Mind the Gap

Mind the Gap: The Spreadsheet That Broke Ottawa's Grid

[curious] So there's a CEO in Ottawa — Bryce Conrad, runs Hydro Ottawa — and he's staring at a spreadsheet that shouldn't be mathematically possible. [surprised] Because the number on it is bigger than his entire city. He told CBC, quote, 'By the end of this year, we will have received requests to connect that exceed the total amount of power that is used today by residents and businesses within t...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [playful] Go name things correctly, everybody.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: **$75 Million and a Fan Funeral**

[curious] So imagine you're scrolling your phone over morning coffee, and the one film studio you actually trust — the studio that gave you Everything Everywhere All at Once, Moonlight, Hereditary — just signed a seventy-five-million-dollar AI deal with Google DeepMind. [amused] And the internet immediately catches fire. Kotaku runs the headline: 'A24 Fans Mourn Its Death.' Quote, 'Membership Canc...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [warm] And I'm Maya. Go own your Thursday.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: The Oil Company Powering Your AI

[curious] Somewhere in West Texas right now, Chevron is building a power plant — not to refine oil, not to run a pipeline — but to run a Microsoft data center. An oil company... generating electricity... for AI. [amused] An oil giant and a tech giant walk into the desert. Sounds like the opening of a very expensive joke....

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [enthusiastic] And touch a sweater for us.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: When Thinking Became a Commodity

[curious] Picture a trading floor. Screens everywhere. But instead of oil futures or soybean contracts... the tickers show GPU hours. Blocks of raw computing power — being bid on, hedged, and sold like barrels of crude. [surprised] Wait — someone is literally buying futures contracts on... the ability to think?...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [amused] And you'll defend it to the death

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: The Students Who Were Never Born

[curious] So picture this — it's June, registration season at a mid-size American college. The admissions director pulls up the fall enrollment numbers and just... stares. The freshman class is down eighteen percent. Not because applications were bad. Not because tuition went up. But because the students themselves were never born. [surprised] Never born. As in, the 2008 financial crisis scared an...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [playful] And I'm Maya. Go name things correctly, friends. Have a beautiful Monday.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: The Tiny Startup That Broke AI's Math

[curious] Last month, a tiny startup in Miami — fewer than twenty employees — walked out of stealth mode and told the entire AI industry it had been doing the math wrong. Not a little wrong. Fundamentally wrong. [excited] The company's called Subquadratic. Their claim? They've cracked the computational bottleneck that limits every large language model on the planet. If that's true, it rewrites the...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [serious] And the piece describes him as someone who, quote, 'doesn't mince words,' saying that most of

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: When Money And Machines Both Lose Control

[concerned] Friday afternoon. A forex desk somewhere in downtown Toronto refreshes the screen and watches the Canadian dollar slide toward seventy cents US. The headline in the financial press uses one word to describe the selloff — 'brutal.' [serious] That same week — same actual week, Maya — the CEO of one of the world's most powerful AI companies picked up the phone and asked the US government ...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [playful] Mind the Gap. We'll see you tomorrow morning.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: File Your Taxes, Ride a Glowing Dog

[amused] Picture this — a warrior in full plate armor, riding an enormous glowing dog through a neon fantasy kingdom. Sword drawn, cape flowing, the works. [playful] Cool, cool. And this warrior earned that magnificent beast how, exactly?...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [laughing] But they do require treats. Which is also a nudge. We can't escape!

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: The Shoe Company That Quit Shoes

[amused] Somewhere in San Francisco right now, there's a warehouse full of unsold wool sneakers. Sustainably sourced merino. Carbon-neutral soles. And a logo on every box that — as of this week — no longer exists. [surprised] Wait... Allbirds? The shoe company?...

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [warm] Happy Friday, everyone. We'll see you Monday.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.

Mind the Gap: The CEO Who Talks to AI First

[thoughtful] Picture this. It's six a.m. in Toronto. Dave McKay — CEO of Canada's largest bank — sits down with his coffee. But his first meeting isn't with a person. [curious] It's with an AI. One he built himself....

In today's episode, Alex and Maya explore how Toronto's economy, AI's rapid evolution, and behavioural science intersect — and what it all means for how we live and work.

Takeaway: [warm] See you tomorrow.

New episodes drop every weekday morning.