Is nation building more important than profit? This is the constant tension surrounding Canadian publishing. Writer and Douglas & McIntyre co-founder Scott McIntyre details the heartbreaking reality of small houses nurturing talent, only to lose them. thewalrus.ca/i-was-warned-the...

Camp A feeds them peanuts. Camp B calls them tree-rats. But no matter which camp you’re in, writer @nancycastaldobooks.bsky.social reminds us: squirrels are just being squirrels—and that may just be the problem. thewalrus.ca/why-squirrels-dr...

We love them, we loathe them, and we built the world they thrive in. Author and journalist @nancycastaldobooks.bsky.social unpacks our complicated bond with the squirrel, a creature that mirrors both our chaos and our resilience. thewalrus.ca/why-squirrels-dr...

Measles was something Alberta physician @monicakidd.bsky.social and her colleagues once spoke of in the past tense. Here, Kidd reports on how the return of the once-eliminated disease is straining hospitals: thewalrus.ca/how-alberta-beca...

An excerpt from SQUIRREL - my latest (and first) nonfiction book for adult readers! Hope you enjoy this bite! @islandpress.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social @andreabrownlit.bsky.social 🐿️🌍 Natural History thewalrus.ca/why-squirrel...

Squirrels chew our wires, raid our gardens, and crash our power grids—but the real disruptors are humans. Writer @nancycastaldobooks.bsky.social offers an incisive look at what the critters reveal about human nature: thewalrus.ca/why-squirrels-dr...

Art can charm. It can provoke. And it can even dismantle the idea of a continent—or build it. Writer Sarah E. K. Smith takes a deep dive into the tug-of-war between creativity, culture, and capitalism: thewalrus.ca/the-wild-protest...

From NAFTA billboards to gas-mask fashion at protests, free trade has shaped—and fractured—North America’s cultural landscape. Writer @smithsarah.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/the-wild-protest...

In her postcolonial version of Inferno, Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison uses hell to criticize mining, pollution, and "politricks.” Here, writer and editor Amanda Perry takes a closer look at her inventive spin on Dante's classic: thewalrus.ca/hell-is-a-lot-of...

Are “mutual friend selfies" reshaping how we stay connected? For writer @asmaam.bsky.social, these personal, off-social photos—taken specifically for the person missing from the frame—speak volumes about friendship in a digital age. thewalrus.ca/whats-giving-me-...

In 1975, at the age of seventeen, writer Rachel Phan's father tried to enlist in the Vietnamese army. He wants to serve his country, but he’s denied, because he’s Chinese. It will not be the last time his being Chinese is seen as a problem. thewalrus.ca/the-dramatic-sto...

No formal therapy program in North America has ever focused specifically on helping young victims after they testify in court. Now, the team behind Post Court Pathways is fighting to fill this critical, long-standing gap. thewalrus.ca/what-happens-aft...

For years, author Rachel Phan's parents quietly shielded her from the traumatic details of their journey to Canada. It took a trip back to Vietnam for their stories of war, persecution, and displacement to finally come to light. thewalrus.ca/the-dramatic-sto...

“I hate gay Halloween,” writes @alexicon.bsky.social. “What do you mean you’re going as the ’80s synthpop–inspired mourning fugue-state fever dream of a college professor from a late 2000s animated web short?” thewalrus.ca/halloween-is-sca...

For most kids, Halloween was fun. For writer @alexicon.bsky.social, it was terrifying. Not because of ghosts or goblins, but because costumes had a kind of power. "People donned them and became different somehow.” thewalrus.ca/halloween-is-sca...

Falsifying manifests and locations. Turning off identification systems. Conducting offshore ship-to-ship transfers. This is piracy in the modern era, and Russia is doing all of it to shield its shadow tanker fleet. Writer Wesley Wark investigates: thewalrus.ca/a-ghost-fleet-of...

