Total privilege to work on this show! It has turned out better than I could have hoped for
24.02.2026 18:11
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Total privilege to work on this show! It has turned out better than I could have hoped for
NEW from me today:
Tumbler Ridge is mourning a horrific loss. But how the shooter's identity 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.
xtramagazine.com/power/tumble...
Meanwhile, comparing themselves to Mamdani risks reminding the public where they're lacking. It signals that they share the excitement of their most activated party members, sure. But many voters either won't make sense of the connection, or worse, start wondering why they feel different.
The NDP might be better placed either truly trying to take lessons from Mamdani's campaign, or closer to home, the federal Conservatives. Poilievre is struggling with reverse polarization -- he provokes a strong negative reaction -- but many like his message that it's time to turn the country over.
The new crop of leadership candidates struggle to differentiate themselves, or focus in their message on something coherent. Several are trying to highlight their likeability. However, remember, strong communication got Jack Layton into the opposition. It did not however make him Prime Minister.
Marit Stiles in particular has run several elections cycles with plateauing or worsening results and questionable name recognition. Few remember key policies. The latter point particularly affected former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, though that was muddied by their deal with the Liberals.
If anything, this is what unites Trudeau and at times Poilievre with Mamdani more than any of the current federal NDP candidates, and more than Ontario leader Marit Stiles. Their policies and communication style paint a picture of the country they want.
NDP priorities rarely paint a bigger picture of what they imagine Canada to be. Mamdani's policies were not only memorable and understandable, but vivid. Free buses, freezing the rent, and cheaper grocery stores -- they tell you about the kind of city Mamdani believes in.
The NDP talk big about policy platforms. They often have big ideas buried in those documents. However, the moment candidates get on stage, they disappear. Candidates become focused on a narrow set of wedge priorities that struggle to differentiate themselves from the Liberals.
NDP leaders are not acting on that full picture. They seem to have taken the lesson that mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo did, which is the message and messengers aren't the problem. They just need to be better on social media. And sure, that will help. But they can't change fundamentals.
Mamdani also had two additional things that are just hard to replicate. He has a remarkable charisma, speaking clearly from the heart about issues that face New Yorkers. He also managed to connect with many people who had voted Republican and had never considered voting for him before.
First let's establish what Mamdani did. He had a relatively narrow policy platform, focusing on affordability. All of his star policies were about lowering costs for food, transportation and rent. He then spread that platform through one of the most effective social media campaigns in a generation.
A recent Ontario NDP political ad continues a fascinating trend where NDP members compare themselves to NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. However, here are some thoughts on why it's a political strategy that risks highlighting the gaps in the comparison, rather than tying them closer.
*burned people are
I don't know if a third way exists in Toronto, as the article tries to describe. There are advocate posters but less political buy-in. However, Toronto has a decent base to start from, so new ideas can have a big impact, should someone start to dream!
With that in mind, a lot of the push back over Finch West's slow travel times feels connected to how burned people. There was so much emotional investment in getting these LRTs built, that to see that Ford and the subway side of council might have had a point is akin to a double humiliation.
Watching the debate happen the debate over Transit City vs. Ford's push for subways was similar in that regard. And it felt very rooted in the downtown technocratic vision versus expensive populism. My Mississauga parents were for the subways. My downtown friends were for the LRT.
Toronto planning, not matter the political direction, feels very rooted in nostalgia. People grew up in what felt like the biggest small town -- a Canadian Portland, Oregon -- and define that either by a quaint core or a stretched-out suburb. Planning then tries to expand a version of that memory.
I think this piece fails to note that Transit City was pitched as a cheaper way to achieve progress after a decade(s) of budget cuts and stalling out. However, it's true politicians envisioned Toronto's end state as a small German village and not the sprawling metropolis it is (and was).
With Finch West down today (due to snow) the following article is interesting. Some additional thoughts below.
substack.com/inbox/post/1...
How elated I am to write about the great Googoosh, a star I've admired all my life. Her stunning new memoir is honest and charmingly modest.
Let me know what you think!
www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
Today we're launching a new, powerful tool for public accountability created by @rorywh.bsky.social.
Civic Searchlight compiles hundreds of municipalities' public meetings and makes them searchable for the first time. It's free to use and we hope you journalists and researchers put it to work.
My employer New York Public Radio just announced that it is offering @onthemedia.bsky.social, @radiolab.bsky.social, and other programs to at-risk public radio stations for free! More info: current.org/2025/09/wnyc...
CBC News was the first outlet to uncover the owner of Fairweather and International Clothiers is the likely operater of a new Zellers in North Edmonton.
Yup! Zellers is back. AGAIN. At Londonderry Mall! (?)
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Canada will need powerful trade unions if we are to have any hope of staying strong & free as we face threats to truth, to peace & to equality for all, from both allies & enemies.
The Air Canada flight attendant strike was illegal. It was also profoundly Canadian: ricochet.media/labour/the-a...
The difference in dark patterns between major online retailers and back alley torrent sites decreases by the day. If anything the torrent sites have become cleaner!
Boo-tee kardan
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
Shout out to everyone who joined us this week at the 2025 CWA Convention! Safe travels home!
