Christopher Cwynar
@cwynar.bsky.social
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, Communications, Trent University Durham GTA. Interested in public (service) media, podcasting, and cycling.
Ok, this @reckless.bsky.social piece in @theverge.com is definitely the most fun piece of service journalism I've read this year (or maybe ever).
www.theverge.com/tech/641940/...
www.theverge.com/tech/641940/...
Best printer 2025: just buy a Brother laser printer, the winner is clear, middle finger in the air
Best Printer 2025: wireless laser home office supply shop now Brother
www.theverge.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Ok, this @reckless.bsky.social piece in @theverge.com is definitely the most fun piece of service journalism I've read this year (or maybe ever).
www.theverge.com/tech/641940/...
www.theverge.com/tech/641940/...
What a brilliant idea for a thread :)
what is the franklin’s tower of house music
November 23, 2025 at 6:40 PM
What a brilliant idea for a thread :)
Congratulations to Henry Adam Svec on the release of his new podcast series! Souwesto Gothic is a fun and irreverent take on on the narrative nonfiction investigative podcasting genre that leans into the heavy vibe that is 'Ontario gothic.' Give it a spin!
Souwesto Gothic
Tales of weirdness and woe from Southwestern Ontario.
www.souwestogothic.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Congratulations to Henry Adam Svec on the release of his new podcast series! Souwesto Gothic is a fun and irreverent take on on the narrative nonfiction investigative podcasting genre that leans into the heavy vibe that is 'Ontario gothic.' Give it a spin!
My friend Justin is putting on this innovative event this evening in downtown Oshawa. If you like movies, and/or are interested in AI and climate change, this free screening and discussion might be for you.
Tonight! If you are in the GTA please join me at @ontariotechu.bsky.social's beautiful Regent Theatre for a screening of short films followed by a panel of industry experts talking about the unique challenges/opportunities posed by AI and climate change in media production. The event is free!
November 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
My friend Justin is putting on this innovative event this evening in downtown Oshawa. If you like movies, and/or are interested in AI and climate change, this free screening and discussion might be for you.
This @dkthomp.bsky.social post on the convergence of various contemporary media forms into streaming video is packed with insight. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of social media and its broader social contexts.
Everything Is Television
A theory of culture and attention
www.derekthompson.org
October 13, 2025 at 4:24 PM
This @dkthomp.bsky.social post on the convergence of various contemporary media forms into streaming video is packed with insight. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of social media and its broader social contexts.
Here is a remarkable segment from the CBC's The Current featuring Fogo Island Inn founder and tech executive Zita Cobb. Cobb's energy, ingenuity, and deep commitment to her community are striking. Her model needs to be studied and selectively applied across Canada.
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca
October 13, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Here is a remarkable segment from the CBC's The Current featuring Fogo Island Inn founder and tech executive Zita Cobb. Cobb's energy, ingenuity, and deep commitment to her community are striking. Her model needs to be studied and selectively applied across Canada.
Reposted by Christopher Cwynar
SOUTH HAVEN PEACHES WON’T BLOW YOU AWAY BUT YOU KNOW THAT THEY’LL STAY
south haven peaches, painted by l. c. c. krieger, 1936
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
SOUTH HAVEN PEACHES WON’T BLOW YOU AWAY BUT YOU KNOW THAT THEY’LL STAY
Whatever one thinks of the #CFL rule changes - I think they could be beneficial, FWIW - a new commissioner instituting them quickly without extensive consultation with all stakeholders set the whole thing up for failure.
Nathan Rourke calls new CFL changes 'garbage' says players, coaches weren't consulted
YouTube video by TSN
www.youtube.com
September 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Whatever one thinks of the #CFL rule changes - I think they could be beneficial, FWIW - a new commissioner instituting them quickly without extensive consultation with all stakeholders set the whole thing up for failure.
For years, I've been saying that we're moving away from this exceptional historical period in which frequent restaurant dining has been normalized across class groups. It seems that society is now moving firmly in that direction. globalnews.ca/news/1143992...
Cost of living drives 3 in 4 Canadians to skip eating out, report shows - National | Globalnews.ca
A little more than half (51 per cent) of millennials make a purchase from a restaurant at least once a week, followed by 47 per cent of Gen Z Canadians, the report showed.
globalnews.ca
September 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
For years, I've been saying that we're moving away from this exceptional historical period in which frequent restaurant dining has been normalized across class groups. It seems that society is now moving firmly in that direction. globalnews.ca/news/1143992...
