Oprah or Hasan Piker? DNC tests the value of celebrities vs. influencers

Oprah or Hasan Piker? DNC tests the value of celebrities vs. influencers

Last night, talk show icon Oprah Winfrey received roaring applause at her first-ever appearance at a national political convention. The day before, actor Sean Astin strutted onstage to call for the first woman president in United States history, while managing to slide in references to his roles in both Stranger Things and Rudy. And Atlanta rapper Lil … Read more

Why scientists had people watch videos of themselves doing karaoke until they blushed

Why scientists had people watch videos of themselves doing karaoke until they blushed

As It Happens6:19What bad karaoke tells us about the science of blushing When researchers set out to learn what happens to our brains when we blush, they faced a conundrum — how could they sufficiently humiliate their study’s subjects as they lay alone in a dark MRI machine? “We were thinking, well, what can we … Read more

Air Canada found liable for chatbot’s bad advice on plane tickets

Air Canada found liable for chatbot’s bad advice on plane tickets

Air Canada has been ordered to pay compensation to a grieving grandchild who claimed they were misled into purchasing full-price flight tickets by an ill-informed chatbot. In an argument that appeared to flabbergast a small claims adjudicator in British Columbia, the airline attempted to distance itself from its own chatbot’s bad advice by claiming the online tool … Read more

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

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

The gold rush is back — and now at a big-box store near you

The gold rush is back — and now at a big-box store near you

Warehouse stores in Canada aren’t just selling large quantities of toilet paper these days — gold bars and coins and other precious metals are moving out of the realm of banking and jewellers and into their aisles. With gold hitting record-high prices in recent weeks, the metal’s popularity has been reflected at retailers, too. According to Costco’s chief financial officer, … Read more