Simon Lewsen
@SimonLewsen
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I write the City Beat column for @DesignlinesMag. I also write scandal-y things for @TorontoLife, business-y things for @ROBmagca, & arty things for @TheWalrus.
Toronto
Joined February 2012
Today, we diagnose mental illness based on symptoms, not brain biology. This is unhelpful. If we were to diagnose shortness-of-breath the way we currently diagnose depression (by the symptom alone), we'd conflate anemia with heart disease. My June cover story for @thewalrus.
The science of mental illness is based on the study of symptoms. Fundamentally, scientists lack a biological understanding. Neuroscientists like Sean Hill (@wake_sleep) are trying to change this and get to the root of mental illness. 2/5 #mentalhealth
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Can Olivia Chow solve the housing crisis? I'm optimistic, for two big reasons. And pessimistic, for one big reason. Here's the latest instalment of my City Beat column for @DesignlinesMag.
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From my Q&A with housing minister @beynate, out today in @TorontoStar. "I don't disagree that there are competing interests in the housing market. But it’s not the government’s job to protect a certain amount of equity that has built up in a person’s home"
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This is an excellent piece. Also, I'm not sure that Ramaswamy understands the movie "Whiplash."
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And my sprawling feature for @TheLocal_TO on the housing crisis in Toronto, which might the best thing I’ve ever written. (I hope that @chloeellingson, who did the extraordinary images for this project, feels similarly proud of her contribution.)
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RT @thewalrus: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has parted ways with Justin Trudeau’s cabinet just ahead of the federal government’s expe…
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I interviewed @MayorOliviaChow for the @TorontoStar. Are we looking to fix the housing crisis?, I asked. Or are we merely looking to manage it?
Should Toronto start charging for access to downtown roads? Ask Doug Ford, says Olivia Chow. ‘There’s a wave coming:’ Why Toronto’s mayor still believes the housing crisis can be solved. #Opinion
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I interviewed the Mayor of Toronto about our depressing housing and traffic crises—and what it'll take to fix them.
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RT @thewalrus: New research suggests that exercise can help ease symptoms of depression, by boosting dopamine and decreasing inflammation.…
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RT @DesignlinesMag: "I’m the kind of person who will walk 20 kilometres uphill in the snow to avoid taking a bus. Buses suck." @SimonLewsen…
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RT @thewalrus: “One doesn’t have to like this film to appreciate what it does—the way it makes space for a certain kind of uninhibited crea…
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RT @catekustanczy: “I asked my husband, ‘Why did you bring me here?’” The whole 'we have to build ugly endless GTA suburbs because PEOPLE!…
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RT @TheLocal_TO: In many of the city’s central neighbourhoods most conducive to growth, there are fewer people today than in 1971. @simonle…
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RT @CoreyAtad: new Friday newsletter, on election season anxiety, Mati Diop's Dahomey, and shoutouts to @SimonLewsen, @minetsauvages, @Will…
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