The Deep Dive from The Walrus

Why Are People Getting Deported During a Pandemic? 

Season 1, Episode 11

When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Canada announced the suspension of most deportations. Then, despite its own advisories warning that international travel during a pandemic is a major risk, Ottawa lifted its moratorium on deportations in late November 2020. The federal government has since deported thousands of people during the pandemic.

Isabel Macdonald is an independent journalist and researcher living in Montreal. She spoke with public health experts and asylum seekers to examine why these deportations are happening and the added dangers of doing them in the time of COVID-19.

Macdonald talks about how Canada justifies deporting people during a pandemic. 

She then goes over the numbers of how many people are getting deported and explains why this data is difficult to access. 

Macdonald then breaks down the statistics to explain which nationalities have been deported most during the pandemic.  

Then she goes into the case of Jatinder Singh, a truck driver who was deported to India during the pandemic. 

She explains why Singh had been seeking asylum in Canada in the first place and how difficult it can be to claim asylum in Canada generally.  

And then she discusses the harm done by deporting people during a pandemic.

Macdonald then shares what she is currently reading right now.

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Why Is Canada Deporting Front Line Workers in the Middle of a Pandemic? 

• I Am the Type of Man Who Gets into Fist Fights—and Likes It
• Careers at The Walrus
• Seeing Red  
• 
  

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Twitter @thewalrus 

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Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music; “Leaving Home,” “With Regards,” and “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod, provided by Film Music; and “Skydancer” by Scandinavian. 

With Regards by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4636-with-regards

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Inspired by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Leaving Home by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4708-leaving-home

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Season 1, Episode 10

Have you ever noticed that there is an inordinate amount of sweets in films directed by women? Writer Heather O’Neill has. In her latest essay for The Walrus, “Let Her Eat Cake: The Subversive Power of Women Feasting,” she delves into the world of women indulging to explore this fixation on sweet treats. 

Through a series of personal vignettes, O’Neill weaves the story of her own relationship with food into her analysis of feast-focused films both contemporary and classic.

Heather O'Neill is an award-winning novelist and essayist. Her works include Lullabies for Little Criminals and The Lonely Hearts Hotel. Her most recent novel is When We Lost Our Heads. 

O’Neill explains what inspired her to write an essay about women feasting. 

She then talks about why she chose these particular films to focus on. 

She then discusses what food has meant in her own life and how her relationship with food changed once she moved out and grew into adulthood.

Then O’Neill speaks about the problematic diets and trends of the 1990s, when “Heroin Chic” was all the rage.

O’Neill then talks about how popular culture has since shifted, with the recent body positivity movement, but how women still have trouble accepting their own bodies.

She then speaks about eating at food banks with her young daughter when she was in her early twenties.   

O’Neill then discusses what food means to women’s lives.

We then hear about what O’Neill is reading right now. 

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Let Her Eat Cake: The Subversive Power of Women Feasting

• Nicholas Hune-Brown Wins 2022 Canadian Hillman Prize for Journalism
• Emily Baron Cadloff’s TikTok video
• Viral Symptoms: The Rise of Mental Health Diagnosis Videos on TikTok

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music; “Protofunk” and “Private Reflection” by Kevin MacLeod, provided by Film Music; “Skydancer” by Scandinavianz; “Dark Eyes” by Teddy and Marge, provided by the Free Music Archive.

Private Reflection by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4241-private-reflection

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Additional sources: Fellinious, Masguita, and ABC News on YouTube 

COVID-19 Two Years On

Season 1, Episode 9

It was a moment that most people won’t forget any time soon. Just over two years ago, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. It was on March 11, 2020, when Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, took to the microphone at a press conference in Geneva to make this declaration—saying that this was the first time a coronavirus had sparked a pandemic. 

Most of us were stunned, and our lives would be forever changed. The world seemingly went into lockdown overnight, masks and hand sanitizer became common accessories in most households, and the term social distancing became part of our vocabulary. Now, two years into the pandemic, many of us are still wondering: When will it end? 

This week, we’ll be speaking with Dan Werb, an award-winning writer and epidemiologist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Salon, The Believer, and The Walrus, among other places. His latest book, The Invisible Siege: The Rise of Coronaviruses and the Search for a Cure, chronicles the emergence of coronavirus science across multiple epidemics. And we recently ran an excerpt of it at thewalrus.ca. 

Werb talks about how long this pandemic is expected to last (and whether it will ever end). 

Werb then talks about global vaccine inequity. 

