Space Shuttle Challenger memories all start the same way: silence. You're in a classroom. The TV cart gets wheeled in. Seven astronauts board the shuttle on screen. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, smoke trails fork across the sky. The teacher doesn't speak. You don't speak. Nobody knows what just happened.

Reagan made a speech that day. One listener still remembers the look in his eyes. The audio from Kennedy Space Center captured the moment - countdown, liftoff, then nothing that made sense. This had never happened in flight before. Teachers didn't know what happened. Students didn't know what happened. The space program changed that afternoon, and so did the way an entire generation understood risk.

The cultural touchstones of 1986 - Nintendo, Miami Vice, Lionel Richie - feel quaint now. The Challenger doesn't. That silence in the classroom wasn't just shock. It was the moment an entire generation learned that progress doesn't move in one direction, and some failures you watch happen live.

Topics: Space Shuttle Challenger, 1986 nostalgia, collective memory, Reagan speech, classroom tragedy, 80s culture

Originally aired on 2026-01-29

Space Shuttle Challenger memories all start the same way: silence. You're in a classroom. The TV cart gets wheeled in. Seven astronauts board the shuttle on screen. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, smoke trails fork across the sky. The teacher doesn't speak. You don't speak. Nobody knows what just happened.
Reagan made a speech that day. One listener still remembers the look in his eyes. The audio from Kennedy Space Center captured the moment - countdown, liftoff, then nothing that made sense. This had never happened in flight before. Teachers didn't know what happened. Students didn't know what happened. The space program changed that afternoon, and so did the way an entire generation understood risk.
The cultural touchstones of 1986 - Nintendo, Miami Vice, Lionel Richie - feel quaint now. The Challenger doesn't. That silence in the classroom wasn't just shock. It was the moment an entire generation learned that progress doesn't move in one direction, and some failures you watch happen live.
Topics: Space Shuttle Challenger, 1986 nostalgia, collective memory, Reagan speech, classroom tragedy, 80s culture
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-01-29

Shane Hewitt & The Nightshift is your late-night companion for real talk, bold ideas, and unfiltered conversations that matter. Hosted by Canadian radio veteran Shane Hewitt, each episode dives into the headlines, human stories, and hidden truths shaping our world—always with curiosity, compassion, and a sharp edge.

From politics and pop culture to mental health, technology, and everyday life, this podcast is where night owls, deep thinkers, and curious minds come to connect. Featuring expert guests, passionate callers, and Shane’s signature style—thoughtful, fearless, and refreshingly real.

If you crave meaningful dialogue, smart perspectives, and late-night radio energy in podcast form, subscribe now and join The Nightshift.

Shane Hewitt &amp; The Nightshift is your late-night companion for real talk, bold ideas, and unfiltered conversations that matter. Hosted by Canadian radio veteran Shane Hewitt, each episode dives into the headlines, human stories, and hidden truths shaping our world&mdash;always with curiosity, compassion, and a sharp edge.
From politics and pop culture to mental health, technology, and everyday life, this podcast is where night owls, deep thinkers, and curious minds come to connect. Featuring expert guests, passionate callers, and Shane&rsquo;s signature style&mdash;thoughtful, fearless, and refreshingly real.
If you crave meaningful dialogue, smart perspectives, and late-night radio energy in podcast form, subscribe now and join The Nightshift.

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift

Shane Hewitt is known for his engaging and relatable on-air personality, which captivates listeners. His ability to blend insightful commentary with humour and empathy creates a genuine connection with listeners.  Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift provides relatable content, informative discussions and expert insights – along with a balance of anecdotes and entertainment.

Shane Hewitt is known for his engaging and relatable on-air personality, which captivates listeners. His ability to blend insightful commentary with humour and empathy creates a genuine connection with listeners.  Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift provides relatable content, informative discussions and expert insights – along with a balance of anecdotes and entertainment.

NEW - Throwback Thursday: The Silence You Still Remember, Challenger ‘86

You open your fridge. Half a cantaloupe is rotting. The bag of onions from Costco never stood a chance. Singles tax isn't just about April 15th. It's about every grocery run where the bulk discount requires buying more food than one person can eat before it spoils in your 700-square-foot apartment with no basement freezer.

The tax code gives couples spousal RSPs: the higher earner puts money in the lower earner's retirement account, sheltering more income from tax. Singles can't do this. Couples pool medical expenses to hit the deduction threshold. You won't. After retirement, they split income between two tax returns, both dropping into lower brackets. You stay in yours. Every fixed cost, from rent to mortgage qualification, splits two ways for them, lands entirely on you.

The sovereignty cuts both ways. You make every financial decision alone. No compromising on what you want because of someone else's debt or spending habits. But the paperwork gap is close-able: common law gets you the benefits after a year. Cohabitation agreements protect your assets. Power of attorney means your partner decides, not your family. The real cost isn't being single. It's not understanding how the government treats your relationship status, whatever it is.

