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Feb 23

The grim news about your biological age

The longevity gold rush is underway and we hear about the latest reasons for optimism and cynicism from Steve Horvath, the developer of a 'biological clock' that is mostly used by researchers or, the curious, although some experts question whether such measurements are ready for prime time. Horvath explains the science behind his clock, the centenarian connection and the food he says can keep our biological age low. Guest: Steve Horvath is a biogerontologist, whose research lies at the intersection of epigenetic biomarkers of aging, preclinical and clinical studies, genomics, epidemiology, and comparative biology. This episode was produced by Moira Welsh, Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Matthew Hearn and Sean Pattendon.
Season 1, Episode 1

Internet Addicts Anonymous

When she was 12 years old, Ava Smithing spiralled down a social media rabbit hole that nearly cost her life. A decade later, she discovered she wasn't alone: Big Tech had hijacked childhood and adolescence for an entire generation. In this ten-part investigative podcast, Ava crosses the continent to uncover a hidden digital world. She'll meet teens with millions of followers, young girls wrestling with compulsive porn use, and boys blackmailed by international cybercriminals lurking in their DMs. In the first episode of Left to Their Own Devices, Ava dives into the debate over technology addiction. The condition is absent from the official list of mental health disorders used by psychiatrists, but undeniable to those who live it. Inside an Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous meeting, she hears firsthand from people who say their lives have been consumed by screens. And, she sits down with psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke – author of Dopamine Nation – who's watched her patient' struggles shift from substance abuse to compulsive relationships with social media, gaming, and online content. This podcast isn't a self-help guide to digital wellness. It's a survival story from the front lines of 21st century childhood.
Season 1, Episode 2

A Tale of Two Algorithms

Algorithms are the invisible engines that drive every scroll, swipe or click. And, in the last few years, it's become clear that they can devastate young lives. But Ava discovers they might also be capable of saving them. She speaks with two teens with radically different stories. When 12-year-old CeCe Neltner went online to find workout tips, her social media feeds devolved into a torrent of eating disorder content. Today, she says she's lucky to be alive. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Keira MacDuff was battling a mysterious chronic illness that doctors dismissed as teenage drama – until TikTok's algorithm led her to a life-changing diagnosis. Did TikTok save Keira's life?
6d ago

Blue Jays Ernie Clement, John Schneider, DeMarlo Hale and Bowden Francis before the all-star break

Guests: Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement, manager John Schneider, associate manager DeMarlo Hale, pitcher Bowden Francis This week in Deep Left Field, the Blue Jays are about to head into the all-star break and they'll be very well-represented at the midsummer classic. Ernie Clement was the American League's leading vote-getter and he joins us to talk about his upcoming trip to Philadelphia that will also include teammates Dylan Cease and Louis Varland. The entire Jays' coaching staff will be there as well, serving in the same role for the AL, and we talked to skipper John Schneider and his right-hand man, DeMarlo Hale, about going to the all-star game. Also, we're joined by rehabbing right-hander Bowden Francis, the last Blue Jays pitcher to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning before Cease did it in San Francisco on Wednesday. All that, plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!
Season 1, Episode 4

Brain Rot

Are screens rewiring kids' brains and creating a generation of depressed teens? After Jonathan Haidt published his mega-bestseller The Anxious Generation, a lot of parents became convinced that they were. But the science tells a more complicated story. Ava interviews several scientists studying technology's impact on our brains, then takes matters into her own hands. She meets up with Dr. Emma Duerden, Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders, to conduct her own experiment: monitoring a teenager's brain activity in real-time while she scrolls through her phone. What they discover might surprise you.
Season 1 Bonus

