Maxime Marquette
MadMax is an independent bilingual news outlet based in Québec, publishing analysis on geopolitics, technology, democracy, and culture.
Our mission: rigorous, source-cited analysis carried out with full editorial independence — no sponsorship, no party line.
Our editorial standards: sources are cited inline, corrections are fixed and logged publicly, and any use of artificial intelligence is disclosed.
“Burn rather than rot. Write rather than stay silent.”
Fire first. Sentences after. No lukewarm takes.
Always answer the strongest version of the opposing point. No strawmen.
No commissioned pieces. No editorial masters. No compromise.
Columns by Maxime Marquette
4,540 columns published
Understanding why ancient Olympic athletes competed naked
Did you know that in ancient Greece, athletes who took part in the Olympic Games competed without a stitch of clothing, a
The world's oldest stock exchange opened in Amsterdam in 1602
Did you know that the claim that the Amsterdam Stock Exchange was the world's oldest securities exchange keeps popping up in economic
The Galápagos Islands once had their own currency adorned with giant tortoises
Did you know the famous Galápagos Islands, an Ecuadorian territory known worldwide for inspiring the work of naturalist Charles Darwin, once had
Monopoly, the game originally designed to denounce capitalism
Did you know the famous board game Monopoly, an absolute symbol of wealth accumulation and capitalist triumph in the popular imagination, was
When Tsar Peter the Great taxed beards to modernize Russia
Did you know one of the most intimate symbols of masculine identity, the beard, was once the subject of an actual state
Two pizzas once cost 10,000 bitcoins, a purchase that became legendary
Did you know one of the most famous transactions in the history of cryptocurrencies involves two simple pizzas. This is not a
Universal basic income, an idea born among 18th-century revolutionaries
When people talk about universal basic income today, they immediately think of Silicon Valley, debates over automation, or speeches by certain American
The four-day workweek was tested worldwide, and the results are surprising
For decades, the five-day workweek seemed as fixed as the sunrise. Almost no one questioned this rhythm inherited from the industrial revolution.
The Japanese Inn Run by the Same Family for 46 Generations
There exists in Japan a hot-spring inn whose history almost defies ordinary Western understanding of family continuity and entrepreneurial longevity. This inn,