Jocelyn Bell

Toronto

Editor and Publisher at Broadview Magazine

Editor/Publisher of Broadview, a magazine about Spirituality, Social Justice and Ethical Living.

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Articles

Elon Musk’s X has become a disinformation machine. We’re leaving it.

2 weeks ago | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

Remember when Elon Musk was just your friendly neighbourhood rocket-launching, electric-car-making billionaire? Or even further back to when Twitter offered a revolutionary and democratic free flow of news and ideas? Me too. But ever since Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and changed its name to X, he appears to have embraced his alter-ego as the dark lord of thought control. Devoted X users soon noticed a spike in disinformation and far-right rage farming.
How red tape is hurting efforts to tackle homelessness

2 months ago | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

All they wanted was to provide a modernized homeless shelter, reduce the barriers that prevent unhoused people from coming inside and offer a path out of the cycle of poverty. And they yearned to do it humanely. “We want to restore the dignity of the human person,” Ike Nwibe told local podcaster Robert Washburn in January 2024, soon after becoming executive director of Transition House, a charity outreach in Cobourg, Ont.
Gold, Frank Innocence and Mirth

Nov 28, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

In the Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies, a character named Yerko sees his first Nativity play and is enthralled by the story of Jesus’ birth. Later at a party, he enthuses about the gifts of the Magi, which he misinterprets as “gold, frank innocence and mirth.”This phrase rings in my ears almost every Christmas. It’s the title of my all-time favourite Christmas sermon, written and delivered by my dad, Rev. Donald Bell, in which he references the Yerko scene.
A Double-Edged Sword: New Employee Protections Create Uncertainty For Delivery Workers

Nov 7, 2024 | mondaq.com | Rebecca Langille |Jocelyn Bell

In a sweeping move that has sparked both praise and concern, British Columbia introduced new regulations for app-based gig workers—specifically those in rideshare and delivery services—which came into effect September 3, 2024. These changes are designed to provide minimum wage entitlements and workplace protections, but they also raise important questions about the future of the gig economy.
Truth before reconciliation

Sep 25, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

Sept. 30 marks the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and it’s been said many times that truth must come before reconciliation. One truth that cuts to the core of my own white fragility is that settlers like me have yet to pick up our share of the effort toward reconciliation. Of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, 26 are stalled or not started, according to Indigenous Watchdog.
Celebrating a 195-year legacy

Sep 25, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

It’s always fascinated me that the starlight we see at night is billions of years old. Light waves travel through space and time to reach Earth, connecting us to our past, to the original source of illumination. They shine onward, past our little blue planet, filling more darkness with their light. Being the editor and publisher of North America’s oldest continuously published magazine is a bit like looking at starlight.
If we find intelligent alien life, should we communicate with it?

Jun 7, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

Back in August 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope picked up a 72-second signal that seemed to come from the Sagittarius constellation. Astronomer Jerry Ehman spotted the anomalous sequence “6EQUJ5” on the printed data, circled it in red and wrote “Wow!” in the margin. It became known as the “Wow! signal.” Some still consider it the most hopeful sign of extraterrestrial communication detected to date.
AI is a powerful tool. What does it mean for journalism?

May 21, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

Ever since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022, I’ve been a nervous dabbler in artificial intelligence. Nervous that using AI is akin to giving it consent to steal my job. Nervous that it will eventually become so “human” and efficient that I’ll stop using my own brain. Or, horrible thought: what if AI turns out to be a better writer and editor than I am? AI is possibly the most powerful tool humans have ever created. Like the One Ring in Lord of the Rings, we’ll worship and despise it.
How should we navigate the climate crisis?

Mar 11, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

I first met Alanna Mitchell in 2009 when she was on her way to COP15 in Copenhagen. Mitchell needed media credentials to get into the meetings, and we agreed to hire her, along with her travel partner, former member of Parliament Rev. David MacDonald, to write a daily blog from the event. It was the start of a very fruitful relationship. In the years that followed, Mitchell has written some of our best features, many of them helping explain what’s at stake with the climate crisis.
Imagining a Middle East where love and hope flourish

Feb 7, 2024 | broadview.org | Jocelyn Bell

Like the rest of the world, I remember the sickening feeling of learning, on Oct. 7, 2023, that Hamas militants had attacked Israel. As the horrific details of killings, rapes and abductions of everyday Israelis filled our screens, a second dread gripped my heart: Israel’s response would be swift and unapologetic. And so it was.