Prediction markets are turning real-world events into tradable assets—and business is booming. Writer Kyle Volpi Hiebert examines why critics say regulators need to step in before the stakes get even higher: https://thewalrus.ca/prediction-markets-corrupt-everything-they-touch/

Gallerist Farnoosh Talaee built a public image as an advocate for marginalized artists. Now, former collaborators allege they faced years of unpaid invoices from her galleries, legal threats, and other mistreatment. Journalist Byron Armstrong investigates: https://ow.ly/PgT050Zwnk9

India’s chief justice called unemployed youth “cockroaches.” Student Abhijeet Dipke asked, “What if all cockroaches come together?” Millions did, fuelling a youth movement that has become far bigger than its origins. Writer Arundhati Roy explores: https://ow.ly/4x6Q50Zw1bl

If Mel Woods had their way, everyone would treat the Harry Potter series “as a regretfully significant cultural artifact of a moment in time” in light of J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans activism. With their new collaboration, Tim Hortons has done the opposite. https://ow.ly/WJUW50Zw1aA

Political scientist Dónal Gill writes that Canada “was never designed to be a full-bore democracy.” The debate around Alberta’s potential separation referendum is exposing a deep crisis in Canadian politics: a fundamental distrust in popular will. https://thewalrus.ca/alberta-separatists-democracy/

Canada’s spy agency has a warning: Chinese military intelligence is recruiting Canadians through fake job postings on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork. Writer Sushant Singh on what this reveals about the growing intersection of trade, politics, and espionage: https://ow.ly/M3WT50Zw18J

More than a quarter of Montreal’s roads are in poor or very poor condition, with an estimated $3.3 billion backlog of repairs. Writer Caitlin Walsh Miller examines how decades of deferred maintenance left the city playing a game of reactive whack-a-mole. https://thewalrus.ca/montreal-potholes/

Over 3 million hectares of land have burned—but Canada’s wildfire season isn’t over yet. In this new Q&A, Jesse Winter—author of Wild Fire: Dispatches from a Country Ablaze—speaks to The Walrus’s Samia Madwar about what’s driving our wildfire crisis: https://ow.ly/Xnwb50ZvFEj

The Great Antonio was mourned by more than 3,000 people, but “the most repeated narrative of Antonio Barichievich’s life” leaves much unsaid. Here, Daniel Allen Cox pieces together forgotten archives to uncover the man behind the myth: https://thewalrus.ca/the-great-antonio/

When monogamous couples struggle, they ask: Is this a good fit? When polyamorous families struggle, they ask: Can this structure even work? Author Alex Alberto reflects on what it means to build a family on their own terms: https://thewalrus.ca/polyamorous-family/

Snitch-shaped Timbits holder, anyone? Tim Hortons is gearing up to roll out Harry Potter–themed items across Canada to mark the first film’s twenty-fifth anniversary. Journalist Mel Woods argues that, in 2026, it’s a partnership that’s hard to justify. https://ow.ly/w4cx50ZvFz0

The world’s 12 richest billionaires hold more wealth than the poorest half of humanity combined. How is this rapidly widening divide reshaping Canadian life? Find out at Oxfam Canada presents The Walrus Talks The Billionaire Problem. https://ow.ly/BtMZ50ZvFFn

Alberta’s proposed separation referendum has become a flashpoint for an issue that goes beyond separatism. Writer Dónal Gill argues a bigger question is at stake: Do Canadians still trust democracy—or only when it delivers the outcomes they want? https://thewalrus.ca/alberta-separatists-democracy/

Donald Trump’s tariffs are dominating Ottawa’s agenda. As wildfires force First Nations from their homes and smoke blankets cities, The Walrus contributing writer Olivia Bowden asks what Canada risks by treating today’s climate as tomorrow’s crisis. https://ow.ly/J8JE50ZuSi9

