Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
- The Big Story
Are our governments siding with big grocers?
Right now, thousands of grocery store workers are striking because, they say, they can't afford to buy food at the chain they work for. Food bank use has…
- The Big Story
How 'the Montreal shuffle' is destroying a city's rental market
By now everyone is aware of the strains that short-term rentals like Air BnB can place on a city's housing market. But recently Montreal has seen that problem…
- The Big Story
Ontario's massive greenbelt scandal, explained in full
The Greenbelt is one of Ontario's biggest environmental success stories—millions acres of protected land that capture carbon, protect at-risk species and play…
- The Big Story
Are the federal Liberals cooked? Or not?
The polls are not looking good for Justin Trudeau and company. The Liberals' recent cabinet shuffle failed to halt their downward slide. And even their…
- The Big Story
Is far right extremism gaining ground in Canada?
A new report looks at the circumstances that led to the convoy's arrival in Ottawa (and other places across Canada) in early 2022, and finds that it stems from…
- The Big Story
New guidelines, old hesitancy and the future of covid vaccines
It's almost time for what will likely become your annual covid shot—assuming you're one of the people who will actually get it. Canada's vaccine advisory…
- The Big Story
RERELEASE: How can we find common ground on climate change?
We realized recently that we've done an awful lot of climate coverage this summer, and that it's been overwhelmingly depressing. So, as we take a brief hiatus…
- The Big Story
How did concerts become so unaffordable?
It turns out Taylor Swift is coming to Canada after all! And if you're hoping to see her, you already know you'll be forking over hundreds of dollars. But in…
- The Big Story
What Meta's and Google's news blocking means for indie media, and for you
On Tuesday Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, made good on a threat to block all news from Canadians on its platforms. Google is promising to do much the…
- The Big Story
From extreme to extreme: The future of climate in Nova Scotia
First it was fires. Then floods. Now the province, already devastated by two extreme events, will wait to see what kind of impact unusually warm ocean…
- The Big Story
How modern video games hook us, and kids, so completely
Recently a feature story in Maclean's magazine described parents who were "losing their kids to Fortnite." While some gamers may hear that and see the kind of…
- The Big Story
Inside a Canadian man's massive psychic scam
This is the story of a scam that lasted for decades, and cost its victims over $200 million. It was run by a Canadian man who now sits in an American prison…
- The Big Story
The labour movement is back, baby! Or is it?
Since the last covid lockdowns ended in 2021, barely a month has passed without major job actions—union drives at huge companies, or massive strikes in the…
- The Big Story
What's behind the Liberals' massive cabinet shuffle?
Cabinet shuffles ahead of a fall session of parliament aren't unusual, but Wednesday's changes which saw most of Justin Trudeau's ministers switch roles or…
- The Big Story
Why won't Manitoba search a landfill for the remains of two murder victims?
Last year, a man was arrested and charged with the murder of four Indigenous women in the Winnipeg area. When the charges were laid police said they believed…
- The Big Story
Why is Canada updating its emergency nuclear protocols?
Every so often, federal and provincial governments reexamine plans they have made in the event of a nuclear accident or missile exchange, which have existed in…
- The Big Story
The challenge of creating a clean national power grid
Reaching net-zero emissions by 2035 will require major overhauls to Canada's national power grid. One of the major challenges to doing so is the patchwork of…
- The Big Story
Dual strikes bring Hollywood to a screeching halt
Last week, after negotiations with studios and streaming giants failed to yield an agreement, the 160000 performers represented by the Screen Actors Guild…
- The Big Story
Do drug busts lead to more overdose deaths?
Drug busts have long been a go-to tactic for law enforcement in the so-called 'war on drugs', but with the ubiquity of powerful narcotics like fentanyl, it's…
- The Big Story
Why were asylum seekers sleeping on the streets of Toronto?
Asylum seekers come to Canada for safety and a better life, but instead a group of them ended up sleeping on the streets of the country’s biggest city. The…
- The Big Story
Inside a mother's struggle to clear her name after a wrongful arrest
This episode is guest-hosted by Erica Lenti, deputy features editor at Chatelaine. 27-year old Breeanna Bascombe was trying to rock her infant daughter to…
- The Big Story
Why Erin O’Toole wants politics to be less polarized
This week we have guest hosts filling in for Jordan Health-Rawlings. Today, we have Justin Ling interviewing Erin O’Toole. Like many places around the world…
- The Big Story
Small Town Week, Episode 5: How the new Six Nations energy storage facility could change Ontario's grid
This is the final episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. So far this week, we’ve covered…
- The Big Story
Small Town Week, Episode 4: A New Brunswick town deals with a horrific stench
This is the fourth episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. The smaller your community is, the…
- The Big Story
Small Town Week, Episode 3: One BC town's struggle to rise from the ashes
This is the third episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. With Canada having its worst…
- The Big Story
Small Town Week, Episode 2: What happens to a town when its only emergency room closes?
This is the second episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. Canada’s health care system has…
- The Big Story
Small Town Week, Episode 1: Can we build new housing ourselves?
Welcome to Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. Access to affordable housing is not just an issue in…
- The Big Story
Is this the climate tipping point?
We've known for decades the world is warming, so it shouldn't come as a shock when some records get broken along the way. But what has set off alarm bells…
- The Big Story
Why you don't own that digital media you 'bought'
This isn't about streaming services, like Spotify or Netflix, that rent you endless content for a monthly fee. It's about digital copies of art that you've…
- The Big Story
Did online rhetoric lead to violence in the classroom?
