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PODCAST

This Matters

The world is changing every day. Now, more than ever, these questions matter. What"s happening? And why should you care? This Matters, a daily news podcast from the Toronto Star, aims to answer those questions, on important stories and ideas, every day, Monday to Friday. Hosts Saba Eitizaz and Ed Keenan talk to their fellow journalists, experts and newsmakers about the social, cultural, political and economic stories that shape your life.

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All Episodes

18:56

Everything you need to know about the antiviral COVID...

This Matters ·

2022/04/22

Guest: Megan Ogilvie & Kenyon Wallace, Star reporters Last week, Ontario expanded eligibility to testing and antiviral treatments such as Paxlovid for high-risk individuals as the sixth wave of COVID continues to gain momentum. Paxlovid is now also available with a prescription at dozens of pharmacies across the GTA. But questions still remain around how to get a dose of the drug, where to find it and why those who need it the most in the hardest hit areas are still finding it a challenge to get a

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19:23

How Canada is trying to deal with the cost of inflation

This Matters ·

2022/04/21

Guest: Heather Scoffield, economics columnist and the Star's Ottawa Bureau Chief. Inflation hit a 31-year high, rising to 6.7 per cent in March, with escalating prices across many sectors. Grocery store and gas bills in particular are where many people are feeling it, and the gas prices have risen almost 40 per cent from a year ago. There are several causes to inflation, but the one thing that experts know is that these higher prices are here to stay for a while. Governments and central banks are

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19:24

Why are so many COVID vaccine doses wasted in Canada?

This Matters ·

2022/04/20

Guest: Alex Boyd, Toronto Star reporter Almost two years after the first COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Canada, the excitement is somewhat over. Most Canadians are now vaccinated and demand is grinding to a halt. The rush for vaccines has also slowed down considerably after recently lifted mandates. This means that millions of doses are lying unused, just weeks or months away from expiring. And millions of vaccines have been thrown away. Vaccination continues to lag in low-income countries. In the

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19:46

Birds eye view: Satellites and how we watch war now

This Matters ·

2022/04/19

Guest: Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, professor and satellite imaging specialist at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Satellites and social media are working together to give new perspectives and viewpoints on the war in Ukraine. The amount and frequency of images, sophistication of technology and ever easier access for researchers and enthusiasts have created a new kind of theatre of war, that is already having ramifications, as it has exposed troop movements and war

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16:00

TTC bus drivers face violent and bizarre incidents

This Matters ·

2022/04/18

Guest: Ben Spurr, the Star’s transportation reporter. It has been a terrible week for tragic events on public transit, with New York City dealing with a subway shooting, a murder outside of Sherbourne station and a woman getting pushed onto the tracks at Yonge station. While these are nightmare scenarios for any transit service, there are all kinds of incidents that occur every year on the TTC, and through a Freedom of Information request, the Star got the data on all of the incidents on the bus

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21:17

One hospital’s plan to treat gun violence

This Matters ·

2022/04/14

Guest: Wendy Gillis, Star reporter As Toronto Police say the average age of those linked to gun violence continues to drop, Sunnybrook Hospital is taking action because “patching people up and sending them home” isn’t working. Today, we are joined by Star reporter Wendy Gillis, who’s been following the rollout of the new program designed to stem this tide. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Niki Thay.

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17:08

What we know about the fourth COVID shot

This Matters ·

2022/04/13

Guest: Alex Boyd, Star reporter COVID-19 continues to circulate with the very transmittable Omicron variant BA.2 now dominant, just as most parts of the country have dropped mask mandates, restrictions are lifting and the future is anything but certain. While Omicron cases might be generally less severe for those who are vaccinated, vulnerable people are still at high risk and that’s why a fourth round of the vaccine has become available for some. Toronto Star reporter Alex Boyd gives us an

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19:57

The inequitable distribution of rapid tests in Ontario

This Matters ·

2022/04/12

Guests: Sara Mojtehedzadeh and Rachel Mendleson, Star reporters While Ontario Premier Doug Ford touted rapid tests as a "game changer" and directed for them to be distributed to hot spot neighbourhoods to help quell the virus, a Star investigation found that only one fifth of 20 million tests ended up in those areas in the first 10 months of the province's taxpayer-funded screening program. In fact, privates schools got more tests than many other industries that were hit hard during the COVID-19

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19:32

Now or never: UN warns the world must act on climate

This Matters ·

2022/04/11

Guest: Alex Ballingall, Ottawa Bureau The latest report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been damning. It’s now or never, as scientists warn the world must cap global greenhouse emissions or risk irreversible damage and the worst effects of climate change. Ottawa has now unveiled an ambitious new $9.1 billion road map to meet Canada’s climate targets by 2030. Star reporter Alex Ballingall explains what it’s all about and whether it is enough to rise

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31:54

How the unregulated dog rescue industry has spelled...

