Carmine Starnino

How Canada Is Being Pulled into America’s War on “Narco-Terrorists” | The Walrus Military exchanges and intelligence links mean Ottawa may be closer to the lethal strikes than it admits

Grateful that @cstarnino.bsky.social and the @thewalrus.ca approached me this weekend to re-print my original reporting and exclusive regarding Canadian involvement in Op. Southern Spear

thewalrus.ca/how-canada-i...

The State of Things | Substack Issues of national security, geo-politics, global affairs, extremism, and mis/dis information are critical. The State of Things with Christy Somos provides the context and analysis you need.

I’m a one-woman show, so if this kind of reporting speaks to you please consider becoming a paid subscriber to my substack 🙏🏼
(working on launching the rest of my project in the coming weeks)

substack.com/@thestateoft...

Eight Experts on What You’re Not Being Told about the War in Iran | The Walrus The questions that aren’t making it into the battlefield dispatches

My contribution to @thewalrus.ca
on what the coverage of #IranWar is missing:

External war does not automatically produce democratic transition. It can strengthen the very security institutions that suppressed the #WomanLifeFreedom movement.

thewalrus.ca/iran-foreign...

Eight Experts on What You’re Not Being Told about the War in Iran | The Walrus The questions that aren’t making it into the battlefield dispatches

My short text, along with 7 others (including Maral Karimi, Janice Stein, Wesley Wark, Greg Fyffe, others), for The Walrus:

My main point - “The real test now is turning tactical dominance into strategic success.”

thewalrus.ca/iran-foreign...

I'm just saying, we could still do this

Michelle Shephard Podcast Episode · What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books · 02/09/2026 · 30m

Here is the episode with Michelle. We cover a lot of dark subjects—white supremacist movements, the new Trump era, Guantanamo Bay, etc—but also how she manages to not get emotionally crushed while covering all these.

Is It Dangerous to Let Kids Be Free? | The Walrus From bus rides to playgrounds, we are raising our children in a culture of fear

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...

I Survived Canada’s Deadliest Mass Shooter. Then I Had to Prove It | The Walrus After authorities cast doubt on my account, I returned to Portapique to relive the harrowing night I fled for my life

"To me, it was more proof that as an abused woman, I couldn’t trust the police to help keep me and my family safe."

I've been waiting to read Lisa Banfield's account of what happened at Portapique and after, and it's chilling (via @thewalrus.ca)
thewalrus.ca/lisa-banfiel...

Spoiler for tomorrow’s episode, which gets, uh, *heated*.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT is presented by @thewalrus.ca

Find it at all the podcast places.
thewalrus.ca/podcasts/wha...

After Canada imposed duties on China’s EVs, steel, and aluminum, Beijing targeted Canadian commodities, closing a multi-billion-dollar market. Now the governments are negotiating. This week with @cstarnino.bsky.social, editor of @thewalrus.ca, I unpack PRC tactics and strategic ambitions. Link ⬇ 1/7

Carney Thinks He Can Make Government Work Again. Good Luck with That | The Walrus The rules are gone, institutions are broken, everyone's pissed off

"The United States is in an ideological K-hole, disassociating and disoriented, paralyzed and lost somewhere in its own private reality."
Fantastic line!
But seriously, this is a great piece about post-neoliberalism and Canada needing to find its way in the new reality.

Can Carney Build a New Majority Around the Promise of Getting Things Done? | The Walrus The Liberals’ most powerful message may simply be: government can work

thewalrus.ca/can-carney-b...

Souvankham Thammavongsa is a woman wholly uninterested in shrinking.

The Walrus associate editor Ariella Garmaise sits down with the two-time Giller Prize winner to talk about ambition, self-possession, and why she refuses to perform humility for anyone: thewalrus.ca/souvankham-thamm...

Carney’s Pipeline Deal Lifts Up Alberta and Demotes BC to Second-Class Status | The Walrus This is not how a federation is supposed to work

"The energy sector really likes this deal. Everything we’re hearing is that it’s Christmas come early for that sector."

