The new year has been off to a wild start.
In the first few weeks of January alone, we witnessed numerous shocks to the international order. First, the U.S. kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in what President Donald Trump brazenly admitted was an attempt to exert control over the country — specifically its vast oil reserves.
In Iran, protests fueled by skyrocketing inflation were met with a violent crackdown from the government, and the U.S. and Israel have spoken openly about getting involved militarily to push regime change.
Trump, ever volatile, has levied tariffs on eight counties that opposed his desire to take control of Greenland.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing to secure a new trade deal with China, describing the trip as part of a “new world order.”
It’s a chaotic news cycle, no doubt.
We don’t know what 2026 will bring. This is a time of great change and uncertainty. But it’s pretty clear that rich and powerful leaders will keep trying to change the rules to benefit themselves, even if that means creating chaos. That’s going to happen around the world and here in Canada. And people are going to fight back.
What we are seeing, for example, with community-led responses in Minnesota to block roving gangs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from kidnapping people off the streets is incredibly inspiring.
Here at The Grind, we’re committed to bringing you reporting and perspectives that cut through the noise, expose power and fill the gaps that mainstream media outlets too often overlook.
In this issue, we’ve got analysis on the situation in Iran, explainers on the new Finch transit line (pg. 7) and the new recycling system (pg. 10), and an exclusive story from Emma Paling about how the federal government prevented the safe drug consumption site in Parkdale from staying open (pg. 8).
As usual, the arts and culture section is packed. There are profiles of local electro-pop icon Austra (pg. 12) and the creators behind Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (pg. 13). We also have a report from Richie Assaly on censorship over Palestine that took place at York University (pg. 16). And there are theatre reviews, music and book recommendations, and event listings.
The Grind team wishes you all the best for 2026, whatever it brings, and we plan to continue covering it along the way.
This article appeared in the 2026 Feb/Mar issue.