The Pablo Escobar and El Mencho comparison lands differently once you hear the Colombia data. Violence dropped significantly after Escobar was killed in 1993. That is true. Colombia's cocaine exports are now four or five times higher than they were at the time. Also true, and it complicates the whole story.

Jean Daudelin's explanation: killing Escobar ended the big Colombian cartels and moved the epicenter of the drug trade to Mexico. The business didn't stop, it relocated. Now Mexico exports synthetic drugs to the largest drug market in the world across a border that processes 90 million car crossings annually. Twenty tons of fentanyl per year feeds the US market. That concentration means it moves invisibly through legal crossings.

Sheinbaum's offensive is serious. A super ministry of security, nearly 100 extraditions, thousands of weapons seized, a police chief who was personally targeted by El Mencho running the operation. Whether it ends the big cartels is plausible. Whether it ends the trade, Colombia already answered that.

Topics: Pablo Escobar El Mencho parallel, Colombia after Escobar cocaine exports, Mexico cartel Sheinbaum crackdown, fentanyl US border volume, Jean Daudelin Carleton

GUEST: Jean Daudelin | Associate Professor, Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University

Originally aired on 2026-02-26

The Pablo Escobar and El Mencho comparison lands differently once you hear the Colombia data. Violence dropped significantly after Escobar was killed in 1993. That is true. Colombia's cocaine exports are now four or five times higher than they were at the time. Also true, and it complicates the whole story.
Jean Daudelin's explanation: killing Escobar ended the big Colombian cartels and moved the epicenter of the drug trade to Mexico. The business didn't stop, it relocated. Now Mexico exports synthetic drugs to the largest drug market in the world across a border that processes 90 million car crossings annually. Twenty tons of fentanyl per year feeds the US market. That concentration means it moves invisibly through legal crossings.
Sheinbaum's offensive is serious. A super ministry of security, nearly 100 extraditions, thousands of weapons seized, a police chief who was personally targeted by El Mencho running the operation. Whether it ends the big cartels is plausible. Whether it ends the trade, Colombia already answered that.
Topics: Pablo Escobar El Mencho parallel, Colombia after Escobar cocaine exports, Mexico cartel Sheinbaum crackdown, fentanyl US border volume, Jean Daudelin Carleton
GUEST:&nbsp;Jean Daudelin | Associate Professor, Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-26

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.

Shiftheads - Colombia Got Less Violent After Escobar Died. It Also Now Ships Four Times More Cocaine

Handwritten letters sitting in a drawer right now, you know exactly which ones they are. You have not thrown a single one out. Your inbox from the same period is gone. Ryan's army-enlisted friend couldn't take a phone into five months of training, suggested writing letters instead, and Ryan realized he hadn't sent one in eighteen years. The last time was summer camp.

The Toronto Letter Writers Society co-founder says there is no wrong way to write a letter, treat it like any other conversation. Shane's approach goes a layer deeper: sit with the person in your mind first, identify what you are actually afraid to tell them, and start there. Don't rewrite mistakes, scratch them out and keep going. Timestamp it. "It's late and I had you on my mind" is a sentence that lands differently than anything you have ever typed.

The instinct to delete that and send a text instead is exactly the problem. The letter from someone who took the time is the one you keep.

Topics: handwritten letters, letter writing tips, Toronto Letter Writers Society, army enlistment communication, rediscovering letter writing

Originally aired on 2026-02-26

Handwritten letters sitting in a drawer right now, you know exactly which ones they are. You have not thrown a single one out. Your inbox from the same period is gone. Ryan's army-enlisted friend couldn't take a phone into five months of training, suggested writing letters instead, and Ryan realized he hadn't sent one in eighteen years. The last time was summer camp.
The Toronto Letter Writers Society co-founder says there is no wrong way to write a letter, treat it like any other conversation. Shane's approach goes a layer deeper: sit with the person in your mind first, identify what you are actually afraid to tell them, and start there. Don't rewrite mistakes, scratch them out and keep going. Timestamp it. "It's late and I had you on my mind" is a sentence that lands differently than anything you have ever typed.
The instinct to delete that and send a text instead is exactly the problem. The letter from someone who took the time is the one you keep.
Topics:&nbsp;handwritten letters, letter writing tips, Toronto Letter Writers Society, army enlistment communication, rediscovering letter writing
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-26

You Keep Every Handwritten Letter. You Delete Every Email

Canadian TV nostalgia for Electric Circus hits different when you realize nobody in charge thought it should work. You got an invite, you paid your own way to Toronto, you showed up at those garage doors on Queen Street, and the camera found you. No filter. No preview. No control. The budget was essentially nothing. The magic was everything.