He then explains why he decided to write a book about the history of human coronaviruses and how scientists have studied them and tried to stop them. 

He then talks about the scientists who have been researching coronaviruses for decades and how they have come to the forefront of popular culture during this pandemic.

Then, he speaks about the danger of the COVID-19 misinformation that has been spreading during this pandemic. 

And he explains the market incentives to create vaccines and the importance of funding public science.  

Werb then shares what he is currently reading right now.

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• A Nineteenth-Century Pandemic May Be a Window into Coronaviruses 

• Ask a Refugee Expert: How Will War in Ukraine Impact Immigration?
• The Walrus Leadership Forum: Technology and Treatment
• The Walrus Talks at Home: Youth and the Climate Crisis

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music; “Ethereal Relaxation,” “Impact Prelude,” and “Screen Saver” by Kevin MacLeod, provided by Film Music. 

Impact Prelude by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7565-impact-prelude

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Screen Saver by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5715-screen-saver

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Ethereal Relaxation by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/8719-ethereal-relaxation

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Additional sources: Global News, The World Health Organization, and Late Night with Seth Meyers on YouTube.

The Tangled Politics Keeping a Uyghur Man in Limbo

Season 1, Episode 8

This week we’ll hear from Annie Hylton. For the March/April issue of The Walrus, Hylton takes a look at the complex case of Ayoob Mohammed. 

Mohammed is Uyghur—a largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group that has faced persecution in China. Recently, Canada’s Parliament labelled China’s treatment of Uyghurs “genocide.” 

While escaping from China in 2001, Mohammed found himself in Afghanistan on the eve of 9/11. In the chaos that ensued, he was sold for bounty to US forces and sent to Guantánamo Bay.

US officials maintained that Mohammed was a member of the Eastern Turkistan Independence Movement, allegedly a Uyghur terrorist group, though this may have been part of an attempt to secure China’s support for the war on terror.

Hylton takes listeners through Mohammed’s long journey from his birthplace in China to Guantánamo Bay to Albania, where he remains after two rejected attempts to join his family in Canada.

Hylton is an independent investigative journalist and writer from Saskatchewan who is now based in Paris, where she is an associate professor at Sciences Po. She won a gold National Magazine Award for her 2020 long-form feature “Searching for Mackie,” which was published in The Walrus. 

We hear Hylton discuss Uyghur culture and the persecution the group has faced in China.

Hylton talks about Ayoob Mohammed and his early life in Xinjiang. 

She then explains how 9/11 threw the region into turmoil and led to Mohammed being imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. 

She then talks about how she came across and reported Mohammed’s story. 

Hylton then shares what she is currently watching right now. 

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Endless Exile: The Tangled Politics Keeping a Uyghur Man in Limbo 

• How can I help Ukraine? Resources and tips for Canadians
• Article Club 
• My Son Peed Onscreen in a Zoom Call, and Other Tales of a Working Parent

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music; “Lightless,” “Floating Cities,” “Shores of Avalon,” and “Comfortable Mystery” by Kevin MacLeod, provided by Film Music. 

Lightless Dawn by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3982-lightless-dawn

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Floating Cities by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3765-floating-cities

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Shores of Avalon by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4349-shores-of-avalon

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Comfortable Mystery by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3531-comfortable-mystery

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Additional sources: Global News on YouTube.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many predicted that the bra was fast-tracked for extinction. Instead, past styles were largely retired in favour of more comfortable options. What does the change mean? 

From tight-laced corsets to push-ups, the idea that bras aren’t supposed to be comfortable has been around for over a century. But, as people increasingly dress for themselves, we’ve begun to reconsider the purpose of our undergarments.

This week on The Deep Dive, Sheena Rossiter speaks with writer Nicole Schmidt, an associate editor at The Walrus, about how the pandemic has changed the bra. Prior to joining The Walrus, Schmidt was an assistant editor at Toronto Life. She has written for Maclean's, the National Post, Yahoo, and Vice.

Toronto-based illustrator Kate Traynor also speaks about her illustration for this story. Traynor’s work has been featured in publications such as Broadview, Quill and Quire, and Reader's Digest.

We hear why Schmidt wanted to work on a feature about how the pandemic has changed the bra. 

We learn the full history of the bra: from its first appearance in ancient Greece to the corset to the WonderBra. 

Schmidt then tells us about a popular TikTok challenge where women are cutting up their old padded bras to make bralettes, and some more new trends in bras.  

