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Richard Poplak

Richard Poplak (richardpoplak.com) is a political reporter currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
A helicopter lands while a soldier in the foreground covers his head.
July/August 2019 / Politics

Was Canada’s Peacekeeping Stint in Mali Just for Show?

June 17, 2019January 11, 2022 - by Richard Poplak

Our year-long mission in Mali is nearly done. But it was never clear what we were doing there in the first place

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Illustration of upside down maple leaf with two people exchanging suitcase full of money
Politics

How a Federal Agency Helps Finance Some of the World’s Most Corrupt Regimes

December 19, 2017April 2, 2020 - by Richard Poplak

Export Development Canada has perfected the art of lending billions of taxpayer dollars to scandal-ridden foreign buyers. But its transparency could use some work

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Illustration by Clay Rodery
November 2016

Canadian Mining’s Dark Heart

October 24, 2016April 1, 2020 - by Richard Poplak

Tallying the human cost of gold in one of the most remote places on Earth

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Image courtesy of Givaga
Sports

Canada Will Never Beat Iceland

June 28, 2016November 18, 2019 - by Richard Poplak

We have the population of 100 Icelands, and we still can’t field a decent soccer team

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Man in hat under red lighting
September 2015

Dr. Shock

September 19, 2015April 8, 2020 - by Richard Poplak

How an apartheid-era psychiatrist went from torturing gay soldiers in South Africa to sexually abusing patients in Alberta

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Christine Sinclair runs on the soccer field.
June 2013

The Game Not Played

June 15, 2013December 18, 2019 - by Richard Poplak

Christine Sinclair, the greatest female soccer player in the world, won’t get the career she deserves

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Illustration by Meredith Holigroski
January/February 2013

The Deadmau5 Trap

December 17, 2012April 13, 2020 - by Richard Poplak

How the success of electronic dance music heralds its demise

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Illustration by Joe Morse
September 2012 / Sports

The Ace Age

September 12, 2012April 14, 2020 - by Richard Poplak

Tennis pro Milos Raonic has poise, drive, and a killer serve. Is that enough to make him a superstar?

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March 2012

Seeing Red

March 12, 2012March 28, 2022 - by Richard Poplak

No other sport reveals a country’s soul as well as soccer does (yeah, we said it, Don Cherry). So what does our neglect of the beautiful game say about us? A patriot explains why it should be Canada’s national sport

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Photograph by Gaël Turine
July/August 2011 / Sports

The Pain Principle

July 12, 2011April 14, 2020 - by Richard Poplak

Cyclist Ryder Hesjedal is one of the best athletes in Canada. Can he suffer enough to become the best in the world?

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The Walrus' March/April 2023 cover featuring artwork of the megachurch March/April 2023
It was massively popular. It billed itself as a new kind of church. Then sexual abuse and misconduct allegations surfaced against its leaders

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