That Fitbit or Apple Watch on your wrist has become an invaluable part of your fitness routine. But are you OK with sharing that data with big companies? Today in The Conversation Canada, Lisa Carver of Queen’s University looks at the Big Brother implications of last week’s announcement that John Hancock, the U.S. division of Canadian insurance giant Manulife, will require customers to use activity trackers for life insurance policies in their Vitality program if they want to get discounts on their premiums and other perks.

New legislation to regulation tobacco and vaping products has reopened the debate about how those products are marketed, especially to young people. Julia Smith of Simon Fraser University has teamed up with three international academics to explain how tobacco companies are trying to weaken “plain packaging” regulations via lobbying and misleading publicity campaigns.

And finally…sociologist Mike Sosteric of Athabasca University, an admitted atheist, recently decided to go back and read the Bible. He was surprised what he discovered about Jesus and his revolutionary leadership – a story he says was never part of his childhood Catholic education.

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