Readings

The Black Notes of Owen Pallett

An email exchange with the singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist about his new album, song sequencing, dysphoria, and moving to Montreal.

Comment Sections: Scientific Aberrations in Action

Yes, the comments are terrible, but the extent to which commenters' behavior deviates from established psychological patterns is fascinating. And terrible.

Julia Dault: Beauty at a Complicated Angle

We pay a visit to the Canadian artist’s Brooklyn studio and take in her latest work. Discussed: creating versus criticism, the logic of colour, and what pretty means.

How to Learn to Dance

Can learning the Lindy Hop make you a better thinker, doer, internet user? Lessons from Daniel Levitin’s The Organized Mind hint that it might

Why Doesn’t My Partner Want To Work With Me?

In this week's installment of Unf*ck Yourself: a sedentary roommate, an obsession with television, and a strong hatred for Mr. Darcy.

‘Their Methods Were Not Gentle’

From a decaying airport lounge to fighting on the streets of Bangui—phantoms of the past loom large over the current conflict in the Central African Republic. The second in a series of dispatches.

Nation-Building As An Act of Violence

Scotland may well deserve a position we in Canada take for granted, but there's no reason to present the fight for independence as something other than it is.

What Questions Can You Ask Mike Tyson?

The former boxer's ongoing redemption tour hit a snag when a Toronto TV reporter asked him about his criminal past. That people sided with Tyson showed just how little we expect of these interviews.

A Book About Writers That Even Civilians Can Enjoy

Ben Lerner's 10:04 is about a writer writing about being a writer writing. So what makes it so good?

The Sympathetic Guide to William T. Vollmann

Vollmann isn't post-modern so much as a 19th-century Romantic, roping himself to his desk. If you’re not in the mood it’s too rich; if you are, it’s a banquet.