Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
- The Big Story
How Toronto lost its war with raccoons. Badly.
One hundred years ago, raccoons were so rare in Toronto, that a mysterious creature rummaging in a garbage bin warranted a newspaper report. Today, raccoons…
- The Big Story
Why is Quebec's language fight taking on English students?
Quebec's CAQ government has spent years tightening laws around languages in the province, with a stated aim to protect French as its predominant language…
- The Big Story
Why are the Liberals carving out a piece of the carbon tax?
It's a very small piece, to be sure. But it's also a huge precedent. Almost immediately after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement last week…
- The Big Story
Will MAiD changes give drug users access to assisted death?
It can be difficult to sort fact from fiction, or anecdotes from data, when it comes to a subject like assisted dying. The topic itself is so emotional. The…
- The Big Story
Canada desperately needs more family docs. Why are we making it harder to be one?
Depending on where you live, there's a between one-in-three and one-in-six chance that you don't have a family doctor. And the number of Canadians without one…
- The Big Story
RERELEASE: How to actually change someone's mind
With the increasingly polarized rhetoric surrounding the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, and the IDF's continuous bombing of the Gaza strip, we felt…
- The Big Story
How a massive solar storm could fry our entire grid
Depending on your mood, it sounds either terrifying, or like a sweet release from modernity. But solar storms hit the Earth all the time, and it's only a…
- The Big Story
How Doug Ford's Ontario government mastered the art of the flip-flop
This week, Ontario Housing Minister Paul Calandra (new to the job after his predecessor resigned amid scandal in September) announced another reversal of a key…
- The Big Story
Is the glut of pot stores finally starting to shrink?
The promise of untold millions once puffed up the legal cannabis industry to unimaginable highs. Then blunt reality set in. Now, with dreams of fortunes going…
- The Big Story
A brief history of middle east ceasefires
Two weeks after a terror attack by Hamas, and two weeks into a devastating retaliatory bombing campaign by Israel, thousands of lives are gone, and the world…
- The Big Story
Is "It's your mess, you clean it up!" a viable recycling strategy?
Technically, it's called "extended producer responsibility"—and in practice it means governments handing over the task of recycling packaging to the companies…
- The Big Story
Trailer: In This Economy?!
The team behind The Big Story, has a new podcast! Hosted by Jordan Heath-Rawlings, In This Economy?! debuts with weekly episodes on Nov. 2. You can follow the…
- The Big Story
Inside the hilarious, secretive and petty world of book blurbs
We've all been told not to judge a book by its cover. So why do so many people—from readers, to retailers, to publishers and reviewers—judge them by one little…
- The Big Story
The world waits for Israel's ground offensive, and whatever comes next
The Israel-Hamas war is near a tipping point. At some point Israel will have to decide to push forward with a massive and unprecedented ground offensive into…
- The Big Story
Why is BC banning drug use in public spaces?
Earlier this year, the province decriminalized certain amounts of some hard drugs, in an attempt to curb the overdose crisis. Nine months later, the same…
- The Big Story
Why are we building fewer homes now than during the worst of the pandemic?
Now that we know how huge the gap on housing is—Canada needs 3.5 million more homes by 2030—you would think governments across the country would be doing…
- The Big Story
Will the supreme court decide the future of sex work in Canada?
After a Charter challenge was turned away in Ontario, an appeal may bring the laws that govern sex work in this country directly to the supreme court—and these…
- The Big Story
How the NFT market rose and crashed, and who's left holding the bill
A couple of years ago, NFTs were the Next Big Thing. They were everywhere, with celebrity endorsements, big media companies jumping on the bandwagon and…
- The Big Story
Does Ontario already have a two-tier health care system?
If you, like millions of people in Canada—and two million in Ontario alone—do not have a family doctor, the prospect of paying hundreds of dollars for the…
- The Big Story
Will the Israel-Hamas war draw in other nations?
