Cost of Living

This week, we answer some of your burning questions about the economy. Like, why does Canada import stuff that we produce here? Should you pay in CAD when travelling abroad? And, how expensive is the #rvlife (Originally aired October 12, 2025)

Hallmark's holiday movie formula is as polished as a glass snow globe. And why not? Between product placements and sponsorships, the movies are a winner for the card company. We take a look at the business sense behind the sensibility. Also, we make a spirited defense of IRL shopping and ask: How did Canada's economy weather a stormy 2025?

Pricey VIP experiences are increasingly for sale in places like theme parks, concert venues and ski resorts. So what does it mean for us to be divided into the haves and the have-mores? We examine what the sale of Warner Bros. could mean for the future of entertainment. And why are Canadians paying through le nez for French butter?

The U.S. used to be pretty hands off, let the market do its thing. Now it wants to be the puppet master. So what happened? Also, we explain why advent calendars have become so commercial and we talk to a historian about why certain toys catch lightening in a bottle. Remember Tickle Me Elmo?

Did you roll your eyes the last time someone said "inflation is coming down"? Yeah, that's fair. Your personal inflation rate can vary wildly depending on where you live, how old you are and whether you rent or own. We ask two Canadians to walk us through their personal inflation calculator and economist Mark Blyth explains how these differences may be partly responsible for the rise of polarization. Also, we dig into why Canadians are holding onto their cars longer.

Staying out 'til the wee hours of the morning? That's not happening as much anymore, and restaurants and bars are feeling it. Also, how to find Lego for 2 cents at Walmart and author Danny Funt talks about his new book: Everybody Loses: the Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling.

A lot of people are calling critical minerals a major opportunity for Canada, but we explain why their real benefit may be more strategic than economic. We ask why the price of toilet paper is so d@#m hard to figure out and talk to author David Thomas about his new biography of Prem Watsa — the richest, savviest Canadian you've never heard of who is behind one of Canada's most successful companies.

When David Chilton self-published The Wealthy Barber in 1989, it turned into a personal finance phenomenon. Paul Haavardsrud talks with him about the new updated version of his book. We explain why more Gen Z's are "vibe investing" and look at how realistic it is for Canada to go whole hog on "Buy Canadian."

If it feels like the price of everything from flights to juice boxes never stay put — you're not wrong. And artificial intelligence could make those prices even more slippery. Also, we look at the rewards and risk of credit card churning and why so many people are suddenly talking about digital sovereignty.

AI has all the ingredients needed for a bubble. So if it pops, could it put us all at risk? We also revisit a Halloween favourite about buying and selling haunted houses and we speak to author Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic about why being yourself at work is overratedWe'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.

Creative destruction is a way of explaining how new ideas destroy the old in an economy. In an ideal world, these changes make us all healthier and wealthier, right? Right?! With AI promising to upend the economy, we speak with Avi Goldfarb from the U of T's Creative Destruction Lab about how to prepare for it. We also look at why more First Nations are getting into the housing business and why cheap eats are so hard to find at the airport.

This week, we answer some of your burning questions about the economy. Like, why does Canada import stuff that we produce here? Should you pay in CAD when travelling abroad? And, how expensive is the #rvlife?

The post-WWII rules-based order has been good to Canada. International trade agreements and cooperation have brought peace and prosperity. But with Trump now tearing up the playbook, will we have to follow suit? Or can we find new partners who still want to play the old game the old way? Also, why more North Americans are willing to splurge on business class flights and why long waitlists are pushing Canadians to shop for new hips abroad.

More people listen to music on YouTube than Spotify. It's the world's biggest podcast platform and it's worth twice as much as Disney. So what does it mean when one media company commands so much of our attention? We explain why fast food restaurants are betting on hot hot hot menu items. Also, the U.S. is making it harder for the world's brightest minds to work in America. Soooo, maybe they wanna come here?

More than two decades ago, Ireland radically cut corporate taxes and produced an "economic miracle." Now some say Canada should look to the Emerald Isle and perform a miracle of its own. We find out why some people are learning to love Canadian Gamays and Pinot Noirs. And could a proposed takeover of Teck, one of our last mining giants, be a test of the country's newfound economic nationalism?

Some of us might forget $20 in a coat pocket, but what about thousands of dollars in pension payments? It happens more often than you might think. We'll explain why Canadians lose track of their own retirement savings and how to reclaim them. 

A world powered by solar energy has been on the horizon for years. But with costs dropping at a rapid pace, the renewable may be about to have its moment in the sun. So what could we achieve with all that cheap, unlimited energy?

Massive population growth in the last few years put pressure on housing and healthcare. But all those people have also been pouring money into the economy and, by some accounts, keeping us out of a recession. So does a plan for negative population growth risk steering us into the economic ditch?