“We have nothing to gain from being tepid”: Ballots, Beliefs, and Being Present, A Conversation with Niall Clapham Ricardo

This week on Habibti Please, we're joined by Niall Clapham Ricardo — jurist, activist, and New Democratic Party candidate for Papineau. Niall and I first crossed paths on a cold January night outside Parc station, remembering the victims of the Quebec mosque shooting. Since then, I’ve gotten to know him not just as a political voice, but as a deeply thoughtful friend and community member.

In this episode, we talk about what it means to show up — on the campaign trail, in the courts, in the streets, and at birthday parties. Niall shares how his personal background shapes his advocacy, the stakes of talking about Palestine as a Jewish voice, and why he's choosing to run in a riding as complex and storied as Papineau — the one once held by Justin Trudeau.

This episode is about the messy, meaningful work of showing up — in politics, in movements, in community, and in friendships. Together with Niall, we begin to unpack:

* Electoralism, especially in the context of settler colonialism, what do terms like “harm reduction” and “strategic voting” really mean — if they mean anything at all?

* Is strategic voting actually strategic — or just another trap? In the context of electoral politics within a settler colonial system, how meaningful — or empty and harmful — are concepts like harm reduction and strategic voting? We conclude there is no value in lacking precise language or being tepid.

* How buzzwords from social justice spaces are being absorbed (and often diluted) in the world of electoral politics.

* Trade union stories and the future of labour

* Legal advocacy and international human rights work

* The riding of Papineau and what people are really saying at the doors

* Revolutionary love, hope, and being a present friend in the middle of it all

* Visions of the “good life” and what it takes to create a world where everyone can thrive.

* Friendship, political clarity, and holding onto hope in deeply uncertain times.

From Parc Station to Papineau our friendship and origin story of meeting at a protest imbue the episode. As community organizers who do believe that activism starts in our communities and home we know the importance of how friendship is meant to expand and challenge one’s desire for a better world and a good life. With this spirit, this set of shownotes features readings that are from the thinkers Niall references in the episode - they were curated around themes of abolition, revolutionary love, Indigenous Resistance & global struggles for justice.

Niall reminds us to always laugh. Something everyone fighting to build a better world should weave into their engagements.

Some pictures of the campaign moment, with moments of laughter, joy, and a fight for a good life and better world together.

Guest Bio:

Niall Clapham Ricardo is a jurist practicing in Tiohtià:ke / Mooniyang / Montréal. He formerly served as the Francophone spokesperson for Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) and is currently the NDP candidate for Papineau. Niall’s work spans labour, legal, and international human rights struggles — and is grounded in deep relational care, solidarity, and a commitment to justice from the ground up.

Habibti Please — wherever you get your podcasts

Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan

Produced by Andre Goulet at Harbinger Media Network

Editing Support from Nabeela Jivraj

Reading List from talking with Niall:

Reading List inspired from my chat with Niall and the thinkers that inspire him.

1. Lula - Live a Good Life

* Letters to Lula in prison tell story of Brazil’s ‘invisibles’

* “Lula Is Right About Israel’s Genocide in Gaza” – Jacobin

* “Lula’s Victory Is a Testament to Solidarity” – Jacobin

2. Angela Davis

* Are Prisons Obsolete? – Full PDF

* The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues ( A selection)

* Angela Davis: 'Palestine is a moral litmus test for the world'

* On Transnational Feminist Solidarity: The Case of Angela Davis in Egypt

3. Noura Erakat

* Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press)

* Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again

* Race, Palestine, and International Law

* "A Campaign of Genocide": Noura Erakat Speaks to Ta-Nehisi Coates About Israel's War on Gaza

* Can the ICJ Survive Israel's Genocide on Gaza?

* Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine with Professor Noura Erakat

4. Enzo Traverso

* The End of Jewish Modernity

* Historian Enzo Traverso: Israel Is Using the Memory of the Holocaust to Justify Genocide in Gaza

* The End of Jewish Modernity

* Enzo Traverso on Fascism, Marxism and Israel

* Germany’s Reckoning With the Past Is No Longer a Model An interview with Enzo Traverso

* No, Post-Nazi Germany Isn’t a Model of Atoning for the Past

5. Che Guevara on Love & Revolution

* The Che Reader

* Socialism and Man in Cuba

* Che Guevara on Love, Injustice, Revolution, and Socialism.

6. Ellen Gabriel

* Over 30 Years of Indigenous Resistance with Mohawk Land Defender Ellen Gabriel

* Ellen Gabriel and the ‘watershed moment’ that was the Siege of Kanehsatà:ke

* Ellen Gabriel: to imagine a better world, we must challenge colonialism

* Short Documentary: Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

7. James Baldwin

* The Fire Next Time

* No Name in the Street

* A Talk to Teachers

* Jimmy’s Blues and Other Poems

A Niall Clapham Ricardo Reading List (in brief)

Niall’s work as a legal thinker and activist is also reflected in his published writings, particularly in Pivot, where he offers critical perspectives on international solidarity and systemic racism in Québec.

* De militants à candidats : Papineau, Spinoza et le NPD – Radio Canada/CBC (2025)

This week Radio-Canada profiled Niall, they write on his life as a Jewish Montreal activist and member of Independent Jewish Voices, his advocacy for Palestinian rights while challenging the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. The piece also highlights how activists like Ricardo are turning their community engagement into political candidacies—such as in the Papineau riding—to promote social justice and international solidarity.

* De l’Ukraine à Gaza : qui a le droit de se défendre ? – Pivot (2022) A compelling argument on the double standards in international law and media narratives surrounding self-defense and state violence.

* « L’islamophobie n’existe pas », mais elle tue – Pivot (2023) A searing critique of how Islamophobia is dismissed in public discourse while continuing to harm communities in Québec and beyond.

* See all of Niall’s contributions at Pivot

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“We have nothing to gain from being tepid”: Ballots, Beliefs, and Being Present, A Conversation with Niall Clapham Ricardo

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