Bridging the Gap, the first-of-its-kind conference dedicated to strengthening journalism about and in U.S. prisons, led by incarcerated writers themselves, is happening May 29 and 30 in Chicago.

Every time you type “I miss u” on WeChat it makes all these sparkle emojis fall across the screen and I think thats rly nice

personally I think it's a very big deal that the Canada bureau chief for the @nytimes.com — certainly one of the highest-paid journalists in the country — asked an unspecified "AI tool" what Poilievre said & published its AI-hallucinated quotes in her reporting.

Canada's national pharmacare plan has improved access to gender affirming care for trans femme people. But now, it seems like the federal Liberals are stalling on expanding it, and some politicians are claiming the gov won't allow more provinces to join. www.script.health/article/cana...

Just saw someone do the worm

Thrilled to be nominated for a National Magazine Award for my piece on the decriminalization of HIV in Canada. Thanks to @xtramagazine.com for giving this story a home, @ziyajones.bsky.social for the thoughtful edits, and, most importantly, to everyone I spoke with who trusted me and my reportage.🌈

Also excited to see this package nominated for a National Magazine Award for best service journalism! I had so much fun talking to sources on this one—they were all awesome and they really made me think about the ways I personally hope to experience and think about sex as I age! Truly gorgeous.

Yay, @xtramagazine.com has been nominated not once but twice for the National Magazine Awards in the investigative journalism category—no small feat for indie media! Congrats to @arvinjoaquin.bsky.social, Rob Csernyik, @tmziniuk.bsky.social, Angela Mullins and everyone who touched these stories!

Apple pushed an update that stopped deleted Signal messages being stored in the iPhone’s notification database. This comes directly in response to 404 Media finding the FBI was using this technique to recover deleted Signal messages. No longer an issue now www.404media.co/apple-fixes-...

"The agency has reversed the position it held in July 2025, when it categorized drug-checking strips as life-saving overdose prevention tools."

Just remembered that in summer you can survive virtually any heartbreak

“Like all people who live in the shadow of the role of monster, I feel compelled to say it over and over: I am person, just like you,” writes @razorfemme.bsky.social www.script.health/article/tran...

Walking around beautiful Montreal Québec Canada looking positively busted

Fascinating article on an island lovingly tended by the Coast Salish, a reminder that a lot of the mythology surrounding the environment puts a heavy focus on 'untouched wilderness' when in fact Indigenous people have been consciously working with the land for centuries.

New op-ed from me today, looking at the way that queer and trans activists share information on Instagram and some of the problems that can arise. When you sacrifice nuance in favour of shareability, could that spread unnecessary panic and even misinformation? xtramagazine.com/power/activi...

"One intriguing concept comes from farmer and activist Stephanie Wang from Quebec. Wang proposes something called perennial farms, where the land and infrastructure needed to farm aren’t owned by individuals." thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...

We're thrilled to be nominated for a CAJ award. Congrats to Rob, and the team. And we're in amazing company! 💫

The early 2000s was an amazing time to be a guy who was a loser if you knew how to play guitar

Canada's governing Liberal party passed a widely support resolution this weekend calling for a ban on people under 16 using social media. But this age verification—and particularly the digital tools used for it—can be a big barrier for trans people of all ages xtramagazine.com/video/canada...

For more than a week, Amazon has managed to keep a death at its Troutdale, Oregon, facility out of public view. Workers I spoke to are pissed.

I'm not longing bruh YOU're longing

Journalism job alert! Script (Xtra's sister site focused on LGBTQ2S+ health) is looking for a savvy social media pro to join the team as Community Manager. You'll be joining an emerging publication with lots of exciting things on the horizon. Please share with your networks! Posting is below:

SCRIPT IS HIRING! Come work with me! We are looking for someone *fluently* bilingual (fr/eng) who is a social media pro and who is passionate about LGBTQ2S+ health. Please share! prohttps://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4381174904/

The latest Scouts headlines have me remembering editing this story only 4 yrs ago. Wild how quickly rights get rolled back the second sth is politicized. The previous policies weren't perfect, as this story outlined, but there was no public hand-wringing about them. xtramagazine.com/power/trans-...

Rédacteur·ice en chef de Script @ziyajones.bsky.social explique comment les temps d’attente pour les chirurgies d'affirmation de genre ont évolué — et ce que cela signifie pour les Québécois·e·s trans et non binaires qui cherchent à obtenir des soins.

Script’s managing editor @ziyajones.bsky.social breaks down how wait times have changed for gender-affirming surgeries with the recent budget cuts—and what this means for trans and non-binary Quebeckers seeking care.