Scrolling together is the new bowling alone lol
People aren't even bowling alone anymore.
September 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Scrolling together is the new bowling alone lol
Apart from the obvious issues with the core argument here, the argument that 'the tech is not going away so we should use it and get used to it" is so pernicious. It's as though the swiftness of AI's rise, coupled with the tech's awesome power, has disarmed our collective critical faculties.
nope
Whooo, buddy.
September 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Apart from the obvious issues with the core argument here, the argument that 'the tech is not going away so we should use it and get used to it" is so pernicious. It's as though the swiftness of AI's rise, coupled with the tech's awesome power, has disarmed our collective critical faculties.
Kostova really nails a certain side the typical North American grad school expertise, IMO; this sentence perfectly encapsulates the strange blend of feelings one experiences while learning to produce the sort of critique that works to sustain the very system it is ostensibly seeking to change.
September 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Kostova really nails a certain side the typical North American grad school expertise, IMO; this sentence perfectly encapsulates the strange blend of feelings one experiences while learning to produce the sort of critique that works to sustain the very system it is ostensibly seeking to change.
This article by @niemanlab.org details a new white paper that may suggest a direction forward for public media organizations as AI-free producers and curators of reliable information.
Trusted news sites may benefit in an internet full of AI-generated fakes, a new study finds
An economics paper found subscriber retention and daily visits both increased after readers were confronted with a difficult quiz with AI-generated images.
www.niemanlab.org
August 28, 2025 at 7:40 PM
This article by @niemanlab.org details a new white paper that may suggest a direction forward for public media organizations as AI-free producers and curators of reliable information.
For many people, talk radio isn't just about filling time; it's also about combatting isolation through parasocial connection and/or the indistinct sense of 'company' that radio provides. I wonder how many people in NA have had their views altered as byproduct of simply not wanting to feel alone.
I’ve been staying with my 80 year old dad for a week plus now and I have to say… for the still significant population that only has broadcast tv and doesn’t really use internet… I get why their view of reality is so warped. Add in his habit of filling time with talk radio and it’s worse.
August 25, 2025 at 2:48 PM
For many people, talk radio isn't just about filling time; it's also about combatting isolation through parasocial connection and/or the indistinct sense of 'company' that radio provides. I wonder how many people in NA have had their views altered as byproduct of simply not wanting to feel alone.
Stumbled across this lovely 2013 recording of a rehearsal session featuring Daniel Lanois, Jim Wilson, and Steve Nistor (a great version of Lanois' trio). It's ideal music for a grey late-summer morning.
Daniel Lanois, Jim Wilson and Steve Nistor Rehearsing August 2013
YouTube video by PorcelainRecords
www.youtube.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Stumbled across this lovely 2013 recording of a rehearsal session featuring Daniel Lanois, Jim Wilson, and Steve Nistor (a great version of Lanois' trio). It's ideal music for a grey late-summer morning.
"We love nostalgia when it doesn’t outright feel like a carbon copy of something that is already a perfect version of what it is.
Nostalgia, paradoxically, only works when it also offers something fresh, building on what was there before..."
Nostalgia, paradoxically, only works when it also offers something fresh, building on what was there before..."
Have we passed the peak of nostalgia?
We love nostalgia, but it only works in today's world when it also offers something completely new, something fresh to hold onto that's not imitation.
faroutmagazine.co.uk
August 20, 2025 at 6:19 PM
"We love nostalgia when it doesn’t outright feel like a carbon copy of something that is already a perfect version of what it is.
Nostalgia, paradoxically, only works when it also offers something fresh, building on what was there before..."
Nostalgia, paradoxically, only works when it also offers something fresh, building on what was there before..."
At nearly 74, the affable legend #DanielLanois played an inspired show last night at the Regent Theatre in Oshawa. He favored us with some of his classic songs, great pedal steel pieces, and singular guitar work. In lieu of material from last night, here's a phenomenal 2008 show from the CBC.
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca
August 19, 2025 at 6:08 PM
At nearly 74, the affable legend #DanielLanois played an inspired show last night at the Regent Theatre in Oshawa. He favored us with some of his classic songs, great pedal steel pieces, and singular guitar work. In lieu of material from last night, here's a phenomenal 2008 show from the CBC.
