The provincial election is in full swing! As candidates fan out across the province, we'll be checking in regularly with our political watchers. Today, we ask reporter Brian Flinn and political science professor Erin Crandall about the snap election, campaign messaging, and more.

Find out about a new app called Timeleft that just launched in Halifax. It promises to help you meet five new people, every Wednesday night, at different restaurants around town. It's already active in more than 279 cities around the world. The CBC's Rose Murphy signed up.

Mushrooms and bacteria have potential to change the way we deal with one of the most common pollutants. A Dalhousie University grad student has been researching a new way to recycle plastic. Meet Dina Rogers, and find out how she's taking her idea all the way to Berlin. 

With a provincial election coming up, the HRM Business Improvement Districts have released a statement calling on the province to be more engaged with their concerns. Sue Uteck from the Spring Garden Area Business Association tells us about this. 

After a last minute shakeup in leadership at Nova Scotia Health last week, our health care columnist Mary Jane Hampton gives us a brief history of governance in Nova Scotia's health care system.

Last week, the Department of Education announced plans to build three new schools in the HRM. Meanwhile, students and families in Halifax's North End are getting more and more frustrated waiting for their new school. We hear from a parent who is upset about the condition of the temporary building his kids have been sent to while construction is underway. 

Some people are worth melting for: Tara Lynn Taylor brings spooks, storytellers and a snowman this week on Art 'n Soul.

On the heels of municipal elections, Nova Scotians are headed back to the polls on November 26 after Tim Houston called a snap election on Sunday. The CBC's Michael Gorman tells us how things are shaping up in the very early days of the campaign.

Dalhousie University has entered into a partnership with the Mexican government to study the living and working conditions of temporary foreign workers in Atlantic Canada. A social work professor tells us about the five-year research project. 

At the 30th Africentric Conference in Cole Harbour, two Black educators are launching a study into how to best support African-Canadian students in college and university. They've also created a professional group for Black student support workers at post-secondary institutions.

A Grade 12 student at Citadel High School is holding a hackathon to inspire others to get into computer programming. The event will challenge other high school students to solve a problem using code. That catch? They'll have to do it within a tight deadline