Shorzy Classic tour tickets sell out in your city. You're watching a TV comedy character play actual hockey against NHL alumni at a sold-out arena. Nine thousand people paid to see this. The team raises tens of thousands for charity while running shirtless laps after giving up ten goals. This isn't a promotional stunt—it's becoming legitimate hockey culture.

The Calgary Saddledome sold nearly 9,000 tickets for a comedy show's hockey team to play Flames alumni. When the alumni scored ten goals, the Shorzy team ran shirtless laps on NHL ice per the rules. The event raised $30,000 for local charities while Season 6 got greenlit for production.

A TV show is selling out NHL arenas to play actual hockey. The fundraising isn't a side benefit—it's built into the game itself. What started as small-town hockey comedy is reshaping what hockey culture can be.

Topics: Shorzy Classic tour, hockey charity events, Shorzy season 6, Canadian comedy, NHL alumni games

@cravecanada

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

Ryan Wedding arrest gets announced with FBI and RCMP bosses standing together. You're watching the press conference. FBI Director Kash Patel calls Wedding a "modern day El Chapo" and "modern day Pablo Escobar." Then he credits President Trump's leadership for the capture. The RCMP Commissioner congratulates everyone. The stage is packed with law enforcement from two countries celebrating six of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted captured this year.

Edwards points to the spectacle: 60 metric tons of cocaine allegedly moved through Southern California, multiple murders ordered including four in Ontario, and $55 million in seized assets including motorcycles, artwork, and a $13 million Mercedes. FBI boss Patel spent the press conference listing arrest statistics up 200 percent and thanking Trump for "historic record-breaking numbers." Wedding turned himself in at the U.S. Embassy after negotiations, according to reports, not a dramatic takedown.

The press conference focused on congratulations and political credit more than investigative details. Next arrest announcement, watch who gets thanked before you hear how the case actually broke.

Topics: Ryan Wedding arrest, FBI press conference, drug trafficking kingpin, Kash Patel, RCMP cooperation

GUEST: Peter Edwards | Crime reporter, Toronto Star

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

Viral jingle commercial partnerships change everything. You notice Dr. Pepper has no jingle. You make one on TikTok in 15 seconds. The video hits millions of views. Three weeks later, you're sitting in front of your TV watching your homemade clip air as an official Dr. Pepper commercial to 20 million viewers during a major game. Career changed.

Romeo Bingham created the jingle because the brand didn't have one. Dr. Pepper turned it into their real commercial campaign. The catch: partnership discussions started weeks before the public reveal, raising Shane's question about whether this was ever truly organic. Separately, Quebec's transit system learned that ignoring a 78-year-old at a bus stop costs exactly $2,000 in court.

What looks like grassroots success might be corporate strategy in disguise. The next viral brand moment you see could be planned from the first view. And yes, Canadian bus drivers can be sued for driving past you.

Topics: viral TikTok marketing, Dr. Pepper jingle, Romeo Bingham, Quebec transit lawsuit, user-generated advertising

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

Movies: 16 Oscar Nominations: What Ryan Coogler's Record Actually Unlocks

January movie releases signal studio confidence levels. You walk into a theater in January expecting leftover projects studios don't know what to do with. Then Sinners breaks the Oscar nomination record with 16 nods. Your assumption about January being a dumping ground just collapsed. Ryan Coogler now has carte blanche to make whatever he wants next.

The next time you dismiss a January release, remember what just happened. Studios still dump projects they don't believe in during this month, but the exceptions now break records. Watch for the pattern: January releases reveal exactly how much confidence exists behind the project.

Topics: January movie releases, Oscar nominations, Sinners record, Ryan Coogler, Delroy Lindo, Mercy review

Steaming: House of Guinness + Peaky Blinders = Same Creator Pattern

Weekend streaming recommendations start with recognizing patterns. You turn on House of Guinness expecting Peaky Blinders energy but cleaner, less soot and darkness. The vibe feels upper crust Downton Abbey instead. Then you discover Steven Knight created both shows. The pattern explains everything about tone and structure you're experiencing.

When you recognize creator patterns, streaming choices become strategic. Steven Knight's fingerprints appear across multiple successful shows with distinct tonal approaches. Next weekend, track who created what you're watching.