This Matters ·

2022/04/08

Guest: Jennifer Yang, investigative reporter Even if you’re not a dog owner, it is always nice to check out your local dog park to see which furry creatures are out for an afternoon romp. But where do those dogs came from? Toronto Star investigative reporter Jennifer Yang’s ongoing investigation about one popular dog rescue in particular, Redemption Paws, sheds some light. Many people adopted pets during the pandemic as companions in an uncertain time, but the relatively unregulated dog rescue

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01:17:16

Jays Opening Day Extravaganza, with Bichette, Manoah,...

This Matters ·

2022/04/07

This Matters is running today's opening day episode of Deep Left Field, the Toronto Star's baseball podcast, with host Mike Wilner. He gets down on the field with the Jays. It's a longer episode today but if you are a Jays fan, you'll want to stick around. Guests: Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, pitchers Jose Berrios, Alek Manoah and Jordan Romano, catcher Danny Jansen and third base coach Luis Rivera. Plus 10 Questions with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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20:48

Why you should take the sixth wave of COVID-19 seriously

This Matters ·

2022/04/06

Guest: Dr. Tim Sly, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus from the School of Public Health at Ryerson University Ontario is in the sixth wave of COVID-19. It is not known how many people are infected, but anecdotally, it certainly feels like a lot. With Omicron subvariant BA.2 now dominant and others on the horizon, this is another sign that while we may be sick and tired of COVID-19, this disease does not listen to proclamations that it is over. Despite the lifting of mask mandates, experts say

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23:33

Hotel check out: The city’s plan to close temporary...

This Matters ·

2022/04/05

Guests: Victoria Gibson, affordable housing reporter, and Gru, a resident of a temporary shelter During the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Toronto leased a number of hotels to augment the number of homeless shelters and allow adequate space between residents. These temporary shelters now account for 27 sites housing over 3,000 people and 40 per cent of people experiencing homelessness in Toronto. Now the leases are coming up and the city is looking at a number of options to take these temporary

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23:39

How a deadly sixth wave of COVID hit Hong Kong and...

This Matters ·

2022/04/04

Guest: Dr. Siddharth Sridhar, virologist at the University of Hong Kong If it feels like suddenly COVID-19 is everywhere again, that is because it probably is. As Ontario’s indicators point to a sixth wave, the Omicron variant hit Hong Kong and New Zealand hard within weeks. Its impact could not have been more different. While COVID is spreading at the fastest rate in New Zealand, Hong Kong marked the highest COVID death rates in the world. What’s allowing New Zealand better outcomes in managing

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19:58

'I am very sorry.' Pope apologizes for Church’s role...

This Matters ·

2022/04/01

Guest: Brandi Morin, a French, Cree, Iroquois journalist from Treaty 6, reporting from Rome After a week of historic meetings between the Pope and 32 Métis, Inuit and First Nations delegates, a formal apology has been issued. To a crowd of nearly 200 on Friday morning, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system. A system that ripped more than 150,000 indigenous children from their homes and placed them in the care of strangers. A system that led to

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22:08

Will Toronto’s real estate market bloom in spring? An...

This Matters ·

2022/03/31

Guest: Lauren Haw, CEO and Broker of Record at Zoocasa Spring is usually the busiest time of the year for the real estate market, but many are wondering what this year might look like two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many trends that seem to be turning, and changes like workers returning to the office are starting to take effect. One issue that remains is the lack of inventory of houses to buy. Many hope this season will improve on that situation and the real estate market starts to

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21:55

Canada’s World Cup qualifying dreams have come true....

This Matters ·

2022/03/30

Guest: Laura Armstrong, sports reporter It almost seems like a fantasy to long-time followers of the sport but the Canadian's Men's National Team has qualified for the World Cup and are heading to Qatar in November. The team has been on a remarkable run, climbing the rankings over the past year and making it so punching their ticket became almost inevitable as opposed to something that has eluded this team for almost four decades. This team looks like it could just be getting started. First, a look

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25:14

It’s a deal: unpacking the $10-a-day child care plan

This Matters ·

2022/03/29

Guest: Robert Benzie and Tonda MacCharles, Star reporters With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford signing on the dotted line confirming the province of Ontario is in, Canada will have a national child-care program for the first time in history. With the province having one of the highest child-care rates in Canada, the federal government has earmarked 13.2 billion for Ontario over six years. Parents could see fees reduced by up to 50 per cent by the end of the year, with costs

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23:27

Jerry Dias and Unifor: How the head of Canada’s...

This Matters ·

2022/03/28

Guest: Rosa Saba and Sara Mojtehedzadeh, Star reporters Jerry Dias was one the most high-profile and well known union leaders in Canada, but now Dias is under investigation for breaching union rules and allegedly accepting money from a supplier and then trying to share it with another employee. The consequences for the former head of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, have been swift but there plenty of a questions remain about how and why this happened, as well as what the labour

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21:04

Mid-Life Happiness: Why joy later in life looks...

This Matters ·

2022/03/25

Guest: Arthur Brooks, author of the bestselling book, “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life” What if everything that brought you to success, happiness and satisfaction in the first part of your life does a terrible job to prepare you to find those things in the latter half of it? That’s something that Arthur Brooks decided to tackle in his latest book. For all Brooks has accomplished — he’s a Harvard professor, columnist at The Atlantic

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1,105 results

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