Sign in

Harley Rustad

@harleyrustad.com
1K followers 191 following 107 posts

Senior editor @thewalrus.ca: harley@thewalrus.ca Author of LOST IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH (2022) and BIG LONELY DOUG (2018) Founder @portrenfrewwritersretreat.com harleyrustad.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 24/09/2026
A story to send to every member of your family. @rachelbrowne.ca's latest investigation for @thewalrus.ca on the ubiquitous, ruthless grandparent scam—with a Shakespearean twist near the end. thewalrus.ca/grandparent-...
021
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Michelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 21/09/2026
my kid came home with her Scholastic catalogue last week with a hopeful checkmark next to a vending machine-shaped eraser set (??) anyway for @thewalrus.ca I wrote about why it's bad & weird that our public school libraries rely on a corporation that directly advertises to children in the classroom
2275
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 16/09/2026
Our Best Books of Fall 2026 is out! My pick is an excellent new book by Andrew Westoll about the place/role of zoos today. thewalrus.ca/best-books-2...
thewalrus.ca
The Best Books of Fall 2026 | The Walrus
Ten titles you’ll need to get your hands on
011
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 06/07/2026
We can't say we're surprised. thewalrus.ca/i-love-socce...
thewalrus.ca
FIFA Is So Corrupt Its Wikipedia Page Has a Category Devoted to “Corruption” | The Walrus
The organization has been found to take bribes so many times I’ve lost track
010
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 19/06/2026
While other publications are gutting or cutting their books sections, we're launching something new. Bookmarks: a new books section with essays on the literary world alongside book reviews in every issue of @thewalrus.ca. thewalrus.ca/while-others...
thewalrus.ca
While Others Downsize Literary Coverage into Oblivion, We’re Launching a Books Section | The Walrus
More reassessments, more polemics, more manifestos, more feuding!
3152
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 18/06/2026
This is absolutely ridiculous. A group stage game. thewalrus.ca/i-love-socce...
110
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 15/06/2026
Some very exciting news for @thewalrus.ca, in the Hollywood Reporter no less! We've signed a first-look agreement with Muse Entertainment to explore the documentary film potential of our journalism. www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/m...
hollywoodreporter.com
Banff: Muse Entertainment Expands in Unscripted Series Adaptations
'The Kennedys' miniseries producer has inked a first-look deal with The Walrus for potential documentary projects to be shopped in the Canadian Rockies this week.
000
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 12/06/2026
The FIFA World Cup is the easiest sporting event to bandwagon—it’s a tournament built on shared joy, heartbreak, and belonging. But for The Walrus senior editor and lifelong soccer fan Harley Rustad supporting it has become far more complicated. thewalrus.ca/i-love-soccer-i-hate-f…
On the left: a photo of a deflated black-and-white soccer ball on green grass.. On the right: text that reads “I love Soccer. I hate FIFA. The World Cup is in Toronto and I don’t care”
043
Reposted by Harley Rustad
JenniferD @juniperd.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Harley Rustad nails it! "But here’s the thing. The problem is not with the game but with the World Cup’s governing body....FIFA is an organization so corrupt its Wikipedia page has a category devoted to “Corruption”...it may be easy to be a fan, but the World Cup has become impossible to support."
thewalrus.ca
The World Cup Is in Toronto and I Don’t Care | The Walrus
I love soccer. I hate FIFA
021
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Joan Baxter @joanbaxter.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
There is an incredible paragraph about FIFA in this must-read piece by @harleyrustad.com that deserves its own award. After a mind-boggling litany of FIFA evil, it ends saying FIFA is “so immoral that it handed out a make-believe ‘peace’ award to an unabashed autocrat, racist, and convicted rapist.”
152
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 10/06/2026
Anyone else feeling conflicted? New from me at @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/i-love-socce...
thewalrus.ca
I Love Soccer. I Hate FIFA | The Walrus
The World Cup is in Toronto and I don’t care
010
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 06/06/2026
The Walrus took home 5 gold and 4 silver awards at the National Magazine Awards. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and to the writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, fact checkers, and everyone on the team for making these wins possible. thewalrus.ca/awards-2026
0178
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 28/05/2026
A absolutely wild and really sad story about dog rescuers, the SPCA, and international adoption gone wrong, investigations and threats and accusations—in which the "villain" keeps changing throughout the story and dogs are caught in the middle. thewalrus.ca/a-halifax-wo...
thewalrus.ca
A Halifax Woman Devoted Her Life to Rescuing Dogs. Then Authorities Investigated Her | The Walrus
SPCA officers used fake adopters, covert surveillance, and a sting operation
100
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Angry Algonquin @angryalgonquin.com · 21/05/2026
Finished this one last night. An excellent example of great narrative non-fiction by @harleyrustad.com Please buy/order at your local independent bookstore, @bookshop.org, or @libro.fm #BookSky 📚 💙
031
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 01/05/2026
The Walrus has earned twenty-five nominations at this year’s National Magazine Awards, a remarkable honour that speaks to the strength and range of our journalism, art, and client work. Congratulations to all of the nominees! thewalrus.ca/the-walrus-leads-natio…
0286
Reposted by Harley Rustad
National Media Awards Foundation @canadamediaawards.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Nominee highlight for One-of-a-Kind Storytelling #NMA26 : The Great French Fry Mystery Toronto Life @torontolifemag.bsky.social See all the 2026 nominees: zurl.co/JvgDi
011
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 30/04/2026
A really special congratulations to @arnokopecky.bsky.social for earning two National Magazine Award nominations and a Digital Publishing Award nomination for his absolutely beautiful personal essay in @thewalrus.ca about his father's dementia and bioluminescence. 
thewalrus.ca/a-son-a-scie...
Illustration of father and son with fireflies
051
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 30/04/2026
So incredibly proud of the team @thewalrus.ca and our phenomenal writers, artists, and contributors for earning 25 National Magazine Award nominations this year!  magazine-awards.com/en/
000
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 15/04/2026
Went on the wonderful podcast This Is Love to talk about the French fry mystery. thisislovepodcast.com/episode-136-...
thisislovepodcast.com
Episode 136: The French Fries
One morning, Cathy found a takeout bag on her porch. It had the name “Rodolphe” on it, and contained one half-eaten order of french fries. The next morning, she found another bag. And then another. Th...
000
Reposted by Harley Rustad
CalamityJane 🇨🇦🇺🇦 @calamityjane123.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Current read. Super interesting. Sad so far. #biglonelydoug #bc #deforestation #booksky #canadasky
#WALRUS
"A complex and at times alarming tale, but also, in the end, a deeply hopeful one." - ROBERT MOOR
BIG
LONELY DOUG
THE STORY OF ONE OF CANADA'S
LAST GREAT TREES