Since Saturday's horrific Hamas attacks and Israel's brutal response, fighting has continued, but has been contained to those two sides. There are worries…
- The Big Story
In Manitoba, police killings require inquests. So where are they?
Every use of deadly force by police in the province requires an inquest to determine how and why it happened. In theory, this prevents fear or favour from…
- The Big Story
Inside the questionable practices of the International House of Prayer
Today, we're lending the feed to our friends over at Heaven Bent, a show hosted by Tara Jean Stevens that examines trends in modern christianity, and explores…
- The Big Story
A tiny town vs. QAnon's "Queen" of Canada
Romana Didulo rose to prominence in 2020, gained a massive number of followers, moved her followers from online talk to in-person action, and has been…
- The Big Story
The "parental rights" debate, and the fight over the notwithstanding clause
Over the next few months, we're likely to find out how well Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms actually protects marginalized groups. A divisive policy…
- The Big Story
Alberta's premier is coming for Canada's pension fund
The Canada Pension Plan is a world-renowned fund that controls hundreds of billions of dollars earmarked for our retirements. Alberta premier Danielle Smith…
- The Big Story
In classrooms, smartphone use is out of control
This is the first generation of kids to grow up entirely with smartphones in hand. Most of the time, even during school hours. Schools who have tried to ban or…
- The Big Story
Why we're all paying different prices online
You and a friend might be given two different prices by the same website for the same item. Heck, you might be given two different prices yourself depending on…
- The Big Story
How Canada created an international incident through sheer incompetence
Somehow, nobody involved in the now-infamous affair clued into the fact that a man who was fighting against the Russians in 1943 would have been fighting …
- The Big Story
Why the Bank of Canada wants unemployment to rise
Yup, the government body overseeing the economy has been hoping for a while now that some of the low unemployment rates that have been driving up salaries and…
- The Big Story
How Doug Ford's greenbelt plan imploded, and what comes next
Last week, Ontario premier Doug Ford caved, spectacularly. He apologized for breaking his promise, and vowed to reverse his decision to open up parts of the…
- The Big Story
What's behind Canada's surge of car thefts?
The numbers have been climbing for years, and last year was a high not seen since the old days of manual hot-wiring. This year figures to be even worse, as a…
- The Big Story
The wild boar paradox and the future of nuclear energy
In many regions of Europe, wild boars roam the landscape. Also, they're radioactive. For a long time, it was assumed the Chernobyl disaster was the cause, and…
- The Big Story
The (Cold) Drugs Don't Work
You've probably got some in your medicine cabinet right now, and if you take them hoping for a relief from congestion, you're pretty much taking a placebo. A…
- The Big Story
Are political dissidents safe in Canada?
When Justin Trudeau told the country that his government has evidence implicating India in a June murder of a Sikh leader in BC, it shocked even seasoned…
- The Big Story
A seismic shift in soccer's sexist structure?
Last week, the president of Spanish soccer resigned amid a furor over a nonconsensual kiss given to one of the Spanish women's team's players in the wake of…
- The Big Story
REWIND: The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
This afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons, and all of Canada, that this country has credible evidence that India was behind the…
- The Big Story
What happens if you call 911 and get put on hold?
In many places across Canada, outdated 911 systems are strapped for operators and barely holding on to functionality. That has led to some people calling with…
- The Big Story
How will the streaming wars end? With Cable TV, all over again
You've probably noticed there are a lot of streaming platforms available these days. There are the traditional big players like Netflix, Amazon and Apple…
- The Big Story
Inside the massive E. coli outbreak in Calgary daycares
More than 250 cases, more than 20 victims in hospital. Almost all of them children, some of them in serious condition. The kids are linked to several daycares…
- The Big Story
What can the Conservative convention tell us about the future of the party?
CPC leader Pierre Poilievre spent the weekend hammering a message of affordability and economic focus at his party's convention in Quebec. Most of the…
- The Big Story
The final battle in the Return To Office war?
