Board games don’t just bring families together — sometimes, they build something brand new. Teen creators Adam and Kiara Palma share the story behind American Dictator, a game that started as a cottage idea and evolved into a thoughtful, funny take on politics and human nature.

In conversation with Shane Hewitt, they explain how creativity, curiosity, and a love of family game nights led to 3D-printed prototypes, community feedback, and an unexpected entrepreneurial journey. It’s a story about play, perspective, and the kind of family project that sticks.

GUEST:
 Adam and Kiara Palma
e-upgames.com

Originally aired on 2025-10-21

Board games don&rsquo;t just bring families together &mdash; sometimes, they build something brand new. Teen creators Adam and Kiara Palma share the story behind American Dictator, a game that started as a cottage idea and evolved into a thoughtful, funny take on politics and human nature.
In conversation with Shane Hewitt, they explain how creativity, curiosity, and a love of family game nights led to 3D-printed prototypes, community feedback, and an unexpected entrepreneurial journey. It&rsquo;s a story about play, perspective, and the kind of family project that sticks.
GUEST: Adam and Kiara Palma e-upgames.com
Originally aired on&nbsp;2025-10-21

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 - How Two Teens Turned Family Game Night into a Business

Team Canada Winter Olympics coverage just reframed what gold actually means. You watched the women's hockey team lose the gold medal game and felt something unexpected: genuine pride in a silver. That hasn't been the Canadian reaction before, not in hockey, not at the big events. Something shifted this week.

Canada was projected to win 10 gold medals and won't reach it. McDavid's answer: the margins are razor thin at this level. Meanwhile Marner, who couldn't do anything right as a Leaf according to the Don Valley Parkway crowd, showed up for Team Canada and started delivering exactly what Toronto always asked of him. And Crosby isn't ruled out for Sunday's gold medal game against the United States. West coast listeners, your alarm is set for 5am.

Shane and Ryan are also asking whether Canada needs to reinvest in sport at a national level or whether the rest of the world simply caught up. That question lands differently right before the gold medal game. Friday night in Canada, hockey matters, and the conversation is worth having.

Topics: Team Canada Winter Olympics, Canada medal count, women's hockey silver, Sidney Crosby gold medal game, Mitch Marner Team Canada

Originally aired on 2026-02-20

Team Canada Winter Olympics coverage just reframed what gold actually means. You watched the women's hockey team lose the gold medal game and felt something unexpected: genuine pride in a silver. That hasn't been the Canadian reaction before, not in hockey, not at the big events. Something shifted this week.
Canada was projected to win 10 gold medals and won't reach it. McDavid's answer: the margins are razor thin at this level. Meanwhile Marner, who couldn't do anything right as a Leaf according to the Don Valley Parkway crowd, showed up for Team Canada and started delivering exactly what Toronto always asked of him. And Crosby isn't ruled out for Sunday's gold medal game against the United States. West coast listeners, your alarm is set for 5am.
Shane and Ryan are also asking whether Canada needs to reinvest in sport at a national level or whether the rest of the world simply caught up. That question lands differently right before the gold medal game. Friday night in Canada, hockey matters, and the conversation is worth having.
Topics: Team Canada Winter Olympics, Canada medal count, women's hockey silver, Sidney Crosby gold medal game, Mitch Marner Team Canada
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-20

Gold or Nothing? Canada Just Changed the Answer

Endurance training should work the same for everyone doing identical workouts, right? You're putting in the miles, tracking your heart rate, building muscle, and somehow still hitting a wall that other people breeze past. Turns out there's a group of neurons in your hypothalamus that activates after you exercise, and whether those fire correctly has nothing to do with how hard you're trying.

A mouse study proved it by using light to turn specific brain cells on and off. Two mice train identically. One has these neurons working, one has them turned off. The mouse with neurons firing builds better endurance despite doing the exact same workout. When researchers gave mice a boost by turning the neurons on stronger, those mice performed better without changing their training at all. The neurons are in the hypothalamus, the part of your brain that normally regulates hunger, not movement. They activate after exercise, not during, which nobody expected. Dr. Samantha Yammine points out this isn't about willpower or mental fortitude to push through a marathon. It's a biological component you can't control through effort alone.

