The Deep Dive from The Walrus

The Walrus Podcasts
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The Deep Dive is a weekly podcast that goes deeper into everything we're working on at The Walrus. Tune in to hear from writers, talkers, illustrators, editors, and other contributors to the thought-provoking journalism, art, and events we create.

  1. Essays on Lip Service

    2022-06-09 · BONUS

    Essays on Lip Service

    Two former voices from The Walrus—Tajja Isen, the former digital editor, now editor-in-chief at Catapult magazine, and digital director Angela Misri, who by the time this episode is available will have moved on to Toronto Metropolitan University as its newest assistant professor. Misri talked to Isen about her new book, Some of my Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service. It’s an essay collection about race, justice, and the limits of good intentions. Tajja Isen is also the co-editor of the essay anthology The World As We Knew It: Dispatches from a Changing Climate. Some of My Best Friends is her debut essay collection. Angela Misri is a novelist and digital journalist based in Toronto. In this episode:Isen describes why she wrote this book and the journey she marked through writing it. Then Isen talks about the baggage people bring to the books they read and how she approached writing the nine essays in the collection. Isen then describes the toughest and easiest chapters to write and why absolution is a theme that shows up throughout. Isen also talks about the publishing industry and fighting the impulse to pigeonhole a book on a shelf or genre that is more than one thing. Finally, Isen gives some advice for new writers. Links:Why Success in Canada Means Moving to America Credits:This episode of The Deep Dive was produced by Simran Singh, Yasmin Duale, and Angela Misri and edited by Angela Misri. Thanks so much toTajja Isen for joining us this week. Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Ethereal Relaxation” by Kevin MacLeod. Ethereal Relaxation by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/8719-ethereal-relaxation License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

    15 min
  2. How Did Credit Scores Become So Powerful?

    2022-06-02

    How Did Credit Scores Become So Powerful?

    Credit scores are often the deciding factor for people’s most important financial milestones. Whether it’s getting approved for a mortgage, buying a car, or getting a loan, those three digits can make or break a person’s life.  But what might surprise you is that finding errors in your credit score is extremely common, and trying to fix it brings a whole other set of issues. In this episode:We hear from award-winning journalist Emily Baron Cadloff, who wrote the cover story of the June issue of The Walrus. She explains how credit scores have grown to hold so much power over our lives. Baron Cadloff then debunks some popular misconceptions about credit scores and talks about how common credit-score errors are and how to avoid them.  Finally, Baron Cadloff breaks down the main takeaways from her latest piece. Links: How Credit Scores Can Run—and Ruin—Our LivesCanada’s Middle Class Is on the Brink of RuinOwning Our PrivilegeCredits:  This week’s episode was produced and edited by Yasmin Duale and Simran Singh. Thanks so much to Emily Baron Cadloff for joining us. Music Credits: “Impact Prelude” by Kevin MacLeod Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7565-impact-prelude License: filmmusic.io/standard-license “Inspired” by Kevin MacLeod Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired License: filmmusic.io/standard-license

    18 min
  3. Getting to Know the 2022 Amazon First Novel Shortlist

    2022-05-26

    Getting to Know the 2022 Amazon First Novel Shortlist

    Recently, we announced the authors shortlisted for this year’s Amazon First Novel Award. This is the forty-sixth time this prize is being given out, and The Walrus is thrilled to be part of it. For The Deep Dive, we spoke to Emily Austin, Lisa Bird-Wilson, Pik-Shuen Fung, Brian Thomas Isaac, Conor Kerr, and Aimee Wall. We asked each shortlisted author the same five questions, and we’ve taken some of their answers and woven them into this episode. In this episode:We ask five questions of the shortlisted authors: Why is this novel important now? (Answered by Connor Kerr, Emily Austin, and Aimee Wall.) Who is your protagonist? (Answered by Pik Shuen Fung and Lisa Bird Wilson.) Why are first novels special? (Answered by Aimee Wall, Brian Thomas Isaac, and Connor Kerr.) What advice do you have for someone writing their first novel? (Answered by Lisa Bird Wilson and Brian Thomas Isaac.) Finally, we asked what all of the shortlisted authors are reading right now. Links:https://thewalrus.ca/partnerships/amazon-first-novel-award/ Credits: This episode of The Deep Dive was produced by Simran Singh and Angela Misri and edited by Angela Misri. Thanks so much to all the authors for joining us this week. Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab and“Limit 70” by Kevin MacLeod. “Limit 70” by Kevin MacLeod Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5710-limit-70 Licence: filmmusic.io/standard-license

