Voices of The Walrus

Pilling sweaters, stretched-out socks, flimsy denim. How we came to live in the golden age of garbage clothing. Lori Wilson reads Terrible Apparel .

Robert Land Academy promised to reform boys into “good citizens.” Former students allege it subjected them to years of humiliation, degradation, and abuse. Matt Speirs reads A troubled school for troubled teens .

Long before iMessage and WhatsApp could capture an instant voice message, the writer would record audio on her phone and send the files via email as memory. Lori Wilson reads My Guilty Pleasure - Voice Notes by Pacinthe Mattar.

It’s become upsettingly commonplace to concede that publishing is inhospitable to minoritized writers . Is there hidden racism in book cover design? Lori Wilson reads Bad Impressions

When the Taliban retook power in 2021, Canada promised Afghanistan’s female soccer players sanctuary and safety. Did it betray them? Marjorie Nicolaou reads Left on the Battlefield .

Burnout and heavy workloads are driving lawyers to AI—and into big trouble. Lori Wilson reads The Fastest Way to Lose a Court Case? Use ChatGPT.

The Walrus continues its political series on Pierre Poilievre. He’s promised to shake up Canadian politics if he and the Conservative Party win the next election. He speaks in punchy slogans but what would he actually do in power? This week’s topics cover: Conspiracy theories, Reconciliation, Polarization and the Canadian Identity. Paul Berry reads If He Wins.

It’s a dire time for Canadian media: only 37 percent of English-speaking Canadians trust the news, a decline of twenty percentage points since 2018. Lori Wilson reads Journalists Are Becoming Cogs in the Outrage Machine.

Pierre Poilievre has promised to shake up Canadian politics if he and the Conservative Party win the next election. He speaks in punchy slogans, but what would he actually do in power? The Walrus asked political observers how his rhetoric might look in practice. Matt Speirs reads If He Wins

In some cases, screen time might actually be helping your kids. Lori Wilson reads Stop Panicking about Your Kid’s Screen Time

An AI engineer reckons with the moral implications of his work. Lori Wilson reads When Facial Recognition Helps Police Target Black Faces

After the forest fires, almost everybody left, all the neighbours left. I could have stayed, but I — I took the opportunity to hit the road. Marjorie Nicolaou reads Nour Abi-Nakhoul's fictional story, Smokehouse.

The alarming cross-border influence of America’s political turmoil. Lori Wilson reads Why Canada Should Worry about Trump’s Second Coming

The key to fixing our democracy? Dismantle an electoral system that panders to the culture of celebrity. Paul Berry reads Canada’s Prime Ministers: More like Monarchs than You Think

According to Justin Ling, Justin Trudeau’s $840 million spending spree has led to hidden deals, wasted money, and useless improvements. Lori Wilson reads Shadow Government: The Consulting Firms Telling Ottawa What to Do

Fat people are constantly told they have to shed pounds. What will weight loss–inducing medicines really cost us? Lori Wilson reads The Ozempic Era Is Distorting What We See as Healthy.

Disturbing allegations of police collusion came to light after Umar Zameer’s acquittal in a police officer’s death. Lori Wilson reads The Murder Trial That Exposed Toronto’s Police Misconduct Crisis.

How hundreds of Chinese researchers across the country were identified as undercover scientists. Lori Wilson reads Canada’s Universities Are a Pipeline for Chinese Military Technology

Theories have surfaced in the past few decades that the way humans heal from adversity is not typically by ‘thinking’ their way out, but primarily within and through our bodies. Marjorie Nicolaou reads You Can’t Talk Your Way Out of Depression

New technology might help us combat the climate crisis. But is it safe to tinker with the seas? Lori Wilson reads As Temperatures Rise, So Does Pressure to Engineer the Ocean