Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alex Kohut

@alexjkohut.bsky.social

230 followers 560 following 140 posts

Founder, North Poll Strategies. Formerly Senior Manager of Research & Advertising for the PM of Canada

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Mar 14

Big professional news: I'm launching my own polling firm called North Poll Strategies!

Excited about this next step that will allow me to continue polling Canadians for my newsletter, while delivering custom research solutions for clients!

More information: northpoll.substack.com/p/introducin...

Introducing North Poll Strategies!

I'm launching my own polling firm, and celebrating with a discount on paid subscriptions to my re-branded Substack

northpoll.substack.com

1 1 4

Reposted by Alex Kohut

Dr Kat Day (she/her) @chronicleflask.katday.com · 2d

Daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda Williams 💔

zeldawilliams
20m
From Create Mode
••
Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I'll understand, I don't and I won't. If you're just trying to troll me, I've seen way worse, i'll restrict and move on. But please, if you've got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop. It's dumb, it's a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it's NOT what he'd want.
To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to 'this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that's enough,
, just so
other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening. You're not making art, you're making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else's throat hoping they'll give you a little thumbs up and like it.
Gross.

And for the love of EVERYTHING, stop calling it 'the future. Al is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be reconsumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line, all while the folks at the front laugh and laugh, consume and consume.

81 7K 16K

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · 5d

Have you ever had an idea for a better design for political signs?

I'm polling to find out the most effective and persuasive sign designs and crowd-sourcing ideas for what to test:

open.substack.com/pub/northpol...

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · 22d

In the wake of Bonnie Crombie's resignation, I wrote about why the next Liberal leader will need to embrace a comprehensive party rebuild and show Ontarians the OLP is a changed party before it can sell itself as a party of change.

#onpoli

northpoll.substack.com/p/an-open-le...

An Open Letter to the Next Ontario Liberal Party Leader

The next Liberal leader will have to demonstrate that the Ontario Liberals are a changed party before it can position itself as the party of change.

northpoll.substack.com

Reposted by Alex Kohut

Corey Hogan 🇨🇦 @coreyhogan.ca · 22d

This week, Parliament is back from summer recess. But what does an MP do all summer?

7 6 22

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Sep 5

Why don't more people run for office and how can we change the political environment to encourage the best and brightest in Canada to pursue public service?

I talked to @angeliawagner.bsky.social about her book, "The Candidacy Calculation" for my newsletter:

northpoll.substack.com/p/why-qualif...

Why Qualified People are Declining to Run for Office and How We Can Change That (with Angelia Wagner)

Angelia Wagner's new book, "The Candidacy Calculation" provides a crucial look into the barriers preventing people from running for office and the solutions political parties could pursue.

northpoll.substack.com

3 4

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 26

And even more importantly, if something is a mixed bag in polling but you feel you have a moral imperative to speak out about it, you can move public opinion through persuasive communications - something you will never do if you avoid the subject.

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 26

There is often political value in standing up for things you believe are important - even if a specific position polls less than perfectly, building a brand that you have convictions and are willing to take a strong stand is really important when a lot of people vote more on vibes than on policy.

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 26

The big dichotomy in American politics right now is that Republicans are saying what they believe without regard for consequences while Democrats are trying not to talk about the things they believe in and subsequently losing elections for being perceived as inauthentic and unprincipled.

Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · Aug 25

This memo is being sent to Democratic leaders/elites,
arguing that directly attacking Trump's deployment of the National Guard in DC is politically unwise. It encourages the use of terms like distraction and stunt. (I am not endorsing this kind of thinking at all. ) www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bz9d8...

www.dropbox.com

Reposted by Alex Kohut

Lindsey Cormack @dcinbox.bsky.social · Aug 22

Privilege - used way more by Republicans

10 210 1.4K

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 23

Would love to know why the NYT reporters didn't think it was newsworthy the first three times they saw the Adams campaign giving cash to reporters at events.

You would think that a serious news organization would want to investigate that

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · Aug 22

lol NYT www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/n...

Reposted by Alex Kohut

Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · Aug 17

We are on the cusp of AGI, definitely for real

Google search for "all you can eat buffet near me" with an "ai overview" of the results saying that you can use Google to search "all you can eat buffet near me" to find a buffet.

61 780 3.7K

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 14

This is my favourite post I’ve written on Substack so far!

It answers many questions including:
- Does it matter if a candidate is listed first on the ballot ?
- Do candidates with longer names win more votes?
- Is the Ford name cursed in federal politics?

northpoll.substack.com/p/alphabetic...

Alphabetical Order Doesn't Matter on a Ballot, But Name Length Might

Measuring the successes and failures of candidate names in federal elections from Aalborg, Anders to Zznoneoff, Thea Bove

northpoll.substack.com

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 7

Tells you a lot about the current state of the online crypto community that this group thinks throwing sex toys at female athletes will make their community *less toxic*

Meghan L. Hall @itsmeghanlhall.bsky.social · Aug 7

The people behind the sex toys at WNBA games is an unlikely source: crypto traders.

