“The $11-billion Subway War” – Toronto Life, January, 2022. “The Ontario Line will zip across the core and up to Eglinton, easing gridlock and alleviating TTC misery. It will also plow through peaceful Toronto neighbourhoods, displacing homes, businesses and everything else in its path. That is, unless the residents have anything to say about it.”
“The Shadowy World of International Students” – The Walrus, December, 2021. “Foreign students are lied to and exploited on every front. They’re also propping up higher education as we know it”
“The Simpsons” – Toronto Life, July, 2020.” – Toronto Life, July, 2020. From the outside, it looked like any other Forest Hill mansion. Inside, it housed dozens of children from around the world—kids from war-torn countries, kids other people gave back, kids who had nowhere else to go. The story of the family who couldn’t stop adopting.”
“Children’s Village Forever” – The Local, July, 2019. “Ontario Place designer Eric McMillan invented the ball pit, built the epicentre of kid-life for a generation of Torontonians and, for a brief moment, promised to revolutionize the way we play.”
“No Fixed Address” – Toronto Life, January, 2019. “Shelters are overwhelmed, social housing is a mess, rents are exorbitant. The cost: 100 deaths a year. How a city obsessed with growth and prosperity forgot about its most vulnerable.”
“The Roma of Flemingdon Park” – The Local, August, 2018. “Jen Quinlan was just trying to get Roma kids to the dentist. She ended up picking a fight with one of Canada’s richest real estate companies.”
“Selling China by the Sleeve Dance” – Hazlitt, October 2017. “Beneath the ubiquitous posters for the Shen Yun ballet is a battle between dissidents and the state over the soul of a nation, both at home and across the diaspora.”
“How to End a Life” – Toronto Life, May 2017. “A year after assisted suicide became legal, only a small number of physicians are willing to perform the procedure, and their numbers are shrinking. Taking a life is harder than they thought.”
“The Autism Wars” – Toronto Life, December 2016. “When Christian Thorndyke misbehaved at school, he says his teachers confined him to a tiny room for hours at a time with no food or water. They called it an alternative learning environment. Christian’s mom called it prison, and she’s suing the school board for $16 million”
“Low Stakes Forever” – Hazlitt, April 2016. An essay on nostalgia culture and a profile of my childhood hero, kids author Gordon Korman.
“The Crowdsourced Liver” – Toronto Life, December 2015. (NMA nomination, Reprinted in The Guardian and Reader’s Digest) When the billionaire sports magnate Eugene Melnyk was diagnosed with liver failure, he crowdsourced a new organ and kick-started a trend.
“Hockey’s Puppy Mill” – The Walrus, December 2015. A teenager takes the Canadian Hockey League to court for exploitative labour practices. He finds out what happens when you go up against a country’s national mythology.
“The Sex Ed Revolution” – Toronto Life, September 2015. A feature on a new and surprising political coalition fighting against sex education in Ontario.
“For Kids, By Kids – But Not For Long” – Hazlitt Magazine, December 2014. What happens when teenage YouTubers grow up? (National Magazine Award winner)
“The Family That Won’t Leave” – Toronto Life, September 2014 (NMA nomination). “Like hundreds of other Hungarian Roma, Jozsef Pusuma and Timea Daroczi came to Toronto seeking asylum. The refugee board believes they’re bilking the system. The Pusumas say they’re avoiding certain death”
“The Wizards of Opera: how two dapper Germans made Toronto fall in love with opera” – Toronto Life, March 2014
“Grow Industry: Marijuana prohibition is destined to end. Who will become the Seagrams of weed?” – The Walrus (cover story), April 2013
“Mixie Me: A Mixed-Race Generation is Transforming The City” – Toronto Life, February 2013 (Cover story, 2 NMA nominations)
“A Life Interrupted: Hassan Rasouli’s journey from an earache to a high-stakes battle over end-of-life decisions” – Toronto Life, November 2012 (NMA nomination)
“The Anti-Ford: Profile of Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam” – Toronto Life, February 2012 (NMA nomination)
“Cop Out: Profile of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair” – Toronto Life, August 2011 (NMA Nomination)
“The Housekeepers Revolt” – Toronto Life, April 2011
“Hell House: Inside the Don Jail” – Toronto Life, December 2010 (National Magazine Award silver medal)
“What the Elephants Know” – Toronto Life, July 2010
“Everybody Must Get Stoned” – Toronto Life, June 2009 (National Magazine Award nomination)
“Lost in Translation” – Toronto Life, August 2008, (Included in the anthology The Best Canadian Essays 2009)
Nicholas Hune-Brown 