AI chatbots are sparking romance (with the chatbot, that is)

A few months ago, Derek Carrier started seeing someone and became infatuated. He experienced a “ton” of romantic feelings but he also knew it was an illusion. That’s because his girlfriend was generated by artificial intelligence. Carrier wasn’t looking to develop a relationship with something that wasn’t real, nor did he want to become the … Read more

From cult status to closure fears — what happened to The Body Shop?

It’s a store you know by scent. For decades, the sometimes-overwhelming aroma of The Body Shop’s satsuma soaps and coconut body butters have wafted through mall concourses, as much a staple to the culture as the food court. The U.K.-based beauty and cosmetics shop has more than 3,000 retail locations in 70 countries, including 110 standalone … Read more

In new film I.S.S., space is the next frontier for U.S.-Russia tensions

Gabriela Cowperthwaite is the first to admit her new film, I.S.S., is out of step with her career to date. The director of Blackfish (a documentary about the cruel treatment of orcas in captivity, Children of the Underground (about a covert network built to smuggle families away from abusive partners) and Our Friend (a true story of … Read more

From Avatar to Dune: The most anticipated new shows and movies of 2024, and where to watch them

Hot on the heels of one of the best years for movie and TV releases in recent memory, 2024 is shaping up to be an impressive year for screens both big and small. Even though there may have been strikes last year, seriously delaying the majority of projects scheduled for release, there are loads of … Read more

This UBC grad has discovered thousands of likely planets across our cosmos

At 30 years old, Michelle Kunimoto already has more than 3,000 planet candidates under her belt. Inspired by science fiction and curiosity, the University of British Columbia astronomy graduate is passionate about searching for exoplanets — bodies orbiting stars outside our own solar system. She’s currently leading a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hunting for them. … Read more

What to stream for free over the holidays in Canada

If this was the year you decided to cut back on cable or one of your many streaming platforms, you may be looking for content to watch this holiday season for free. The CBC News Entertainment team has put together a short watchlist of free shows and films streaming in Canada — including our favourite … Read more

The Boy and the Heron has a beautiful, secret backstory

There’s something Aristotle said in his Poetics about the effective use of metaphor. Boiling it down, he observed that while coming up with metaphors takes genius, overstuffing your story with beautiful — but confusing — symbols doesn’t leave you with a timeless piece of art. Instead, you end up with “nothing but riddles or gibberish.” Apparently, … Read more

Ships could capture energy from waves by imitating whales

In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of commercial ships, a group of U.K. researchers has scoured through the research into a unique technology that imitates the action of a whale’s tail to help propel ships and reduce fuel consumption. The findings of the review-study from Cranfield University, published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews … Read more