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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.

Why emergency departments are overwhelmed

22 mins; July 15, 2022

To boost or not to boost? Ontario expands fourth shots to all adults

14 mins; July 14, 2022

The Right Stuff: What’s next for the Conservative leadership race

23 mins; July 13, 2022

Network effect: Rogers’ outage and how the government is making telcos work together

19 mins; July 12, 2022

Contempt of the Supreme Court: The judiciary and American democracy

20 mins; July 11, 2022

How Canada’s new crime bill will wipe out drug possession charges

18 mins; July 08, 2022

Why are nurses quitting their jobs for temp agencies?

18 mins; July 07, 2022

Can an Ontario breakthrough help long COVID sufferers?

20 mins; July 06, 2022

Down by The Bay: Inside the retailer's reinvention

17 mins; July 05, 2022

A prescription for healthy food? New program tackles food insecurity

21 mins; July 04, 2022

Is a ‘Freedom Convoy’ sequel on the way to Ottawa for Canada Day?

17 mins; June 30, 2022

What life is like on ODSP

18 mins; June 29, 2022

Office Politics: Vaccination status and the workplace

20 mins; June 28, 2022

Roe v. Wade has been overturned. What happens now?

28 mins; June 27, 2022

Sanctions, censorship and war: What it’s like living in Russia

19 mins; June 24, 2022

Tracking down one of Canada’s most notorious hit men

20 mins; June 23, 2022

Explaining the cryptocurrency crash

19 mins; June 22, 2022

400 displaced people in social housing. Few answers. Few homes

17 mins; June 21, 2022

Flight Risk: Will relaxing vaccine mandates tackle chaos at the airport?

15 mins; June 20, 2022

Does Canada need legislation against Black and Indigenous hair discrimination?

27 mins; June 17, 2022

Unpacking the Toronto Police's report revealing systemic racism

21 mins; June 16, 2022

Angry Young Men: How youth workers are trying to stop the next attack

20 mins; June 15, 2022

Is the ride over for ActiveTO?

18 mins; June 14, 2022

Waves of power creation: How tidal energy is the next potential renewable source

16 mins; June 13, 2022

A tale of two communities struck by climate disasters

21 mins; June 10, 2022

Rights wronged: How police are violating people’s Charter rights

19 mins; June 09, 2022

What the Hoggard verdict highlights about consent and sexual violence victims

20 mins; June 08, 2022

Why Conservatives are embracing conspiracy theories

22 mins; June 07, 2022

Tow truck wars, York Region and why high-profile cases keep falling apart

18 mins; June 06, 2022

What’s in Canada’s new gun control bill and is it enough?

23 mins; June 03, 2022

What have Canada’s big pensions invested in? It’s hard to know

16 mins; June 02, 2022

Ontario Election: fact-checking the party leaders

16 mins; June 01, 2022

There is a big demand for accessible housing in Ontario. Few can find it

20 mins; May 31, 2022

Days after Uvalde massacre, NRA hosts annual summit

22 mins; May 30, 2022

Ontario Votes: Looking at the final days of the campaign

18 mins; May 27, 2022

Baby boomers are getting older and want change in long-term care

20 mins; May 26, 2022

What we know about monkeypox so far

13 mins; May 25, 2022

The Price is Wrong: Grocery store inflation and what you can do about it

18 mins; May 24, 2022

Introducing ‘Death in a Small Town,’ a podcast hosted by Kevin Donovan

23 mins; May 23, 2022

Grand Theft Auto GTA: Carjackings and auto thefts soar

16 mins; May 20, 2022

Food fight: The Michelin Guide is coming to Toronto

18 mins; May 19, 2022

Why are hundreds of immigrants languishing in Canada’s maximum security jails?

18 mins; May 18, 2022

Blue bin blues: Why recycling in Canada is a big green lie

18 mins; May 17, 2022

Reproductive rights and abortion access: Is Canada as pro-choice as you think?

19 mins; May 16, 2022

Air sick: The problems at Canada’s airports and why it won’t get better soon

16 mins; May 13, 2022

Sticky wicket: Why Toronto needs more cricket pitches

18 mins; May 12, 2022

Can a new law tackle the opioid crisis in Ontario’s construction industry?

19 mins; May 11, 2022

Does the government need to clamp down on predatory lending?

14 mins; May 10, 2022

What a damning report reveals about white supremacy in Canada’s military

19 mins; May 09, 2022

As cycling data points to rise in ER visits, how safe are our streets?

