Neighbourhood Organizing and People Power with Off the Defensive / Offensive populaire

Welcome to the very first episode of the Barricade!  The Barricade is an English-language podcast launched by Off the Defensive/Offensive populaire (OTD/OP) to serve as a forum to share and analyze stories of working class and popular political struggle. Our aim is to learn the lessons we need to build a fighting movement, rooted in our workplaces and our neighbourhoods, able to build popular power with a strategic horizon of socialism.  Today, we will be talking with Hamna and Steve, two members of Off the Defensive who played leading roles in the 2025 conference at which OTD was founded. Our discussion touches on some of their takeaways from previous neighbourhood organizing in Toronto, the reasons that OTD was launched, and how we want to take our neighbourhood organizing to the next level.  For news and updates about this podcast, you can follow OTD/OP on instagram at: www.instagram.com/otd.op/  You can also find more information about OTD/OP on the organization's website: https://otd-op.org/ If you want to get in touch with the country-wide Organizing Committee of OTD/OP, you can reach out to via email at: [email protected]  To get in touch with a specific OTD/OP Chapter, you can find more info at: Vancouver: www.instagram.com/otd.van/  Toronto: www.instagram.com/otd.toronto/  Ottawa: www.instagram.com/off_the_defensive_ottawa/  Gatineau: www.instagram.com/otd.op.gat/  Montreal: www.instagram.com/op.otd.mtl/  Thank you for listening and make sure to join us on July 7th for the second episode of the Barricade!