Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
- The Big Story
Why can't anyone close hundreds of illegal truck depots?
The rural area around Toronto's major highways is some of the most fertile land you'll find in Canada, and its zoned that way. It's agricultural land, with…
- The Big Story
Cineplex hit with $38.9M fine for 'drip pricing'
Did Canada's competition tribunal just get serious about extra online fees? In a recent decision the tribunal levied its harshest punishment in history against…
- The Big Story
How Russia's influence campaign is paying off
Last month, the US Department of Justice charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute…
- The Big Story
"Professional guinea pigs": Inside the world of clinical drug trials
Being a part of a clinical drug trial can pay very well—up to several thousand dollars. And a lot of people need that cash and are desperate to take part. But…
- The Big Story
We live with lots of noise. What's that doing to us?
For this weekend's look back, we're revisiting an episode from June 2023 about the level of noise we've become accustomed to in our daily lives, and the effect…
- The Big Story
Africville Forever: The Fight Continues
The Big Story is happy to present the second season of Africville Forever. Season 1 told the story of the destruction of a community, season 2 is telling the…
- The Big Story
How Montreal took back its streets from cars
Almost everywhere in Canada, the car is king. Even in walkable downtowns of our largest cities, traffic is generally given priority over pedestrians, and any…
- The Big Story
Are immigrants abandoning the Liberals?
Liberals, whether that's the capital-L liberal party in Canada, or the Biden administration or the Labour party in the UK, are almost always the party of…
- The Big Story
"An inflection point": Escalation in the Middle East
In the past 48 hours, Israel has invaded Lebanon and Iran has fired missiles directly at Israel. Nobody knows what comes next, but it will be difficult for…
- The Big Story
Is AI raising your rent?
The US Department of Justice is investigating a piece of software that it alleges helps landlords share private information and suggests rent increases…
- The Big Story
Has Canada's Truth and Reconciliation progress stalled?
Today marks the fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is a good chance to assess where we stand on the 94 Calls to Action. After significant…
- The Big Story
The strange origin story of psychedelics in Saskatchewan
For this Sunday's look-back episode, we're revisiting an interview from January 2022 about a psychedelic renaissance taking place in an unlikely locale. Have a…
- The Big Story
What the new mortgage rules mean for new (and existing) home buyers
This episode first aired on September 26, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
How The Roaring Lion was lost and found again...
It's one of the most iconic photographic portraits in world history—and it hangs in one of the most famous buildings in the Canadian capital. At least it did…
- The Big Story
A story of pipelines, consultants and conflicts of interest
The federal government—as well as the government-owned crown corporation Trans Mountain—has paid tens of millions of dollars in two separate contracts to…
- The Big Story
Will the federal government fall today? What about next week?
Today, the federal Conservatives will table a non-confidence motion, and if the Liberal government cannot defeat it, Canada will be headed to the polls. CPC…
- The Big Story
Is Quebec's new proposal a blow against 'tip creep'?
It began during the pandemic with good intentions--give more to service workers, support local businesses and 'we're all in this together'. But somehow…
- The Big Story
What happens when 'The Big One' hits the west coast?
For decades we've known that one day a masssive earthquake would hit the fault off of Canada's west coast—and after new research last year was published this…
- The Big Story
An unprecedented look inside the sex lives of Canadians
This weekend, we're revisiting an episode from earlier in the year. We hope you enjoy! ------------------------------------------- There's simply never been a…
- The Big Story
Inflation is back to 2%. So the economy is fixed now, right?
This episode first aired on September 19, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
Ontario now sells beer in convenience stores. The world has not ended. Yet.
This is a province with a long and strange history of alcohol regulation. But when Ontario premier Doug Ford announced plans to allow convenience stores to…
- The Big Story
Racism, lies and cat memes. American politics in 2024.
An Ohio town is thrown into chaos from bomb threats that stem from racist lies. Immigrants across the United States are demonized for political gain. Women are…
- The Big Story
Six unconnected stories. The same tragic ending.
Over 11 days recently, six Indigenous people were killed in separate encounters with police departments across the country. The outcome of any one incident…
- The Big Story
What we know about a Canada to New York terror plot
A few days before Sept. 11, police arrested a Pakistani man living in Canada with allegedly planning to travel to New York to commit a large-scale terror…
- The Big Story
The most interesting city council byelection in the country
It's got a conservative pundit that wants a council seat and has his eyes on another shot at the mayor's chair. It has three liberal candidates lining up to…
- The Big Story
The rapidly widening political gender gap
With the American election fast approaching, we thought it would be an appropriate time to revisit this episode from February about how political beliefs seem…
- The Big Story
Are car prices finally coming down?
After years of shortages, dealership lots are finally full of new vehicles again. The question is if this will bring down prices that spiked during the…
- The Big Story
From Florida to Kitchener: A story of sex, fraud and real estate
Some stories are better if you don't know much going in. So, no spoilers. All you need to know is this: An American university is suing a woman who lives in…
- The Big Story
How did Toronto's schools get so broken?
The list is long, and varies from school to school. Some of it is structural—leaky roofs and mice infestations, repairs that never get made, poor ventilation…
- The Big Story
Air Canada strike looms in a year of transport "chaos"
The deadline for the airline to reach agreement with its pilots is still a week away. But already flyers are scrambling for alternatives and Air Canada is…
- The Big Story
Why are overdose deaths declining in Alberta?