This summer, a whole bunch of companies—including, ironically, Zoom—announced return-to-office mandates, with few exceptions. Some of those companies have…
- The Big Story
A trial that will test Canada's definition of 'terrorism'
On June 6, 2021, the beloved Afzaal family of London, Ontario were out for a walk, when they were hit by a speeding truck that killed four of them. Police…
- The Big Story
No barking at the dog park: A tour of Toronto's ridiculous park rules
A sign telling dogs not to park at a dog park. A regulation prohibiting baseball players from hitting home runs. A billboard the size of a small car to list…
- The Big Story
Will new rules slow the flood of gambling ads?
If you've watched a sporting event—or even tuned into network TV in general—in the past year, you're probably familiar with advertisements for sports betting…
- The Big Story
Use this plastic, not that plastic: The fight for truly sustainable packaging
You may have noticed a lack of plastic bags at some of your favourite stores, as many places in Canada phase out single-use plastics. In their place you may…
- The Big Story
What Kleenex can teach us about Canadian prosperity
The brand synonymous with facial tissue is being pulled from the Canadian market, as its manufacturer cites challenges in the space. And Kleenex isn't the…
- The Big Story
RERELEASE: What a school's 'descent into chaos' says about the state of education in Ontario
With back to school mere days away, we thought it would be an opportune time to revisit this episode, which serves as a powerful cautionary tale about the…
- The Big Story
As school begins, where are Quebec's teachers?
Quebec isn't the only province facing a teacher shortage, but it may be the most severe, with more than 8,000 educators missing from classrooms. Where did they…
- The Big Story
How the climate crisis will radically change tourism
The places that most rely on tourism to support their economy are some of the world's most vulnerable areas when it comes to climate disasters. As we saw after…
- The Big Story
So ... what happened to that recession?
For a year now, various economic predictions have marked Canada down for a looming recession. With more economic data due on Friday, that's expected to show…
- The Big Story
"Basically a movie": Inside the deepening Greenbelt scandal
Barely two weeks ago, a scathing auditor general's report sent shockwaves through Ontario's political class—detailing how acres of greenbelt land were to be…
- The Big Story
The long road to an 'epidemic' of intimate partner violence
In 2015, three women were murdered in rural Ontario, by a former partner who had been stalking them. Last summer an inquest into the murders was held and came…
- The Big Story
Will Canada place a cap on international students?
It's an issue that sits at the intersection of Canada's identity and reality. Our country is extremely diverse and pro-immigration, but a massive housing…
- The Big Story
What Toronto's condo massacre can teach us about mass shootings
There's always a question after tragedies like the December, 2022 shooting at a condo in Vaughan that left six people dead, including the shooter: "How did…
- The Big Story
How sure is insurance in the climate era?
Would it shock you to know that a significant number of homes in Canada are already uninsurable for flood damage? And as the impact of the climate crisis…
- The Big Story
A plan to solve the rental crisis needs governments to coordinate. Can they?
Canada's housing crisis is bad and getting worse, and a huge part of it is a lack of rental units in major cities. Every government has its own proposed…
- The Big Story
Why mess with success? Inside Alberta's renewable energy pause
Alberta's renewable energy sector is one of the province's great success stories. It's been growing rapidly, attracting top industry talent and becoming the…
- The Big Story
One in five cars on Canadian roads have been recalled. Has yours?
A recent report found that 6.6 million cars are being driven in Canada that have been recalled by a manufacturer for one reason or another. Some issues are…
- The Big Story
A remote evacuation scramble as the Northwest Territories burns
(UPDATE: Late Wednesday night, the government of the Northwest Territories announced a phased evacuation order for Yellowknife as the fires closed in.) There…
- The Big Story
Why does (most of) Canada suck at building transit?
By now you are likely familiar with the long, sad story of the Ottawa LRT—which just returned from being totally shut down for a month. But that project is far…