I'm late to this great @stewartprest.ca & @cstarnino.bsky.social chat, but struck by this comment. Says everything one needs to know about the MOU.

thewalrus.ca/alberta-bc-p...

Bro, Enough with the Protein. You’re Just Making Expensive Pee | The Walrus Experts say the hype around the latest dietary must-have has become a farce

My latest...👇

Bro, Enough with the Protein. You’re Just Making Expensive Pee thewalrus.ca/enough-with-... via @thewalrus.ca

The protein blitzkrieg has been felt. Consumers are responding. Marketing has won.

Reality: "People have lost their minds on this one."

Needed: Healthy & balanced!

From childhood picket lines with his teacher parents to challenging his own party on climate, housing, and Indigenous rights, @beynate.bsky.socials career asks a simple question: How far can honesty really take you in politics? thewalrus.ca/nate-erskine-smi...

For music to be considered "Canadian content," two of the following criteria must be Canadian: music, artist, performance, or lyrics. But can a rigid set of rules established in 1971 successfully protect the industry from modern day threats? thewalrus.ca/amid-buy-canadia...

Reconciliation rooted in truth, backed by action—that is the path Canada vowed to walk. Here, writer and filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat urges Prime Minister Mark Carney to stay the course—even when the political winds shift. thewalrus.ca/mr-carney-about-...

@nickhunebrown.bsky.social, you're a prince. Human to human, thanks so much for taking time.

The Phantom Writer Who Fooled the Internet | The Walrus The bot-assisted fake journalism of “Victoria Goldiee” and why editors should be very worried

"You can’t have a mix of things that are true and not true in your news publication or the whole thing is destroyed." Smart, thoughtful Q&A between @nickhunebrown.bsky.social and @thewalrus.ca's Carmine Starnino about AI's creep into journalism thewalrus.ca/the-phantom-...

Is Canada Helping Identify Boats the US Is Blowing Up? | The Walrus Ottawa insists its existing missions are separate from Trump’s lethal operations

Is Canada Helping Identify Boats the US Is Blowing Up? Read John Kirk's and my essay in The Walrus.
thewalrus.ca/us-boat-stri...

The threats Canada is facing “have evolved considerably over the past twenty-five years,” says Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. Here, he speaks to Wesley Wark about the many ways the Service has adapted: thewalrus.ca/spy-boss-dan-rog...

My Family’s 240-Year Journey Shows Why Canada Will Never Bow to Trump | The Walrus I turned to history—and my ancestors—to understand the country’s resistance to American domination

My Family’s 240-Year Journey Shows Why Canada Will Never Bow to Trump
thewalrus.ca/my-familys-2...

From Ukraine, the lesson is clear: adaptation matters. Lieutenant General Michael Wright speaks to Wesley Wark about his plan to “flood the zone” and harness bottom-up drone innovation across the Canadian Army. thewalrus.ca/canadian-army-to...

Grawlix | The Walrus Sharp cornered, nonsensical, / yet fully understood

Here's the digital version of my latest poem from The Walrus.

thewalrus.ca/grawlix/

Polls weren’t budging, separatists were gaining momentum at the last possible moment—the 1995 Quebec referendum was a true political cliffhanger. Writer Paul Wells recounts how close Canada came to splitting apart: thewalrus.ca/quebec-referendum/

When America sneezes, the world catches a cold—and with a trade relationship worth $1 trillion a year, Canada stands to get sick. Writer @davidmoscrop.com breaks down how the US trade war is one force pushing Canada in the direction of a recession: thewalrus.ca/are-we-in-a-rece...

How Canada Squandered Its Drone Lead | The Walrus We slipped from pioneer to bystander, but the war in Ukraine is forcing a reboot

How Canada can modernize its military by capitalizing on drone technology developed right here at home. thewalrus.ca/how-canada-s...

I’m a School Trustee, and Doug Ford Wants to Eliminate My Job | The Walrus What parents will lose: no one to answer their emails, fight for safe crosswalks, hold the system to account

Thanks to @thewalrus.ca for agreeing to publish my thoughts on the proposed elimination of school trustees in Ontario.

#OntEd

thewalrus.ca/im-a-school-...