    12 min
  4. When Your Allies Need You Most

    2022-05-19

    When Your Allies Need You Most

    Since 2015, Canada had deployments of ground troops in Ukraine, working to reform the country's military after the invasion of Crimea. In light of Russia’s most recent invasion of Ukraine, Sarah Lawrynuik wanted to take a look back at what the Canadian Armed Forces did there and how the training it provided has affected the country's ability to hold off Russian advancements.  It’s the long view on a story that is still developing and a war everyone hoped could be avoided. Lawrynuik is a journalist who has written for Foreign Policy, the Toronto Star, and New Scientist. In this episode: Sarah Lawrynuik talks about her family and where her interest in covering Eastern Europe and Ukraine comes from. She then describes witnessing Russia’s recent invasion from Canada and contacting her sources in Ukraine as the war progressed. Lawrynuik then talks about her desire to travel back to Ukraine and how hard it is to know that there is little she can do to help (something many of her sources describe feeling as well). Finally, Lawrynuik describes why she wants to go back to Ukraine as a journalist when she gets the chance. Links:What Impact Did Canada’s Military Have on Ukrainian Resistance? Credits: This episode of The Deep Dive was produced by Simran Singh and Angela Misri and edited by Angela Misri. Thanks so much to Sarah Lawrynuik for joining us this week. Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab and “Spring Thaw,” “Virtutes Instrumenti,” and “An Upsetting Theme” by Kevin MacLeod. Spring Thaw by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4409-spring-thaw License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license An Upsetting Theme by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3362-an-upsetting-theme License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4590-virtutes-instrumenti License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

    15 min
  5. Good Mom on Paper

    2022-05-12

    Good Mom on Paper

    Bridging the distance between being a mom and being an artist can feel impossible at times. A new anthology edited by Stacey May Fowles and Jen Sookfong Lee explores “the fraught, beautiful, and complicated relationship between motherhood and creativity.” This week at thewalrus.ca, we excerpted Teresa Wong’s essay about her portrait series based on her toddler’s tantrums. It’s one of twenty essays in the new collection Good Mom on Paper: Writers on Creativity and Motherhood.  Teresa Wong is a writer-in-residence at the University of Calgary and the author of Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression. Stacey May Fowles is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and novelist, the author of four books, and the editor of four anthologies. Jen Sookfong Lee was a columnist for CBC Radio One, has taught fiction at Simon Fraser University, and co-hosts the literary podcast Can’t Lit with Dina Del Bucchia. In this episode:First we hear from Fowles and Lee about where the idea for this anthology came from and why they work well together as co-editors. Then Fowles and Lee describe the guidance they gave to the twenty authors in the collection, and Wong talks about the process of pitching and developing her essay. As Wong’s editor, Fowles discusses what drew her to Wong’s writing and to this essay in particular. Wong finishes by describing the absolute worst tantrum she has ever witnessed. Links:Screaming and Watercolours: I Turned My Toddler’s Tantrums into Art Credits:This episode of The Deep Dive was produced by Simran Singh and Angela Misri and edited by Angela Misri. Thanks so much to Stacey May Fowles, Jen Sookfong Lee, and Teresa Wong for joining us this week. Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab and “Oh My,” by Patrick Patrikilous and “Umbrella Pants” by David MacLeod. Umbrella Pants by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4559-umbrella-pants License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

