Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift

AI slop isn't confined to fake videos in your feed. Mohit Rajhans brings it into the workplace, giving you a way to question whether automated presentations and summaries are helping people communicate or just keeping documents in circulation.

For a comedian, the stakes are harder to shrug off. Mohit recalls a performer complaining that an AI version was getting more views than she was. If the replica becomes the familiar face, how does the person behind the material keep a relationship with the audience?

Then there's the AI content you knowingly enjoy. A funny invention and something passed off as real ask different things of your trust. With creation tools built into the apps themselves, what are you being encouraged to make, and why?

Topics: AI slop, workplace communication, AI summaries, comedians, audience trust

GUEST: Mohit Rajhans | http://thinkstart.ca | http://mohit.ai

Originally aired on 2026-10-09

A four-day work week sounds straightforward until you ask how many hours those four days contain. Carlo Fanelli helps you distinguish a shorter week from a squeezed one, and weigh what each could mean for the time you have left after work.

Keeping pay while cutting hours raises an obvious business question: what gives? Carlo's employer interviews put that concern alongside recruitment, teamwork and the expense of losing trained staff. The calculation reaches beyond how long someone sits at a desk.

But a free Friday isn't necessarily a day you can afford to keep free. Some workers in the study found themselves taking on gigs. Before picturing a permanent long weekend, there's a question about economic security that a calendar change alone can't settle.

Topics: 32-hour work week, compressed schedules, productivity, recruitment, economic security

GUEST: Carlo Fanelli

Originally aired on 2026-10-09

Teen sleep can turn into a nightly argument when school requires an early start. Dr. James Lee explains why bedtime resistance isn't always the whole story, giving parents another way to understand the clash between the alarm clock and the teenager who isn't ready to sleep.

Then there's the phone that looks like a quiet way to unwind. What reaches the eyes matters, but so does what gets the mind going. A familiar evening habit may deserve a closer look.

And what if your child sleeps more or less than the guidelines suggest? Before treating the number as a verdict, there's something else James wants parents to consider. Enough sleep matters, but it isn't a promise that every difficult day disappears.

Topics: Teen sleep, circadian rhythm, school start times, screen time, sleep guidelines

GUEST: Dr. James Lee

Originally aired on 2026-10-09

Video rental nostalgia starts before you press play. Writer and television historian Ed Conroy helps you reconnect with the anticipation of a childhood movie night through an unexpected family story. How did one ordinary business problem open the door to a lifelong fascination with entertainment?

Think of the shelves, the mysterious cover art and the equipment that made watching at home possible. Shane’s memory of a weekend rental brings back a detail that might feel familiar, even if the films themselves have disappeared from memory.

With almost anything available now, why does that trip to the store still feel so special? Follow the conversation back to the family room and consider what made choosing, bringing home and watching one movie together an event.

Topics: Video rental nostalgia, Childhood memories, VHS cover art, VCR rentals, Family movie nights

GUEST: Ed Conroy | http://retrontario.com | @‌retrontario

Originally aired on 2026-10-08

Thanksgiving dinner costs can rise without every item on the table becoming more expensive. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois helps identify where the pressure is coming from before the holiday grocery shop. Which ingredients deserve a closer look, and which familiar favourites are holding their ground?

The turkey freezer tells only part of the story. Budget birds sit near much pricier options, while memories of last year’s bargains make this year’s tags sting. What happened to those deals, and how much does the choice of bird change the meal’s cost?

There are other ways to gather around a holiday table, and another turkey occasion approaching. Sylvain weighs different dinner choices and offers a thought about preparing for Christmas. Between childhood memories of the kids’ table and today’s shopping decisions, tradition leaves room for a rethink.

Topics: Thanksgiving dinner costs, turkey prices, vegetable prices, alternative meals, Christmas planning

GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @‌foodprofessor

Originally aired on 2026-10-08

Home heating costs and holiday driving meet in a fuel market where relief can be uneven. Dan McTeague of Canadians for Affordable Energy helps you distinguish his gasoline outlook from his diesel forecast. Why might the same weekend bring welcome news at one pump and frustration at another?