Canada finished building the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Then it had to negotiate the terms of its use. Here, The Walrus contributing writer David Moscrop examines how the project became a measure of Washington’s leverage over Ottawa: https://ow.ly/ZEhJ50ZuSgt

New crossword is up! Head over to The Walrus Games: https://thewalrus.ca/games/

A mass panic over chipped windshields in 1954 revealed how easily people can mistake coincidence for conspiracy, an impulse amplified by today’s algorithms. Writers Lee Kuhnle and Nathan Radke on what it takes to stay skeptical without becoming paranoid: https://ow.ly/8q5a50ZuSfl

Are our ideas of family shaped by what’s possible or simply by what’s familiar? For author Alex Alberto, polyamory became more than a relationship style—it became a way to redefine their understanding of caregiving and belonging. https://thewalrus.ca/polyamorous-family/

Writer Courtney Shea’s inbox has more than 61,000 unread emails—and she’s done apologizing for it. In this new essay, what starts as a personal confession becomes a broader look at how inbox anxiety has become a measure of productivity. https://ow.ly/CxiJ50ZuS9x

“The smartest thing [Donald] Trump can do is what he did last time: go away and leave the negotiating to the pros,” writes William A. Reinsch of USMCA talks. “Unfortunately, he does not appear to be doing that.” https://thewalrus.ca/canada-is-stuck-in-trumps-permanent-trade-war/

For decades, Canada liked to imagine itself as the world’s helpful fixer. Mark Carney aims to resurrect our status as a “middle power,” but Peter Jones writes that doing so successfully relies on a US-led order that no longer exists. What comes next? https://thewalrus.ca/canada-middle-power/

“I admire people who don’t need or seek society’s approval,” says photographer Sylvain Laquerre. “I knew I was dealing with history when I was by [Antonio’s] side, even if I didn’t know the significance our friendship would have after he was gone.” https://thewalrus.ca/the-great-antonio/

The main driver behind conspiracy theories may not be misinformation but loneliness. After revisiting Seattle’s 1954 “windshield epidemic,” authors Lee Kuhnle and Nathan Radke argue our emotional needs can make false narratives feel true. https://ow.ly/pwjQ50ZuS4Q

Canada’s relative luck with wildfires has obscured the depth of our vulnerability, says photojournalist Jesse Winter. “I worry that it allows us to continue seeing these disasters as not personal, as something that’s happened to someone else somewhere.” https://ow.ly/QTz450ZuvIl

Join us in Toronto for @oxfamcanada.bsky.social presents The Walrus Talks The Billionaire Problem to find out what the rise of the super-rich means for democracy, affordability, and Canada’s future. www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-walrus...

Indigenous nations are creating child welfare laws grounded in their own legal traditions. As law professors Val Napoleon and Hadley Friedland note, the work ahead is about “recovering and then taking up an interrupted, intergenerational conversation.” https://ow.ly/oRA750ZuvGL

The US has rejected a simple renewal of the Canada–US–Mexico trade agreement, triggering a formal review process. As businesses weigh their next moves, trade expert William A. Reinsch explains why “the most popular word from all sides is uncertainty.” https://ow.ly/HpCz50ZuvFG

Antonio Barichievich, a.k.a. the Great Antonio, made a name for himself by pulling buses, wrestling bears, and telling impossible stories. Here, writer Daniel Allen Cox revisits the life—and lore—of a Montreal legend: https://thewalrus.ca/the-great-antonio/

“The spontaneous rage we are witnessing will dissipate unless some real political work begins,” writes Arundhati Roy of India’s student protests. “Unless adults and opposition parties stop their jockeying and petty squabbling and show some solidarity.” https://ow.ly/4c9h50Zu4jC

Wildfires are transforming Canadian forests and exposing the limits of Canada’s preparedness. Journalist Jesse Winter speaks to The Walrus senior editor Samia Madwar about why Canada needs to rethink its wildfire strategy: https://ow.ly/PPVv50Zu4jk