This Matters is pleased to share a new podcast from the Toronto Star, TVO Podcasts, the Investigative Journalism Bureau and Piz Gloria Productions, Arachnid: Hunting the Web's Darkest Secrets.

What if the worst thing that ever happened to you plays out countless times on anonymous computer screens all over the world? Every day, tens of millions of images of child sexual abuse circulate on global online platforms. The proliferation of these images is getting worse as AI technology and deep fakes create an ever-expanding epidemic of online child sex exploitation. The children depicted in those criminal images are real. Many are now adults held hostage by these disturbing images despite available technology like Canada's Project Arachnid, which detects these images and sends out removal notices. Platforms often resist action, citing privacy laws. But in response, survivors and a group of motivated supporters are banding together across the globe to protect kids. Confronting their own trauma, they are speaking out, advocating for change internationally, and demanding stronger laws that hold tech giants to account. This six-part podcast series follows survivors' long-shot fight against the most powerful companies in the world to end a massive, global trade in child sex abuse imagery.

Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.

Guest: Karon Liu, Toronto Star food reporter

When one Toronto restaurant introduced a $25 cauliflower dish more than 10 years ago, it caused a bit of a stir at its eye-popping price. When Star reporter Karon Liu recently noticed the price of the same dish was now $41, it sent him to look at the steeply rising cost of meals out.

It’s a trend driven by food inflation, wage inflation, rent inflation and a host of other factors. And for many diners, it means eating out is becoming less and less of an attractive option. Which doesn’t mean the restauranteurs are suddenly flush—the drop-off in diners means it’s even harder for them to make up in volume what they might lose by cutting prices.

PLUS: Our food writer’s instructions on what to do if $41 is too steep a price for you

Guest: Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie

Ontario just dropped its biggest budget ever — $232.5 billion — and looming over every dollar of it is the shadow of Donald Trump, his tariffs, and an uncertain economic future. This year’s budget also includes a new $5 billion “Protect Ontario” fund to shield businesses and jobs from the escalating trade war with the U.S. But behind the big numbers lie bigger questions like a $14.6 billion deficit, no major new housing initiatives despite a worsening crisis, and a controversial plan to rip out downtown bike lanes in favour of cars. The Star’s Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie breaks it all down and what this budget means for Ontarians.

Produced by Saba Eitizaz and Paulo Marques