All kinds of music require volume. It has to be listened to loud. But how loud and for how long? Here’s a quick guide.

• If you listen to music for long periods of time, 85 dB is about the maximum. You can listen for up to eight hours with no damage to your hearing.
• But turn things up to 88 dB, and the tolerance drops to around four hours.
• At 91 dB, two hours, max. If you’re at 94 dB, you’d better stop after an hour. Beyond that, things can get dangerous.
• If sound pressure levels are at 100 dB, you may suffer hearing damage in as little as 15 minutes.
• And if things are at 110 dB or beyond, damage starts within a few minutes. If you’re near the speakers, problems start within seconds.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

If you have a stereo set-up at home, you’ll know that there’s a special input for your turntable labelled “phono.”  You can’t just plug it into, say, an auxiliary input. If you can use an aux input for everything else, why not your turntable?

Because in order to play back vinyl correctly, it has to go through something called a “phono stage.” Vinyl has limitations when it comes to storing very low frequencies and very high ones. To counteract that, records are pressed with the bass turned down and the treble turned up per something called the RIAA equalization curve. Upon playback, the phono stage reverses that curve, boosting the bass by a specific amount and reducing the treble, thereby achieving the tonal balance of the original recording.

The RIAA curve may help explain why it feels better to listen to vinyl than a digital recording.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A vinyl record features a continuous groove that begins on the outer edge and spirals in toward the label. How long is that groove? It depends on how much music is on the side of a record, but a general length is somewhere around 500 metres.

How wide is that groove? Anywhere from 40 to 80 microns, which can also be expressed as 4 one-hundredths to 8 one-hundredths of a millimetre. That’s about the width of a human hair.

There are a couple of oddball exceptions to this. For example, in 1973, Monty Python released an album called Matching Tie and Handkerchief. One side of the record secretly had two spiral grooves side by side. Depending on when you dropped the needle, it caught one groove or the other, resulting in completely different audio. Imagine trying to figure out why that side of your record was different when you went to play it.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

I know this has happened to you. There’s something in the news. An odd fact grabs your attention. A friend mentions something. It’s strange, upsetting. It might even make you mad. It’s one of those things that can’t be just a random act of the universe. It has to be the result of organized, malevolent forces working to destabilize, conquer, and destroy. Lee Harvey Oswald couldn’t have acted alone in the JFK assassination. 9/11 had to be an inside job. Those aren’t trails of condensed water vapour behind airplanes in the sky—they’re chemtrails. The Earth is flat. The Moon landing never happened. There are UFOs and aliens stored at Area 51. All of these beliefs stem from wanting to make sense of senseless things. We feel powerless when something bad happens, so finding a “reason” might help us regain control and a feeling of safety. Or maybe, by connecting all the dots, we reveal a truth that no one else sees, making us feel unique and superior. And if we find others who believe the same thing, we’re no longer alone with our fears. Conspiracy theories have always been out there as we attempt to understand “why,” to restore order, and to reclaim clarity. The more complex the world becomes, and the more people can connect online, the more conspiracies appear. Wake up, sheeple. Can’t you see what’s really going on? This is Episode 68 of Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. We’re about to embark on a journey through music’s greatest conspiracies. And let me tell you something: have I got some wild stories to tell you. In addition to the  podcasts, you can hear Uncharted on these Corus radio stations (all times local):

• • Toronto: AM 640 (4-5am)

• • London: 980 CFPL (4-5am)

• • Vancouver: 730 CKNW (1-2am)

• • Edmonton: 630 CHED (1-2am)

• • Calgary: QR77 (770 AM) (1-2am)

• • Winnipeg: 680 CJOB (1-2am)

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Last time, I talked about how the weight of a vinyl doesn’t necessarily impact the quality of how it sounds. Okay, so what about rotational speed?

Some people swear that 45 RPM records sound better than those that rotate at 33 1/3. This is true if you’re talking about 12-inch records. Because the record spins faster, the stylus travels through more grooves per second. This means that the wiggles the stylus makes are more spread out, meaning that they’re easier to track.

Think of it in terms of the resolution of an audio file. Something that is encoded at 320 kilobytes per second will sound better than the same song located at 128. This explains why bands like Radiohead have released albums as two slabs of 45 RPM vinyl instead of just one that spins at 33 1/3.

More next time.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A non-profit agency that runs Ontario’s 24-hour problem gambling helpline says a lack of funding means it is drowning under a wave of new, more complex calls for help brought on by a more open betting market.