“What would [it] mean, to be ready to defend ourselves [as trans women], especially as communities of disabled people, chronically ill people, of people whose bodies are constantly subjected to the criticism of being 'weak' or 'unfit?'” @razorfemme.bsky.social's new column is now live at Script:

At a time when the focus should be on a community in mourning, people like MLA Tara Armstrong are using a horrific tragedy to promote what boils down to conversion therapy. Nauseating.

A must-read today: "An entire community is mourning a horrific loss in Tumbler Ridge this week. And how it is being talked about online, and the dangerous links being made to trans people at large, will have resounding and dangerous impacts in the months and weeks to come."

As we all move through the grief that news out of BC is bringing, I hope that this info is not eclipsed by sensational coverage about the shooter's gender. Everything about this is heartbreaking.

As the search for work gets more desperate, queer and trans workers often see the worst sides of work. But they also come with brilliant solutions. @desaima.bsky.social introduces the five stories in On the Clock, written by this year’s Ken Popert Media Fellows

I was right btw

Refugees fleeing war, persecution, and climate disasters now face new fees for prescriptions and essential therapies in Canada. As a doctor, writes @yipengge.bsky.social these cuts will harm patients and strain our health-care system. breachmedia.ca/as-a-doctor-...

WATCH: Justin Brake's Feb. 3 report for The Independent and @ricochetmedia.bsky.social on the Narwhal/Amber Bracken v. RCMP #pressfreedom case at the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver. www.tiktok.com/@independent...

"If I could have one thing from the outside to warm me up, I would have a loved one. What better warmth is there but the warmth from those you love?"

BREAKING: We've found 40+ cases of agents using banned chokeholds & other moves that can cut off breathing People have had seizures. They passed out. “I felt like I was going to die” said 16-yr-old citizen Admin won't say whether any agents have been punished www.propublica.org/article/vide...

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been thinking about this essay by @razorfemme.bsky.social since she filed the first draft. www.script.health/article/agin...

We’re here, we’re queer, and we feel pretty bad! @razorfemme.bsky.social’s first instalment of her new column 'The Struggle Is Real', ‘Can the mainstream mental healthcare system protect its queer clients?’ is now live on Script: www.script.health/article/arti...

My first piece for the newly launched queer health magazine @scripthealth.bsky.social takes a look at post-nonmonogamy. So happy to have been invited to contribute. More to come!

This month, after almost a year of development, we launched a whole new publication! @scripthealth.bsky.social is a brand new platform dedicated to covering LGBTQ2S+ health in a period where our rights and healthcare access are under extreme threat. www.script.health

Alberta just introduced Bill 9, which exists for one and only one purpose: deleting the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it pertains to trans kids, denying them the right to life and stripping their healthcare away. This is cruel, anti-democratic and anti-constitutional.

La semaine dernière, Eris Nyx et Jeremy Kalicum, deux membres de DULF (Front de libération des usagers de drogues ou ‘Drug User Liberation Front’), ont été reconnu•e•s coupables d’accusations de trafic de drogue. La bataille juridique n'est pas terminée.

Last week, two members of the Drug User Liberation Front were found guilty of drug trafficking charges in the B.C. Supreme Court. In a collab between Xtra and our new sister site @scripthealth.bsky.social, @ziyajones.bsky.social breaks down what you need to know

Introducing Script, your one-stop shop for LGBTQ2S+ health information xtramagazine.com/inside-xtra/...

Sorting files called, like, "HowtoSquirt_CE" furiously on a Google drive, listening to Fatboy Slim remix feeling like a hamster on a damn wheel.......they made this job in a lab for me

New from 404 Media: the Discord hack is every users' worst nightmare. Yesterday the hackers started posting Discord users' selfies, identity documents, email addresses, phone numbers, more. I watched in real time. This is risk of tech storing ID for age verification www.404media.co/the-discord-...

Here's the latest on Canadians aboard Freedom Flotilla vessel the Conscience, who were taken by Israeli forces early this morning. So far, political leaders have been silent. I also reached out to Canada's ambassador to Israel, who has not yet responded.

These Supreme Court oral arguments on conversion therapy are going to be painful. No matter what is said, know that trying to force someone to be what they're not is psychological torture with measurable negative consequences, and anyone trying to defend such efforts is a bigoted monster.

RIP Business Insider

Hi! I'll soon be looking to work with bilingual (Fr/Eng) freelance writers, editors, FCers + copy editors on content related to LGBTQ2S+ health. Is this you? If so, say hi below and tell me what you do. A call for pitches coming later (please don't pitch for now!) and work would start around fall