HARLEY RUSTAD
091
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 01/04/2026
And so the lunar land grab begins, by @michellecyca.com for @thewalrus.ca. thewalrus.ca/with-the-art...
thewalrus.ca
With the Artemis II Mission, the Lunar Land Grab Begins | The Walrus
The moon once belonged to everyone. Soon it will belong to the rich
032
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 18/02/2026
Elvers—transparent baby eels—are now Canada’s most valuable fish. In 2022, 7,557 kilograms of elvers generated $39 million in revenue. Journalist Yuan Wang details how skyrocketing prices have turned the rivers of Nova Scotia into fierce battlegrounds: ow.ly/NvGB50Yhnlf
On the left: a photograph of small, transparent eels in a net. On the right: text that reads “Priced at thousands of dollars per kilogram, baby eels have set off a global frenzy. Inside the fight over Canada’s most valuable fish”
0116
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 04/02/2026
I'll be thinking about this piece, coming back to it again and again, for years. harpers.org/archive/2026...
harpers.org
If a Tree Falls, by Rosa Lyster
The trial of the Sycamore Gap killers
020
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 30/01/2026
“Last November, we received a letter from a grade five student in New Kent, Virginia, asking for advice. The child wanted information on how to ‘save the walrus from extinction.’ He meant the wrinkled, tusked-and-whiskered mammal, not this organization.” thewalrus.ca/whats-a-walr...
thewalrus.ca
What’s a Walrus? A Beast, Actually | The Walrus
Journalism may be in a state of emergency, but we’re still giving readers answers
110
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 07/01/2026
We’ve been sold the lie that a perfect home equals a perfect life. Journalist Courtney Shea asks why mess feels like failure—and who benefits from the pressure to keep things tidy—in this sharp takedown of stress-cleaning culture. thewalrus.ca/how-to-keep-your...
On the left: Illustration of a tabletop with a bowl of cereal, keys, a plant, a coffee cup, a tea bag, and other assorted clutter. On the right: text that reads “How to keep your house clean. Your kids are sticky. Your partner leaves their shoes by the door. It’s fine.”
0151
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Port Renfrew Writers Retreat @portrenfrewwritersretreat.com · 03/01/2026
Applications for the 2026 Wilderness Writing Residency are due very soon! Ten days. Six writers. Your own cabin in Port Renfrew, British Columbia. www.portrenfrewwritersretreat.com
011
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 24/12/2025
From the publishing industry’s gambling problem to the World Sauna Championships, here are nine stories from 2025 that our editors can’t stop thinking about: thewalrus.ca/2025-surprising-...
On the left: a photo illustration of a man reading a newspaper against a yellow background. On the right: text that reads “2025: The stories that surprised us. These are the articles that our editors can’t stop thinking about”
072
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 22/12/2025
Mark Carney has long been promising to make Canada an energy superpower. But what happens when “clean” energy growth is pursued alongside fossil fuel expansion? @arnokopecky.bsky.social reports on how the country’s climate ambitions have given way to politics: thewalrus.ca/no-matter-which-...
On the left: an illustration by John Konrad of Canadian prime minister Mark Carney depicted in a Rorschach test. On the right: text that reads “No matter which way you look at it, Carney has abandoned climate. It’s one thing to make compromises in times of national crisis. It’s another to twist the math on emissions.”
0155
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 16/12/2025
"There are so many ways in," opens Charlie Foran in this lovely essay on the creatures and critters that live in our homes, alongside us. No infestations here. thewalrus.ca/what-i-want-...
thewalrus.ca
What I Want the Animals in My Home to Know | The Walrus
A love letter to the robins, rabbits, squirrels, and mice who live with us
010
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Port Renfrew Writers Retreat @portrenfrewwritersretreat.com · 04/12/2025
The Wilderness Writing Residency is back for 2026! Ten days. Six writers. Cabins in Port Renfrew, British Columbia. Writing about the natural world. Led by two faculty editors: award-winning authors Harley Rustad and Kate Harris. Applications are now open! www.portrenfrewwritersretreat.com
portrenfrewwritersretreat.com
Port Renfrew Writers Retreat
A writing retreat and residency space in Port Renfrew, British Columbia
032
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 19/11/2025
"Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves." Brilliant essay/investigation by @nickhunebrown.bsky.social into journalism scammers in the age of AI. thelocal.to/investigatin...
thelocal.to
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
11211
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 17/10/2025
“Will our November issue create aftershocks? Maybe,” writes The Walrus editor-in-chief @cstarnino.bsky.social. “Each story asks the same question about power: who wields it, who keeps score, and who lives with the consequences?” thewalrus.ca/you-cant-always-...
