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Simon Lewsen

@simonlewsen.bsky.social

Magazine journalist. Kinda arty. Kinda science-y. Toronto / Ottawa.

345 Followers  |  9 Following  |  32 Posts  |  Joined: 02.08.2023  |  2.186

Latest posts by simonlewsen.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Dโ€™Angelo, Groundbreaking R&B Artist, Dies at 51 From his 1995 debut Brown Sugar to his 2014 comeback Black Messiah, he helped define the neo-soul movement

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

14.10.2025 16:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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

08.10.2025 21:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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In the Annex and Crescent Town, Two Sides to a Density Dilemma | The Local The Annex had fewer residents in 2021 than 1971. The towers of Crescent Town had far more. How the uneven, illogical densification pattern of the last 50 years created todayโ€™s Toronto.

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 todayโ€™s Toronto. thelocal.to/density-the-...

06.10.2025 13:32 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 13    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Simon Lewsen: Despite tough times, the humanities aren't dead yet And, in fact, in an era where everything is mechanized, including thought, they may be rebounding.

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...

19.09.2025 15:49 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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 Lewsenโ€™s somewhat hopeful essay on the humanities"
longreads.com/2025/09/10/d...

11.09.2025 16:49 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Humanities Aren't Dead Yet | The Local Enrollment in the liberal arts has been in freefall for years. But despite apocalyptic declarations about the end of the humanities, in my own classroom I see signs of life.

"I didnโ€™t expect any of this, and Iโ€™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...

10.09.2025 17:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 6    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Biidaasige Park Is a Triumph Biidaasige transforms the Don Riverโ€™s flood-prone, industrial canal into a restored delta and vibrant new park for Toronto.

For my Designlines column, I visited Biidaasigeโ€”the new adventure playground at the foot of the Don Riverโ€”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...

10.09.2025 15:53 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Humanities Aren't Dead Yet | The Local Enrollment in the liberal arts has been in freefall for years. But despite apocalyptic declarations about the end of the humanities, in my own classroom I see signs of life.

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...

09.09.2025 13:22 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Humanities Aren't Dead Yet | The Local Enrollment in the liberal arts has been in freefall for years. But despite apocalyptic declarations about the end of the humanities, in my own classroom I see signs of life.

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...

09.09.2025 16:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10    ๐Ÿ” 4    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Toronto Fumbled on Sixplexesโ€”Now It Could Lose $30 Million The Federal Government Might Refuse to Hand Over $30 Million in Housing Funds to the City of Toronto for its shortcoming on Siplexes.

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...

20.08.2025 17:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Sunday Long Read: 500 Editions! The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.

I'm jazzed to be included in the Sunday Long Read's 500th weekly editionโ€”an essential round-up of the best long-form journalism.

mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

08.08.2025 14:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Becoming El Jefe: The story of Ryan Wedding, Canadaโ€™s Olympic snowboarder turned ruthless drugย lord - Toronto Life Before Ryan Wedding landed on the FBIโ€™s Most Wanted list as a high-level associate of El Chapo, he was a bright-eyed kid from Thunder Bay. The inside story...

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...

29.07.2025 16:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Meghan Daum became famous for her deeply revealing personal essays. Now, she sees self-censorship everywhere In her new book โ€œThe Catastrophe Zone,โ€ she explores middle age, giving up dreams and losing everything in the LA fires

For @thestar.comโ€ฌ, I interviewed Meghan Daumโ€”personal essayist turned heterodox podcasterโ€”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...

29.05.2025 15:48 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

My City Beat Columnโ€”on art, architecture, and urbanismโ€”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.

06.05.2025 16:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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๐Ÿ™๏ธ The City Beat

Designlines Magazine

Finalist โ€“ Best Column at the 2025 Digital Publishing Awards

Well done, @simonlewsen.bsky.social and team!

๐Ÿ”— zurl.co/It9q7

#DigitalPublishingAwards #DPA25

06.05.2025 15:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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All Culture Is Niche Cultureโ€”Even the Movies Today, the Paradise Theatre seems less like a quirky anomaly and more like the future of cinema and where to watch movies in Toronto.

