John Michael McGrath
@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social
Ontario politics and policy for TVO. Writer and Podcast co-host, #onpoli
jm_mcgrath.01 on signal
jm_mcgrath.01 on signal
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
The first upzoning Zohran should push for is the Upper East & Upper West Side, two of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city with the least housing production.
things have gotten so bad on the UES that apartment buildings are being torn down and replaced by *smaller* buildings with fewer units
things have gotten so bad on the UES that apartment buildings are being torn down and replaced by *smaller* buildings with fewer units
![FIGURE 2
Percent Change in Housing Supply by New York City Neighborhood, 2010 to 2023
Total Percent Change in
Housing Stock
] 0.0% to 2.6%
2.6% to 5.0%
5.0% to 8.5%
8.5% to 15%
15% to 25%
25% or more
Note: "2010 to 2023" refers to the period between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2023.
Sources: New York City Department of City Planning, Housing Database, Unit Change Summary Files: OSC analysis](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gouysuoxatjdb5bjcqe4sfh7/bafkreife56rbkigeaakviy7m3ao7pdhzytdsgaktyngyfaxc76jzwwnkt4@jpeg)
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The first upzoning Zohran should push for is the Upper East & Upper West Side, two of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city with the least housing production.
things have gotten so bad on the UES that apartment buildings are being torn down and replaced by *smaller* buildings with fewer units
things have gotten so bad on the UES that apartment buildings are being torn down and replaced by *smaller* buildings with fewer units
Interesting Q in part because so many of the new alt food companies are Israel-based: Is lab-grown milk kosher? www.chabad.org/library/arti...
Is the New “Alt-Milk” Kosher Parve?
From a halachic standpoint, would lab-generated milk proteins be considered kosher? And if they are kosher, would they be classified as dairy or pareve?
www.chabad.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Interesting Q in part because so many of the new alt food companies are Israel-based: Is lab-grown milk kosher? www.chabad.org/library/arti...
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
Seen a lot of people wondering why X, The Everything App would have a feature that gives away how much of the popular right wing accounts are foreign actors and this is why. They thought every left wing account would be that way because every accusation is also a confession.
Planned Parenthood uses a VPN so its twitter location is shown as Germany and now all of MAGA twitter thinks Planned Parenthood is a fake organization based in Europe.
November 24, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Seen a lot of people wondering why X, The Everything App would have a feature that gives away how much of the popular right wing accounts are foreign actors and this is why. They thought every left wing account would be that way because every accusation is also a confession.
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
my private memo is raising a lot of questions already answered by my private memo
In the memo, “Nvidia also responds to claims that the ‘current situation is analogous to historical accounting frauds (Enron, WorldCom, Lucent) that featured vendor financing and SPVs [special purpose vehicles.)’”
@barrons.com $NVDA
@firstadopter.bsky.social
www.barrons.com/articles/nvi...
@barrons.com $NVDA
@firstadopter.bsky.social
www.barrons.com/articles/nvi...
November 24, 2025 at 7:11 PM
my private memo is raising a lot of questions already answered by my private memo
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
When the operating system only interests its developer as an opportunity for upselling ~stuff~, outcomes like this aren’t terribly surprising — apple.news/A9c1AoZGETpu...
Screw it, I’m installing Linux — The Verge
This time I’m really going to do it. I am going to put Linux on my gaming PC. Calling it now. 2026 is the year of Linux on the desktop. Or at least on mine.
apple.news
November 24, 2025 at 5:37 PM
When the operating system only interests its developer as an opportunity for upselling ~stuff~, outcomes like this aren’t terribly surprising — apple.news/A9c1AoZGETpu...
This was indeed an excellent episode! Too much of our lives is built to make us angry!
99PI did a good episode about this, based on a recent book. It's about what you're talking about: everything we interact with needing too much of our time and attention in a deeply frustrating way.
99percentinvisible.org/episode/644-...
99percentinvisible.org/episode/644-...
