The Worst Commute

Guest: Andy Takagi, Toronto Star transportation reporter Many of us know this pain too well: waiting on a very late bus or crawling between subway stations with no idea when we’ll get to where we're trying to go. Long commutes can famously take a real toll on your quality of life and Andy Takagi is walking a mile - or, rather, commuting several miles - in the shoes of those who claim to have the worst commutes in the city. Andy shares insights from his written series on the subject, The Worst Commute, where he's tested the city’s most painful transit routes firsthand—from the longest journeys to very noisey routes. He discusses what makes these commutes so frustrating and offers ideas on how the TTC and the city could make life easier for commuters. Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston & Paulo Marques

Guest: Omar Mosleh, Toronto Star reporter The RCMP says it has dismantled one of the largest dark web drug networks in Canadian history, a GTA-based group called RoadRunna that was allegedly shipping about 400 packages of drugs a week across Canada, including through Canada Post. Seven people from Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga are facing charges after officers seized 75 kilograms of cocaine, MDMA, heroin, meth, ketamine and more than 10,000 pills.  But the RoadRunna bust is part of a larger story of how the dark web continues to be a hub for traffickers, how criminals are switching to more sophisticated tools from Bitcoin to Monero and even to encrypted apps like Telegram, and how police are finding cracks in what was once seen as an anonymous online safe haven.Experts warn that while these takedowns are significant, dark web markets rarely stay offline for long. This episode was mixed by Paulo Marques

In honour of the Blue Jays playoff run starting tomorrow, we’re sharing an episode from our sister podcast Deep Left Field. Guest: RUSH frontman and Blue Jays fanatic Geddy Lee The Blue Jays are on the eve of their American League division series against the New York Yankees, which begins Saturday afternoon. We talk to the Jays' most famous fan, the lead singer, bassist and keyboardist from the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, who also happens to be a massive baseball geek. Geddy Lee shares his thoughts on the Blue Jays' worst-to-first season, how much fun he's had watching the team and how large a part of their success all the unsung heroes have been. We also look at the ALDS match-up with the Yankees and open up the mailbag at [email protected]!

Guest: Steve Teekens, Executive Director, Na-Me-Res, a Toronto-based Indigenous-run non-profit that provides temporary, transitional and permanent housing Indigenous people make up less than one per cent of Toronto’s population, but about 15 percent of the city’s homeless. Nationally, they are around 5 percent of the population yet account for more than a third of those without homes. These numbers reflect the ongoing legacy of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and systems that continue to fail Indigenous communities. For Indigenous men especially, homelessness is closely tied to untreated mental illness and addiction. Advocates say ending Indigenous homelessness isn’t just policy; it’s a part of reconciliation. Na-Me-Res, an Indigenous-led organization in Toronto, has been working on shelters, transitional programs, and affordable housing. On this National day for Truth and Reconciliation, we speak to the organization’s Executive Director Steve Teekens —to talk about the crisis — and to share his own family’s story as the grandson of residential school survivors and the son of a Sixties Scoop survivor. The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience. Support is available at 1-866-925-4419. This episode was mixed by Paulo Marques

Guest: Ava Smithing, advocacy director at the Young People's Alliance Young people today have been raised with the most powerful tools in human history at their fingertips. Entire childhoods have played out online, with algorithms acting as babysitter, therapist, and mirror through which they see themselves. And now, we’re seeing what happens when the first generation raised on smart phones comes of age; shaped by platforms designed to manipulate attention and monetize minds. Ava Smithing was just 12 when she spiraled into a social media rabbit hole that nearly took her life. Years later, she walked the halls of Congress to warn lawmakers about the harms of Big Tech. Now, she’s the host of the Toronto Star’s new podcast series Left to Their Own Devices that takes a hard look at what happens when kids are left to figure it out alone. She joins This Matters to talk about what led her here. Produced by Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon

Guests: Star journalists Ben Spurr and Mahdis Habibinia The Star’s City Hall bureau has been digging deep into the garbage with its Waste Not, Want Not series, examining how Toronto handles its trash and how the choices we make shape our city. In this episode, City Hall Bureau Chief Ben Spurr explains where most of our garbage actually ends up and what options the city has next, with its main landfill nearing capacity in just over a decade. Then, reporter Mahdis Habibinia shares what she learned from Torontonians trying to live a zero-waste lifestyle, and offers some practical advice on how the rest of us can start cutting down on trash at home. Produced by Paulo Marques

Lately, speed cameras in this city and neighbouring cities have become a symbol and target of people’s rage. The Parkside Drive speed camera was erected when this spot saw a horrific and fatal crash in 2021, due to speeding. It is now Toronto’s most prolific speed cam and was recently cut down by vandals for the seventh time in eleven months. And earlier this month 16 cameras across the city were taken out in a single night. This week, three more have come down. The City of Vaughan has decided to remove speed cameras all together after rolling out its program just earlier this year. Premier Ford has voiced his disdain for speed cameras and some individuals vocally echo him. Community safety organizations and reports, however, say they’re effective. We’re joined today by Toronto Star’s resident Speed Cam man, Raju Mudhar, to give us the facts while we zoom out and chat about what all of this may really be about. Audio Sources: Deputy Inspector Peter Wallace, Toronto Police Service, CP24

Guest: Nicholas Keung, Toronto Star Immigration Reporter Canada is quietly but significantly changing course on immigration. As the federal government moves to reduce the number of non-permanent residents, critics warn this may signal a harder shift in policy, with growing efforts to tighten border controls and slow down immigration processing. Questions are mounting about how these changes will affect the labour market, the economy, and the people caught in the middle. In this episode, immigration reporter Nicholas Keung explains what’s shifting, why it’s happening now, and what it could mean for Canada's future as a destination for newcomers. Produced by Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon 

Guest: Jason Miller, Toronto Star crime reporter On Aug.16, eight-year-old JahVai Roy was shot and killed in his North York apartment when a bullet pierced his bedroom window. A teenager has since been charged, and Toronto police are looking for two more teen suspects. But for JahVai’s family, the trauma didn’t end that night. They’re now displaced, grieving, and navigating a system with few real supports. In this episode, we look at how gun violence continues to disproportionately impact Toronto’s most marginalized communities—even as crime stats go down—and what we’re still missing in how we respond to the aftermath. Produced by Sean Pattendon

Guests: Star reporters Amy Dempsey Raven and Megan Ogilvie A new Ontario law was meant to protect vulnerable children in care, but it may be deepening the very crisis it set out to solve. The province has expanded police background checks for people working or volunteering in the child welfare system. But under the new rules, it is not just criminal records that show up. Any documented interaction with police, including traffic stops, noise complaints or mental health calls, could be flagged.Experts warn this opens the door to discrimination and bias, especially for racialized and marginalized communities who face disproportionate police contact. Meanwhile, child welfare agencies say the rollout has been chaotic, delaying adoptions and disrupting foster placements at a time when the system is already under strain. This episode was produced by Sean Pattendon and Paulo Marques.