Canadian democracy promises representation, but does casting a ballot mean your concerns get heard? Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher offers a framework for questioning the distance between having a vote and having influence. His argument starts with what happens between…
A splash-free urinal sounds like a punchline until you’re checking your trousers before leaving the bathroom. This look at research involving the University of Waterloo offers a different suspect for the mess: the surface the stream hits. What connects metal…
The CN Tower is easy to recognise and surprisingly easy to take for granted. Ed Conroy gives you a reason to look up again, starting with the everyday problem behind a structure that still looks like the future. Picture Toronto…
Richard Crouse takes you backstage with John Cleese and inside a whale with Whale Fall, offering both an intimate look at a comedy legend’s audience and a verdict on an unusually cramped survival movie. The Questions Nobody Could ScriptCostumed fans…
Subscription costs look different when there’s a wedding to save for. Five cancellations later, the remaining monthly total offers a useful reality check for anyone wondering how much those little recurring charges really add up to. A delivery app says…
Political communication can work even when the reaction is hostile. Lindsay Broadhead and Jamie Ellerton help you question who benefits when a performance becomes the story and the job being performed slips out of view. Whose Politics Are These, Anyway?…
The Alberta referendum had Ryan expecting a voting room thick with tension. His account offers a different picture of showing up, one worth hearing if the argument around a vote has made the act itself feel uncomfortable. Confidence in the…
Subscription loyalty feels backwards when a stranger gets a discount and your bill goes up. Tony Chapman helps you recognise why staying rarely earns the best offer, while a proposed alternative asks what your years of payments should actually buy.…
Trying to cancel subscriptions starts with knowing what counts. If the list stops at Netflix, this conversation offers a wider check of the recurring charges that can slip past a streaming-service clear-out. Another app can promise to organise everything, but…
Death penalty headlines tell one story about America. Austin Sarat offers another, helping you distinguish the spectacle of particular executions from the broader changes he believes are moving the country towards abolition. Surviving an execution sounds like the end of…
Swearing at AI can feel like a reasonable response to the sixth failed attempt. Greg Fish offers a less obvious way to judge demands for politeness: the behaviour worth worrying about might belong to the person using it. A chatbot…
Financial doping threatens something money cannot easily buy back: belief in the game. Dr. Lee Kuhnle offers a way to think about the Manchester City controversy through the bargain every fan makes when they care who wins. What could make…
Good News Tuesday starts with an $85 million fantasy: what would winning change about tomorrow morning? If quitting sounds obvious, a Toronto texter has another approach that might give you a better laugh. There’s plenty here for anyone whose good…
Alberta identity looks different from the back seat of a Vancouver Uber. A driver’s unexpected question offers a chance to recognise what your own province feels like to somebody else. What had he noticed that an Albertan hadn’t? Think a…
The Alberta referendum puts Mark Carney’s political skills on display, but what happens beyond the camera? Matt Gurney offers a way to weigh persuasive leadership against the government’s capacity to get things done. An Oilers jersey and an old classroom…