Very much looking forward to basking in the waves of sound that are sure to be rolling off the stage at tonight's #DanielLanois show in Oshawa. Hoping he breaks out 'Slow Giving,' a mesmerizing song that perfectly captures Lanois' distinctive style and lyrical sensibility.
Daniel Lanois - Slow Giving
YouTube video by DanLanois
youtu.be
August 18, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Very much looking forward to basking in the waves of sound that are sure to be rolling off the stage at tonight's #DanielLanois show in Oshawa. Hoping he breaks out 'Slow Giving,' a mesmerizing song that perfectly captures Lanois' distinctive style and lyrical sensibility.
The @npr.org Tiny Desk finally hosts the Mekons in this boisterous and cathartic session. The new songs sound just as strong, and are sadly just as relevant, as the selections from 1985's classic 'Fear and Whiskey'.
Mekons: Tiny Desk Concert
YouTube video by NPR Music
youtu.be
August 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The @npr.org Tiny Desk finally hosts the Mekons in this boisterous and cathartic session. The new songs sound just as strong, and are sadly just as relevant, as the selections from 1985's classic 'Fear and Whiskey'.
RIP to the great Bobby Whitlock, a talented vocalist, pianist, and composer who was a key force behind the classic Derek & the Dominoes album. I've always loved the Memphis style he brings to his version of their classic tune, Bell Bottom Blues.
Bobby Whitlock & Eric Clapton - Bell Bottom Blues (Later with Jools Holland Apr '00)
YouTube video by TheGRStars
youtu.be
August 13, 2025 at 1:29 AM
RIP to the great Bobby Whitlock, a talented vocalist, pianist, and composer who was a key force behind the classic Derek & the Dominoes album. I've always loved the Memphis style he brings to his version of their classic tune, Bell Bottom Blues.
Not sure what it says about this particular phase of my life that I suddenly find myself consistently gravitating towards the #theholdsteady. The band's Constantines-like hard rock and Craig Finn's indie-Dylan lyrics seem to have caught up to this middle-aged dad lol.
Hold Steady - Live at Hovefestival Norway 2007
YouTube video by Torgeir Gullbekk Hansen
www.youtube.com
August 12, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Not sure what it says about this particular phase of my life that I suddenly find myself consistently gravitating towards the #theholdsteady. The band's Constantines-like hard rock and Craig Finn's indie-Dylan lyrics seem to have caught up to this middle-aged dad lol.
Attention food and media scholars: here's a great-looking call for an edited collection on food, media, and distaste.
Call for chapters! | Diana Willis
Call for chapters!
Scholars, are you working on scholarship related to rhetoric and disgust? If you're interested, please be in touch!
***************
Call for Chapters: The Yuck Factor – The Rhet...
www.linkedin.com
August 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Attention food and media scholars: here's a great-looking call for an edited collection on food, media, and distaste.
Does the question even need to be posed?
Is the A.I. Boom Turning Into an A.I. Bubble?
As the stock prices of Big Tech companies continue to rise and eye-popping I.P.O.s reëmerge, echoes of the dot-com era are getting louder.
www.newyorker.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Does the question even need to be posed?
Here's a @wired.com story that features some insightful thoughts from my pal @devonjp.bsky.social on the lack of a 'song of the summer' for 2025 and what that says about our current moment.
The Song of the Summer Is Dead
In an age of wavering consensus and widening divisions, music reflects the times more than ever. One factor missing from the discussion of this year’s song of the summer? The Donald Trump of it all.
www.wired.com
August 9, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Here's a @wired.com story that features some insightful thoughts from my pal @devonjp.bsky.social on the lack of a 'song of the summer' for 2025 and what that says about our current moment.
This is a pretty neat story. We definitely need more of this sort of thing in North America if strong local reporting is to survive.
120-year-old B.C. newspaper purchased by local Indigenous-owned corporation | CBC News
A 120-year-old publication in B.C.'s Interior has been purchased by an Indigenous-owned corporation that says it is determined to represent and uplift the community it serves.
www.cbc.ca
August 8, 2025 at 12:29 AM
This is a pretty neat story. We definitely need more of this sort of thing in North America if strong local reporting is to survive.