USA TODAY tracked down the group and started with several questions, but perhaps most important:

WHY?

Crypto group claims responsibility for hurling sex toys at WNBA games

A spokesman for the cryptocurrency meme coin creators told USA TODAY Sports they launched sex toys as a lighthearted joke.

www.usatoday.com

Reposted by Alex Kohut

Aaron Wherry @aaronwherry.bsky.social · Aug 7

My takeaway here is that parties should be recruiting more lumber merchants.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Does the Profession of a Political Candidate Matter at the Ballot Box?

An exploration into the political success of candidates from all professional backgrounds, from lawyers and economists to truck drivers and professional wrestlers.

substack.com

1 8

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 6

There's one job that sets the standard for futility with 0 wins and 91 losses at the ballot box. Can you guess what it is?

Hint: It's an occupation that's familiar with occupations.

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Aug 6

What kind of professional background makes for the best political candidate?

I've gone through the history of federal candidates in Canada and found the most common professions, the professions that win most frequently and the ones have always lost (so far).

northpoll.substack.com/publish/post...

Does the Profession of a Political Candidate Matter at the Ballot Box?

An exploration into the political success of candidates from all professional backgrounds, from lawyers and economists to truck drivers and professional wrestlers.

northpoll.substack.com

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 31

I keep hoping this government's enthusiasm in AI is grounded in some immensely useful outcome they're driving towards that I'm just not seeing, but they give the worst examples what they want from AI.

We're abandoning regulation for the sake of speeding up the path to AI driven baby strollers.

Supriya Dwivedi @supriya.bsky.social · Jul 31

“There’s also GlüxKind, from Vancouver, which is developing a self-driving baby carriage.”

ah yes, what every parent wants: to put their newborn children into motorized sentient robots

torontolife.com/city/evan-so...

“I was such a nerd. I learned guitar just so I wouldn’t get beat up”: A Q&A with Evan Solomon, Canada’s new minister of AI - Toronto Life

The newly minted MP has accepted a precarious portfolio: promoting the power of artificial intelligence without letting it annihilate us all

torontolife.com

2 7 10

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 30

This week for my newsletter I talked to Neil McKenna about the unique opportunities and challenges of communicating political messages in Atlantic Canada, where retail politics is alive and well. #cdnpoli

northpoll.substack.com/p/neil-mcken...

Neil McKenna on Doing Politics in Atlantic Canada and Providing Mental Health Supports on Parliament Hill

I talked to an expert on Atlantic Canada politics about why politicians need to have a different, more relationship-focused approach to campaigning and communicating in Eastern Canada

northpoll.substack.com

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 29

Looking forward to reading this!

Always exciting to see new research examining some of the behind the scenes challenges that impact the health of our democracy

Dr. Angelia Wagner @angeliawagner.bsky.social · Jul 29

After years of hard work, I am happy to announce that my book The Candidacy Calculation has been published by UTP. The book takes a nuanced view of traditional barriers to candidacy such as money & family as well as emerging ones such as online harassment & social media scandals. lnkd.in/gKDkMHqs

1 1 1

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 25

Lots more in my newsletter post, including the story of the MP who ran unopposed on five separate occasions and the wild tale of Mary Louise Black who came to the Yukon on a treasure hunt and ended up serving as Canada's second ever female Member of Parliament

northpoll.substack.com/p/a-history-...

A History of Federal Election Candidates in Canada (Part 1)

Including why more candidates won than lost in the 1800s, the world record holder for losing elections, and the treasure hunt that led to Canada's second female MP.

northpoll.substack.com

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 25

The fact that we still see more men than women elected is more a result of a gap in the number of male and female candidates. The 2020s is the first decade in Canadian history where men did not make up more than two-thirds of all candidates for federal office, and we're still far away from parity.

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 25

There's lots of discussion about whether men are more electable - that seems to have been the case before 1990, but the gap in the % of male and female candidates who win has shrunk to only a couple of points in modern day. #cdnpoli

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 25

I've been combing through the 48,717 names that have appeared on federal election ballots in Canada to look at trends and interesting stories.

One thing I noticed is how competitive races have become. Before 1900, more than half of all candidates who ran for office won, but that's dropped to 16%

1 3

Reposted by Alex Kohut

Aaron Wherry @aaronwherry.bsky.social · Jul 25

The use of the word "official" here is perfect comedy.

(The rest of the post — a historical analysis of candidates in federal elections by @alexjkohut.bsky.social — is also very interesting.)

northpoll.substack.com/p/a-history-...

5 22

Alex Kohut @alexjkohut.bsky.social · Jul 22

This is silly for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that Newsweek is making themselves obsolete.

Maybe theres novelty value clicks today, but longterm no one will subscribe to Newsweek to find out what ChatGPT says when they can just go ask ChatGPT themselves. What value is Newsweek adding?

G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · Jul 21

what the fuck is this shit