Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift

Marriage problems can occupy so much space that the relationship becomes hard to see beyond them. Dr. Laurie Betito offers questions for distinguishing a difficulty within a marriage from one that has come to define it.

The Same Incident, a Different Meaning

A damaged car might be an accident or part of a repeated pattern. Context changes the question. Laurie separates life’s pressures from damaging behaviour and considers what a history of friendship, support and repair contributes when something goes wrong.

Small Deposits, Important Limits

An emotional bank account is bu...

AI adoption might already be part of your working day, even if you haven’t chosen a new tool. Mohit Rajhans helps you recognize where familiar software is changing and separate using a feature from actually wanting it.

An assistant offers to take another task off your hands. But what if doing that task yourself is part of the pleasure? Before giving an app more information in exchange for convenience, hear the everyday example that makes Mohit question what helpful really means.

You don’t need another headline telling you to keep up. You need some...

The robot bartender Kris Abel describes gives you a reason to reconsider what automation does to a job. The customer sees a machine, but the opportunity it creates depends on a human connection you might not expect.

You want music on your walk, but your earbuds won’t stay put. Glasses could offer another way to listen, provided you’re comfortable with what else they do. Kris outlines an option aimed at camera concerns, while the virtual reality pitch brings its own questions about price and the games you already own.

Nobody looks forward to the...

A fruit fly brain map took years to make. Then the internet turned it into videos of a fly playing Doom and solving a Rubik’s Cube. Dr. Samantha Yammine helps you see the achievement behind the joke, and what those videos actually show.

Researchers mapped 167,000 neurons in a male fruit fly brain, with AI helping to trace connections and 29 people checking its work over three years. That painstaking map is the discovery. The games came afterward, and it was the best of the internet, when others used the map in simulations.

So does knowing ev...

Is your pumpkin spice latte a favourite drink or a favourite fall ritual? Put your own order to the test in a debate about what makes autumn feel good, and whether the coffee deserves all the credit.

You’ve waited for jacket weather. The leaves are turning, the toque is ready, and something warm sounds right. Yet loving pumpkin pie doesn’t necessarily mean loving pumpkin in your cup. Where does genuine appetite end and seasonal enthusiasm take over?

With everyday costs weighing on the mood, finding a little rest matters too. A trip back to t...

Grocery property controls raise a question you won’t find on a price tag: who gets to sell food near your supermarket? Dr. Sylvain Charlebois helps you see how location can limit competition, and where you might still find alternatives.

You hear that food margins are thin, then learn a grocer can buy nearby land and leave it unused. Why spend money on a site that sells nothing? The answer changes how you look at the stores, parking lots and shopping centres around you.

A dollar store with food aisles already challenges the usual definition of...

The International Space Station won’t last forever, but what would it take to replace it? Dr. Elaina Hyde helps you understand why that question involves more than designing a newer, nicer place to live in orbit.

An ageing station still has work to do. Experiments involving plants, radiation and the human body could help answer questions about living farther from Earth. But keeping that laboratory overhead takes continuing intervention. What makes its position both useful and difficult to maintain?

Back on the ground, a nine-foot bronze sundial turns sunlight into something you can watch ac...

Pumpkin spice has escaped your coffee cup, and some of your favourite foods are in its path. Find out which seasonal creations might test your appetite, especially if you already think the latte gets more love than it deserves.

You can love a food and still object to its autumn makeover. A list stretching from lunch to personal hygiene gives you plenty of chances to draw the line. But one suggestion earns a defence, followed by an emphatic refusal to try it. Would you take the taste test?

Remember when a dollar a litre sounded...

An Alberta pipeline announcement puts the “Ottawa doesn’t care” argument under pressure. Rob Breakenridge helps you gauge whether this moment could change the minds of Albertans frustrated with Canada, or whether optimism still has too much to prove.

Smiles at an announcement don’t get a project built. Indigenous participation matters beyond the photo opportunity, and past attempts to take shortcuts offer a warning. What would getting this right actually involve, especially when support won’t be unanimous?

If you’ve heard promises before, a different tone might not be enough. Access to the West Coast g...

Diesel prices can reach your wallet even if you never touch a diesel pump. Dan McTeague helps you connect the fuel bill to groceries and heating, with different short-term forecasts for anyone deciding when to fill up.

If overseas disruption explains the squeeze, why does Canada’s own currency matter so much? The exchange rate and taxes add another layer to the price you pay. Dan puts a figure on the dollar’s impact that could change how you read the next pump increase.

A cheaper litre today sounds like a win. But releasing reserves and...

