Simon Lewsen

I was thrilled to pitch in on this list: The New Canadian Canon, the most iconic films, books, albums, and shows of the century so far. My pick: The Weeknd’s The Trilogy, a trio of mixtapes that scrambled my brain and changed how I listen to music. @macleans.bsky.social macleans.ca/culture/the-...

Way in back 2003, my high school English teacher asked the class to define Canada. Our answers sucked. Now, 23 years later (lordy, I'm old) I'm trying to come up with better answers. My latest essay for @thestar.com bit.ly/4eMh2x9 .

I was very happy to win a National Magazine Award for my @macleans.bsky.social magazine profile of Jenni Byrne. The profile-writing prize is the one I've been after my entire career. macleans.ca/longforms/je...

For @torontolifemag.bsky.social, I profiled Deepak Paradkar, the “cocaine lawyer” who represented accused drug kingpin Ryan Wedding. Parakdar says he was doing normal lawyer stuff for Wedding. The FBI says he was basically a member of Wedding's criminal enterprise. torontolife.com/deep-dives/m...

Yesterday, I was nominated for a National Magazine Award (Best Profile), for my @macleans.bsky.social feature on Jenni Byrne, the ruthless tactician behind Pierre Poilievre. This was a brutal piece to report—folks were terrified to talk—but I hope it's a fun one to read macleans.ca/longforms/je...

My longform interview with @think.kera.org—one of my favourite radio shows—is out in the world today. I spoke about how kids need risky, unchaperoned play, and about how our perceptions of childhood danger are often at odds with reality. think.kera.org/2026/04/14/f...

I went on NPR's Here and Now to make my case for why children need unsupervised, risky play. In your favourite childhood memories, you were probably outside with friends, feeling exhilarated and free. We should all want our children to have that same joy. www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

For @torontolifemag.bsky.social, I wrote about the city’s vicious tow-truck wars—a world of violence, arson, shifting allegiances, and paranoia. torontolife.com/deep-dives/t...

I talked to Shaye Ganam, on QR in Calgary & 880 CHED in Edmonton, about how safety culture is making childhood less active and less exciting. Shaye and I were both amateur bomb makers as kids. We still remember the recipe for gunpowder. Listen here: pdst.fm/e/traffic.me... @thewalrus.ca

Here's my latest essay for @thewalrus.ca. As a parent, I understand the impulse to protect kids. Danger is real. And on the other side of danger? Unimaginable loss. But safety, I've come to believe, is inversely correlated with freedom—which, for kids, is sacrosanct. thewalrus.ca/is-it-danger...

At 5 pm, I'll be on CBC's Here and Now talking with host Farrah Merali about Ryan Wedding, Canada's most famous (former) fugitive, who was arrested yesterday in Mexico City. For a primer on this crazy story, read my Toronto Life feature from last year: torontolife.com/deep-dives/b...

I spoke today with Jayme Poisson on CBC's Front Burner podcast, where I defended an old-fashion idea: institutional neutrality. Should universities have opinions? I vote no. Opinions are for students and professors and instructors, not administrators. www.cbc.ca/radio/frontb...

If you only read one piece on the life of Ryan Wedding, this should be it. Brilliantly done.

Wow. Brilliant writing, and impressive research! I feel like I just watched the film. Wow. I had no idea he was this infamous. Or evil.

Ryan Wedding—the Olympic snowboarder turned drug kingpin turned celebrity fugitive—is back in the news today. If you want a primer on the darkest, wildest, most Vince Gilligan-y story in Canada right now, give my @torontolifemag.bsky.social feature on Wedding a read. torontolife.com/deep-dives/b...

I take critiques of neutrality seriously. I'm unconvinced that there's some kind of perfect neutral state humans can attain. But I think neutrality is important as a guiding principle. If I were accused of a crime, I'd want to be tried in a court that strives, however imperfectly, for neutrality.

"Institutional neutrality on campus isn’t about renouncing social progress; it’s about protecting the intellectual conditions that make such progress possible" —me. @macleans.bsky.social

Should universities serve as engines of social justice or spaces of independent inquiry? Can they be both? https://macleans.ca/longforms/the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-university/

I wrote an essay for @macleans.bsky.social. It's a defence of institutional neutrality on campus. If university administrators value the work that students and professors do, they should get out of the way and let them do it. macleans.ca/longforms/th...

An essay I wrote three years ago is, for the moment, the number one trending piece at @thewalrus.ca. The largest art heist in Canadian history happened in 1972. In a world obsessed with art crime, why did Canadians basically shrug the whole thing off? thewalrus.ca/canadas-bigg...

What a devastating loss. This man gave us three absolutely perfect records. pitchfork.com/news/dangelo...