    14 min
  6. Students of Death

    2022-05-05

    Students of Death

    Since COVID-19, we have all become more aware of death. We are bombarded with data on a weekly basis, watching charts and calculating deaths, all while trying to function in our daily lives. But our anxieties around death are not new, even if this pandemic is bringing them front and centre. What’s new is that everyone is talking about death rather than just those directly affected by it. In this atmosphere, writer David Swick became fascinated by a unique postsecondary degree program in thanatology—the study of death—and by the students that feel compelled to dive deep into what is often a taboo subject. Swick is an assistant professor at the University of King’s College, in Halifax, where he teaches journalism ethics. Credits: This episode of The Deep Dive was produced by Simran Singh and Angela Misri and edited by Angela Misri. Thanks so much to David Swick for joining us this week.  Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music, “Shores of Avalon” by Kevin Macleod, and “Scandinavianz” by Skydancer. Screen Saver by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5715-screen-saver 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 Shores of Avalon by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4349-shores-of-avalon License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

    15 min
  7. How to Boost Organ Donation (Without More Donors)

    2022-04-28

    How to Boost Organ Donation (Without More Donors)

    Organ donation is complex for many reasons: not only is it often an emotional decision that has to be made during a family’s time of grief, but many factors have to align for a recipient to receive the organ from a donor. And, in Canada, with its vast geography, getting organs to those in need before it’s too late becomes even more difficult.  Karin Olafson explains why so many donated organs can’t be used, how two Canadian doctors are working to ease the logistical strain on the donation process, and why she decided to look into this issue in the first place. Olafson is a Vancouver-based writer who focuses on health, science, and fitness.  Credits:This week’s episode of The Deep Dive was produced and edited by Angela Misri and Sheena Rossiter.  Thanks so much to Karin Olafson for joining us this week.  Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music, “Young Ballad” by Serge Quadrado, and “Screen Saver” and "Comfortable Mystery” by Kevin MacLeod. Screen Saver by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5715-screen-saver 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 Links:How Two Doctors Are Hacking the Transplant SystemWhen Sports Fans Change the GameThe Walrus Talks: What’s Next (Toronto)

    19 min
  8. How Photography Helps Rawi Hage Tell Stories

    2022-04-21

    How Photography Helps Rawi Hage Tell Stories

    Season 1, Episode 14 How Photography Helps Rawi Hage Tell StoriesThis week we dive into the world of fiction, and we’re in conversation with award-winning writer Rawi Hage. Born in Beirut, he lived in Lebanon through the civil war in the 1970s and then immigrated to Canada in 1992. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and you might know him for acclaimed novels such as De Niro’s Game, Cockroach, and Beirut Hellfire Society.  Hage recently released his first collection of short stories, Stray Dogs. In the May issue of The Walrus, we featured the story “The Wave.” Hage recently sat down with Jessica Johnson, the editor-in-chief at The Walrus, to talk about his latest book, being a political writer, and identity.  In this episode:Rawi Hage talks about writing short stories and finding inspiration in photography.  Hage then discusses writing about marginalized people.  He also describes becoming disillusioned with traditional photography—or at least of his place in it. Hage talks about the local aesthetics of photography and the intersections between photography and the written word. Finally, Hage talks about why he needs distance from his work and the nature of human beings to move between victim and victimizer. Links:Hear more about JS Rutger’s story about housing inequality: thewalrus.ca/podcasts-the-deep-dive-s1e2/Read an excerpt from Rawi Hage’s new short story collection: thewalrus.ca/the-wave/thewalrus.ca/im-not-your-kind-of-muslim/thewalrus.ca/ok-ok-blue-jays/spoon-tamago.com/2022/04/13/koenji-writing-cafe/ Credits:Thanks for joining us on this week’s episode of The Deep Dive. It was produced by Sheena Rossiter and myself with editing help from Simran Singh. Thanks so much to Rawi Hage for joining us this week and to Jessica Johnson for doing the interview. Music for this podcast is provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music. Additional music includes “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab, “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music, “Floating Cities” by David MacLeod, and “Oh My” by Patrick Patrikios.  Floating Cities by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3765-floating-cities License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

    13 min
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The Deep Dive is a weekly podcast that goes deeper into everything we're working on at The Walrus. Tune in to hear from writers, talkers, illustrators, editors, and other contributors to the thought-provoking journalism, art, and events we create.

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