If recent headlines are any indication, gift card scams have become a lucrative enterprise for organized criminals.

On this week’s episode of Village Media's Closer Look podcast, we revisit an eye-opening conversation we had with Ritesh Kotak, a lawyer and cybercrime expert.

He explains how these scammers operate, why gift card fraud is on the rise — and how you can protect yourself as a consumer.

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If you're a sports fan, you've no doubt heard of the acronym CTE. It has made plenty of headlines in recent years.

CTE — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — is a devastating, degenerative brain disease triggered by repetitive head injuries. It often impacts athletes, but also soldiers and victims of intimate partner violence.

At the moment, the condition can only be diagnosed after death. But a team of researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is working hard to change that. 

Their goal is to become the first lab in the world to diagnose the condition in life, not death — a breakthrough that could help stop the disease and even reverse it.

Our guest on this week's episode of Village Media's Closer Look podcast is Dr. Neil Vasdev, director of the Brain Health Imaging Centre at CAMH.

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This week, Toronto police displayed the fruits of a massive seizure of counterfeit soccer merchandise worth millions of dollars.

The haul included 16,000 fake name-brand jerseys and flags — including FIFA, Nike, Adidas and Puma — and even two counterfeit FIFA World Cup trophies.

At first glance, it’s easy to downplay such a bust as a “victimless crime.” But don’t tell that to Toronto lawyer David Lipkus, whose firm, Lipkus Law LLP, tipped off the cops to this operation.

A leading intellectual property lawyer who helps major brands protect their trademarks, Lipkus has seen first-hand how counterfeit items harm the economy, threaten consumer safety and line the pockets of organized crime.

Lipkus is our guest on this week’s episode of Village Media’s Closer Look podcast.

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Here's a piece of advice: Take a good look at your auto insurance policy.

Starting July 1, Ontario is introducing some significant reforms to auto insurance rules. Simply put, some coverage that is now mandatory will soon become optional — including certain accident benefits like income replacement and death and funeral costs.

Those in favour of the new system say it gives drivers more choice and flexibility — and potentially lower rates — while some experts worry the new rules could leave people unknowingly exposed to major costs after a serious crash.

Joining us on Village Media's Closer Look podcast to dissect the changes is lawyer Tudor Gagea, an associate at the personal injury firm Oakley Vigmond, which has offices in Toronto, Sudbury Barrie and North Bay. 

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Last month, Mark Carney’s Liberal government announced a $6-billion plan to help recruit, train and hire up to 100,000 new skilled tradespeople over the next five years.

The plan acknowledges a longstanding concern: that Canada has an urgent need for more carpenters, plumbers, millwrights and heavy equipment operators.

Among the new initiatives is a $5,000 bonus when a worker completes their Red Seal certification, a process Ottawa also wants to modernize by introducing online exams, digital logbooks and creating a single national registered apprenticeship number.

On this week's episode of Village Media's Closer Look podcast, we revisit a recent interview with Ian Howcroft of Skills Ontario, an organization that empowers youth to explore careers in skilled trades and technologies.

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In communities across Ontario, nominations are now open for October’s municipal elections.

It is local democracy in action: candidates put their names in the hat, lay out their promises — and you vote.

But is that enough? Does democracy demand more of us?

On this week’s episode of Village Media's Closer Look podcast, we revisit a very timely interview with an author who has some urgent things to say about the state of democracy around the world — and why it's really not enough to simply cast a vote and move along.

Peter MacLeod is co-author of the new book Democracy’s Second Act: Why Politics Needs the Public, along with Richard Johnson.

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Even at 92 years old, Don Cherry is never far from the headlines.

Back in February, the longtime co-host of “Coach’s Corner” was appointed to the Order of Ontario. A month later, a Conservative MP started a push to honour Cherry with the Order of Canada — a movement that continues to gain steam.

And now there’s a new book out, authored by Cherry’s late daughter, Cindy, who passed away unexpectedly in 2024. The book — The Don Cherry Story: Part II — is the second instalment of a two-book series that she began writing before she passed away.

Joining us on this week’s episode of Village Media’s Closer Look podcast is Tim Cherry, Cindy’s little brother and Don’s son.

Our conversation covers a lot of ice, including Don Cherry’s infamous “you people” poppy rant, his controversial firing after nearly four decades on the air, and why Grapes didn’t simply apologize for a comment that stung a lot of people, including many who served in the Canadian Forces.

Tim also fills us in on his dad’s health, if their popular podcast is ever coming back, and why — unlike so many people — he doesn’t blame Ron MacLean for everything that happened.

Love or hate Don Cherry, this episode is a must-watch.

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Back in December, Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for kids under 16. Simply put, popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat were ordered to block all Australian children from their sites or face hefty fines.

Should Canada follow suit? The momentum is growing.

Last month, Culture Minister Marc Miller said the Carney Liberals are “very seriously” considering a social media ban for kids after the party adopted a motion at its recent convention.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew went one step further, announcing last weekend that his province would be the first to bring in its own social media ban for youth — and that the ban would apply to AI chatbots.

Here in Ontario, the Ford government said this week it’s considering banning all cellphones from school property.

Here’s the key question: Would ordering kids off social media actually work? Or would a ban create more problems than it actually solves?

Our guest on this week’s Closer Look podcast is Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-Commerce Law.

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The Ford government says it wants to limit the foreign ownership of prime Ontario farmland, all part of proposed legislation aimed at boosting food sovereignty across the province.

But some experts say the government’s focus on foreign ownership is missing the real crisis: Ontario’s rapidly vanishing farmland.

Over the past 35 years, Ontario has lost 2.8 million acres — or 18 per cent — of farmland to non-agricultural land uses like housing developments and aggregate mining.

To put that another way, 319 acres of farmland is vanishing every single day in Ontario.

Our guest on this week’s episode of Village Media’s Closer Look podcast is Martin Straathof, executive director of Ontario Farmland Trust.

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Mary Walsh is so much more than one iconic character, but for countless Canadians she will always be Marg Delahunty, Princess Warrior.

Her sword-wielding alter ego — who ambushed politicians, cornered them with uncomfortable questions, and even kissed one would-be prime minister on the lips — was a favourite on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, the long-running sketch show she created.

But Marg is only one small part of her story.

Walsh’s new book — Brassy Bit of Aging Crumpet: A Memoir in Pieces — lays it all out there, from her rocky childhood in Newfoundland to her struggles with alcohol to the dread she often felt while trying to make people laugh.

Walsh is our guest on this week’s episode of Village Media’s Closer Look podcast.

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