A recent diesel price drop raises the question of whether the worst is passing. Dan’s answer reaches beyond the local station to the facilities and routes supplying the market. Hear why he argues that restoring supply takes more than an encouraging announcement.

Back at home, heat pump rebates raise another affordability question. Shane and Dan bring their own experiences to the gap between buying equipment and paying to operate it. What needs to be considered before an incentive becomes a decision about keeping the house warm?

Topics: Home heating costs, Gasoline forecasts, Diesel prices, Energy supply, Heat pump affordability

GUEST: Dan McTeague | affordableenergy.ca

Originally aired on 2026-10-08

1987 vs today gets wonderfully awkward when every explanation requires another explanation. Shane turns an imaginary Thanksgiving road trip into a way to rediscover how extraordinary ordinary technology has become. How do you explain a map on a phone to someone still picturing a curly cord?

Getting the family together means packing, calling ahead and taking pictures. But each familiar task sends this time traveler into another puzzle. Where does the film go? How does the photograph reach everyone? Even the simplest answer needs a translation.

Then dinner stretches beyond the people sitting at the table, and watching television becomes something entirely different. Follow the increasingly unlikely explanations and see which everyday convenience would have been hardest to believe. How much of the future is already sitting in a pocket?

Topics: 1987 vs today, Smartphone navigation, Family photos, Streaming television, Video calls

Originally aired on 2026-10-08

Canadian political priorities take a sharp turn when Alberta separatists seek support outside the country. Rob Breakenridge helps you assess the strategy behind approaching Washington and the risks it creates at home. What could American involvement deliver that these groups believe they cannot achieve on their own?

Frustration with Ottawa doesn’t necessarily settle the question of Alberta’s future. Jason Kenney’s defense of its place in Canada provides a counterpoint, while Rob considers the gamble of linking the separatist cause to Donald Trump. Would that connection persuade people or push them away?

The same conversation tests another contested direction: balancing environmental policy with economic pressures. Heat pump incentives prompt competing readings of the government’s intentions. Hear the challenge to an easy assumption about who these announcements are meant to please.

Topics: Canadian political priorities, Alberta separatism, American influence, Canadian unity, Heat pump incentives

GUEST: Rob Breakenridge | robbreakenridge.ca | @robbreakenridge

Originally aired on 2026-10-08

Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Eric Alper takes you inside that year and the business habit almost nobody in the audience ever noticed.

On stage, she looked like the kind woman who would watch your dog. What she kept sitting on top of her piano every night tells a very different story about how she did business.

Find out why her whoop and holler never lands the same for anyone else, and why a gospel singer from Detroit faced zero pushback joining a rock institution. Plus the 1987 duet that ended a twenty-year wait.

Topics: Aretha Franklin, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1987 music, gospel music, George Michael

GUEST: Eric Alper | thatericalper.com | @thatericalper

Originally aired on 2026-10-08

Showing up for others gets complicated when the person you’re counting on stops answering. Jen Kirsch and Tony Tedesco offer practical ways to respond to silence, ask for help and recognise support that actually meets someone’s needs. Is being available the same as being helpful?

A promise to help on moving day becomes a test of friendship when the messages stop. Before deciding that someone has let you down, hear how Tony approaches the conversation. There’s more at stake than getting the boxes moved.

The same question follows us into family responsibilities and everyday conversations: are we paying attention, or assuming we already understand? Jen, Tony and Shane each identify a habit worth changing. One might sound uncomfortably familiar the next time a friend brings you good news.

Topics: Showing up for others, Friendship expectations, Asking for help, Family support, Listening

GUEST: Jen Kirsch | @‌jen_kirsch
GUEST: Tony Tedesco | @‌tedescotony

Originally aired on 2026-10-08