Topics: singles tax, relationship finances, tax planning couples, estate planning singles, financial sovereignty

GUEST: Renee Sylvestre-Williams | @‌reneesylvestrewilliams

Originally aired on 2026-01-29

You open your fridge. Half a cantaloupe is rotting. The bag of onions from Costco never stood a chance. Singles tax isn't just about April 15th. It's about every grocery run where the bulk discount requires buying more food than one person can eat before it spoils in your 700-square-foot apartment with no basement freezer.
The tax code gives couples spousal RSPs: the higher earner puts money in the lower earner's retirement account, sheltering more income from tax. Singles can't do this. Couples pool medical expenses to hit the deduction threshold. You won't. After retirement, they split income between two tax returns, both dropping into lower brackets. You stay in yours. Every fixed cost, from rent to mortgage qualification, splits two ways for them, lands entirely on you.
The sovereignty cuts both ways. You make every financial decision alone. No compromising on what you want because of someone else's debt or spending habits. But the paperwork gap is close-able: common law gets you the benefits after a year. Cohabitation agreements protect your assets. Power of attorney means your partner decides, not your family. The real cost isn't being single. It's not understanding how the government treats your relationship status, whatever it is.
Topics: singles tax, relationship finances, tax planning couples, estate planning singles, financial sovereignty
GUEST: Renee Sylvestre-Williams | @&zwnj;reneesylvestrewilliams
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-01-29

Turn Common Law Into Tax Savings: What One Year of Living Together Might Unlock

Space shuttle disasters cluster around the same week every year. You trust the engineers. You trust the technology. The astronauts trust it too. Then 73 seconds after liftoff, smoke trails fork across Florida sky and seven people are gone. The shuttle was supposed to be invulnerable. It wasn't. And now we're sending people back up.

NASA knew about the foam shedding problem before Challenger exploded in 1986. Engineers said don't fly that cold morning. NASA flew anyway. Seventeen years later, Columbia burned up on reentry from the same foam issue they'd detected at launch but never checked. Both disasters, Paul Delaney says, could arguably have been prevented. And here's the pattern nobody mentions: Apollo 1 fire killed three astronauts in 30 seconds on January 27, 1967. Challenger exploded January 28, 1986. Columbia disintegrated February 1, 2003. The last week of January has a hex on NASA flights.

We landed on the moon in 1969. Artemis II in 2025 repeats the Apollo 8 mission from December 1968. Fifty-five years later, we've come full circle. The technology improved, but invulnerability was always an illusion, and the astronauts heading up next know the risks better than anyone watching from the ground.

Topics: Space Shuttle Challenger, NASA safety culture, Columbia disaster, astronaut risk, January space accidents

GUEST: Paul Delaney | Astronomer and professor emeritus at York University

Originally aired on 2026-01-29

Space shuttle disasters cluster around the same week every year. You trust the engineers. You trust the technology. The astronauts trust it too. Then 73 seconds after liftoff, smoke trails fork across Florida sky and seven people are gone. The shuttle was supposed to be invulnerable. It wasn't. And now we're sending people back up.
NASA knew about the foam shedding problem before Challenger exploded in 1986. Engineers said don't fly that cold morning. NASA flew anyway. Seventeen years later, Columbia burned up on reentry from the same foam issue they'd detected at launch but never checked. Both disasters, Paul Delaney says, could arguably have been prevented. And here's the pattern nobody mentions: Apollo 1 fire killed three astronauts in 30 seconds on January 27, 1967. Challenger exploded January 28, 1986. Columbia disintegrated February 1, 2003. The last week of January has a hex on NASA flights.
We landed on the moon in 1969. Artemis II in 2025 repeats the Apollo 8 mission from December 1968. Fifty-five years later, we've come full circle. The technology improved, but invulnerability was always an illusion, and the astronauts heading up next know the risks better than anyone watching from the ground.
Topics: Space Shuttle Challenger, NASA safety culture, Columbia disaster, astronaut risk, January space accidents
GUEST:&nbsp;Paul Delaney | Astronomer and professor emeritus at York University
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-01-29

NEW -  Why Nasa Shouldn’t Fly During the Last Week of January

Challenger explosion footage plays on the classroom TV. You're sitting crisscross on the library floor with thirty other kids. A teacher was going to space. You watched her die. Then nobody talked about it again. Not that day. Not the next week. Not for years.

NASA almost sent Big Bird to space instead of teacher Christa McAuliffe. The logistics of an eight-foot puppet didn't work out. The cultural moment, beating the Soviets, making space accessible, mattered more than double-checking launch temperatures. Seventeen years later, Columbia broke apart on reentry. The lessons we thought we learned the first time weren't enough.

What we did to children that day says more about how we process collective trauma than any safety protocol change. We wheeled in the TV. We watched in real time. We made jokes later because nobody gave us permission to be sad. The wreckage isn't just engineering failure. It's generational memory.

Topics: Challenger explosion, space shuttle disaster, generational trauma, NASA safety, how schools taught tragedy

Originally aired on 2026-01-29

Challenger explosion footage plays on the classroom TV. You're sitting crisscross on the library floor with thirty other kids. A teacher was going to space. You watched her die. Then nobody talked about it again. Not that day. Not the next week. Not for years.
NASA almost sent Big Bird to space instead of teacher Christa McAuliffe. The logistics of an eight-foot puppet didn't work out. The cultural moment, beating the Soviets, making space accessible, mattered more than double-checking launch temperatures. Seventeen years later, Columbia broke apart on reentry. The lessons we thought we learned the first time weren't enough.
What we did to children that day says more about how we process collective trauma than any safety protocol change. We wheeled in the TV. We watched in real time. We made jokes later because nobody gave us permission to be sad. The wreckage isn't just engineering failure. It's generational memory.
Topics: Challenger explosion, space shuttle disaster, generational trauma, NASA safety, how schools taught tragedy
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-01-29

NEW - Throwback Thursday: The Silence You Still Remember, Challenger ‘86

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