Canadian Afghanistan veterans sometimes tell Dr. Andrew Burtch they were there but did nothing remarkable. He offers a way to hear what that modest account leaves out, and discover experiences that never reached the official record.

After a friendly fire incident wounded thirty Canadians, people had to move casualties over a mountainside. Andrew recounts a detail about that evacuation that still astonishes him. What looks like a brief entry in military history was lived second by second.

Years later, some veterans are ready to let their families into those experiences. Others look back with different...

The pumpkin spice latte arrived in 2003, but does that match your memory of when it became unavoidable? Ed Conroy helps connect the drink’s early days to the boots, photos and fall rituals that followed.

You might remember 2003 through 50 Cent, the Iraq war or a passing PT Cruiser, rather than a Starbucks menu. The familiar pumpkin spice stereotype feels later to both sides of this conversation. Ed has an explanation for what happened between the launch and the cultural takeover.

Halloween once meant a homemade costume or a plastic mask, with the excitement packed into a...

Entertainment news gets personal with Richard Crouse, from interviewing a childhood comedy hero to sizing up Tom Cruise’s outrageous new role. Get a movie assessment and cocktail ideas for an unusual night.

Twenty Televisions, Then John Cleese
Watching Monty Python in his dad’s furniture store was one thing; interviewing John Cleese onstage is another. Charlie Sheen’s comeback, Lady Gaga recruiting convenience store workers and Rick Wakeman playing for bears make the rest of the celebrity news equally unpredictable.

Would You Put That in a Negroni?
Digger puts Cruise behind a billio...

Report from Iron Mountain claimed America could not afford peace. Dr. Lee Kuhnle shows you how to test a document that was a hoax even when its argument sounds plausible. How do you catch the moment a believable pattern starts passing for proof?

The military-industrial complex has real influence, and wars can keep factories busy. That leaves a harder question: who chose a war, and why? If a document fits what you already suspect, which missing link would make you stop and look again?

The Gulf of Tonkin complicates an easy answer. History gives people...

The Canada trade war can look manageable on a national chart and devastating in a town losing 350 jobs. Matt Gurney helps you see why both can be true, and why the pace of the losses may decide what Canada can do next.

Time could let businesses find other buyers and let Canada build the ports, rail lines and other infrastructure to reach them. But what happens to a community while those changes take shape? Matt also has a proposal involving steel and aluminum that looks ahead to Canada’s future needs.

Ottawa is promising major pr...

As Canada faces a major shortage of family doctors - an estimated 20,000 by 203 - this powerful and moving collection of real-life stories explore what the discipline truly is, the challenges it faces, and what it can become in the hands of a new generation of doctors.

Family Rooms invites readers into the spaces where care happens—and where the future of family medicine is being shaped.

Guests: Dr. Carlye Jensen and Dr. Jennifer Wilson https://familyrooms.ca/ 

Originally aired on 2026-09-29

4.4 Million Canadians claim Irish heritage. The book '50 Irish Lives in Canada' written by by Dr. Eamonn McKee and Dr. Mark G. McGowan, highlights the enormous contribution to Canadian society since the first Irish immigrant landed on Canada’s shores in 1661. Mark discusses some of his favourite stories from the book.  

Guest: Dr. Mark G. McGowan https://en.novalis.ca/products/50-irish-lives-in-canada-1661-to-2017 

Originally aired on 2026-09-29

Music discovery used to happen almost by accident. A radio station, a relative's record collection, summer camp or some unexpected song could introduce you to something you'd never gone looking for. Has streaming made that experience better, or simply more predictable?

Ryan O'Donnell argues Spotify has introduced him to more new artists than anything else in his life. Shane isn't convinced, especially when an algorithm can keep serving variations of what it already knows you like.

So what's missing when discovery becomes personalized by data? From music directors who could hear a hit to playlists...

DIY technology can make life easier, but Handy Andy Baryer has a few reasons to question whether every upgrade is actually progress. From YouTube's expanding use of AI to homemade computers and battery tools, convenience can come with some unexpected trade-offs.

**When YouTube Starts Choosing With You**

YouTube wants AI to help build personalized feeds, answer questions and even help creators test their work. Andy considers whether giving people more control could finally help them escape the algorithmic rabbit holes they're already in. Then Cyberdeck computers bring DIY back to technology itself.

**Your...

NATO spending requires Canada to reach 3.5% of GDP by 2035, but Richard Shimooka sees a problem hidden inside that promise: you can't instantly rebuild decades of missing defence capacity. More money doesn't automatically produce more military capability.

The temptation is to manufacture as much as possible at home. Richard argues Canada can and should maintain some strategic industries, including shipbuilding, while other technologies require foreign suppliers and allied partnerships. Trying to build everything domestically could consume money needed elsewhere.