15 mins; May 06, 2022

The campaign is on. So, what’s behind Del Duca’s handgun ban?

19 mins; May 05, 2022

Introducing ‘It’s Political with Althia Raj,’ a new Canadian politics podcast

1 min; May 05, 2022

How the Ukraine war is escalating the global hunger crisis

17 mins; May 04, 2022

Roe v. Wade in peril? What a major leak suggests about the future of U.S. abortion laws

21 mins; May 03, 2022

Meet Percy: Freshii’s new outsourced ‘virtual cashier’

16 mins; May 02, 2022

Ontario’s budget: Politics, platforms and how it sets up the election

18 mins; April 29, 2022

The changing political dynamics of Toronto city hall

22 mins; April 28, 2022

How climate and pandemic anxiety is overwhelming Ontario teens

16 mins; April 27, 2022

Housing affordability: What can be done to help people get into the market?

20 mins; April 26, 2022

How right is too right? Conservatives look to the middle

23 mins; April 25, 2022

Everything you need to know about the antiviral COVID drug

18 mins; April 22, 2022

How Canada is trying to deal with the cost of inflation

19 mins; April 21, 2022

Why are so many COVID vaccine doses wasted in Canada?

19 mins; April 20, 2022

Birds eye view: Satellites and how we watch war now

19 mins; April 19, 2022

TTC bus drivers face violent and bizarre incidents

16 mins; April 18, 2022

One hospital’s plan to treat gun violence

21 mins; April 14, 2022

What we know about the fourth COVID shot

17 mins; April 13, 2022

The inequitable distribution of rapid tests in Ontario

19 mins; April 12, 2022

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

19 mins; April 11, 2022

How the unregulated dog rescue industry has spelled disaster for some

31 mins; April 08, 2022

Jays Opening Day Extravaganza, with Bichette, Manoah, Berrios, Romano, Jansen, Rivera and Vladdy

77 hours 16 mins; April 07, 2022

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

20 mins; April 06, 2022

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

23 mins; April 05, 2022

How a deadly sixth wave of COVID hit Hong Kong and New Zealand differently

23 mins; April 04, 2022

'I am very sorry.' Pope apologizes for Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system

19 mins; April 01, 2022

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

22 mins; March 31, 2022

Canada’s World Cup qualifying dreams have come true. What’s next?

21 mins; March 30, 2022

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

25 mins; March 29, 2022

Jerry Dias and Unifor: How the head of Canada’s largest private sector union fell

23 mins; March 28, 2022

Mid-Life Happiness: Why joy later in life looks different than you think

21 mins; March 25, 2022

Scarred by war: The impact on Ukraine's children will be lasting

21 mins; March 24, 2022

Inside the Trudeau-Singh agreement

21 mins; March 23, 2022

How Ontario’s changes to the Blue Box program might need to be recycled

18 mins; March 22, 2022

A family violence case set a legal precedent. Can it help save lives?

17 mins; March 21, 2022

Hang up that phone! Robocalls, spoofing and phone-related fraud

18 mins; March 18, 2022

New highways need gravel from GTA quarries. Residents are fighting back

19 mins; March 17, 2022

A foodie’s guide to pandemic dining

18 mins; March 16, 2022

Ontario’s Tiger King and the lack of rules around animals and zoos

21 mins; March 15, 2022

Ontario is lifting mask mandates. Here’s what it means for you

19 mins; March 14, 2022

A scientist makes the case against Daylight Saving Time

22 mins; March 11, 2022

Escaping invasion in Ukraine: People share their stories

19 mins; March 10, 2022

Why gas prices are high and won’t be going down anytime soon

17 mins; March 09, 2022

The rules don't apply for some refugees in Europe

21 mins; March 08, 2022

Inside Ukraine, preparing for invasion in a border town

14 mins; March 07, 2022

The view from Ottawa: What Canada is doing to help Ukraine

21 mins; March 04, 2022

COVID restrictions are lifting, but some are left behind

19 mins; March 03, 2022

Modern warfare: Cyber attacks, hacking and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict

22 mins; March 02, 2022

Vaccine Inequity Part II: South Africa fights back

19 mins; March 01, 2022

Vaccine Inequity Part I: The view from Angola

19 mins; February 28, 2022

Voices from Ukraine: A family trapped in the war and a journalist in Kyiv

28 mins; February 25, 2022

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