Your Call Is Important to Us - 99% Invisible
We have all been there. You’ve got a problem with your car or your internet or your flight, so you call customer service. And then you get routed, rerouted, and then re-rerouted – for hours. The call ...
99percentinvisible.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This was indeed an excellent episode! Too much of our lives is built to make us angry!
lots of discourse about this and I think I'll say a) it's fundamentally wrong but b) insofar as it captures anything it's that life in the 2020s requires a much bigger cognitive load to live parsimoniously than in 1990 or 1960. www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
lots of discourse about this and I think I'll say a) it's fundamentally wrong but b) insofar as it captures anything it's that life in the 2020s requires a much bigger cognitive load to live parsimoniously than in 1990 or 1960. www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
many things about the 2020s cause me to ask of my fellow humans "what the everloving hell is wrong with all of you? who raised you???"
one of the more bleak aspects of ai chatbots is it’s starting to blow up real marriages
November 24, 2025 at 3:44 PM
many things about the 2020s cause me to ask of my fellow humans "what the everloving hell is wrong with all of you? who raised you???"
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
This is the funniest planned economy ever
A person directly familiar with the conversations tells Semafor that Donald Trump has personally pressed Larry Ellison to revive Brett Ratner's "Rush Hour" franchise.
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
www.semafor.com/article/11/2...
Exclusive: How Trump is trying to remake American culture — starting with his favorite buddy-cop franchise
The president is offering some creative input on potential upcoming projects.
www.semafor.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:21 AM
This is the funniest planned economy ever
Links for November 23rd, 2025: johnmcgrath.substack.com/p/links-for-...
Links for November 23rd, 2025
This week from me at TVO: a look at the pitch by housing advocates to create a revolving fund for affordable housing, and why it might be something this government pursues at budget time next spring. ...
johnmcgrath.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Links for November 23rd, 2025: johnmcgrath.substack.com/p/links-for-...
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
It remains insane to me that DOGE was treated at the time as an impressive shock and awe accomplishment - “you can’t deny he’s getting stuff done!” - and then instantly memory holed by the press once if became clear it was a total failure by every possible standard including Musk’s own
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It remains insane to me that DOGE was treated at the time as an impressive shock and awe accomplishment - “you can’t deny he’s getting stuff done!” - and then instantly memory holed by the press once if became clear it was a total failure by every possible standard including Musk’s own
okay say what you will but one way to look brilliant is to predict that people will do what they're already doing anyway
Bessent: "You know the best way to bring your inflation rate down? Move from a blue state to a red state. Blue state inflation is half a percent higher."
November 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
okay say what you will but one way to look brilliant is to predict that people will do what they're already doing anyway
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
So, to recap, Ukraine and Europe understand that America has effectively endorsed a 28-point plan to force Kyiv to capitulate, set a Thursday deadline to accept it, and threatened to cut off all aid.
Now Marco Rubio says it's all wrong, that's not the plan, there's no deadline and no threat.
Now Marco Rubio says it's all wrong, that's not the plan, there's no deadline and no threat.
November 22, 2025 at 11:04 PM
So, to recap, Ukraine and Europe understand that America has effectively endorsed a 28-point plan to force Kyiv to capitulate, set a Thursday deadline to accept it, and threatened to cut off all aid.
Now Marco Rubio says it's all wrong, that's not the plan, there's no deadline and no threat.
Now Marco Rubio says it's all wrong, that's not the plan, there's no deadline and no threat.
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
buying 10,000 middle schoolers tickets to the 76ers 67th game of the season to create the most annoying event in existence
November 22, 2025 at 6:36 PM
buying 10,000 middle schoolers tickets to the 76ers 67th game of the season to create the most annoying event in existence
Apparently "build enough homes"
I want to hear your uncomfortably big ideas for Canada!