This piece is still the one I'm most proud of in my career. (And @chloeellingson.bsky.social's photos are gorgeous.)

From the #LocalArchives: The Annex is shrinking. The towers of Crescent Town are exploding. @simonlewsen.bsky.social on a tale of two cities, and how the uneven, illogical densification pattern of the last 50 years created today’s Toronto. thelocal.to/density-the-...

My piece on the death (and possible rebirth) of humanities education has been re-printed by @thelineca.bsky.social, one of the best places on the internet for lively writing and independent thought. www.readtheline.ca/p/simon-lews...

These words from @cherilucasrowlands.com made me happy: "After reading a series of articles lamenting the death of higher education and critical thinking in the age of ChatGPT, I tempered my despair with Simon Lewsen’s somewhat hopeful essay on the humanities" longreads.com/2025/09/10/d...

"I didn’t expect any of this, and I’m unsure what to make of it. But I wonder if the emerging threat of AI is restoring a sense of vitality to the humanistic mission." @simonlewsen.bsky.social for @thelocal.to: thelocal.to/humanities-i...

For my Designlines column, I visited Biidaasige—the new adventure playground at the foot of the Don River—and let my toddler guide me around. She was ecstatic. Children need risky play. Long live Biidaasige. @waterfrontoronto.bsky.social www.designlinesmagazine.com/biidaasige-p...

The humanities have been in crisis for the entirety of @simonlewsen.bsky.social's career. But despite apocalyptic declarations about the death of the liberal arts, in his own classroom he sees signs of life. thelocal.to/humanities-i...

So, @thelocal.to is rolling out its Higher Education issue today. I wrote an essay about the supposed death of the humanities. Are the humanities really dying, though? In my own classroom at the University of Toronto, I see surprising signs of life. thelocal.to/humanities-i...

The federal government is seeking to punish the City of Toronto for failing to legalize sixplexes. My hot take: When it comes to housing, the feds should throw their weight around even more. My latest column instalment for Designlines. www.designlinesmagazine.com/sixplexes-in...

I'm jazzed to be included in the Sunday Long Read's 500th weekly edition—an essential round-up of the best long-form journalism. mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

In 2002, Ryan Wedding was a rising-star athlete. Today, he's an international drug lord running a billion-dollar enterprise. In @torontolifemag.bsky.social, I tell the story of how a cherubic kid from Thunder Bay, ON, became one of the world's most-wanted fugitives. torontolife.com/deep-dives/b...

For @thestar.com‬, I interviewed Meghan Daum—personal essayist turned heterodox podcaster—about her new book, the LA fires, the fertility crisis, what JD Vance gets right and wrong about family policy, and whether we've passed peak wokeness. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

My City Beat Column—on art, architecture, and urbanism—for Designlines magazine is a finalist for a Digital Publishing Awards (Best Column). And that's a nice little nod for a column in its first year.

For the latest instalment of my City Beat column, I wrote about one of my favourite places in Toronto—the Paradise Theatre. This is what the future of moviegoing looks like. www.designlinesmagazine.com/paradise-the...

Here's my cover story for Report on Business magazine. DEI's fundamental premises—bias is bad, diversity is good—are as defensible as any premises have been. But foolish ideas and practices have been smuggled into the workplace under the guise of DEI. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob...

I wrote the cover story for the May issue of Report on Business magazine. It's about DEI—why people oppose it, where it went wrong, and what it could be . @theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob...

I'm on today's edition of CBC's Front Burner podcast, talking about Jenni Byrne, the controversial strategist behind Pierre Poilievre—and about the fierce infighting that's suddenly emerged within the conservative movement. www.cbc.ca/radio/frontb...

Phenomenal story from Simon, it's essential reading this election season. Don't miss it!

High praise from one of my favourite journalists!

Really great #cdnpoli piece today in @macleans.bsky.social macleans.ca/longforms/je...

A reminder for everybody mourning the death of Val Kilmer: The greatest celebrity profile of the 21st century is a profile of him. Honour his legacy by reading this extraordinary piece. www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/m...

Besides offering us all a long-overdue closeup look at the woman behind Pierre Poilievre’s success, this is just a great example of a magazine profile by @simonlewsen.bsky.social macleans.ca/author/simon...

For @macleans.bsky.social, I profiled Jenni Byrne, the mastermind behind Stephen Harper's game-changing 2011 victory, who's now trying to work her magic again for Pierre Poilievre. The plan was going perfectly. Until it wasn't. macleans.ca/longforms/je...

Also, @simonlewsen.bsky.social talks to the @uhntoronto.bsky.social prescribing housing as a public health solution.

I interviewed NYT columnist Ross Douthat about why all people should be religious, not because religion is good for your mental health or gives order to your life or whatever, but because—as he has it—there's compelling evidence that God is real. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...