Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
- The Big Story
An inside look at the fight against cybercrime
Massive global events like the Olympics are a magnet for cybercriminals and hacktivists. There are incredible complex systems to disrupt, billions in digital…
- The Big Story
Feedback: Landlords, podcast downloads and covering US politics
It's a long weekend, and that means it's time for us to reach into bag and pull out some the most thought-provoking pieces of listener feedback we've received…
- The Big Story
Why are some tenants using the 'last resort' of rent strikes?
We recently released an episode about a woman in Hamilton, Ontario who unwittingly became a landlord after the tenants in a house she intended to move into…
- The Big Story
Is the AI bubble about to pop?
It's one thing for you or me to be skeptical of generative AI. Sure, we might not have much practical use for it, and it may keep giving us the wrong answers…
- The Big Story
How 'weird' became a devastating political insult
American Democrats had long prided themselves on taking the high road in the face of insults and mockery from the right. But over the past week, their tone—and…
- The Big Story
What exactly is the "Road Rage Terror Tour"?
It's not your favourite metal band's summer itinerary. It's a group of far-right extremists who are travelling the country hosting events in venues that range…
- The Big Story
The fight to save Jasper, Alberta
The call to evacuate came late at night. Thousands had to find somewhere to go. Some of them drove for up to 12 hours. Then all they could do was watched as a…
- The Big Story
Why are there so many great white sharks in Maritime waters?
For the first time ever this summer—and on the 50th anniversary of Jaws—shark warning signs will go up on some Atlantic beaches in Canada. It's an effort to…
- The Big Story
What does the future of money look like?
Recently there has been renewed talk of Canada launching a 'digital loonie'. We discussed the idea of a national digital currency on this very show almost…
- The Big Story
These days, something's always burning: A fire season preview
With the recent devastation in Jasper, Alberta, we wanted to revisit this episode we recorded back in April with author, John Vaillant, where he explains why…
- The Big Story
Welcome to Paris! Here's a Canadian Olympic cheating scandal!
The Paris games kicks off with the Opening Ceremonies today, but the Canadian women's soccer team has already given the thousands of media covering the event…
- The Big Story
How the script flipped in the US presidential election
A month ago President Joe Biden was about to debate former President Donald Trump. Everything since then has been a series of shocks that dramatically upset a…
- The Big Story
What happens when 8.5 million computers crash at once?
Last Friday, a bad update from a cybersecurity company managed to give an estimated 1 percent of the world's computers the blue screen of death. Not only that…
- The Big Story
Inside the rapidly shifting Canadian dental plan
Canada's dental plan, the first national model in the country's history, opened earlier this year. And it's already quite different than it was at launch. For…
- The Big Story
Tick talk: What to keep in mind before venturing outdoors
If you get outside to enjoy Canadian nature, you've probably been warned about ticks and their potential to spread Lyme disease. But you may not have been…
- The Big Story
Crypto. AI. Sex dolls. Robotics. And a Canadian business plan.
No we haven't been hacked—today's story has all of these things and more. It's a tale about what happens when a Canadian crypto company wants to add to its…
- The Big Story
Rats! How Ontario failed where Alberta succeeded
Five years ago, the City of Toronto sounded a warning about an explosive growth in its rat population. The city planned to ... study it. Now, both Toronto and…
- The Big Story
When a home purchase leaves the owner homeless...
If you own a property, you're not allowed to kick tenants out just to raise the rent. You are, however, allowed to evict them if you've purchased the property…
- The Big Story
Inside WestJet's summer strike meltdown
Its mechanics were officially off the job only 29 hours. But more than a week after they returned to work, WestJet was still struggling with cancelled flights…
- The Big Story
The rise, fall and (maybe) rise again of the Newfoundland cod fisheries
For 32 years a moratorium on cod fishing was in place in Newfoundland. When it hit, it cost tens of thousands of jobs, decimated the economy and changed the…
- The Big Story
What do we lose when our malls disappear?
It's summer, and parents across Canada are desperately looking for things to occupy their children. So why not take a trip to your local mall? That is, while…
- The Big Story
Will Justin Trudeau take his own 'walk in the snow'?
A winter hike was the way his father, then prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, decided he was through with politics and would not run again. Inflation was high…
- The Big Story
Is America on the brink of political collapse? Should Biden bow out?
Political collapse is an order of magnitude different than, say, "a trouble democracy" or even "a hard right government". It means the end of democracy, a…
- The Big Story
Alice Munro's tarnished legacy and the evolution of MeToo
Learning that legendary Canadian writer Alice Munro was complicit in ignoring the sexual abuse of her daughter by her husband has shocked the country and…
- The Big Story
An LCBO strike, and Ontario's long, strange history of booze policy
Ontario's liquor distribution workers are on strike for the first time in their history. The reason? The government's plan to open up places like corner stores…
- The Big Story
How Canada's asylum system completely collapsed
Eight years ago, the Prime Minister was welcoming Syrian refugees to Canada at the airport, to international acclaim. Canada was viewed as one of the world…
- The Big Story
Is screen time still bad for kids?
On Sundays, we revisit some of our favourite episodes. If you're new to the show, we hope you enjoy hearing these for the first time, and if you've been with…
- The Big Story
Inside the fight to save the Ontario Science Centre
First the Ontario Science Centre was to be moved in a year or two, and that was enough to spark a protest movement to keep the iconic building designed by a…
- The Big Story
Will the UK turn left while France swerves hard to the right?
By the end of this weekend, two of Canada's G7 allies could each have new governments, on opposite sides of the political spectrum. While the Labour party is…
- The Big Story
Why is Canada so afraid of Chinese EVs?
Right now, the federal government is in the middle of a consultation period in which they may decide to jack up tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. In…
- The Big Story
Could microplastics in penises lead to a rise in ED?
