Just 20 years ago, Canadian cities were seeing a few dozen bed bug infestation reports a year. Now they get thousands—and in Toronto, tens of thousands. In Canada and around the world, the terrifying creatures are back, and they're getting stronger. (Seriously, they're becoming harder to kill, we told you this was stuff you "never wanted to know".)

How did bed bugs come back to become such a huge problem? What works against them and what doesn't? How can you recognize them, prevent infestations and how should you handle one it it happens? Also: Why are these bugs, of all the things that crawl on this Earth, the ones that make us so nauseatingly uncomfortable and paranoid?

GUEST: Lauren McKeon, journalist and author, deputy editor at Toronto Life (Read Lauren's bed bugs opus right here.)

Everything you never wanted to know about bed bugs

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Aiden Pleterski was charged with fraud a couple of weeks ago. On the face of it, it's a simple charge, but the story behind those charges is one that could only happen in the world of cryptocurrency. Pleterski, a native of Whitby, Ontario, built a reputation as the 'Crypto King' and is alleged to have been  living lavishly on investors' money.

Now there are handfuls of lawsuits, allegedly tens of millions in missing money and a tangled web of angry investors. How did this all go down? How did Pleterski allegedly defraud investors? And why were investors handing their money to a kid barely out of high school in the first place?

GUEST: Jennifer Pagliaro, crime reporter, The Toronto Star

The rise and fall of Canada's Crypto King

The internet changed nearly everything about real estate. Now buyers can see all the listings, everywhere; they can learn the price histories and estimated values of houses they look at, and can see the minute details of those houses before ever visiting them or retaining an agent. But one thing never did change: they still can't easily see an agent's commission.

But a settled lawsuit in the United States and two more in the courts in Canada are preparing to change that and then we'll learn just how much of the market this simple but incredibly opaque part of the industry influences the whole thing.

GUEST: Murtaza Haider, professor of real estate management at Toronto Metropolitan University

Is the real estate industry about to fundamentally shift?

We've gained some new subscribers recently, and over the next few Sundays we want to help welcome them to the show by re-releasing some of our favourite episodes from the last few years. If you're new here, welcome! And if you've been with us for a while, we hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane. 

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It's here. It's become a part of summer in most areas of Canada. It's bad for you. 

What exactly makes wildfire smoke harmful to breathe? And what about the mental health impact of hazy skies and a darkened future?

If we're going to live with this we need less speculation, and more science and solutions. Here they are.

GUEST: Dr. Courtney Howard, emergency physician; Vice-Chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance

Smoke 101: An intro to a new summer reality

Summer is around the corner, and a lot of us are dreaming of a holiday. But post pandemic it feels like everything has skyrocketed.  So how can you still have a fun and meaningful family vacation in this economy?

Natalie Preddie is a writer and a TV personality who specializes in travel. As a seasoned traveler herself, whether that's solo or with a family, on a plane or in a train, she is full of tips for how to make that dream of vacation a reality. 

Do you have a money problem? Call us and leave a message at 416-935-5935. Or email us at hello@itepod.ca. You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok @InThisEconomyPod. Don't forget to leave a call-back number, so we can get in touch.

Take a vacation?! In This Economy?!

Have you met Shrimp Jesus yet? He's Jesus, only a shrimp. Or maybe a half-man, half-shrimp. Anyway...he's the most recognizable example of thousands upon thousands of bizarre AI-created images that are flooding Facebook's algorithm and its users feeds.

These images go viral because the algorithm boosts them, because other Facebook accounts are engaging with them. But who, exactly, is engaging with these random fake images? And why? The answer tells a story that will give you a whole new perspective on just how many people on the world's largest social media platform are, well, actually humans.

GUEST: Jason Koebler, cofounder of 404 Media, cohost of the 404 Media podcast

Everything you never wanted to know about bed bugs

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