There’s nothing you can do to save the past. Quantum computers will soon be able to crack every code that defines our digital lives. Writer @byaseale.bsky.social considers what might be our best line of defence against the post-quantum future: thewalrus.ca/quantum-computing/

Polls weren’t budging, separatists were gaining momentum at the last possible moment—the 1995 Quebec referendum was a true political cliffhanger. Writer Paul Wells recounts how close Canada came to splitting apart: thewalrus.ca/quebec-referendum/

"Copyright cases might provide authors with settlement money made from machinery used in genocide and our state’s atrocities," writes Thea Lim, "but they will not curb AI’s most grotesque consequences." So what will? thewalrus.ca/suing-ai-company/

From tracking arrests to tallying charges and pursuing convictions, the justice system has always known what to do with the accused. But care for survivors has rarely figured into that design. Writer @noelransome.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/what-happens-aft...

How do the places where we gather shape how we connect? Find out at Belonging Forum presents The Walrus Talks at Home: Place and Belonging. Online, free. Register now. www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-walru...

Wretched, cold, and beer-less as it was, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays still think of Exhibition Stadium with a strange sense of pride. Blue Jays reporter @keeganmatheson.bsky.social reflects on how the “worst stadium in sports” defined the team: thewalrus.ca/the-wild-early-d...

How do you heal from a trauma that was never supposed to be known? Writer Julian Brave NoiseCat confronts a haunting family origin story—one that begins with a cry from the inside of an incinerator. thewalrus.ca/my-father-was-fo...

The United States is in crisis and, therefore, Canada is in crisis. Both crises involve reimagining national strategy, and also questions of federalism. But the similarity, writes public policy professor Alasdair Roberts, ends there. thewalrus.ca/enough-of-tactic...

AI’s automating powers are indiscriminate, affecting both blue-collar manufacturing jobs and white-collar office jobs. What does this mean for the future of work? thewalrus.ca/will-ai-take-you...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping industries, but AI researcher David Eliot stresses the importance of rejecting complacency. “Even in a world dominated by machines, humans, and our decisions, are at the centre.” thewalrus.ca/will-ai-take-you...

When America sneezes, the world catches a cold—and with a trade relationship worth $1 trillion a year, Canada stands to get sick. Writer @davidmoscrop.com breaks down how the US trade war is one force pushing Canada in the direction of a recession: thewalrus.ca/are-we-in-a-rece...

Canada needs migrants to help fill its current labour market gaps. Yet, as writer @marcellodicintio.bsky.social notes, this economic reliance is at war with a political climate that now treats those same migrants as a problem to be solved. thewalrus.ca/canada-held-the-...

We promised them a home. Instead, they became collateral damage. Canada’s message to international students was “Study, work, and stay.” Now, policies are changing, and tens of thousands may lose their status. Writer @marcellodicintio.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/canada-held-the-...

In the early hours of December 18, 2022, eight girls were arrested and charged with the murder of an unhoused man in Toronto. Who were the girls? What exactly had they done? And why? Journalist @royinori.bsky.social unpacks the story behind the shocking headline: thewalrus.ca/why-did-a-group-...

Within Tamagotchi’s first year and a half on shelves, Japanese toymaker Bandai had sold 400 million of them worldwide. Writer Stephen Monteiro explores how the digital pets trained a generation to anticipate the many demands of new tech: thewalrus.ca/how-tamagotchis-...

Alberta’s education system has become the latest front in a growing political and ideological struggle. Journalist @melwoods.me investigates how far-right movements mirroring those found in the US have made their way into classrooms north of the border: thewalrus.ca/the-battle-brewi...

“The best that can be said is that art made by and for Canadians has not been wiped off the map.” Our national arts funding has enabled more artists to piece together a living, but has it built a distinctly Canadian culture? @pleasuremotors.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/how-i-managed-to...

“It’s a clever bit of political framing. It’s also a classic case of scapegoating.” Writer Adnan R. Khan examines how a tool tracking applications for Labour Market Impact Assessments was turned into a political weapon against temporary foreign workers: thewalrus.ca/a-coder-built-a-...

