Bitcoin crossed a dollar in 2011 and almost nobody blinked. Ed Conroy revisits the year that felt completely ordinary at the time and turns out to have been quietly loaded with the moments that changed everything after it.

Conroy traces why 2012, not 2011, is the year most people point to as the smartphone tipping point, and why Steve Jobs died just before his own invention rewired how people talk to each other. He also recounts buying a jailbroken iPhone from a stranger in Florida before they were sold in Canada, then sitting at his kitchen counter with no idea how to turn it on.

There's a bigger thread running underneath it all: why space travel felt like old news to an entire generation until someone made it exciting again, and what that says about how quickly the future gets ignored right up until it doesn't.

Topics: 2011 throwback, smartphones, Bitcoin, space shuttle, Steve Jobs

Originally aired on 2026-07-16

Bitcoin crossed a dollar in 2011 and almost nobody blinked. Ed Conroy revisits the year that felt completely ordinary at the time and turns out to have been quietly loaded with the moments that changed everything after it.
Conroy traces why 2012, not 2011, is the year most people point to as the smartphone tipping point, and why Steve Jobs died just before his own invention rewired how people talk to each other. He also recounts buying a jailbroken iPhone from a stranger in Florida before they were sold in Canada, then sitting at his kitchen counter with no idea how to turn it on.
There's a bigger thread running underneath it all: why space travel felt like old news to an entire generation until someone made it exciting again, and what that says about how quickly the future gets ignored right up until it doesn't.
Topics: 2011 throwback, smartphones, Bitcoin, space shuttle, Steve Jobs
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-07-16

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.

The Year Bitcoin Hit a Dollar and Investors bought Pizza

Ash falling from the sky. Homes smelling like campfires from the inside. A town called Collins evacuated by boat as flames closed in. This is what forest fire season actually looked like on the ground this year, told through the voices of the people who lived through it.

The reporting pulls together on-the-ground accounts from across Ontario, including firsthand descriptions from Thunder Bay of skies turning burnt orange by mid-afternoon and temperatures swinging by ten degrees once the smoke rolled in at night. It also tracks the federal response as Ontario requested outside help fighting fires that outpaced the crews available to handle them.

Then the numbers get stranger. This year's national fire count sits at a fraction of where it stood in 2011, and even further below decades before that. What that gap actually means, and why the smoke has felt this much worse anyway, gets laid out plainly.

Topics: forest fires Canada, wildfire smoke, Thunder Bay, Ontario wildfires, wildfire statistics

Originally aired on 2026-07-16

Ash falling from the sky. Homes smelling like campfires from the inside. A town called Collins evacuated by boat as flames closed in. This is what forest fire season actually looked like on the ground this year, told through the voices of the people who lived through it.
The reporting pulls together on-the-ground accounts from across Ontario, including firsthand descriptions from Thunder Bay of skies turning burnt orange by mid-afternoon and temperatures swinging by ten degrees once the smoke rolled in at night. It also tracks the federal response as Ontario requested outside help fighting fires that outpaced the crews available to handle them.
Then the numbers get stranger. This year's national fire count sits at a fraction of where it stood in 2011, and even further below decades before that. What that gap actually means, and why the smoke has felt this much worse anyway, gets laid out plainly.
Topics: forest fires Canada, wildfire smoke, Thunder Bay, Ontario wildfires, wildfire statistics
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-07-16

SHIFTHEADS: The Skies Over Thunder Bay Turned Burnt Orange

NASA closed out thirty years of space shuttle missions the same year Vancouver's streets filled with flipped cars after a Stanley Cup Game 7 loss. 2011 packed in more than it gets credit for, and laying it side by side makes that obvious fast.

Stephen Harper won a federal majority that spring. Jack Layton led the NDP into official opposition for the first time in the party's history months later. Meanwhile people were still sharing music through file-sharing sites that don't exist anymore, and an iPhone in Canada was still something not everyone had.

One listener's message cuts through the nostalgia entirely: a stepson starting 25 months of chemo that year, treatment so severe it required two hip replacements afterward. He's cancer-free today, building a career as a sous chef, a reminder that behind every throwback year are real people who lived through it.

Topics: 2011, space shuttle, Canadian politics, Vancouver riots, technology in 2011

Originally aired on 2026-07-16

NASA closed out thirty years of space shuttle missions the same year Vancouver's streets filled with flipped cars after a Stanley Cup Game 7 loss. 2011 packed in more than it gets credit for, and laying it side by side makes that obvious fast.
Stephen Harper won a federal majority that spring. Jack Layton led the NDP into official opposition for the first time in the party's history months later. Meanwhile people were still sharing music through file-sharing sites that don't exist anymore, and an iPhone in Canada was still something not everyone had.
One listener's message cuts through the nostalgia entirely: a stepson starting 25 months of chemo that year, treatment so severe it required two hip replacements afterward. He's cancer-free today, building a career as a sous chef, a reminder that behind every throwback year are real people who lived through it.
Topics: 2011, space shuttle, Canadian politics, Vancouver riots, technology in 2011
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-07-16

NEW - The Last Space Shuttle Flew the Same Year Vancouver Burned

Four years of saving points. One redemption. And the taxes and fees still took a $900 bite out of a flight that was supposed to be free. That's the moment most people quietly give up on the whole idea.

Patrick Sojka never did. He's built a specific combination of cards and programs that gets a flight to zero dollars, taxes and fees included, and it has nothing to do with hoarding points for years. It comes down to which two tools you pair, and most flyers only ever use one.

There's also a fare-class habit almost nobody checks before booking, and it's costing people money in the exact opposite direction they'd expect. Sojka walks through both, live, with real numbers from real flights.

Topics: flying for free, travel rewards, credit card points, Aeroplan, WestJet points

Originally aired on 2026-07-16

Four years of saving points. One redemption. And the taxes and fees still took a $900 bite out of a flight that was supposed to be free. That's the moment most people quietly give up on the whole idea.
Patrick Sojka never did. He's built a specific combination of cards and programs that gets a flight to zero dollars, taxes and fees included, and it has nothing to do with hoarding points for years. It comes down to which two tools you pair, and most flyers only ever use one.
There's also a fare-class habit almost nobody checks before booking, and it's costing people money in the exact opposite direction they'd expect. Sojka walks through both, live, with real numbers from real flights.
Topics: flying for free, travel rewards, credit card points, Aeroplan, WestJet points
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-07-16

The Year Bitcoin Hit a Dollar and Investors bought Pizza

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