That leaves Canada balancing a spending target against what its defence system can realistically deliver. Richard questions...

Canadian affordability sounds like an easy political target until someone has to decide what would actually lower a bill. Jimmy Zoubris and Andrew Caddell weigh competing arguments around diesel prices, tax relief and whether Canada's political parties can produce practical results instead of simply opposing each other.

Which Message From Washington Do You Believe?

Another suggestion of progress on a Canada-U.S. deal arrives after very different signals only days earlier. What does that kind of unpredictability mean for governments trying to negotiate and businesses trying to make decisions?

The Grocery Price Isn't...

Music discovery used to depend on radio, record stores, friends or simply hearing the right song somewhere. This is a story of how your streaming service can surface a decades-old track you didn't know existed and somehow decide it belongs in your headphones.

Ryan O'Donnell's App served up Pavement's "Harness Your Hopes," a B-side that eventually eclipsed the band's original streaming hits. That raises a much stranger question: what does an algorithm actually know about why you like a song?

Maybe our tastes aren't quite as unique as we'd like to believe. But algorithms have...

Cuba’s energy crisis is putting daily life under enormous pressure, but how did conditions become this severe? Julio Fonseca of the Canadian Network on Cuba describes the impact of U.S. sanctions and restrictions while arguing that the humanitarian consequences deserve far more attention.

What can Canadians actually do from here? Julio points to humanitarian aid, fundraising and organizations across Canada already trying to send food, medical supplies and other necessities to Cuban families.

But this is also a conversation about attention. Why has Cuba largely disappeared from everyday conversation, and what happens when go...

Money decisions get harder when every option feels important. Jessica Moorhouse says there's an uncomfortable contradiction hiding underneath many financial goals: we want more savings, less debt or better investments without wanting anything else in our lives to change.

So where do you start? Looking at what actually came in, where it went and what you've already changed can expose both forgotten progress and expenses that no longer deserve a place in your budget. Even one small decision can create room for something that matters more.

Then comes the harder question: what does your financial...

AI scam calls are changing a familiar problem: what happens when the person trying to fool you isn't a person at all? If you already hesitate before answering an unknown number, this adds another reason to wonder exactly what's waiting on the other end.

One AI scam call gets an unexpected response when someone who understands prompting starts pushing the caller away from its script. Instead of simply hanging up, he keeps manipulating its instructions to see just how far the machine can be pushed.

Phone scams used to leave you looking for the person...

Canadian trade faces a deceptively simple question: are businesses waiting out a temporary disruption, or planning for a relationship that won't return to what it was? Andrew Caddell looks past the daily political fight to the economic ties that keep Canada and the United States connected.

Changing governments may not settle it. Protectionism has appeared under both major American parties, while decades of free-trade agreements complicate the idea that one election can restore the old rules.

There is another force politicians don't control: what people want to pay. Lower-cost imports compete against countries with higher...

AI and robotaxis can do impressive things until an unexpected question or turn changes the script. Inside Copy starts with Tilly Norwood, a computer-generated character whose television interview takes an abrupt detour. What does the glitch reveal about the person-like image on screen?

The next detour is physical: a Waymo is reported to have driven through a farmers’ market. No one was hurt in the account, but the incident prompts a practical question. If the vehicle makes the wrong move, where does responsibility land?

Then the technology gives way to Fat Bear Week (it’s Insi...

Weekend movies and streaming picks get strange fast when Steve Stebbing arrives with six very different choices. There’s a scene-stealing dog, an original DreamWorks story, Robert Pattinson taking on Chris Hansen and a young Ted Kaczynski story with Russell Crowe.

The Dog Just Stole Brad Pitt's Movie

A dog named Odin manages something Steve says other stars haven’t: stealing the screen from Brad Pitt. Then Forgotten Island brings Filipino folklore and original animation into Steve’s strongest pitch, while Primetime takes on the complicated legacy surrounding Chris Hansen.

What If McConaughey and Ha...

Can you love but not like your partner for a while? Clinical psychologist Dr. Laurie Betito helps you tell ordinary irritation from a feeling that deserves closer attention. What changes when “that annoyed me” becomes “I don’t enjoy being with you”?

In a long relationship, attachment, commitment, friendship and enjoyment do not always feel equally strong. An unresolved household frustration can build resentment, while an occasional bad day may pass. Dr. Laurie names the shift that should make a couple pause and take stock.

The answer may also require looking inward. Stress can leave you less p...

AI at work sounds impressive from a podium. Mohit Rajhans hears a different set of questions when he visits businesses, and his perspective helps you see the gap between announcements and daily decisions. What do people need answered before they can rely on these tools?