New data shows that opioid overdose deaths in the province from January-May fell from 788 in 2023 to 431 this year, a 55 percent decline. There are a number of…
- The Big Story
How British Columbia's polls flipped and BC United imploded
BC's Conservative party is on the verge of what would be a stunning win in this fall's provincial election. And one party's stunning gains, it turns out, is…
- The Big Story
Breaking down a third straight interest rate cut
Welcome to a preview of the fall season of In This Economy?! We're giving you a sneak peak of a test episode today, to get your feedback. As part of our new…
- The Big Story
How two astronauts ended up stranded in space
It was supposed to be an eight-day mission. It will be at least eight months. When two astronauts took Boeing's Starliner to the International Space Station in…
- The Big Story
The Liberal-NDP deal is over. Is an election next?
The supply and confidence agreement between the Liberals and NDP lasted nearly two and a half years—but now it's over. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced…
- The Big Story
Why is Alberta turning public hospitals over to a Catholic provider?
The news broke last week, sort of. It turned out that last month Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had told a United Conservative Party town hall in August that…
- The Big Story
Oh, you thought Canada's labour market was good?! Sorry.
For a solid couple of years, as the economy recovered from the pandemic, the narrative when discussing labour in this country was that the market was "tight"…
- The Big Story
Listener Feedback: Fixing Canada, Hormones and Safe Supply
It's a long weekend, and that means its time to reach back into the bag and pull out some of our favourite listener feedback from the last few weeks. A sincere…
- The Big Story
How to ruggedize your life and prepare for ... whatever comes next
This weekend, we're revisiting an episode from two years ago that we felt framed the discussion around climate change, and human adaptation to it, in a really…
- The Big Story
Will Canada's EV tariffs on China actually work?
It depends what your definition of work is... but in announcing a 100% tariff on all electric vehicle's produced in China, Canada is following in America's…
- The Big Story
When your community becomes a toxic waste dump...
It's expensive to follow complex disposal protocols for construction waste that can often contain toxins. It's a lot less expensive to find someone willing or…
- The Big Story
How health officials solved a deadly year-long listeria outbreak
When public health finally figured out in June what was causing a listeria outbreak that has killed three and sickened more than a dozen others, it did so by…
- The Big Story
When a DIY approach to safe supply ends in arrests
Safe supply programs across the country that aim to provide alternatives to street drugs are under scrutiny right now. But today's story isn't an official safe…
- The Big Story
Cracking the mystery of long covid
We've learned an awful lot about Covid-19 since the virus first hit us—but there are some things that we're still trying to solve. One of them, perhaps the…
- The Big Story
What happened in Kitsault, BC, Canada's most perfect Ghost Town?
Today, we're revisiting a fun one from 2 years ago about one of the most unique ghost towns in North America…
- The Big Story
What's behind the rise of 'hormone imbalance'?
Are you tired? In pain? Gaining weight? Experiencing any unusual symptoms? Welcome to what seems to be this summer's newest TikTok diagnosis from the wellness…
- The Big Story
Should you really be scared of Mpox?
The WHO has declared an outbreak of the virus in Africa a "global health emergency"—but what does that designation actually mean? That doesn't mean we…
- The Big Story
Can Kamala Harris ride her momentum to a November win?
This week, the biggest names in US Democratic politics are united in Chicago for one purpose: To give Kamala Harris the momentum she needs to defeat Donald…
- The Big Story
Are Canada's migrant workers experiencing ‘contemporary forms of slavery'?
A UN envoy said last week that the temporary foreign worker program was a breeding ground for just those conditions. And that's amid a rapid recent expansion…
- The Big Story
A breakthrough in the race to cure HIV
In 2008, an experimental treatment led to the first documented case of someone being effectively cured of HIV. The man, who was called 'The Berlin Patient,'…
- The Big Story
How are other countries dealing with the housing crisis?
If you listened to last week's Fixing Canada series (which you should check out if you haven't!), you may have noticed one key issue was conspicuously absent…
- The Big Story
Fixing Canada: How can we bridge the partisan divide?
[You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that…
- The Big Story
Fixing Canada: Why money alone won't solve the healthcare crisis
[You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that…
- The Big Story
Fixing Canada: How do we create a more just immigration system?
[You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that…
- The Big Story
Fixing Canada: How do we create world-class transit?
You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that…
- The Big Story
Fixing Canada: Is business competition dead?
You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that…
- The Big Story
The hunt for millions of counterfeit toonies
Canadians love our toonies. And that might explain why a story about bogus ones became our most listened to episodes of all time. So on one of the last…
- The Big Story
Is all that self-care just making us lonely?
We've all done it. Life is hard, the week is long and rather than force yourself to be out and about on a Friday night, you just need to unwind. All by…
- The Big Story
Is Canada ready for what comes after Peak Oil?
Last month, Alberta phased out coal years earlier than expected. It was an impressive achievement for a province synonymous with fossil fuels. Next up: Oil and…
- The Big Story
On the ground in Venezuela's electoral standoff
It's been well over a week since Venezuelans votes, by all accounts, to send president Nicolás Maduro packing. He hasn't left office, and has instead presented…