Microplastics are everywhere—and for the first time they've been found in penises of men suffering from erectile dysfunction. Does this mean there's a link…
- The Big Story
Angry Birds: Canadians vs. Canada Geese
They are majestic flying in a "v" overhead. A symbol of fall and spring. A true National treasure. And also, Canada geese can be...just total jerks. They flock…
- The Big Story
A Summer Break?! In This Economy?!
This is our last episode until the fall, so we thought we'd use the time to reflect on what we've learned so far, answer some of your feedback and talk about…
- The Big Story
Can we Science our way to ocean carbon removal?
Mess with the finely balanced ecosystem of the ocean? On purpose?! What could go wrong?! But the truth is, we've messed with it already. The oceans suck up a…
- The Big Story
Can new regulations make gig work a viable job?
British Columbia is introducing regulations that the province says will improve the lives of gig workers who deliver meals and offer rideshares—including a…
- The Big Story
How the Liberals lost the safest seat imaginable, and what happens next
Toronto-St. Paul's had been a Liberal seat for more than 30 years. Not anymore. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Conservative candidate pulled off…
- The Big Story
Inside Toronto's slumping condo market
There's a record number of Toronto condominiums on the market right now, and despite record immigration, and an ever-worsening housing crisis, nobody seems to…
- The Big Story
Will Canada be forced to up its military spending?
All NATO members are required to spend the equivalent of 2% of GDP on their military, and Canada has always fallen short of that benchmark. But now, more…
- The Big Story
Canada vs. Denmark: The story of Hans Island and the 'Whisky War'
On what is a sweltering weekend across much of Canada, we thought we'd revisit an episode that takes place in cooler climes. It's the quirky story of how a war…
- The Big Story
Entertain the Kids?! In This Economy?!
This month, schools across the country will be closing for the summer. And the kids? Well, their parents will have to figure out what to do with them…
- The Big Story
How bald eagles returned to the Great Lakes
For decades, the sight of a bald eagle anywhere near Southern Ontario was basically an impossibility. The species has nearly been extinguished twice in the…
- The Big Story
Breaking down the capital gains tax fight
The Liberals say their changes to the capital gains tax mean that Canada's ultra rich will pay a little more, money they can easily afford. The Conservatives…
- The Big Story
Heat waves are different now: "We're slowly boiling ourselves"
A few weeks ago, temperatures in India blasted past 50 degrees Celsius. Currently much of the United States and parts of Canada are in the grip of a heat dome…
- The Big Story
Explaining the depth of Calgary's water crisis
Typically, a broken water main does not plunge a city into weeks of critical water shortages and a state of emergency. But the pipe that broke on June 5 wasn't…
- The Big Story
What happens when a cult moves into a small town?
Richmound, Saskatchewan thought they'd have seen the last of the so-called "Queen of Canada" by now. It's been almost a year since Romana Didulo and her…
- The Big Story
Sixth year anniversary: The Big Story’s First Episode
We're coming up on the show's six year anniversary, and so we wanted to revisit the first episode we ever released to show just how far we've come in that…
- The Big Story
Buy new clothes?! In This Economy?!
Tova wrote into the show expressing frustration with the price of clothes at brick and mortar stores. She wants to shop online but doesn't like the hassles…
- The Big Story
How Google got its AI answers so wrong
Using glue to stick cheese on a pizza. Drinking urine to pass kidney stones. The past few weeks have been filled with weird, hilarious and definitively wrong…
- The Big Story
National security, foreign interference and naming 'traitors'
Last week, a bombshell report revealed multiple Canadian parliamentarians have, intentionally and unintentionally, worked with foreign agents to interfere in…
- The Big Story
What exactly is "Canadian content" in 2024?
The CRTC decided last week to levy a tax on the Canadian revenue made by the giant streaming services. This money will ostensibly go towards supporting…
- The Big Story
How does the war in Gaza end?
This weekend saw four Israeli hostages rescued at the cost of at least 200 Palestinian lives. While the world debates the calculus of that manoeuvre, it is…
- The Big Story
Is Alberta ready for a disastrous drought?
The 1930s was a disastrous time for Alberta, as crops failed and topsoil blew away in the wind. And while the province is not currently at that level today…
- The Big Story
Welcome to the era of "tip creep"
Traditionally, we think of a tip as an acknowledgement of a job well done, usually by someone who performs a service for us. It's become impolite not to tip…
- The Big Story
Pre-nups?! In This Economy?!
In pop culture, pre-nuptial agreements (or pre-nups) are usually talked about as something that protects a rich person from marrying a gold digger. But these…
- The Big Story
Could a Canadian breakthrough lead to an ALS cure?
Scientists are very careful about throwing around words like 'breakthrough' or 'cure'—especially when it comes to diseases like ALS that are so devastating to…
- The Big Story
At long last, an interest rate cut. What comes next?
On Wednesday the Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate for the first time in four years, after months spent at a 20-plus year high. The cut was just a…
- The Big Story
Everything you need to know about heat pumps
Heat pumps could fundamentally shift the way we heat and cool our homes, but high costs and misconceptions about their performance in cold weather have served…
- The Big Story
Does Canada fine industrial polluters enough to make a difference?
There are some large companies in Canada that have a history of breaking environmental laws. But the framework for fining them can be complex, and often…
- The Big Story
Could B.C. get a conservative government?
It's been decades since the Conservative party played any real role in British Columbia's legislature. But that might be changing. With a little over four…
- The Big Story
The ignoble end of "the world's worst McDonald's"
Over the next few weeks, we'll be revisiting some of our favourite episodes from the catalogue. If you're new to the show, we hope you enjoy hearing these for…