A task that had worked for a year suddenly took repeated corrections on one platform. The same instructions worked on another. If your workflow depends on a tool behaving consistently, how much time does a supposed shortcut save when it stops cooperating?

Mr. Rajhans says some companies are now asking...

UFO documents can make an old mystery feel newly solved. Chrissy Newton helps you sort what this latest release adds from records that researchers could already access. One item reaches back to 1952, but why does it stand out among decades of material?

A UFO sighting becomes a story people repeat for generations. How much of that story comes from the witness, and how much from the words used to report it? Newton traces a familiar phrase back through the media coverage of an early sighting.

Then there are the documents drawing attention for references to...

Slow burn dating asks a deceptively hard question: how much can you know after one meeting? Tony Tedesco and Jen Kirsch offer two ways to think about a connection that takes time, helping you decide when to stay curious.

Jen nearly ruled out an Uber driver after one uncomfortable ride. When chance put them together again, the experience changed. Her story raises a dating question: are you seeing a pattern, or judging someone by a single fumble?

Tony sees value in learning whether your goals fit before becoming deeply invested. He also admits he makes...

Nirvana band shirts are everywhere. Does wearing one mean you love the music, or just the design? A Throwback Thursday look at the old idea that a shirt was something you earned by going to a show or joining a fan club.

The smiley face has travelled well beyond those places. That makes it an easy target for the word “poser,” especially when someone cannot name a song. But is knowing the music a fair rule for getting dressed, and why does this shirt prompt the question so often?

The image takes you back to Neve...

Nirvana changed who got to feel cool in 1991. Eric Alper takes you back to the moment Nevermind reached far beyond the people who first recognised themselves in it. What happened when the music industry went looking for another band like them?

Songs about alienation and anxiety found an enormous audience. But what was it like for the artists making them to suddenly face arena crowds and questions about everything they believed? Alper recalls what musicians from that era told him about the leap.

The plaid is easy to remember. Alper says the music also changed...

Canadian military planning includes extreme possibilities. So why did an acknowledgement about the United States become such a charged story? Richard Shimooka separates the need to prepare from the suggestion that a conflict is likely, giving you a way to read the headline more carefully.

Statements from the Trump administration still matter, Shimooka says. He questions whether Canadians should treat every provocation as a sign of what the US military intends to do. What deserves a serious response, and what risks drawing attention away from more immediate security work?

Then comes the uncomfortable question beneath...

1991 in Canada sounds like Nirvana’s Nevermind, but what else do you remember about that year? This Throwback Thursday trip puts the album beside baseball, politics and the cost of everyday life. See which parts still feel familiar and which are harder to imagine now.

The Toronto Blue Jays were a team on the rise. Looking back at that excitement from the perspective of a disappointing season today brings a question every fan knows: were the best years ahead, or already behind?

Recession, interest rates and fuel prices shaped the conversations of 1991. Compare those worries wi...

Mark Carney is making Canada’s case abroad, but what are Canadians hearing at home? Matt Gurney makes the case for why that gap matters, even while the prime minister enjoys strong support. If you’re watching everyday costs rise, what would you want him to explain directly?

An interview with an American newspaper can reach the people Carney hopes to influence outside Canada. Gurney understands the strategy. He also sees a risk in relying on it while relationships with Canadian journalists and voters receive less attention.

Big international decisions may define a government, but so c...

Diesel prices may be the number to watch before your next grocery bill. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois says his team’s model points to an added food inflation increase by December. How quickly could higher fuel costs reach the produce aisle, freezer case, or meat counter?

You bought Halloween candy on sale, but the bars inside look smaller again. Is buying early the smart move, or is there a better time to look for deals? Charlebois sees a wrinkle in chocolate prices that might change the answer.

Thanksgiving is close enough to start planning the main di...

Kurt Cobain is often reduced to the way his life ended. Kelly Catlin’s Forever in Bloom asks what disappears when a person becomes a headline, giving you another way to see the artist, the parent and the people he inspired.

The book began with a loss in Kelly’s own family. She knew how much of a person’s life could be obscured by one fact, and approached those who knew and loved Kurt with care. What did she find that the familiar story leaves out?

Four years of work produced a book that suppor...

Nirvana’s Nevermind arrived at a moment Ed Conroy remembers as ready to change. His look back at 1991 gives you a reason to question the familiar story of a single band transforming music. What was already happening around them?

Think beyond plaid and guitars. Conroy recalls other records and television that made the year feel different, along with a music business that suddenly paid attention to artists outside its usual choices. How much of that change had been waiting beneath the surface?

That leads to a question for today: where would a comparable cultural shift ha...