The show started as Saturday afternoon R&B and hip hop where Canadian hip hop found its first real platform. Maestro Fresh West's Let Your Backbone Slide exists because Electric Circus gave him his first TV appearance. When dance music exploded in 1992, MuchMusic took the show nationwide, moved it to Friday nights, and watched it become something 299 Queen Street West has never come close to replicating since.

Gen Z watches the old clips and genuinely cannot process that it was real. The building has banners now where the action used to be. What they're watching is what happens when people show up without the ability to control how they're seen, which turns out to be completely irreplaceable and completely extinct at the same time.

Topics: Electric Circus MuchMusic, Canadian TV nostalgia 1993, CityTV Toronto history, Maestro Fresh West Canadian hip hop, unscripted television social media

GUEST: Ed Conroy |retroontario.com | @‌retroontario

Originally aired on2026-02-26

Canadian TV nostalgia for Electric Circus hits different when you realize nobody in charge thought it should work. You got an invite, you paid your own way to Toronto, you showed up at those garage doors on Queen Street, and the camera found you. No filter. No preview. No control. The budget was essentially nothing. The magic was everything.
The show started as Saturday afternoon R&amp;B and hip hop where Canadian hip hop found its first real platform. Maestro Fresh West's Let Your Backbone Slide exists because Electric Circus gave him his first TV appearance. When dance music exploded in 1992, MuchMusic took the show nationwide, moved it to Friday nights, and watched it become something 299 Queen Street West has never come close to replicating since.
Gen Z watches the old clips and genuinely cannot process that it was real. The building has banners now where the action used to be. What they're watching is what happens when people show up without the ability to control how they're seen, which turns out to be completely irreplaceable and completely extinct at the same time.
Topics: Electric Circus MuchMusic, Canadian TV nostalgia 1993, CityTV Toronto history, Maestro Fresh West Canadian hip hop, unscripted television social media
GUEST: Ed Conroy |<a href="http://retroontario.com"> retroontario.com</a> | @&zwnj;retroontario
Originally aired on 2026-02-26

NEW - Electric Circus Shouldn't Have Happened (That's Why It Worked)

Movie tourism just turned your watchlist into a travel bucket list. You can rent the actual cottage from Heated Rivalry on Airbnb right now for $248.10 a night in Muskoka, and that price is almost certainly 10 times lower than it should be. Downton Abbey's filming location became one of Britain's top tourist attractions the moment the show aired. Your favorite show is already telling you where to go next.

The $248.10 price isn't random. The two leads' jersey numbers are 24 and 81, and the nightly rate was set accordingly. Game of Thrones turned Ireland into a tourism destination. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its 17 nominee list and somehow Lenny Kravitz, Motorhead, and Jethro Tull are still waiting outside while Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, and Oasis made the shortlist.

Book the cottage before it's gone. The Rock Hall argument will not be resolved by anyone, least of all Gene Simmons. And if movie tourism ever felt like an extreme fan commitment, $248 a night in Muskoka just changed the definition.

Topics: movie tourism, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees 2025, Heated Rivalry cottage Airbnb, film location travel, Lenny Kravitz Motorhead Rock Hall

GUEST: Richard Crouse |http://richardcrouse.ca

Originally aired on 2026-02-26

Movie tourism just turned your watchlist into a travel bucket list. You can rent the actual cottage from Heated Rivalry on Airbnb right now for $248.10 a night in Muskoka, and that price is almost certainly 10 times lower than it should be. Downton Abbey's filming location became one of Britain's top tourist attractions the moment the show aired. Your favorite show is already telling you where to go next.
The $248.10 price isn't random. The two leads' jersey numbers are 24 and 81, and the nightly rate was set accordingly. Game of Thrones turned Ireland into a tourism destination. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released its 17 nominee list and somehow Lenny Kravitz, Motorhead, and Jethro Tull are still waiting outside while Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, and Oasis made the shortlist.
Book the cottage before it's gone. The Rock Hall argument will not be resolved by anyone, least of all Gene Simmons. And if movie tourism ever felt like an extreme fan commitment, $248 a night in Muskoka just changed the definition.
Topics: movie tourism, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees 2025, Heated Rivalry cottage Airbnb, film location travel, Lenny Kravitz Motorhead Rock Hall
GUEST: Richard Crouse |<a href="http://richardcrouse.ca"> http://richardcrouse.ca</a>
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-26

Shiftheads - Colombia Got Less Violent After Escobar Died. It Also Now Ships Four Times More Cocaine

In 1 playlist(s)

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips