Richard Poplak | The Walrus
Skip to content

The Walrus

Fact-based journalism that sparks the Canadian conversation

  • home
  • Articles
    • Environment
    • Business
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Arts & Culture
    • Society
  • Special Series
    • Living Rooms
    • In Other Worlds: A Space Exploration
    • Record of a Pandemic
    • Terra Cognita
    • Common Ground
    • Dirty Money: Seven Cases of Global Corruption
    • The Beauty Conversation
    • The End: How We Die Now
    • Sex Ed: Beyond the Classroom
    • Opioids: A Public Health Crisis
  • Events
    • The Walrus Talks
    • Article Club
    • The Walrus Talks Video Room
    • The Walrus Leadership Roundtables
    • The Walrus Leadership Forums
    • The Walrus Gala 2021
    • The Walrus Events Sponsors & Partners
  • Subscribe
    • Renew your subscription
    • Change your address
    • Magazine Issues
    • Newsletters
    • The Conversation Piece Podcast
  • Shop
  • The Walrus Lab
    • The Walrus Fact Checking
  • Donate

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, 2019April 21, 2020 - 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

Read More
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

Read More
Illustration by Clay Rodery
Feature / 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

Read More
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

Read More
Man in hat under red lighting
Feature / September 2015 / The Walrus True Crime

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

Read More
Christine Sinclair runs on the soccer field.
Feature / 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

Read More
Illustration by Meredith Holigroski
January/February 2013 / Music

The Deadmau5 Trap

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

How the success of electronic dance music heralds its demise

Read More
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?

Read More
Photograph by Paul Giamou
Feature / March 2012

Seeing Red

March 12, 2012April 14, 2020 - 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

Read More
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?

Read More

Posts navigation

1 2 Next

Our Latest Issue

Cover of the Mar/Apr issue of The Walrus magazine. Mar/Apr 2021

Double issue: declaring your data at the border, the Group of Seven 100 years later, an Indigenous-led camp for unhoused people in Edmonton, death in the age of Facebook, and quitting America for good.

Walrus logo with tusks and Canada's Conversation



About The Walrus

  • About Us
  • Our Staff
  • Contact
  • Submissions
  • Careers & Fellowships
  • Advertise with us

The Walrus Lab

The Walrus Lab creates customized solutions to help our clients meet their promotional needs.

Subscribe

  • Magazine Subscription
  • Weekly Newsletter
  • Events Newsletter
  • The Conversation Piece Podcast

More

  • The Walrus Talks @Home
  • The Walrus Books
  • The Walrus Podcasts
  • Magazine Archives
  • Policies and Standards
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 The Walrus. All Rights Reserved.
Charitable Registration Number: No. 861851624-RR0001