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

05.05.2025 15:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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๐Ÿ† Finalist | #NMA25

The Perilous Lives of International Students
@torontolifemag.bsky.social | By @simonlewsen.bsky.social

They come for education and a better futureโ€”only to discover the target on their backs.
๐Ÿ”— zurl.co/jxlTb

01.05.2025 15:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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DEI was under threat long before Donald Trump. But he didnโ€™t kill it alone The proximal cause of this about-face is Donald Trump, whose comeback is both a symptom and driver of this corporate vibe shift. But the backlash was brewing long before that

Here's my cover story for Report on Business magazine. DEI's fundamental premisesโ€”bias is bad, diversity is goodโ€”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...

26.04.2025 19:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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DEI was under threat long before Donald Trump. But he didnโ€™t kill it alone The proximal cause of this about-face is Donald Trump, whose comeback is both a symptom and driver of this corporate vibe shift. But the backlash was brewing long before that

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

24.04.2025 15:18 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Jenni Byrne's Big Gamble - Macleans.ca The ruthless tactician behind Pierre Poilievreโ€™s campaign has spent decades shaping Canadian conservatism from behind the scenes. This yearโ€™s election will be her greatest achievementโ€”or her undoing.

Great piece by @simonlewsen.bsky.social The hard working brass knuckles behind the sloganeering.
macleans.ca/longforms/je...

15.04.2025 21:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Conservative kingmaker behind Poilievre | CBC Radio You might not know her by name, but Conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne is one of the most powerful kingmakers in the party's modern history โ€” and she may have almost as much at stake in winning...

I'm on today's edition of CBC's Front Burner podcast, talking about Jenni Byrne, the controversial strategist behind Pierre Poilievreโ€”and about the fierce infighting that's suddenly emerged within the conservative movement.

www.cbc.ca/radio/frontb...

15.04.2025 16:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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

10.04.2025 19:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

High praise from one of my favourite journalists!

11.04.2025 18:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Jenni Byrne's Big Gamble - Macleans.ca The ruthless tactician behind Pierre Poilievreโ€™s campaign has spent decades shaping Canadian conservatism from behind the scenes. This yearโ€™s election will be her greatest achievementโ€”or her undoing.

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

31.03.2025 22:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 25    ๐Ÿ” 8    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 6
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What Happened to Val Kilmer? Heโ€™s Just Starting to Figure It Out. (Published 2020) Cancer has taken his voice, but the unlikeliest movie star in Hollywood history still has a lot he wants to say. (Published in 2020.)

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...

03.04.2025 14:36 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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

03.04.2025 13:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Jenni Byrne's Big Gamble - Macleans.ca The ruthless tactician behind Pierre Poilievreโ€™s campaign has spent decades shaping Canadian conservatism from behind the scenes. This yearโ€™s election will be her greatest achievementโ€”or her undoing.

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...

01.04.2025 15:44 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Toronto's University Health Network Takes on the Housing Crisis By prescribing housing for the chronically unhoused, a University Health Network initiative is providing new hope in Toronto.

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

07.03.2025 18:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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In an increasingly secular world, this man thinks you should choose God. Any god Ross Douthat is a conservative, a Catholic and one of America's most prominent intellectuals. Here's why he thinks Donald Trump is a man of destiny.

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 becauseโ€”as he has itโ€”there's compelling evidence that God is real.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

07.02.2025 16:25 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Can Olivia Chow Fix the Toronto Housing Crisis? Two reasons for optimism, and one for pessimism, on Mayor Olivia Chows strategy to tackle the Toronto Housing Crisis.

Can Olivia Chow solve the housing crisis? I'm optimistic, for two big reasons. And pessimistic, for one big reason. Here's the latest instalment of my City Beat column for Designlines magazine www.designlinesmagazine.com/toronto-hous...

30.01.2025 17:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

@simonlewsen is following 9 prominent accounts