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Sarah Berman, journalist

Pitch me a story at sarah dot berms at gmail dot com

  • Writing + Editing
  • NXIVM Book

Actress who allegedly recruited NXIVM ‘slaves’ is dancing for prisoner rights now

Battlestar Galactica’s Nicki Clyne is part of a mysterious ‘movement’ involving dance, Black Lives Matter hashtags, and the man who orchestrated a notorious blackmail and branding scheme.

RCMP are raiding Wet’suwet’en land defender camps

At least six people have been arrested after the RCMP started raiding Wet’suwet’en land defender camps early this morning.

This YouTube school promised true love. Students say they got exploited instead

Former students of Twin Flames Universe say they were manipulated by a couple claiming a special connection with God.

RCMP admits it’s monitoring Wet’suwet’en camps by air now

After denying drone and flyover surveillance at a pipeline blockade last week, RCMP says “air assets can and will be deployed as necessary.”

We need to tax the super-rich to save the world

History tells us that turning a modern economy on its head requires the one percent to pitch in more than the rest of us.

What would happen if Canada treated climate crisis like war

A future government could start new Crown corporations, sell climate bonds, or even conscript young people to plant a billion trees.

‘Slave’ to NXIVM ‘sex cult’ leader pleads guilty to racketeering

A woman accused of recruiting her best friend into a secret woman-branding “slave” group has pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering, and one count of racketeering conspiracy.

The alleged plot to put NXIVM’s critics in Mexican prison

The FBI is continuing an investigation into a self-help group accused of sex trafficking, racketeering and other crimes.

What happened when Vancouver’s party scene named alleged rapists

One DJ killed himself as the ‘rapist roll call’ list went public.

Why I joined a secret society that branded me

A former member of a Nxivm women’s group responds to those who called her blind and stupid for submitting to mutilation.

The money laundering scam that turns drug cash into real estate

We talked to the investigative reporter who uncovered massive problems with organized crime in British Columbia casinos.

Residents of this floating house built from dump scraps are fighting eviction

Neighbours have told them they’ll surely die in a winter storm.

RCMP undercover tactics on blast in Netflix series ‘The Confession Tapes’

A false confession debate now haunts the triple murder conviction of Atif Rafay and Sebastian Burns, caught in a BC “Mr. Big” sting.

Shooting victims didn’t cooperate with RCMP, so cops released their photos

Privacy advocates are questioning why Surrey police are outing the intended targets of gang violence.

Why Vancouver has always been an addiction ground zero

Breaking down the city’s contradictory reputations as the epicentre of an overdose “bloodbath” and a beacon of progressive drug policy.

Why I decided to stop paying rent

What it’s like to risk eviction fighting one of Toronto’s worst landlords.

Trial for Alberta Mennonite accused of smuggling coke begins today

Here’s what we know about the case.

No one knows how many people are dying in BC recovery homes

During the deadliest year of Canada’s opioid crisis, VICE investigated dangerous conditions in places meant to help people get clean.

Young workers on the front lines of Vancouver’s opioid crisis are burning out

Stories of trauma, panic attacks, and fear of relapse on the job in Downtown Eastside housing and shelters.

What happens to refugees turned away by the Safe Third Country Agreement

When families fleeing political violence arrive at a Canadian border crossing, many learn they’ve made a big mistake.

Why I left a polygamist colony but stayed in my plural marriage

With British Columbia polygamists on trial, we spoke to a woman who left the church but fought to keep her family together.

Why every Canadian author has an opinion about a campus sex assault case

UBC’s creative writing chair Steven Galloway was fired this summer following an investigation into sexual assault. The ensuing avalanche of takes has been called “THE GREAT CANLIT CIRCLE JERK OF 2016.”

Charged with racial discrimination, Canada’s government fought dirty and lost

Ahead of a Vancouver film festival premiere, ‘We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice’ hero Cindy Blackstock recaps the civil rights battle that almost didn’t happen.

This back alley ‘harm reduction’ tent in Vancouver isn’t asking for permission to operate

Just a half block from where the royals passed through this weekend, the self-supervised injection site is a DIY response to the fentanyl crisis.

Revisiting the heyday of slime on Canadian television

How ‘You Can’t Do That On Television’ started a global neon sludge arms race on local Ottawa TV.

Meet the Wall Street short seller betting against Canadian real estate

Marc Cohodes is pissed about housing regulation in BC and Ontario.

An Indigenous mom explains why she doesn’t register her kids with the government

We talked to Kanahus Manuel about raising her four “freedom babies” off-grid and her mission to bring back traditional midwifery.

The feminist comedy show where men tell rape jokes

Only survivors of abuse are allowed on stage at Rape Is Real and Everywhere, a show touring Canada starting May 15.

Meet the Vancouver man undocumented migrants call instead of 911

Here’s what it’s like to answer off-the-books emergency calls from people who fear deportation.

Meet the man who fled Canada and was granted asylum in the US

James Pitawanakwat was part of an Indigenous resistance that sparked the largest paramilitary operation in British Columbia history. After nearly two decades of exile, he’s seeking a way home.

There’s a growing network of vigilante pedophile hunters in western Canada

Active in eight cities across Canada, these guys say they’re exposing would-be predators. But police say they put people—and investigations—at risk.

Welcome to Jumbo, a BC municipality with no residents

You might call Jumbo the sleepiest town in British Columbia. Perched between four glaciers in East Kootenay’s Purcell Mountains, it’s a municipality with no streets, no houses, and no people.

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Welcome!

Sarah Berman’s writing has appeared in Adbusters, Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun and many others. A lifelong supporter of independent and alternative press, Sarah has contributed multimedia to nonprofits like Journalists for Human Rights, Megaphone Magazine and Paper Tiger TV.

Get in touch at sarah (dot) berms (at) gmail (dot) com.

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