She then talks about the rise in smaller and newer brands for women’s underwear during the pandemic.

Then we hear from Kate Traynor about her inspiration for the story’s illustration. She describes how she drew from her own experience with bras to arrive at the final illustration.

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Underwire Under Fire: How the Pandemic Changed the Bra 
• Hope You’re Well 

• Chrystia Freeland Wants to Fix the Twenty-First Century
• Embedded with the .01 Percent
• How to Train a Ukrainian Soldier 

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music; and “Investigations” and “Umbrella Pants” by Kevin MacLeod, provided by Film Music. 

Investigations by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3924-investigations

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Umbrella Pants by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4559-umbrella-pants

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Additional Sources: Marsonfurs, Micheal Levy, and “Rosie the Riveter” by the Four Vagabonds from Glamour Daze on YouTube. 

Correction March 3, 2022: This interview references an NPR article which stated that 28,000 pounds of steel—enough to build two battleships—were saved after women were asked to stop buying corsets during the First World War. In fact, 28,000 tons of steel were saved, enough to build at least one battleship. The Walrus regrets the errors.

Jennifer Robertson met her husband, Bitcoin entrepreneur Gerald Cotten, on Tinder. As their relationship flourished, so did Cotten’s company, QuadrigaCX, and the twentysomethings soon became wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.

Then, at age thirty, Cotten suddenly died. Overnight, their dream life became Robertson’s worst nightmare. Cotten possessed the only keys to the online vaults where his customers’ investments were supposedly stored.

No one knew where to find $215 million belonging to more than 76,000 investors. “Part of me felt as though our life together had been a dream, the best dream you could ever imagine, and now it was time to wake up," says Robertson. "But to what?"

This week, Sheena Rossiter is in conversation with Jennifer Robertson. Robertson is a former HR specialist and property manager whose life was turned upside down in the Quadriga scandal. And, in her new book with journalist Stephen Kimber, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions, she shares her side of the story for the first time.

We hear how Jennifer Robertson met Gerald Cotten, the founder of QuadrigaCX, and what their life together was like before Cotten died. 

We learn how Robertson was kept in the dark about what was happening inside Quadriga.

Robertson then explains how Cotten died in India and why she waited a month to announce his death. 

She then talks about how her life has changed since Cotten’s death and how she feels like a scapegoat in the scandal. 

Then Robertson speaks about why she decided to write her book and whether she thinks the Quadriga debacle will follow her for the rest of her life.  

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Confessions of a Bitcoin Widow: How a Dream Life Turned into a Nightmare 

• North Korea’s Mysterious Cryptocurrency Ambitions
• Will Cryptocurrency Be Alberta’s Next Big Boom?
• Is Canada Broken?

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab and “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music. “Moment” by Serge Quadrado, “Piano Moment” by Zakhar Valaha, provided by Pixabay.

Additional Sources: CBC and CTV

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for bars and nightclubs, many of which have had to shutter. But it’s been especially hard for gay bars, which have acted as safe spaces for the queer community for decades.

Gay bars have been suffering a slow, drawn-out death for years. Skyrocketing rental prices, diminished interest, and a shrinking economy have forced many queer spaces—including some legendary historic ones—to call it quits.

This week, Angela Misri speaks with writer KC Hoard, whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Broadview Magazine, CBC Arts, and Xtra Magazine. And Sheena Rossiter speaks with Tim Singleton, an artist, designer, and illustrator from Toronto whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, HuffPost, Adweek, and more.

We hear how important gay bars are to the queer community.

We learn how gay bars have acted as safe spaces from which queer communities can flourish.

KC Hoard explains why these bars are starting to die off.

We learn about other queer community spaces that have popped up during the COVID-19 pandemic and some potential solutions to the crisis facing queer spaces. 

Then Sheena Rossiter speaks with Tim Singleton, who illustrated KC Hoard’s story on the decline of gay bars.

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• It's a Drag: Many Gay Bars Are Closing, But We Can Still Save Them

• Hope You’re Well. 
• Objectivity Is a Privilege Afforded to White Journalists
• The Walrus Wins Gold at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter.

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Every Morning,” Drone Trace Background,” The Introvert,” “Turn the Lights On,” and “Piztey” provided by Pixabay; and “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music.

In early 2021, as gyms remained shuttered and wet weather made walks almost unbearable, Carine Abouseif found herself reaching for the nostalgia of the home workout—and she isn’t alone. Many Canadians have gravitated to home workouts over the past year. And market research suggests that this revival isn’t just a pandemic blip. Some former gym goers say they’re never going back, and many of those that do want to return plan to keep YouTube instructors in their fitness repertoire.