093
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 01/10/2025
“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.” RIP Jane Goodall, 1934–2025 www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...
248598
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Michelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 30/09/2025
It was very special to work with six brilliant, thoughtful Indigenous writers — Michelle Good, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Eva Jewell, Janelle Lapointe, Anna McKenzie and Riley Yesno — on this series about truth and reconciliation, in print & online for @thewalrus.ca. thewalrus.ca/truth-and-re...
thewalrus.ca
The Truth of Reconciliation | The Walrus
The TRC report, released in 2015, laid out ninety-four clear Calls to Action. Ten years later, Indigenous writers reflect on what has and hasn’t been achieved
09658
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 11/08/2025
I tumbled down a rabbit hole trying to figure out why bags of A&W fries kept being delivered in the middle of the night for days and days to my neighbour's porch—and stumbled into all the markings of an international scam. My latest for @torontolifemag.bsky.social torontolife.com/deep-dives/t...
torontolife.com
The Great French Fry Mystery: My dogged attempt to solve a baffling fast food whodunit - Toronto Life
When an A&W takeout bag appeared on my neighbour’s porch in the middle of the night—followed by another, then another—I became obsessed with solving a fast...
173
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Tajja Isen @tajjaisen.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
thewalrus.ca
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
21859345
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 19/09/2025
Have we been measuring mountains all wrong? Is it not height that is important but...grandeur? www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/ar...
nationalgeographic.com
Have we been measuring mountains all wrong?
A new method for quantifying grandeur is reshuffling the pecking order of the planet’s most impressive peaks. Turns out Everest has steep competition.
000
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 04/09/2025
They sting. They swarm. They spoil our picnics. But what if the insect we most hate to encounter outdoors is also one of nature’s unsung heroes? Here, The Walrus contributing writer @arnokopecky.bsky.social makes the case for the wasp. thewalrus.ca/in-defence-of-wa...
2135
Reposted by Harley Rustad
The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 28/08/2025
Lately, The Walrus contributing writer @michellecyca.com has been trying to make life harder for her children. Or rather, she’s trying to stop making it easier. Here, Cyca considers how obstacle parenting could help raise more resilient kids: thewalrus.ca/my-job-as-a-pare...
1164
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 25/08/2025
Thanks for picking my French fry mystery!
010
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 22/08/2025
🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟
100
Reposted by Harley Rustad
Longreads @longreads.com · 21/08/2025
"By the time the fourth A&W bag materialized on her porch, she had gone from being curious about what she’d viewed as random littering to frustrated to shaken by the invasion of her privacy." @harleyrustad.com @torontolifemag.bsky.social torontolife.com/deep-dives/t...
torontolife.com
The Great French Fry Mystery: My dogged attempt to solve a baffling fast food whodunit - Toronto Life
When an A&W takeout bag appeared on my neighbour’s porch in the middle of the night—followed by another, then another—I became obsessed with solving a fast...
174
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 14/08/2025
There's some incredible investigative journalism happening these days and I'm over here digging into why bags of A&W fries kept mysteriously appearing on my neighbour's porch in the middle of the night for days and days and days... torontolife.com/deep-dives/t...
torontolife.com
The Great French Fry Mystery: My dogged attempt to solve a baffling fast food whodunit - Toronto Life
When an A&W takeout bag appeared on my neighbour’s porch in the middle of the night—followed by another, then another—I became obsessed with solving a fast...
022
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 11/08/2025
I tumbled down a rabbit hole trying to figure out why bags of A&W fries kept being delivered in the middle of the night for days and days to my neighbour's porch—and stumbled into all the markings of an international scam. My latest for @torontolifemag.bsky.social torontolife.com/deep-dives/t...
torontolife.com
The Great French Fry Mystery: My dogged attempt to solve a baffling fast food whodunit - Toronto Life
When an A&W takeout bag appeared on my neighbour’s porch in the middle of the night—followed by another, then another—I became obsessed with solving a fast...
173
Reposted by Harley Rustad
king's co-op bookstore @kingsbookstore.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Peter Wohlleben - The Hidden Life of Trees


Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland.Harley Rustad - Big Lonely Doug

On a cool morning in the winter of 2011, a logger named Dennis Cronin was walking through a stand of old-growth forest near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. He came across a massive Douglas fir the height of a twenty-storey building. Instead of allowing the tree to be felled, he tied a ribbon around the trunk, bearing the words "Leave Tree." The forest was cut but the tree was saved. The solitary Douglas fir, soon known as Big Lonely Doug, controversially became the symbol of environmental activists and their fight to protect the region's dwindling old-growth forests.Jon Krakauer - Into the Wild 

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.
This is the unforgettable story of how Christopher Johnson McCandless came to die.
031
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 06/08/2025
How one company lobbied, undercut rivals, and built a monopoly on fire retardant in the US. As demand increased, so too did its prices. The US Forest Service has called the reliance on a single company a "massive risk." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/b...
nytimes.com
How One Company Maintained a Monopoly on U.S. Fire Retardant
131
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 06/08/2025
Alec Luhn has been found alive after going missing in the Norwegian mountains. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
theguardian.com
Journalist missing in Norwegian wilderness found in good health
Alec Luhn set out on trek in Folgefonna national park last week and was reported missing on Monday
081
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 30/07/2025
The celebrated ice-core science doc "For Winter" was produced by NatGeo and set to embark on a world tour when NatGeo pulled the doc at the end of January and scrubbed it from its site. Hm, what else happened just before then? Important report by @evaholland.bsky.social defector.com/why-did-nati...
defector.com
Why Did National Geographic Disappear Its Own Documentary About A Queer Climate Scientist? | Defector
If you’re not a particular kind of mountain sports nerd, you might not be familiar with the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour. But for people who live their lives in the overlapping circl...
182
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 25/07/2025
It's tick season out there folks. Time to re-read this awesome, fascinating, goosebumpy feature by @stephanienolen.bsky.social. thewalrus.ca/invasion-of-...
thewalrus.ca
Invasion of the Ticks | The Walrus
Inside the quest to track one of humanity’s tiniest deadly predators
100
Harley Rustad @harleyrustad.com · 14/07/2025
The full story of that teacher who maybe possibly tried to sell his students' art as his own, by Sarah Treleaven. thewalrus.ca/did-a-montre...
thewalrus.ca
Did a Montreal Teacher Try to Sell His Students’ “Creepy” Art? | The Walrus
A strange tale of school-board secrecy, freaked-out parents, and a lawsuit
000