The Walrus’s Most-Read Articles of May 2025
Unsplash / Rijksmuseum, The Netherlands / Brian Morgan
Readers responded to an eclectic array of stories this past month, from wonkish takes on defence contracts to essays on the economics of writing to deep dives into a big Canadian business.
Thanks for reading!
1. What Would It Take for Canada to Build Its Own Fighter Jets Again? by
Carney throws a grenade into the F-35 defence deal as the US becomes a less reliable ally
NATO partner Portugal has launched a review of its own F-35 purchase, and in Canada, tensions with the Donald Trump administration and a dramatically altered geopolitical order are triggering similar doubts about the deal and whether it still fits our defence priorities. The Gripen E, once a long shot, is suddenly back in play.
2. The Death of Shopify’s Start-up Dream, One Layoff at a Time by Josh Greenblatt
How the company chased scale, hit a wall, retrenched, and became the very thing it promised not to be
A track record of innovation and technical prowess once made Shopify a revered homegrown success that could compete on a global scale. But as the e-commerce boom busted, Shopify committed a cardinal sin: it overpromised and underdelivered. According to one former staff member, the company aggressively sold an impossible dream to aspiring entrepreneurs, knowing the chances of long-term success were far lower than promised.
3. How to Make a Living as a Writer by
Horse stories in the morning, erotica in the afternoon
The number of pitches I was landing couldn’t comfortably sustain me. And it often took ages for me to get paid for my work. A fully written article might be put on hold—it would sit and collect virtual dust, and I wouldn’t be paid until it was published. I knew I needed more consistent work. I longed for some sort of paycheque I could rely on month to month. My savings dwindled as I paid for rent, pricey physiotherapy appointments, and adaptive tools.
4. I Regret My Tesla by
I wanted to be good. Then the car company fell from grace
Like a lot of Tesla owners, I recently found myself looking on the internet for bumper stickers. One favourite is “I bought this before Elon went crazy.” But in my case, if I am being honest, that’s not exactly true.
5. The Pill That Promises to Cure Grief by Ayesha Habib
Some experts aren’t so convinced it’s a good idea
One contender has emerged to be the world’s first grief pill: naltrexone. The drug came into the market in 1984, to treat alcohol and opioid addictions by cutting off the pleasure one feels from the substance. Recent research, spearheaded by Prigerson, theorizes that a grieving person thinking of the deceased triggers the “reward center” of the brain—like a drug—and naltrexone could help diminish that obsessive focus.