As part of a new digital series on wellness, Abouseif dives into the return (and evolution) of home workout videos. While the VHS tapes of workouts past touted trimmer waists and sculpted calves, today’s fitness regimes promise something much more vague: strength.

This week, Angela Misri speaks with Carine Abouseif, a features editor at The Walrus, about her article on the history and revival of the home workout. Before joining The Walrus, Abouseif edited news and features at the Globe and Mail, and her writing has also appeared in Maisonneuve and This Magazine.  

We hear about what inspired Abouseif’s story on the home workout.

We learn about the evolution of home workout videos from Jack LaLanne to Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons.

We dig into the current trend in YouTube workout challenges.

After that, we hear what Abouseif is listening to right now.

Finally, we check in on five things we’re talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Feeling the Burn: The Workout Video from Jane Fonda to Peloton
• Black History Month stories

• When Being Healthy is Unhealthy 
• What Does it Mean to Have a Healthy Body?

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Shayne Giles.

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, "Every Morning" provided by Pixabay, and “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music.

Additional audio clips from Chloe Ting, Top Cat, Jack LaLanne Official, Richard Simmons, and Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube.

The 2022 Winter Olympics are about to start in Beijing, and there has been a lot of attention paid to these games already, from the strict COVID-19 protocols that will be in place to concerns over China’s human rights record. But there’s one issue that comes up at nearly every Olympic Games: drug testing. 

In a few memorable cases, athletes have been penalized after testing positive for cannabis—a drug that normally isn’t considered performance enhancing. Attitudes toward cannabis have changed dramatically over the past couple of decades, but less so for professional athletes. It’s been twenty-four years since Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati won gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics, in Nagano, Japan, only to be temporarily stripped of his medal hours later, after testing positive for marijuana. Now that cannabis is legal in several parts of the world, can weed and sports finally coexist? 

This week, we hear from Alex Cyr, who recently wrote about the relationship between professional sports and weed. He’s a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Life. Sheena Rossiter speaks with Cyr about his story on how the world of sport is reconciling its relationship with cannabis.

We hear about why Cyr decided to write about professional sports and its relationship with weed.

We hear about the case of American 100-metre sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. 

Then we hear about the case of Ross Rebagliati and Cyr’s interview with the former Olympian.

After that, we hear about what Cyr is watching right now.

Finally, we check in on five things we’re talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Athletes Are Getting Burned by Weed Rules. Is the Sports World Out of Touch? 
• For the Love of the Game 
• The Sports Collectible Market Is Booming. Is It about the Money or the Memories?
• Why Olympians Are Struggling to Get Sponsorships



• Punching Nazis Won’t End Fascism
• Links to stories about Black History Month 

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Shayne Giles.

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music, and “Unreleased Demo” provided by Pixabay.

Additional audio clips come from TSN, The Young Turks, the International Olympic Committee, Leno, and LetsRun.com on YouTube.

As housing inequality rises across the country, many Winnipeg residents have been left without a place to call home. In the grips of winter, they live without permanent shelter at bus stops and riverside camps. What failures led us here, and what’s being done to make change?

This week, we hear from the Justice Fund Writer-in-Residence, Julia-Simone Rutgers. She’s a writer, journalist, essayist, and sometimes poet. She’s written daily news for the Winnipeg Free Press and StarMetro Halifax, and her work has also appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Coast, and the Discourse.

Rutgers is the first writer-in-residence at The Walrus, and over the next several months, she’ll be investigating housing issues in Winnipeg as just part of the housing crisis that Canada faces as a whole. Sheena Rossiter speaks with Rutgers about her upcoming investigative piece on the housing crisis, its causes, and its impacts.

We hear about Rutgers’s work thus far, her conversations with unhoused Canadians, and the underlying factors causing the housing crisis.

After that, we hear about what Rutgers is reading, watching, and listening to right now.

Finally, we check in on five things we’re talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Scenes from Canada’s Housing Crisis
• Trying to Make Ends Meet in Vancouver
• Why It’s Impossible to Buy a House

• Why Is Canadian Architecture So Bad?
• Challenging the Himalayas: Obsession and Danger in the Parvati Valley

Facebook: @thewalrus

Twitter: @thewalrus 

Instagram: @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Shayne Giles.

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music, and “Your Favourite Place” provided by Pixabay.