Cost of Living

Should Canada invest in guns (defence)? Or butter (schools, roads, hospitals)? Military spending is already way up in this country, and is expected to keep rising. Host Paul Haavardsrud discusses the implications of this with Eugene Lang at Queen's University. Plus, the phrase "hot girl walk" is trademarked in Canada. Yes, really. We look at the growing appeal of trademarking viral phrases. We also examine how the relationship between Scholastic, a for-profit U.S. company, and Canadian schools became so unshakeable.

Sure, if you compare our economies based on GDP per capita. But is GDP per capita the best way to measure our standard of living? From donuts to chia seeds, we explore why so many products have their own national day on the calendar. Plus, is putting all your hard-earned cash into a house really the best decision for you? We explore the case for renting versus buying.

The price of services, like haircuts, is climbing, but the price of some goods, like microwaves, is dropping. So what gives? Something called the Baumol effect. Also, we look at the growing popularity of "admin parties," and ask if being yourself at work can be a career-killer when Paul Haavardsrud speaks to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of Don't Be Yourself: Why Authenticity is Overrated.

Many see critical minerals as an untapped resource and major economic opportunity for Canada. But could their real value be more strategic than economic? Plus, we explain how all the weird food ends up at HomeSense and Winners, and look at what's behind the resurgence of old-school film cameras.

Today's tech billionaires are rich in a way the world has never seen, and they're not shy about flaunting the power that comes with it. It has some people asking: "Should there even be billionaires?" Plus, we ask if braces are the new midlife motorcycle and explore the long, and sometimes hilarious, history of corporate blunders.