Topics: weekend streaming recommendations, House of Guinness, Steven Knight, Mel Brooks documentary, Game of Thrones spinoffs

GUEST: Steve Stebbing | stevestebing.ca | @thestevildead

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

Billion-Dollar Peace Board + Federal Job Cuts = Mark Carney's Week

Trump peace board rejection saves Mark Carney from questionable company. You're watching a peace advisory board form that includes Vladimir Putin, Belarusian dictator Lukashenko, and a billion-dollar entry fee nobody can explain. Carney gets dropped after his Davos speech rejecting Trump's approach. Meanwhile, Trump announces a Greenland deal that Greenland's former MP says doesn't exist and NATO's leader has no authority to grant.

Next time you hear about an international deal, check whether the other country confirms it exists. And when peace boards include dictators with billion-dollar entry fees, the legitimacy question answers itself.

Topics: Trump peace board, Mark Carney speech, Greenland deal controversy, Arctic security, NATO authority

897 Federal Layoff Notices: What Ottawa's Job Cuts Actually Mean

Federal public service cuts hit your street. You park your car in Ottawa. The person three spots over just got their layoff notice from Health Canada. Your neighbor works at Global Affairs. They're eliminating their entire level. You're watching 897 people get notices in a single week from the Public Service Alliance alone. This is what budget balancing looks like when it lands in a government town.

This isn't abstract budget policy anymore. Ottawa's a company town where the company just downsized. Car sales are soft. Real estate's slowing. And the question isn't whether cuts are necessary, it's whether they're cutting bloat or gutting essential services. Either way, families promised careers just got different news.

Topics: federal public service cuts, Ottawa jobs, Health Canada layoffs, Global Affairs restructuring, bureaucracy reduction

GUEST: Andrew Caddell, Adam Zivo

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

AI hiring systems scan your resume. You're clicking through the application form. Checkbox: Do you have a degree? You select no. Thirty years of industry experience in this exact field. None of it matters. The system filters you out before a human reads line one.

Rajhans points to the central problem: AI uses point-scoring that can't understand context. The personality perfect for a tackle shop might be perfect for corporate sales too, but the checkbox filter never asks. Candidates now use ChatGPT to match resumes perfectly to job descriptions, HR companies build parameters to prevent this, and managers stop using the systems because they're not getting candidates they need. The contradiction: AI was supposed to make recruiters obsolete, but they're now more valuable than ever because they're humans in the loop who know the actual workplace atmosphere.

The first interview happens before you meet anyone. It's the application form, the checkboxes, the point-scoring system that never asks what you've actually built. Next time you click submit, you're being screened by software that can't understand context. And the recruiters everyone thought AI would replace? They're more valuable than ever because they're the humans who know what automated systems can't see.

Topics: AI hiring systems, resume screening, applicant tracking systems, job application filters, recruitment technology

GUEST: Mohit Rajhans | http://thinkstart.ca

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

Dating your ex sounds easier than starting over. Your phone lights up. It's them. Three years later, and suddenly they're back in your messages. The shared history. The inside jokes. The way they already know your family. It feels like skipping ahead to the comfortable part.

Jen Kirsch: "Just because something feels electric doesn't mean it's meant to be." Tony Tedesco admits he learned problems don't go away. Jen documents relationship issues through journaling specifically because chemistry makes you forget past hurts. Tony's realization: it was the hiking he liked, not necessarily the person. The phrase "it wasn't that bad" gets challenged. When was the last time that standard worked for anything? Both point to triggers that resurface, patterns you thought you'd outgrown.

Discover why familiarity feels like convenience but lands closer to comfort. Learn what Jen means by expectations that come with shared history. Understand why Tony suggests verifying growth takes time, not assumptions. Consider solo dating as the alternative nobody talks about.

GUEST: Tony Tedesco, Jen Kirsch

Originally aired on 2026-01-23

Canada China food trade reopens, and you're standing in the meat aisle watching beef prices. The news says Canada just shipped beef to China. Your brain does the math: more exports equals less supply equals higher prices for you. But that equation might be completely backwards.

Charlebois argues shipping more beef to China actually lowers Canadian prices, not raises them. China buys special cuts Canada can't supply in volume anyway. The export market encourages Canadian cattle producers to grow herds, which increases domestic supply. 600 million Chinese middle-class consumers want Canadian canola and beef, and Trump exempted food from tariffs to avoid weaponizing the food supply chain. Trade with China, but don't fall in love with China—Charlebois warns the language matters because strategic alliances provoke Americans while trade relationships don't.

The beef you can't afford to buy isn't the beef China wants. The canola tariff that didn't happen wasn't going to raise your grocery bill anyway. And the trade deal that sounds dangerous might be the one protecting Canadian farmers from input cost collapse.

Topics: Canada China food trade, beef exports, canola tariffs, agricultural trade, Trump food policy

GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @‌foodprofessor

Originally aired on 2026-01-23