You have biological advantages that make you better at one kind of fitness versus another. When you plateau, maybe it's not about trying harder. Maybe it's just about what your neurons are doing after you stop.

Topics: endurance training, fitness plateau, exercise neuroscience, hypothalamus neurons, building endurance

GUEST: Dr. Samantha Yammine | http://samanthayammine.com , @‌science.sam

Originally aired on 2026-02-20

Endurance training should work the same for everyone doing identical workouts, right? You're putting in the miles, tracking your heart rate, building muscle, and somehow still hitting a wall that other people breeze past. Turns out there's a group of neurons in your hypothalamus that activates after you exercise, and whether those fire correctly has nothing to do with how hard you're trying.
A mouse study proved it by using light to turn specific brain cells on and off. Two mice train identically. One has these neurons working, one has them turned off. The mouse with neurons firing builds better endurance despite doing the exact same workout. When researchers gave mice a boost by turning the neurons on stronger, those mice performed better without changing their training at all. The neurons are in the hypothalamus, the part of your brain that normally regulates hunger, not movement. They activate after exercise, not during, which nobody expected. Dr. Samantha Yammine points out this isn't about willpower or mental fortitude to push through a marathon. It's a biological component you can't control through effort alone.
You have biological advantages that make you better at one kind of fitness versus another. When you plateau, maybe it's not about trying harder. Maybe it's just about what your neurons are doing after you stop.
Topics: endurance training, fitness plateau, exercise neuroscience, hypothalamus neurons, building endurance
GUEST: Dr. Samantha Yammine |<a href="http://samanthayammine.com"> http://samanthayammine.com</a> , @&zwnj;science.sam
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-20

Your Endurance Problem Might Not Be in Your Legs

William Shatner heavy metal is a real thing happening right now, and at 94 he described a collaboration with a former Megadeth guitarist as "a doorway." Not a novelty project. A doorway. He's covering Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, and said it made him want to go all in and find the best metal players still around. You didn't know you needed this. You do now.

Also on the list of things you didn't ask for: Japan's 7-Eleven egg salad sandwiches have been a cultural institution for years, Canadian arrivals in Japan hit 688,000 in 2025 up 18% from the year before, and now you don't need the flight to find out what the fuss is about. And a man in the US sued Buffalo Wild Wings over boneless wings being "false and deceptive marketing." The actual better lawsuit, which nobody filed, was that they're called buffalo wings and contain zero buffalo.

None of this will improve your Friday. All of it will make it more interesting. Celery or pickles is also, apparently, a generational question worth settling before the weekend.

Topics: William Shatner heavy metal, Buffalo Wild Wings boneless wings lawsuit, Japan 7-Eleven egg salad, Canadian tourism Japan 2025, Friday news segment

Originally aired on 2026-02-20

William Shatner heavy metal is a real thing happening right now, and at 94 he described a collaboration with a former Megadeth guitarist as "a doorway." Not a novelty project. A doorway. He's covering Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, and said it made him want to go all in and find the best metal players still around. You didn't know you needed this. You do now.
Also on the list of things you didn't ask for: Japan's 7-Eleven egg salad sandwiches have been a cultural institution for years, Canadian arrivals in Japan hit 688,000 in 2025 up 18% from the year before, and now you don't need the flight to find out what the fuss is about. And a man in the US sued Buffalo Wild Wings over boneless wings being "false and deceptive marketing." The actual better lawsuit, which nobody filed, was that they're called buffalo wings and contain zero buffalo.
None of this will improve your Friday. All of it will make it more interesting. Celery or pickles is also, apparently, a generational question worth settling before the weekend.
Topics:&nbsp;William Shatner heavy metal, Buffalo Wild Wings boneless wings lawsuit, Japan 7-Eleven egg salad, Canadian tourism Japan 2025, Friday news segment
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-20

Shiftheads - How Two Teens Turned Family Game Night into a Business

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