to worry that it's not as on purpose as I thought it was
November 19, 2025 at 4:49 PM
At first, I thought all the people doing math wrong on purpose on social media was hilarious. Now I'm starting to worry that it's not as on purpose as I thought it was
For anyone from Saskatchewan with a leftist worldview, a few of us have a Discord where we talk about stuff and have a bi-weekly book club. Feel free to DM me or if you're on Threads and seeing this please email me at [email protected]
November 19, 2025 at 3:50 PM
For anyone from Saskatchewan with a leftist worldview, a few of us have a Discord where we talk about stuff and have a bi-weekly book club. Feel free to DM me or if you're on Threads and seeing this please email me at [email protected]
If you want access to the long versions of my interviews and conversations and my bit of odd writing, you can get that by joining Patreon. I appreciate everyone who watches and listens, but it's only possible to do as much as I do because people support me
Cory Johnston | Patreon
Podcasts and Videos
patreon.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:54 PM
If you want access to the long versions of my interviews and conversations and my bit of odd writing, you can get that by joining Patreon. I appreciate everyone who watches and listens, but it's only possible to do as much as I do because people support me
I think the way liberals tend to act superior without ever actually holding any values or standing up for anything other than power is why so many people on the left hate them
November 18, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I think the way liberals tend to act superior without ever actually holding any values or standing up for anything other than power is why so many people on the left hate them
I actually really enjoy talking about Saskatchewan politics and history but looking back, those episodes and videos are some of the least listened too or viewed.
It would seem that my viewpoints are not popular here and Sask isn't a place many outside of it care about
It would seem that my viewpoints are not popular here and Sask isn't a place many outside of it care about
November 18, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I actually really enjoy talking about Saskatchewan politics and history but looking back, those episodes and videos are some of the least listened too or viewed.
It would seem that my viewpoints are not popular here and Sask isn't a place many outside of it care about
It would seem that my viewpoints are not popular here and Sask isn't a place many outside of it care about
A conservative teacher and a liberal vegan had the same blind spot. They focused on individual effort and ignored the conditions that made the situation impossible. It says a lot about our political culture.
Individualist Solutions Can't Solve Systemic Problems
Solidarity Across Borders with Cory Johnston and Owen Macdonald
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
A conservative teacher and a liberal vegan had the same blind spot. They focused on individual effort and ignored the conditions that made the situation impossible. It says a lot about our political culture.
Why do liberals always accuse anyone who stands up for what they believe in of catering to the right? We don't want the right either but you're blind if you can't see that your centrist party is filled with conservatives who put forward conservative policies
November 18, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Why do liberals always accuse anyone who stands up for what they believe in of catering to the right? We don't want the right either but you're blind if you can't see that your centrist party is filled with conservatives who put forward conservative policies
“So many people blame individuals for problems created by institutions. The person is never the starting point. The structure is.”
This episode digs into that through real conversations Owen had this week.
This episode digs into that through real conversations Owen had this week.
Individualist Solutions Can't Solve Systemic Problems
The Skeptical Leftist Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:42 AM
“So many people blame individuals for problems created by institutions. The person is never the starting point. The structure is.”
This episode digs into that through real conversations Owen had this week.
This episode digs into that through real conversations Owen had this week.
Stafford Taylor and I talked about how property isn’t freedom at all. It’s dominance dressed up in paperwork. The whole system is built to make control look natural.
Trying To Build Utopia
The Skeptical Leftist Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Stafford Taylor and I talked about how property isn’t freedom at all. It’s dominance dressed up in paperwork. The whole system is built to make control look natural.
Reposted by Cory Johnston
"So big that we stand for and believe in absolutely nothing."
Raskin: We are a big tent. We must be a huge, vast tent. I say this is a party that’s got room for Marjorie Taylor Greene if she wants to come over.
November 17, 2025 at 1:54 PM
"So big that we stand for and believe in absolutely nothing."
I keep hearing from people around me, mostly at work, that Canada is going to implement UBI. I'm not sure where they heard this but as far as I can tell, there's not actually anyone in government putting this forward as a policy.
1/4
1/4
November 17, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I keep hearing from people around me, mostly at work, that Canada is going to implement UBI. I'm not sure where they heard this but as far as I can tell, there's not actually anyone in government putting this forward as a policy.
1/4
1/4
Reposted by Cory Johnston
Recently I had a v interesting convo with a former friend of Sam Harris’ - they fell out after oct 7th because of disagreements on Israel. Premium Patrons can listen to pt 1 of my convo with Jay Shapiro here
www.patreon.com/posts/ep-102...
www.patreon.com/posts/ep-102...
Ep 102 (pt 1) - Talking to a former friend of Sam Harris’ ft Jay Shapiro | Eiynah Mohammed-Smith
Get more from Eiynah Mohammed-Smith on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Recently I had a v interesting convo with a former friend of Sam Harris’ - they fell out after oct 7th because of disagreements on Israel. Premium Patrons can listen to pt 1 of my convo with Jay Shapiro here
www.patreon.com/posts/ep-102...
www.patreon.com/posts/ep-102...
People talk about fixing schools and food systems like it all comes down to personal choices. Owen and I walked through two stories that show why that never works. Systems shape everything long before you make a decision.
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtu.be
November 16, 2025 at 7:00 PM
People talk about fixing schools and food systems like it all comes down to personal choices. Owen and I walked through two stories that show why that never works. Systems shape everything long before you make a decision.
IQ is still bullshit
November 16, 2025 at 4:46 AM
IQ is still bullshit
Reposted by Cory Johnston
Why reform doesn't usually work as a way of making things better, but also how it could.
youtu.be/tl_hvjhvBno
youtu.be/tl_hvjhvBno
Why won’t they pass any of my reforms?
YouTube video by ItHadToBeSaid
youtu.be
November 15, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Why reform doesn't usually work as a way of making things better, but also how it could.
youtu.be/tl_hvjhvBno
youtu.be/tl_hvjhvBno