November 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Apparently "build enough homes"
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
For the Star, I make the case for the condo/apartment as aspirational -- that the Canadian dream can also be an apartment in a dense neighbourhood and not, as is so often the case in this country, be taken to only ever mean a detached house. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Navneet Alang: Condos get a bad rap. Here’s why they should be part of the Canadian dream
My parents bought their first home for 11,000 pounds (approximately $20,000) in 1974. It was an ordinary small row house on a dour street in East London. Now, more than
www.thestar.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:18 PM
For the Star, I make the case for the condo/apartment as aspirational -- that the Canadian dream can also be an apartment in a dense neighbourhood and not, as is so often the case in this country, be taken to only ever mean a detached house. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
Toronto deliberately killed apartment construction in the early 1970s, after a generation-long building boom.
Almost all of that housing was built by “the market.”
Almost all of that housing was built by “the market.”
Charting number of rental units in apartment buildings in Toronto by year of construction
(This is a quick update to a similar chart I made ~2.5 years ago)
#toronto #housing #dataviz #NationalHousingDay
(This is a quick update to a similar chart I made ~2.5 years ago)
#toronto #housing #dataviz #NationalHousingDay
November 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Toronto deliberately killed apartment construction in the early 1970s, after a generation-long building boom.
Almost all of that housing was built by “the market.”
Almost all of that housing was built by “the market.”
Biped: Are Christians allowed to eat pork?
Me: [a 10 minute lecture about kosher rules, early Christians, Paul, the Roman Empire, and a digression about Constantine]
I have my flaws but this is the part of being a Dad I was made for.
Me: [a 10 minute lecture about kosher rules, early Christians, Paul, the Roman Empire, and a digression about Constantine]
I have my flaws but this is the part of being a Dad I was made for.
November 22, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Biped: Are Christians allowed to eat pork?
Me: [a 10 minute lecture about kosher rules, early Christians, Paul, the Roman Empire, and a digression about Constantine]
I have my flaws but this is the part of being a Dad I was made for.
Me: [a 10 minute lecture about kosher rules, early Christians, Paul, the Roman Empire, and a digression about Constantine]
I have my flaws but this is the part of being a Dad I was made for.
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
honestly a huge round of applause to FT for finding their angle on this. saw the headline and laughed out loud
November 21, 2025 at 11:47 PM
honestly a huge round of applause to FT for finding their angle on this. saw the headline and laughed out loud
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
this is your brain when your entire politics is just a set of aesthetics
November 21, 2025 at 11:04 PM
this is your brain when your entire politics is just a set of aesthetics
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
he never looks at JD that way
November 21, 2025 at 9:38 PM
he never looks at JD that way
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
pretty clear what happened: Zohran converted Trump to the divine and immortal science of islamo-communism.
November 21, 2025 at 8:48 PM
pretty clear what happened: Zohran converted Trump to the divine and immortal science of islamo-communism.
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
this insistence that she is some preternatural journalistic talent is going to drive me insane
November 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
this insistence that she is some preternatural journalistic talent is going to drive me insane
Reposted by John Michael McGrath
Just a note on the pressurized stairwell.. our units open directly into the stairwell, which in itself contravenes code. If we had vestibules/corridors, pressurization would not have been needed but we opted for the latter because the former would have impacted unit layouts given our small building.
Approval is better than continued refusal BUT I will point out that the UK does not require pressurized stairwells until a single-stair building reaches 18 metres — and that's a post-Grenfell reform. Requiring one for a three-storey plex is bananas.
Update on my single exit stair ASP: we have an approval!
Thanks to sixplex and single stair supporters Mayor Olivia Chow, Cllr Jamaal Myers, @joshmatlow.bsky.social and others who get why single exit stairs are key to creating livable, accessible, small scale housing. 1/6
Thanks to sixplex and single stair supporters Mayor Olivia Chow, Cllr Jamaal Myers, @joshmatlow.bsky.social and others who get why single exit stairs are key to creating livable, accessible, small scale housing. 1/6
November 21, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Just a note on the pressurized stairwell.. our units open directly into the stairwell, which in itself contravenes code. If we had vestibules/corridors, pressurization would not have been needed but we opted for the latter because the former would have impacted unit layouts given our small building.