ConnexOntario, which offers listening and advice services for people struggling with gambling addiction, said the number of calls it receives has exploded.

In the 2019-20 year, the community service said its call takers had a total of 92,780 interactions and the average call lasted just under eight minutes. By 2025-26, the number jumped to 155,391 interactions and calls lasted almost 12 minutes on average.

“Our staff are seeing more demand on our service. The calls are changing; there’s more complexity with the calls,” Nerin Kaur, the executive director of ConnexOntario, told Global News.

“People are requiring more supportive listening, more understanding about the mental health and addiction sector, more education, more ability to follow up with them, as well as help them set clear expectations and what to see when they want to access care.”

The increase in calls appears to have coincided, at least in part, with the liberalization of gambling in Ontario.

Back in 2022, the Ford government allowed non-government online gambling companies to enter the market in Ontario under a system called iGaming.

The move, which has come with a volley of gambling commercials, also appears to have increased the number of people seeking help for addiction.

In 2021/2022, before the changes, there were 95,252 people who spoke to ConnexOntario in a single year. That number jumped 23 per cent the next year to 117,407 — and has continued rapidly climbing.

But the increase in work has not come with a meaningful boost to its $4.2 million in government funding.

ConnexOntario received a four per cent bump in the 2025-26 year, following a five per cent increase in 2023-24. The numbers, Kaur said, aren’t close to enough.

“I think the government needs to invest more in the prevention promotion piece and the supportive piece for the community sector to support the demand in problem gambling,” she said.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in gambling-related calls in, and specifically young men ages 15 to 24, and then also the 35-to-45 mark. We want to make sure that there are sufficient resources going for that target population to ensure that they’re healthy and safe as they’re engaging in these behaviours.”

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho’s office did not respond to questions from Global News ahead of publication.

Cho has previously acknowledged there is an acute problem with gambling addiction in the province.

“It’s a growing issue, so there’s no sugar coating the fact that more people are gaming online, specifically young men,” he previously told Global News.

“That’s precisely the reason we regulated the market.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Toronto Raptors are hosting a morning news conference with a “special guest” for what the team is calling a “milestone announcement.”

General manager and executive vice-president Bobby Webster will join the unidentified guest at the event, with the team’s cryptic announcement prompting speculation about who could appear.

The Raptors have agreed to a blockbuster trade to bring 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard back to Toronto from the Los Angeles Clippers, although the deal has not yet been announced.

Longtime Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has also been considering retirement after 20 NBA seasons and has often said he wants to retire as a member of the franchise.

Lowry spent nine seasons in Toronto, helping the Raptors win their first NBA championship in 2019 while earning all six of his all-star selections with the club.

The team has not disclosed the identity of the special guest or provided further details about the announcement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Renata Ford, the wife of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford and sister-in-law to Premier Doug Ford, has died.

The premier confirmed the news Monday in a brief statement.

He says the whole family is hurting for Renata Ford’s children and that they’re asking for privacy.

Renata Ford ran as a candidate in Toronto for the People’s Party of Canada in the 2019 federal election, finishing in fourth place.

The run came during her lawsuit against the premier alleging that he mishandled the estate of his brother Rob after his death in 2016.

Renata Ford accused Doug Ford of causing financial harm to her and her two children, a claim the premier has denied.

“My heart breaks for Stephanie and Dougie. They’ve been through so much at such young ages, and losing their mom is incredibly painful,” the premier said in the statement.

“Our whole family is hurting for them. We ask that people respect their privacy during this very difficult time.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press

One person is dead and another has been injured following a shooting in Scarborough on Monday afternoon, police say.

Toronto police said officers were called to the area of Victoria Park Avenue and Highway 401 at about 3:20 p.m. after reports of a shooting.

Police said two people were found suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second victim was located near Victoria Park Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East and was taken to hospital by emergency run, police said.

Investigators have not released information about the victims or possible suspects.

The homicide unit has been notified and the investigation is ongoing.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators.

 

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A swimmer is missing after being swept away by the current in Stamp River Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.

Port Alberni, B.C. RCMP said they were called on July 5 at approximately 5:30 p.m. for reports that a female swimmer had gone missing.

Emergency services and police immediately conducted a search, but the woman has not been found, police said.

On Monday, the Port Alberni RCMP, Alberni Valley Rescue Squad, and Arrowsmith Search and Rescue were in the provincial park searching for the missing swimmer.

While the provincial park remains open to the public, the section of trail nearest the falls is currently closed to allow search crews to conduct their operations safely and effectively, police said in a release.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.