In honour of the Blue Jays playoff run starting tomorrow, we’re sharing an episode from our sister podcast Deep Left Field.

Guest: RUSH frontman and Blue Jays fanatic Geddy Lee

The Blue Jays are on the eve of their American League division series against the New York Yankees, which begins Saturday afternoon. We talk to the Jays' most famous fan, the lead singer, bassist and keyboardist from the legendary Canadian rock band Rush, who also happens to be a massive baseball geek.

Geddy Lee shares his thoughts on the Blue Jays' worst-to-first season, how much fun he's had watching the team and how large a part of their success all the unsung heroes have been.

We also look at the ALDS match-up with the Yankees and open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

Guest: Steve Teekens, Executive Director, Na-Me-Res, a Toronto-based Indigenous-run non-profit that provides temporary, transitional and permanent housing

Indigenous people make up less than one per cent of Toronto’s population, but about 15 percent of the city’s homeless. Nationally, they are around 5 percent of the population yet account for more than a third of those without homes. These numbers reflect the ongoing legacy of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and systems that continue to fail Indigenous communities. For Indigenous men especially, homelessness is closely tied to untreated mental illness and addiction. Advocates say ending Indigenous homelessness isn’t just policy; it’s a part of reconciliation.

Na-Me-Res, an Indigenous-led organization in Toronto, has been working on shelters, transitional programs, and affordable housing. On this National day for Truth and Reconciliation, we speak to the organization’s Executive Director Steve Teekens —to talk about the crisis — and to share his own family’s story as the grandson of residential school survivors and the son of a Sixties Scoop survivor.

The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience. Support is available at 1-866-925-4419.

This episode was mixed by Paulo Marques

Guest: Ava Smithing, advocacy director at the Young People's Alliance

Young people today have been raised with the most powerful tools in human history at their fingertips. Entire childhoods have played out online, with algorithms acting as babysitter, therapist, and mirror through which they see themselves. And now, we’re seeing what happens when the first generation raised on smart phones comes of age; shaped by platforms designed to manipulate attention and monetize minds.

Ava Smithing was just 12 when she spiraled into a social media rabbit hole that nearly took her life. Years later, she walked the halls of Congress to warn lawmakers about the harms of Big Tech.

Now, she’s the host of the Toronto Star’s new podcast series Left to Their Own Devices that takes a hard look at what happens when kids are left to figure it out alone. She joins This Matters to talk about what led her here.

Produced by Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon