Jessica Johnson
@jessicajohnson.bsky.social
Co-author, “What Should the CBC Be?” (@mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social 2025). Adjunct professor @uoft.bsky.social. Former EIC @thewalrusca.bsky.social. I post here about writing, journalism and books.
Pinned
www.thebritishacademy.ac
With @emma-wilkie.bsky.social, I contributed a paper on Canadian public media to this anthology. Released by the @britishacademy.bsky.social ahead of the BBC’s 2027 license renewal, the collection explores case studies in public media around the world. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
Been reading up on ‘real time AI deep fakes’ today. it’s astounding to me that these companies making the software haven’t been able to find a way to minimize harm to the public caused by their products. They should, at least, be age-gated with a subscription.
spectrum.ieee.org/real-time-au...
spectrum.ieee.org/real-time-au...
Real-Time Audio Deepfakes Are Now a Reality
Real-time audio deepfakes are here, making voice phishing more convincing than ever.
spectrum.ieee.org
January 22, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Been reading up on ‘real time AI deep fakes’ today. it’s astounding to me that these companies making the software haven’t been able to find a way to minimize harm to the public caused by their products. They should, at least, be age-gated with a subscription.
spectrum.ieee.org/real-time-au...
spectrum.ieee.org/real-time-au...
In these 90s-forward times I put this on the syllabus of my Literary Journalism class @utoronto.ca this year. It has been so much fun to read it again. www.newyorker.com/magazine/199...
The Shit-Kickers of Madison Avenue
In 1995, Lillian Ross observed, with an anthropologist’s eye, the rituals of private-school teens on the Upper East Side.
www.newyorker.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:09 PM
In these 90s-forward times I put this on the syllabus of my Literary Journalism class @utoronto.ca this year. It has been so much fun to read it again. www.newyorker.com/magazine/199...
Just finished Heated Rivalry. It’s so good. I cried and cried.
The season itself has an arc. I found the first 1-3 episodes noncommittal and by the end was totally hooked.
The season itself has an arc. I found the first 1-3 episodes noncommittal and by the end was totally hooked.
January 21, 2026 at 2:47 AM
Just finished Heated Rivalry. It’s so good. I cried and cried.
The season itself has an arc. I found the first 1-3 episodes noncommittal and by the end was totally hooked.
The season itself has an arc. I found the first 1-3 episodes noncommittal and by the end was totally hooked.
Cleaning out old screenshots and I found this — one of my favourite AI Overview search results
January 14, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Cleaning out old screenshots and I found this — one of my favourite AI Overview search results
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
Michelle Good from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan is one of 80 people appointed to the Order of Canada this year.
Good is an author, advocate, lawyer and Sixties Scoop survivor.
Good is an author, advocate, lawyer and Sixties Scoop survivor.
Indigenous author and residential school advocate appointed to the Order of Canada | APTN News
YouTube video by APTN News
youtu.be
January 12, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Michelle Good from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan is one of 80 people appointed to the Order of Canada this year.
Good is an author, advocate, lawyer and Sixties Scoop survivor.
Good is an author, advocate, lawyer and Sixties Scoop survivor.
I can’t stop seeing things in relative terms now, so I point out this is over 2x the CBC/Radio-Canada budget. torontolife.com/city/this-ye...
This year's TTC operating budget will exceed $3 billion - Toronto Life
TTC chair Jamaal Myers said the transit agency needs to significantly boost ridership in order to improve its finances
torontolife.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:54 PM
I can’t stop seeing things in relative terms now, so I point out this is over 2x the CBC/Radio-Canada budget. torontolife.com/city/this-ye...
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
It’s not easy being an English northerner surrounded by southerners. Here’s how we survive | Robyn Vinter
It’s not easy being an English northerner surrounded by southerners. Here’s how we survive | Robyn Vinter
University undergraduates are forming northern societies, but in other circumstances we find different ways to be ourselves, says Guardian north of England correspondent Robyn Vinter
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:43 AM
It’s not easy being an English northerner surrounded by southerners. Here’s how we survive | Robyn Vinter
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
oh shit tomorrow is circle back day already
January 4, 2026 at 4:12 PM
oh shit tomorrow is circle back day already
With @emma-wilkie.bsky.social, I contributed a paper on Canadian public media to this anthology. Released by the @britishacademy.bsky.social ahead of the BBC’s 2027 license renewal, the collection explores case studies in public media around the world. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...
www.thebritishacademy.ac
December 29, 2025 at 8:15 PM
With @emma-wilkie.bsky.social, I contributed a paper on Canadian public media to this anthology. Released by the @britishacademy.bsky.social ahead of the BBC’s 2027 license renewal, the collection explores case studies in public media around the world. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications...
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
what’s a good starter thought for someone just getting into human sentience
December 29, 2025 at 7:36 PM
what’s a good starter thought for someone just getting into human sentience
“We have constructed a society where we have made financial markets and society into an analogous thing. And then people take the world of the trading floor out into their relationships, and I don’t know where that leaves them.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Mischievous Ex-Bankers Behind “Industry”
Konrad Kay and Mickey Down failed as financiers—but they’re making a killing by depicting the profession on HBO.
www.newyorker.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
“We have constructed a society where we have made financial markets and society into an analogous thing. And then people take the world of the trading floor out into their relationships, and I don’t know where that leaves them.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Peter Hujar’s Day is a beautiful testament to the days when artists lived in New York and made art for art’s sake. I loved it. In Toronto, it’s playing at #TIFF through this weekend. www.tiff.net/events/peter...