In conversation with Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation

The last few months have been a turning point. In late March, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez won his case against Meta, with a jury finding that Facebook and Instagram's parent company had engaged in "unconscionable" trade practices targeting children. Days later, a California jury ruled that Meta and YouTube had addicted a young girl to their platforms. And Australia is now four months into its landmark social media ban for kids under 16. At the center of this movement is social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whose New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation laid out the case for a phone-free childhood. What once read as provocation is now policy: France and Malaysia have passed their own bans, and Canada and the US are weighing similar moves. But many researchers — and young people themselves — aren't convinced. Ava Smithing argues that social media companies need to reimagine their business models entirely, not just lock kids out. In this live conversation from Columbia University's Bollinger Forum, Haidt and Smithing meet across the generational and ideological divide. They dig into Haidt's "Great Rewiring" theory, the toll of "attentional destruction," and the tension between protecting children and honoring the reality of Gen Z's digital-first communities. Editor's note: We are also honoured to inform you that Left To Their Own Devices was just nominated for a prestigious Peabody Award. "We are grateful and honored to receive a Peabody nomination. We created Left to Their Own Devices to shine a light on the experiences of young people online," said Ava Smithling, host of Left To Their Own Devices. "We believe these stories deserve to be heard, and more importantly, to be believed. A Peabody nomination validates our work and recognizes the gravity of the harm these platforms inflict on young people. This recognition makes our team's work and the fight for safer online community spaces harder to ignore."
Season 1, Episode 3

Big Tech's Origin Story

You'd be hard-pressed to find a young person who uses Facebook regularly. But to understand why social media has had such a profound, and sometimes devastating, effect on kids, you need to understand Facebook's origin story first. Ava tracks down two of Silicon Valley's most prominent insiders: Roger McNamee and Frances Haugen. Together, they trace Facebook's rise into a global behemoth and reveal how decisions made in boardrooms left millions of children vulnerable to social media's most damaging effects. Ava also speaks with Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, who explains how digital platforms are engineered to keep us coming back for more. In Eyal's world, the stickier the technology, the better. But at what cost to the next generation?
Season 1, Episode 9

The Worst Sex Ed Class Ever

The numbers are staggering. In the US, 71% of teenagers say they've watched porn in the last week. In Canada, 88% of boys have seen it by the age of fourteen. And in the UK, one in four kids have been exposed to pornography by the time they turn eleven. Even more alarming: this early consumption has been linked to rising rates of domestic violence among teens. In this episode, Ava meets Harrison and Nat – two young people whose journeys began on gaming platforms, and ended in the throes of compulsive porn use. Their stories might sound extreme, but they're part of a troubling pattern: kids are encountering pornography younger and younger, often when they're not even looking for it. What happens when an entire generation learns about the birds and the bees from extreme, often violent, online pornography?
Season 1, Episode 10

Left to Our Own Devices

On December 10, 2025, Australia will be the first country in the world to ban social media for kids. It's a radical step, and lawmakers around the world are taking notice. In the U.S., eight states have proposed similar legislation. In Canada, Quebec and Nova Scotia are reportedly considering bans of their own. These policies are popular, but they're also controversial – and some experts worry they could isolate a generation of children. But on the other side of the world, a very different story is unfolding. In North America, where governments have yet to regulate social media in any meaningful way, young people are taking matters into their own hands. Young people like Maddie Freeman, who started a grassroots movement to wean her peers off social media after a wave of youth suicides devastated her community. So, as Australia's landmark ban takes effect, only one question remains: will kids figure out how to make social media work for them? Or will governments make that decision for them?
Season 1, Episode 8

Under the Influence

When Ghyslain Raza – aka the "Star Wars Kid" – became the internet's first viral sensation, it nearly destroyed him. More than twenty years later, many young people today are desperate for that kind of fame – even if it means making their most embarrassing moments available for public consumption. According to one recent poll, more than half of all Gen Zs want to be influencers – online creators who turn their lives into content. To try and understand this phenomenon, Ava tracks down Sophie Fergi, an 18-year old influencer with millions of followers, and journalist Taylor Lorenz, who tracked the rise of content creators like Sophie in her book Extremely Online. Is the influencer boom a sign of narcissism run amok? Or has social media finally democratized fame and given young people a voice? Maybe it's both.

The Star Podcasts are part of the Toronto Star, a multi-platform news organization that informs, connects, investigates, reports and effects change. The purpose of the Toronto Star is to keep our audience informed about what matters most to them, to help make their life, community, country and world better.