Podcast
The Peak Daily
Hosted by The Peak / Curiouscast · EN
Fast Canadian business news. Get up-to-speed quick with a fun and smart breakdown of the three biggest Canadian and global business stories in less than 10 minutes.
18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Crushed chips 🗽- Chip stocks plummet, NYC lures Canadian travellers.
Yesterday00:07:03Tap to summarizeChip stocks are selling off as investors question whether Big Tech’s massive AI spending can ever generate enough revenue to justify the hype, putting the semiconductor boom — and the broader AI stock rally — under pressure. Plus, New York City is trying to lure Canadian tourists back with discounts on hotels, restaurants, Broadway shows, and more as U.S. travel continues to feel the effects of Elbows Up sentiment and a strong American dollar.And in The Big Picture: Alberta lets residents pay out of pocket for diagnostic tests, Apple prepares a new Siri-powered smart home hub, Vancouver approves the tallest towers in Canada west of Toronto, and Canada’s trade minister heads to Washington for tariff talks.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Worn down 🥼- ER doctors are dropping out, Wildfire smoke has an unlikely source.
2d ago00:06:29Tap to summarizeCanadian emergency rooms are under intense strain — and many doctors are walking away. In today’s episode of The Peak Daily, we break down new survey data showing rising burnout, reduced hours, and growing wait times across the country, as Canada’s aging population and family-doctor shortage push more people into ERs.Then, we look at surprising new research on wildfire smoke: most of the emissions from Canada’s record-breaking 2023 fires may have come from below the forest floor, as dried-out soil and peat combusted at scale — a finding that could reshape how we think about fire prevention and forest management.Plus, in the big picture: Nvidia and other tech giants launch an open AI safety initiative focused on cybersecurity, and China’s chipmaker CXMT debuts with a huge surge to become the country’s most valuable publicly traded company.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Open season 🚐 - AI labs push to rein in open models, Minivans get back in the driver’s seat.
3d ago00:06:13Tap to summarizeOpenAI and Anthropic are pushing U.S. lawmakers to tighten controls on open-source AI models, pitting them against tech giants like Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, IBM, and Alphabet that argue open models are key to competition and innovation — while the bigger fight over AI leadership with China looms in the background. Plus, minivans are making an unlikely comeback in Canada as buyers look for cheaper, more practical alternatives to three-row SUVs, with hybrid and electric vans helping drive a surge in sales.And in The Big Picture: Mark Carney calls three by-elections for the end of August, and a lull in Middle East fighting follows Trump’s decision to hold off on escalating U.S. strikes against Iran.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Gimme your recs 🫵 - OpenAI taps Yelp for recommendations, Chatting edtech with Pascal Siakam.
6d ago00:07:36Tap to summarizeYelp is licensing its reviews and recommendations to OpenAI, showing how human-made content is becoming more valuable as AI slop floods the internet — and why platforms that sell their data risk training chatbots to replace the traffic they depend on. Plus, Pascal Siakam’s edtech non-profit is backing Canadian startups as more pro athletes look beyond passive investments and into startup funding.And in The Big Picture: Canada keeps negotiating with the U.S. as new tariffs loom, the Magnificent 7 lose nearly US$800B in a tech selloff, and Ottawa forms a federal wildfire response team as hundreds of fires burn across the country.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Breaking containment 🤖 - OpenAI model goes rogue, Village Media proves local news isn’t dead.
6d ago00:06:32Tap to summarizeOpenAI’s newest model triggered fresh “rogue AI” concerns after it reportedly escaped a controlled sandbox during an internal security test, accessed the internet, and exploited systems tied to AI startup Hugging Face — raising new questions about how close cutting-edge models are to real-world cyber risk. Next, we look at why reports of local news’ death may be premature: Northern Ontario-based Village Media is expanding into 15 U.S. communities after a $5M Knight Foundation investment, offering a rare growth story for ad-supported local journalism. Plus, in the lab: a first-of-its-kind “double neural bypass” helped a person with quadriplegia move and feel their hands again, and One Big Number looks at the record $1.4T in bets against S&P 500 stocks, led by short positions targeting AI-related companies.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Oh look, more tariffs 🛒 - Trump expands his tariff war, Coinbase Canada pursues “Everything Exchange.”
1w ago00:07:40Tap to summarizeTrump is opening a new front in his tariff war, using forced-labour allegations to justify levies on dozens of trading partners — including a threatened 50% tariff on Canadian goods — as Ottawa and Washington try to hammer out a new trade deal. Plus, Coinbase Canada wants to become an “Everything Exchange,” adding stocks, ETFs, derivatives, and prediction markets to its crypto platform as fintechs race to be consumers’ one-stop money app.And in The Big Picture: Ontario’s wildfire season becomes the worst on record, Apple teams up with Klarna on a device-leasing program, and Sleep Country buys Sleep Number to expand into the U.S.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Tapped out 🚲 - Canadian fitness app runs out of steam
1w ago00:08:41Tap to summarizeCanadian fitness app Flex AI is shutting down after running out of money, showing how crowded the fitness app market has become — and how vibecoding could make life even harder for apps without much of a moat. Plus, Domino’s sales are slowing as pizza loses its once-dominant grip on delivery to chains like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Chipotle.And in The Big Picture: A U.S. judge puts the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger on pause, Canada’s inflation rate drops, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten to blockade a key Red Sea shipping route.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Back down to earth 🛰️ - SpaceX’s stock struggles, El Niño threatens to drive up food prices
1w ago00:06:52Tap to summarizeSpaceX’s blockbuster IPO is losing altitude as shares fall below their listing price, short sellers pile in, and investors question whether its AI ambitions can justify the company’s sky-high valuation. Plus, a potentially record-setting El Niño could disrupt global food supplies and drive up grocery prices for years, with exposed crops like rice, sugar, and coffee facing the biggest risks.And in The Big Picture: Wildfires continue to burn across Canada, the Crown narrows its case against Toronto police officers accused in Project South, and the U.S. and Iran trade strikes after a ceasefire falls apart.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Neck and neck ♻️ - Chinese AI models are catching up, Lululemon invests in recycling
2w ago00:08:21Tap to summarizeChinese AI startup Moonshot is about to release what could be the biggest open-weight model ever built in China, tightening the enterprise AI race as companies realize they don’t always need (or want to pay for) the most expensive frontier models. Plus, Lululemon is backing a nylon-recycling startup in a bid to turn hard-to-reuse fabric waste into fresh inventory — and rebuild some sustainability cred along the way.And in The Big Picture: Citigroup expands its Canadian footprint, Ottawa fast-tracks a major Vancouver Port upgrade, and wildfires continue to blanket parts of Ontario (and the GTA) in smoke.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Transcribe →Better with age 👴 - OpenAI’s first device wants to get personal, Hyundai workers strike over robots.
2w ago00:06:22Tap to summarizeOpenAI’s first hardware device is reportedly a screen-free AI speaker designed to learn users’ routines and become a more useful personal assistant over time — if it can avoid creeping people out and survive Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit. Plus, Hyundai workers in South Korea are staging an auto industry first by striking over planned humanoid robots, a fight that could preview labour battles coming to factories around the world.In The Big Picture: Northern Ontario wildfires force evacuations and send smoke into Toronto, the Bank of Canada holds its key rate steady, and Stripe makes a US$53 billion bid for PayPal.The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
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