Peter Hujar's Day
TIFF is a charitable cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world, through film.
www.tiff.net
December 17, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Peter Hujar’s Day is a beautiful testament to the days when artists lived in New York and made art for art’s sake. I loved it. In Toronto, it’s playing at #TIFF through this weekend. www.tiff.net/events/peter...
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
"Any politician who says, "I'm for democracy," which a lot of politicians are doing these days, particularly Democrats, we should be asking them, 'What is your agenda for journalism?" Because if you want to defend democracy, you need to defend journalism."
December 16, 2025 at 7:51 PM
"Any politician who says, "I'm for democracy," which a lot of politicians are doing these days, particularly Democrats, we should be asking them, 'What is your agenda for journalism?" Because if you want to defend democracy, you need to defend journalism."
Why *is the Canadian government using British spelling though? Most of the time, to Canadian readers, it just looks unfamiliar. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Linguistic experts urge Carney government to stop using British spellings | CBC News
Promoters of Canadian English say the federal government is sending the wrong message to the world with its recent use of British spelling in official documents, including the 2025 federal budget.
www.cbc.ca
December 15, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Why *is the Canadian government using British spelling though? Most of the time, to Canadian readers, it just looks unfamiliar. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Perfect pairing: Randy Boyagoda interviews @shteyngart.bsky.social about his new novel “Vera, or Faith”, what’s going on in America, and how to deal with it all through satire.
December 13, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Perfect pairing: Randy Boyagoda interviews @shteyngart.bsky.social about his new novel “Vera, or Faith”, what’s going on in America, and how to deal with it all through satire.
Typefaces are political!
The idea that Times Roman is now a “Republican” font will take time to get used to. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The idea that Times Roman is now a “Republican” font will take time to get used to. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Font of ‘wasteful’ diversity: Trump’s state department orders return to Times New Roman
A cable from Marco Rubio reportedly said cutting Calibri from official communication would ‘abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program’
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Typefaces are political!
The idea that Times Roman is now a “Republican” font will take time to get used to. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The idea that Times Roman is now a “Republican” font will take time to get used to. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
“On one day in the preceding week, eight per cent of the population of Iqaluit came to eat hot lunches at the QCFC.”
“Some of them will say they never ate for how many days? I try not to get emotional. I get very sad, but I just try to keep my sadness in and try to help them in every way we can. I try to give leftovers to everyone.”
www.aptnnews.ca/featured/peo...
www.aptnnews.ca/featured/peo...
‘Having a hard time getting food’: Nunavut hunger crisis continues
‘People are having a hard time now getting food’: Nunavut hunger crisis continues as Indigenous Services Canada refuses to answer questions
www.aptnnews.ca
November 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
“On one day in the preceding week, eight per cent of the population of Iqaluit came to eat hot lunches at the QCFC.”
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
Currently talking to Julian Brave Noisecat for the Audacious Book Club. Join us: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Audacious Book Club Conversation with Julian Noisecat. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Audacious Book Club Conversation with Julian Noisecat. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
us02web.zoom.us
November 26, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Currently talking to Julian Brave Noisecat for the Audacious Book Club. Join us: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
I clearly must live in a very small bubble, but I honestly thought being able to buy B.C. wine in Ontario was the point of interprovincial trade. www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Alcohol industry disappointed to be left out of interprovincial trade agreement | CBC News
Some in the alcohol industry say they’re perplexed and disappointed that booze was left out of a recent agreement between provinces to drop interprovincial trade barriers.
www.cbc.ca
November 22, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I clearly must live in a very small bubble, but I honestly thought being able to buy B.C. wine in Ontario was the point of interprovincial trade. www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
I could handle the soft launch of Christmas carol season but wasn’t ready for the full libretto on Nov 18 🎄
November 18, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I could handle the soft launch of Christmas carol season but wasn’t ready for the full libretto on Nov 18 🎄
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
Review of "Elbows Up!" a very different sort of anthology www.krlnews.com/2025/11/elbo... #booksky @elamin.bsky.social @jessicajohnson.bsky.social @caroloff.bsky.social @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Review of "Elbows Up!" a very different sort of anthology www.krlnews.com/2025/11/elbo... #booksky @elamin.bsky.social @jessicajohnson.bsky.social @caroloff.bsky.social @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
Reposted by Jessica Johnson
But what alarms me in all this is how the girls who were victimized by these men are largely forgotten. I want us to find ways of centering them in the discourse.
November 12, 2025 at 8:13 PM
But what alarms me in all this is how the girls who were victimized by these men are largely forgotten. I want us to find ways of centering them in the discourse.
I love that a U of T expert just wrote a book about vanilla: "In the end, my experiments now serve as car fresheners." www.utoronto.ca/news/anythin...
Anything but plain: U of T researcher digs into vanilla's rich history
The word “vanilla” is often used as a synonym for bland or boring – but the University of Toronto’s Eric Jennings says the reality is quite the opposite. Jennings, a leading authority on modern French...
www.utoronto.ca
November 7, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I love that a U of T expert just wrote a book about vanilla: "In the end, my experiments now serve as car fresheners." www.utoronto.ca/news/anythin...
Looks like the Canadian federal government is maintaining a 2025 Liberal campaign commitment to give an additional $150 million to the CBC/Radio-Canada: budget.canada.ca/2025/report-...
Our plan: Building Canada strong | Budget 2025
Our plan: Building Canada strong — Part of Budget 2025.
budget.canada.ca
November 4, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Looks like the Canadian federal government is maintaining a 2025 Liberal campaign commitment to give an additional $150 million to the CBC/Radio-Canada: budget.canada.ca/2025/report-...