Our picks for what to eat, read, watch, and listen to this weekend.

On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, Jennifer Quaid returned to inform us further about Canada’s competition laws, how they work, and how they’re going to change.

Imagine eating a strip of prosciutto or a slice of capocollo that was cultivated in a lab. Sounds a little strange, right? Well, to the Italian government, it’s downright criminal.   

Driving the news: Italy has taken a full-blown stance against lab-grown meat products. The country has banned fake meat after one of Italy’s largest farming associations made the case that it poses a risk to Italy’s rich culinary cultural heritage and agricultural sector. 

Like us on Black Friday weekend, Germany is turning a blind eye to its credit limit and hoping everything turns out okay in the end. 

Driving the news: Germany will suspend a constitutional limit on new borrowing for the fourth year running as it scrambles to fill a €60 billion hole in its climate-focused fund, which has sparked a debate over whether its “debt brake” is slowing down needed investments.

One of the foremost researchers in artificial intelligence is hoping people will keep an “open mind” about where his new lab is getting its money.

What happened: Openmind, a new AI research lab from Canadian AI pioneer Richard Sutton, is getting $4.8 million in funding from Chinese technology giant Huawei.

If you’ve been wondering what “EA” means as you’ve been reading about the Sam Altman/OpenAI saga or why those “e/acc” accounts on X are so riled up about it, now might be a good time to get up to speed.

A hostage deal is expected to bring the first break in the fight between Israel and Hamas.

What happened: As of writing, a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas is set to begin this morning after both sides reached a deal to free hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Canada’s historic spy trial wasn’t quite as exciting as a James Bond movie — it featured zero cool cars or giant lasers — but it was an important test for the judicial system. 

What happened: Cameron Ortis, the former director general of the RCMP’s intelligence unit, was found guilty on all six charges related to leaking state secrets brought against him. 

The fallout at OpenAI escalated from “spicy corporate drama” to “arbiter of humanity’s fate” real quick. 

Driving the news: Several OpenAI staffers allegedly sent a letter to the board of directors days before Sam Altman’s abrupt dismissal, warning about a new development with the potential to threaten human existence, per reporting by Reuters and The Information.

Hanging out with a fancy group of friends and don’t know what to talk about? As if they prefer Epic or Ikon, and watch the ensuing debate light up the room. 

Driving the news: Ski resort conglomerates across Canada and the U.S. are turning to a subscription model (tell us if you’ve heard this before) to lock skiers and snowboarders into their networks — which means selling as many season passes as possible, per The WSJ. 

If you’re worried about Canada’s housing market, just wait until we tell you about the country’s wild pig problem. 

Driving the news: A domestic swine and wild boar crossbreed known as ‘super pigs’ are wreaking havoc across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — and are spreading at an alarming rate, ruining farmers' crops, killing wildlife, and contaminating water and livestock.

After a whirlwind five days that included teary breakdowns, a pizza party, and even the launch of a new product, Sam Altman is once again CEO of OpenAI. 

What happened: Sam Altman returned to lead OpenAI, the ChatGPT creator that has become the buzziest name in AI, after being unceremoniously dumped last week. The move came after Microsoft offered Altman a job, and nearly every employee threatened to quit. 

Even with all the screens and smart features, the basic form of a refrigerator hasn’t seen much innovation since the 1960s: A big box with thick foam that uses a lot of power. But Whirlpool might have changed that.

Housing and the cost-of-living crisis got the most attention in the government’s fall economic statement yesterday, but it also had some (eagerly awaited) support for parts of the tech sector.

What happened: The government is putting big bucks into making carbon capture and other environmental tech more economically viable. 

It looks like Sam Altman is going to end a whirlwind five days at the same place he started it: as CEO of OpenAI.

What happened: After reopening negotiations amid intense pressure from investors and staff, OpenAI’s board stepped down and paved the way for Altman to be reinstated.

It feels like Earth-shattering developments upending the entire crypto industry are becoming a November tradition! Last year, it was FTX’s collapse. This year, it’s Binance paying billions.   

What happened: The world’s largest crypto exchange, will pay US$4.3 billion after pleading guilty to charges of money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations. As part of the deal, founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will step down as CEO.

As if giving the world IKEA, ABBA, and Spotify wasn’t already enough, Sweden is also solving a major hurdle for EV battery production.

What happened: Swedish startup Northvolt has developed a sodium-ion battery free of the critical (and pricey) metals that lithium-ion batteries require, a breakthrough which could make EV batteries cheaper and cut manufacturers’ current reliance on Chinese metals.

A coalition of ~420,000 Québec public sector employees from four different unions, dubbed the Front Commun, are on the second leg of a three-day strike.

What happened: The strikers are a ragtag assemblage of fed-up public workers, including orderlies, hospital technicians, and the majority of high school and elementary teachers.  This strike is the first of three public worker strikes set to hit Québec this week alone. 

A complete meltdown at the world’s leading AI company continues to provide a steady stream of watercooler talking points and cast doubt on the future of the company

Driving the news: By late last night, around 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees had signed a letter calling for Sam Altman's reinstatement as CEO — including board member Ilya Sutskever, one of the board members who initially voted to fire Altman, according to people who have seen the letter.