A beautifully made book is expensive to produce, and we cannot afford to publish two print editions a year. Yet every year we receive more submissions worthy of publication than a single print volume can hold — and some pieces, by their length or by the occasion that calls for them, deserve attention that a year's wait would not serve well. Conspiratio Online exists to fill that gap: a distinct, entirely digital publication, published between print editions, carrying long-form essays and time-sensitive work that should not be waiting in a queue. It is deliberately given a different look from the printed periodical, so that the two are never mistaken for one another — companions, not substitutes.

This inaugural issue is dedicated to David Cartwright Cayley (1946–2026). David spent over three decades making documentaries for CBC Radio's Ideas. Within that long career, his work on Illich stands apart for us. Ivan Illich in Conversation (Anansi, 1992) is still where I send anyone who wants an introduction to Illich. The Rivers North of the Future (Anansi, 2005) changed how even Illich's closest readers understood what drove him. Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey (Penn State Press, 2021) brought his whole life-in-thought back into view for readers new and old. David's writing on Illich was one friend bearing witness to another.

I knew David for over thirty years. We grew closer after Ivan died. He published often in these pages, from the very first issue. Each fall for the last twenty-five years he drove down from Toronto to spend a long weekend with my partner and me. He and I would take a long walk through the fall foliage, across the golf course, and into the woods. His habit of stopping mid-conversation to peer at a leaf or watch a bird was a charming irritation. He loved creation and would pause to take it in. His commitment to our friendship was fierce — he came annually even when his gait grew unsteady. Our falls will forever be less vivid.

David was also a crossing point. People drawn to Illich — by David’s books, radio programs, or blog — often found each other through him. This issue carries two of his manuscripts. The first is a long piece on Illich and Jung. The second is the draft of his introduction to a forthcoming reflection on the meaning of the Covid pandemic. Hernando Calla sent me a Spanish translation of his “Epilogue” to Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey. His daughter Kate graciously shared her remembrance of David. This issue commemorates a friend, a collaborator, and the foremost midwife to Ivan Illich's thought.

Sajay Samuel
September 4, 2026