“It doesn’t look like they want to stop fighting.” With peace negotiations seemingly headed for a dead end - and Trump once more blaming Zelensky - Ukraine prepares for a dark winter to get even darker. My report from Fastiv

🧵The year in review... this is a brilliant book.

In light of Putinism having become official US foreign policy, I write that any US peace deal accepted by Ukraine should be tolerated, but that its outcome will increase the threats to the free world as the Trump admin treaty’s central goal is to unshackle and support Putin t.co/wrTl0patrZ

Only Europe can save Ukraine from Putin and Trump – but will it? | @fromtga.bsky.social | @theguardian.com ​ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

this shit is just beyond parody, man

Toronto needs to ban right turns on red. Every city does. Red must mean stop without exceptions.

Legendary architect Frank Gehry has passed away at the age of 96. In tribute, we revisit a 2003 profile by Adele Freedman.

The development represents one of the most significant one-time municipal land investments in community housing in Canadian history.

Frank Gehry, legendary architect of some of world’s most iconic buildings, dies at 96 - Gift article. @alexbozikovic.bsky.social @theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/30a4f28...

Frank O. Gehry, Titan of Architecture, Is Dead at 96. - Gift article. Nicolai Ouroussoff @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a...

Nanaimo (opened 2020), by Checkwitch Poiron Architects, and Office of McFarlane Biggar. 📷 Andrew Latreille via Checkwitch Poiron Architects. #airportarchitecture www.instagram.com/p/CNS3Srfh3MD/

We need to change the narrative that’s all-in on homeownership at all costs. https://macleans.ca/society/the-case-for-lifelong-renting/

www.theguardian.com/world/video/... @lukeharding1968.bsky.social @theguardian.com

In the UK and across Europe, cars are becoming longer, wider and heavier. Consumers clearly like them. They're seen as practical, safe and stylish, and sales are growing steadily. So, why are some cities determined to clamp down on them? @theothebald.bsky.social www.bbc.com/news/article...

Seventy years ago today, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and refused to move to the back. Her refusal & arrest ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott. A powerful reminder that we must advocate for dignified, equitable & joyful public transportation for all people.

“I would argue that three important concepts that are especially poorly captured by standard economic numbers underlie people’s perceptions of affordability: economic inclusion, security, and fairness.” @pkrugman.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

Canada’s gridlocked cities are global stragglers at building efficient, effective mass transit. A new Montreal megaproject has the solution we need. https://macleans.ca/society/montreals-new-rail-line-is-the-future/

Spain has used immigration and public-private investment in capital projects to become the fastest-growing economy in the Western world, with the lowest deficits, all with higher Trump tariffs. We can follow their lead www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Vladimir Nabokov’s Best Books: A Guide. @nytimes.com ​ www.nytimes.com/article/vlad...

Where to start with Saul Bellow (and why you should) | American Masters | @pbs.org ​ www.pbs.org/wnet/america...

Spain has become the Western world's economic-growth leader -- with the lowest deficits in Europe to boot -- by using the same toolkit Ottawa has before it (immigration plus investment in big capital projects), but doing it right. We should learn from them www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Au revoir Montreal, one the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. Will definitely have to be back soon!

From Byzantine cottages to vulvic stadiums: the brilliance of female architects | Art and design | @theguardian.com ​ www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

The boulevard of broken dreams.

"I think Canada deserves better of itself - more recognition of its own virtues, more readiness to blow its own trumpet, a little less becoming diffidence, a bit more vulgar swagger." — Jan Morris

HOLODOMOR: Stalin's 1932-3 genocide by starvation of Ukrainians holodomormuseum.org.ua/en/the-histo...

Ukraine working with US on ‘compromises that strengthen us’, says Zelenskyy – Europe live

Episode #218: Russia and Ukraine Hosts @adamtooze.bsky.social and Cameron Abadi discuss U.S. sanctions on Russia and Ukraine’s budget shortfall: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

The front page.

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com... @theglobeandmail.com

Building Blocks. The Rise of the Neighbourhood in Canada 1880s–2020s, R. Harris. Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything, edited by @dylanreid.bsky.social, Zahra Ebrahim, Leslie Woo, @johnlorinc.bsky.social @fabulavancouver.bsky.social @reviewcanada.bsky.social reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...

California Has a Legal Clause for Housing That Could Put NIMBYs in a Corner. ​ For years the state has been nudging its cities to build housing to address a severe shortage. Maybe what they needed was a shove.​ Gift article. @conordougherty.bsky.social @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/b...

In Madrid, the metro system will dispatch special subway trains open only to visiting fans, picking them up and whisking them to the stadium – "a test of logistics complicated by the need to herd people whose capacity to follow instructions tends to be hampered by beer and loud singing."

The winners of the top architectural awards in British Columbia have been announced.

I spoke to Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, his expulsion from Uganda, his son Zohran, and *that* NYT article.

Episode #217: The Economics of Podcasts Hosts @adamtooze.bsky.social and Cameron Abadi discuss the economics of podcasts, a multibillion-dollar industry: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The corruption scandal rocking Ukrainian politics is bad. The timing - as Russian troops enter Pokrovsk, and the energy grid buckles under the strain of attacks - is even worse. My analysis

Episode #216: Venezuela U.S. President Donald Trump is contemplating military action against Venezuela. Hosts @adamtooze.bsky.social and Cameron Abadi discuss: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...

‘This select­ion of almost two hundred images, displayed as small or medium-sized black and white prints, draws attention to the camera’s ambiguous role in representing popular movements that sought to challenge power.’ Daniel Trilling on Steve McQueen’s ‘Resistance’ www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

MVVA will create design guidelines that shape the long-term transformation of this future Toronto landmark.

Great piece that argues, Less playable art, more everyday play

Caixa Forum. Paseo del Prado, Madrid. Architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Dorchester Square: In the Midst of the Fray Architects unearth layers of history under one of Canada’s oldest cities while renovating a small downtown plot in the heart of Montreal, where Quebec's modern social debates play out to this day. @cbcgem.bsky.social gem.cbc.ca/absolutely-c...

Trump attacks Brutalism (again): the people movers were part of the original Saarinen design washingtonian.com/2016/11/21/m... Bonus excerpt from the Eames film "The Expanding Airport" about them www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL-m...

If You Know Frank Lloyd Wright, You Should Know Marion Mahony Griffin - ​ @dwell.bsky.social www.dwell.com/article/mari...

World Cup 2026 European qualifying: when, how and who needs what @edaarons.bsky.social @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

“Lack of zoning does not mean that land use…is unregulated; instead, it means that property owners get to conceive and enforce many of the most important rules through covenants written into deeds.” —Samuel Stein

They killed Sesame Street! An excellent column from Shawn Micallef about countering small-minded Nimbys. I would like convenience stores in my neighbourhood (four have closed in the past five years.) Maybe you'd like interesting retail and cafes too. We have to make our voices heard.

Walter Benjamin, Berlin Childhood. Circa 1900.