John Candy’s boss fired him from his paper salesman job with a parting shot: “Never should have hired an actor.” For Candy, it was a sign. Author @pulmyears.bsky.social traces how that moment of rejection led him to stardom: thewalrus.ca/john-candy/

Exploring the past, present, and future of Canadian sovereignty in a changing world. Join us on October 28 at Rogers presents The Walrus Talks Sovereign Canada. Tickets: www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-walru...

Canada’s arts sector runs on government money, but what does that mean for artists themselves? Writer @pleasuremotors.bsky.social explores how public arts funding is "propping up an egregious amount of artistic activity" and how that shapes who gets to create: thewalrus.ca/how-i-managed-to...

School trustees have existed since the early 1800s, serving as a link between classrooms and communities. Now, Ontario education minister Paul Calandra wants to eliminate them. Writer @scottpiatkowski.bsky.social examines what's at stake: thewalrus.ca/im-a-school-trus...

Ultra-processed foods are often painted as the “bogeyman” of public health. But as University of Alberta professor @caulfieldtim.bsky.social writes, villainizing them “flattens a debate shaped by messy science and tangled policy.” thewalrus.ca/sure-ultra-proce...

Jane Goodall lived an extraordinary life—and left behind a powerful legacy. “She carved out an entirely new path in a field once dominated by men, redefining what it meant to be a scientist and conservationist,” writes @keriannmcgoogan.bsky.social. thewalrus.ca/jane-goodall/

Measles was something Alberta physician @monicakidd.bsky.social and her colleagues once spoke of in the past tense. Just last week, it took the life of a newborn baby. Here, Kidd reports on how the return of the once-eliminated disease is straining hospitals: thewalrus.ca/how-alberta-beca...

In the aftermath of Jane Goodall’s passing, @keriannmcgoogan.bsky.social can feel only immense gratitude—not just for Goodall’s scientific contributions but for the way she inspired her and countless other women to believe in their ability to make change. thewalrus.ca/jane-goodall/

A generation ago, measles was declared eradicated from Canada. Today, Alberta reports more confirmed cases than the entire United States. How did it become the epicentre of Canada’s outbreak? Physician and journalist @monicakidd.bsky.social explores: thewalrus.ca/how-alberta-beca...

It was the political equivalent of a drive-by shooting: during a parliamentary meeting on public safety and national security, former cabinet minister Chris Alexander accused journalist David Pugliese of being a Russian spy. @taylornoakes.com investigates: thewalrus.ca/a-veteran-report...

In late 2023, thousands filed into a packed Toronto theatre to wait for a legend: the one and only Jane Goodall would be taking the stage. Author and biological anthropologist @keriannmcgoogan.bsky.social celebrates her first inspiration in primatology: thewalrus.ca/jane-goodall/

In every modern conflict, new technology emerges to change the battle space. In our era, it is the drone. National security expert Wesley Wark traces its rise and examines why Canada, once a pioneer, is now playing catch-up: thewalrus.ca/how-canada-squan...

“I didn’t go into politics to fight Conservative politicians who were sexist and denied climate change. I was just trying to do my job.” Former cabinet minister @cathmckenna.bsky.social recounts the misogyny she confronted throughout her political career: thewalrus.ca/they-called-her-...

How do you picture Donald Trump? In January, writer @rwarnica.bsky.social visited the Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, with Isabelle Brourman: the artist who may come closest to “excavating what there is of Trump’s soul.” thewalrus.ca/the-artist-who-t...

An AI-powered world will demand hard choices between the needs of humanity and those of machines, but how can we properly allocate critical resources when Big Tech is keeping us in the dark about AI’s environmental footprint? Christopher Pollon explores: thewalrus.ca/ai-environmental...

In publishing, the sales track influences everything: how agents pitch books, how editors buy books, and how readers select books. “The primacy of track, in other words, is a barometer for the health of literary culture,” writes @tajjaisen.bsky.social. thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-i...