Christine Sismondo
How the Anti-Saloon League, responsible for Prohibition, shaped modern racist policing
Prohibition created the perfect storm for the mass incarceration of ethnic minorities, who’d been driven into the contraband trade through inequality of economic opportunity, then zealously policed for being involved
What Prohibition teaches us about race relations in the U.S.
Prohibition propaganda leveraged anti-black racism, anti-Semitism and anti-immigrant sentiment with stories and images that painted various “others” as debauched, immoral and a threat to wholesome white families wrapped in the American flag
The 2018 U.S. midterms will be historic—and probably predictable
Opinion: The midterm elections aren’t to be taken lightly, yet Americans often think their job is done after the presidential vote—leading to consistent losses by sitting presidents
At a tense time, a bomb scare has gripped America—just as it did a century ago
Cesar Sayoc has been arrested for allegedly sending mail bombs to Democratic figures, drawing telling parallels to a 1919 spate of terror in the U.S.
As Canada makes marijuana legal, the U.S. resorts to Prohibition-inspired tactics
Opinion: America’s own history reveals the depths of its reportedly old-fashioned approach to sharing a border with a nation where weed is legal
Why buck-a-beer failed before in Ontario—and why it likely will, again
The story of Lakeport Brewing Co.’s meteoric rise and total collapse shows us why Doug Ford’s plans for buck-a-beer’s return will be a tall task—if not an impossible one
How dairy became seen as a public resource worth protecting in Canada
As Donald Trump assails Canada’s supply-managed dairy industry, history shows how perceptions around Canadian milk changed—turning it into something worth defending
Why can’t Ontarians buy booze in corner stores? Blame the surveillance state
In the 1920s, Ontario ended its ban on alcohol, but decided to monitor citizens’ drinking habits instead—and it’s feeling the hangover of that decision to this day
The history of why Canada’s health care system falls short
Opinion: Ontario’s election could bring another step toward truly comprehensive health care. But failed efforts from the past reveal possible pressure points
After 100 years of women’s suffrage, do we really have progress?
On May 24, 1918, a bill was passed allowing most Canadian women to vote. But women’s suffrage in the U.S. and Canada is tarnished by disturbing historical links with racism and xenophobia
What happened the last time someone tried to Make Ontario Great Again
Opinion: As Doug Ford becomes the Ontario PCs’ leader, a spate of American populism imported into the province in the 1890s offers lessons for the present
What we can learn from a disastrous 1930 U.S. tariff on Canadian goods
As Donald Trump threatens tariffs on steel and aluminum, policymakers should look to history and take heed of the Smoot-Hawley Act’s cautionary tale