Killer T cells decide whether to stick around in your body based on nothing more than how firm the tissue feels, a finding with implications for eczema, allergies and cancer treatment. Samantha Yammine unpacks new McGill University research on the surprising role of touch in your immune system.

These are memory T cells, the ones that survive a fight and settle into the tissue where it happened, ready in case trouble returns to that exact spot. It offers a new clue as to why flare-ups like eczema tend to reappear in the same place instead of moving around.

The discovery also opens a new angle on cancer therapy, since CAR T cells engineered to fight tumours often struggle against solid, stiff growths. Understanding how tissue stiffness changes their behaviour could help make one of medicine's most promising cancer treatments effective.

Topics: killer T cells, tissue stiffness, memory T cells, eczema, CAR T cell therapy

GUEST: Samantha Yammine | Samantha Yammine, PhD (Science Sam) - Neuroscientist & Science Communicator | @‌science.cam

Originally aired on 2026-08-18

Killer T cells decide whether to stick around in your body based on nothing more than how firm the tissue feels, a finding with implications for eczema, allergies and cancer treatment. Samantha Yammine unpacks new McGill University research on the surprising role of touch in your immune system.
These are memory T cells, the ones that survive a fight and settle into the tissue where it happened, ready in case trouble returns to that exact spot. It offers a new clue as to why flare-ups like eczema tend to reappear in the same place instead of moving around.
The discovery also opens a new angle on cancer therapy, since CAR T cells engineered to fight tumours often struggle against solid, stiff growths. Understanding how tissue stiffness changes their behaviour could help make one of medicine's most promising cancer treatments effective.
Topics: killer T cells, tissue stiffness, memory T cells, eczema, CAR T cell therapy
GUEST: Samantha Yammine |<a href="http://samanthayammine.com"> Samantha Yammine, PhD (Science Sam) - Neuroscientist &amp; Science Communicator</a> | @&zwnj;science.cam
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-08-18

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.

Sticking Around to Fight Another Day - New Research on Cells is Quite Loyal

Ryan O'Donnell tries to convince Shane that his excitement for Christmas and Ryan's love of Magic the Gathering are basically the same nerdy habit, and Shane is not having it, kicking off a debate that somehow lands on a much bigger idea.

The forwarded meme with no caption, the stranger who says good morning first, the coffee shop worker who remembers your face, all of it turns out to be part of something Shane calls a bid for affection, and once you hear the pattern you will start noticing it everywhere in your own day.

Ryan gets caught in the middle of his own example when he admits he felt genuinely good about being recognized by a barista, and Shane uses it to show exactly how these small moments work on all of us, strangers included.

Topics: bids for affection, everyday connection habits, coffee shop greetings, relationship intimacy, Gottman research

Originally aired on 2026-08-21

Ryan O'Donnell tries to convince Shane that his excitement for Christmas and Ryan's love of Magic the Gathering are basically the same nerdy habit, and Shane is not having it, kicking off a debate that somehow lands on a much bigger idea.
The forwarded meme with no caption, the stranger who says good morning first, the coffee shop worker who remembers your face, all of it turns out to be part of something Shane calls a bid for affection, and once you hear the pattern you will start noticing it everywhere in your own day.
Ryan gets caught in the middle of his own example when he admits he felt genuinely good about being recognized by a barista, and Shane uses it to show exactly how these small moments work on all of us, strangers included.
Topics: bids for affection, everyday connection habits, coffee shop greetings, relationship intimacy, Gottman research
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-08-21

Why That Forwarded Meme Actually Means Something 

A power deal signed in the 1960s looked reasonable to both sides at the time. Then oil prices moved, and one province found a way to multiply its profits tenfold while the other kept collecting the exact same twenty million dollars a year, for fifty straight years. Andrew Caddell explains exactly how that gap opened up and why it never closed.

A handful of people are finally credited with getting a new deal to the table after decades of failed attempts, and Andrew names who actually made it happen this time, along with the specific terms that could reshape how much Newfoundland earns from its own power.

None of it is settled yet, and Andrew lays out the real deadline pressure both provinces are racing against, including the very real chance that a change in government could tear the whole thing up before it's ever signed.

Topics: Hydro Quebec Newfoundland deal, Muskrat Falls, Canadian energy negotiation, Churchill Falls, interprovincial power trade

GUEST: Andrew Caddell - Columnist, former diplomat and ministerial advisor.

Originally aired on 2026-08-21

A power deal signed in the 1960s looked reasonable to both sides at the time. Then oil prices moved, and one province found a way to multiply its profits tenfold while the other kept collecting the exact same twenty million dollars a year, for fifty straight years. Andrew Caddell explains exactly how that gap opened up and why it never closed.
A handful of people are finally credited with getting a new deal to the table after decades of failed attempts, and Andrew names who actually made it happen this time, along with the specific terms that could reshape how much Newfoundland earns from its own power.
None of it is settled yet, and Andrew lays out the real deadline pressure both provinces are racing against, including the very real chance that a change in government could tear the whole thing up before it's ever signed.
Topics: Hydro Quebec Newfoundland deal, Muskrat Falls, Canadian energy negotiation, Churchill Falls, interprovincial power trade
GUEST: Andrew Caddell - Columnist, former diplomat and ministerial advisor.
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-08-21

NEW - How One Province Made Billions Off The Other's Power

If you have ever sat on hold trying to cancel something you no longer want, this one is going to make your blood boil in a way you did not expect. It starts small, a gym that will not let go without two more payments, a provider charging three hundred dollars just to walk away, and it builds to a story about a couple who lost their home to wildfire and still had to fight to be released from a bill.

Then things take a turn toward the absurd. A festival built around chaos and clowns ends up producing a real arrest, and not for the reason you would guess walking in.

And if you have ever wondered what a piece of fried chicken history is actually worth to the right buyer, an auction in Kentucky just answered that question in a way that will make you look twice at your own junk drawer.

Topics: cancellation fee horror stories, wildfire internet bill, festival drug bust, Colonel Sanders auction, consumer complaints

Originally aired on 2026-08-21

If you have ever sat on hold trying to cancel something you no longer want, this one is going to make your blood boil in a way you did not expect. It starts small, a gym that will not let go without two more payments, a provider charging three hundred dollars just to walk away, and it builds to a story about a couple who lost their home to wildfire and still had to fight to be released from a bill.
Then things take a turn toward the absurd. A festival built around chaos and clowns ends up producing a real arrest, and not for the reason you would guess walking in.
And if you have ever wondered what a piece of fried chicken history is actually worth to the right buyer, an auction in Kentucky just answered that question in a way that will make you look twice at your own junk drawer.
Topics: cancellation fee horror stories, wildfire internet bill, festival drug bust, Colonel Sanders auction, consumer complaints
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-08-21

Sticking Around to Fight Another Day - New Research on Cells is Quite Loyal

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