Last week three people were stabbed inside a classroom at the University of Waterloo. The class dealt with philosophy of gender issues, and the attacker…
- The Big Story
How to counter residential school denialism
As awful as Canada's legacy of residential schools is, there are some in this country who don't want to believe it. In recent months, there's been a rise in…
- The Big Story
Smoke 101: An intro to a new summer reality
It's here. It's become a part of summer in most areas of Canada. It's bad for you. What exactly makes wildfire smoke harmful to breathe? And what about the…
- The Big Story
How do we stop the rise of romance fraud in Canada?
Let's say you've been victimized by romance fraud. You are humiliated and embarrassed beyond belief, but you have evidence to prove the fraudster is guilty…
- The Big Story
Why are people dying in jail while waiting for a trial?
If you're held "on remand" it means you haven't been convicted of a crime yet, but also that you can't secure bail or a judge's release. Practically, it means…
- The Big Story
How a murder in Surrey, BC spans the globe
Nine days ago, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was killed in a targeted daylight shooting in a crowded area outside of a Sikh temple in Surrey, BC. Nijjar was a…
- The Big Story
How libraries became "the last public space"
In the age of the internet, it's understandable to wonder what function, if any, our libraries still serve. But the shifting needs of the communities they…
- The Big Story
Five years full of big stories...
It's hard to believe but The Big Story launched on this date, five years ago, June 25, 2018. Since then we've recorded more than 1,250 episodes and listeners…
- The Big Story
The Gravy Train, Episode 8: Legacy
If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know aboutThe Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic…
- The Big Story
Will Canada's largest city take a hard left turn?
For a long time now, Toronto has been run by conservative mayors. But all the polls indicate that will change on Monday, with former NDP MP and longtime…
- The Big Story
Why don't companies let you talk to an actual human anymore?
It's one thing when companies that exist entirely online—like Facebook and Instagram—use chatbots and emails instead of a real person as a customer service…
- The Big Story
Will the Titanic claim more victims a century later?
A submersible intended to take five people to visit the wreck of the Titanic was missing as of Wednesday night. If the people inside are still alive, they are…
- The Big Story
How did Canadian airfare prices get so far out of control?
It wasn't that long ago that airlines were slashing prices and offering huge seat sales to lure timid customers back onto planes during the pandemic. Safe to…
- The Big Story
What a school's 'descent into chaos' says about the state of education in Ontario
After a fire forced their high school to close, the Toronto District School Board decided to relocate the roughly 900 students and teachers from York Memorial…
- The Big Story
The Gravy Train, Episode 7: Rehab
If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know aboutThe Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic…
- The Big Story
We live with lots of noise. What's that doing to us?
You know how sometimes you notice that it's eerily quiet? That's because we're so accustomed to the background noise of life in a city of any size, that sudden…
- The Big Story
Canada and the world get serious about UFOs
Right now, Canada is working on a process to improve our tracking and reporting of sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects. In late May, NASA and the US…
- The Big Story
He fled war and built a life in Canada. They found his body in the St. Lawrence.
This is an immigrant's story. A Canadian story. A mystery. Six months ago, Eduardo Malpica went missing after a night at a bar in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Last…
- The Big Story
A rapporteur resigns. Is a public inquiry on foreign interference next?
Two weeks ago, special rapporteur David Johnston said nothing would stop him from completing his work investigating foreign interference in Canadian politics…
- The Big Story
The ChatGPT guy wants to scan your eyeball with an orb. What could go wrong?
Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, has co-founded a cryptocurrency project called Worldcoin, which is currently scanning people's…
- The Big Story
The Gravy Train, Episode 6: The Circus
If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know aboutThe Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic…
- The Big Story
Is it time to change the Cannabis act?
Right now, the federal government is reviewing the laws that made recreational pot legal in Canada. Everything is theoretically on the table, even if the…
- The Big Story
Why are some orcas suddenly attacking boats?
For the past few years, orcas off the coast of Portugal and Spain have been attacking, and sinking, small boats. At least three boats have been completely…
- The Big Story
A dam explodes, the stakes rise and the war in Ukraine enters a new phase
For the past few weeks, military analysts have been expecting a Ukrainian offensive in the conflict with Russia, one that might the tables on the Russians…
- The Big Story
Canada's health care system is falling apart. It's not too late to fix it.
In the grips of a deadly emergency, Canada's health care system stood on its head. It's what the people who sign up to save lives do. But after three years of…
- The Big Story
The "test case" for anti-LGBTQ legislation in Canada
A policy in New Brunswick that took 10 years to create, and was implemented by a Conservative government three years ago, is now being “reviewed” by that same…
- The Big Story
The Gravy Train, Episode 5: Brazen
If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know aboutThe Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic…
- The Big Story
Why you never see an original movie anymore
Last week it was The Little Mermaid. The week before that, the tenth Fast and Furious movie. Soon, it will be Spider-Man and then Barbie's turn. Until the next…
- The Big Story
"I found your parent's Facebook": The Baby Content generation fights back
They were born in the early days of Facebook. Now they're becoming adults and have spent the past few years realizing just how much of their lives their…
- The Big Story
How dangerous is our household debt?
Canadian households owe more in debt than the total of Canada's GDP. That's first among the G7 and near the top of all the world's developed countries. And as…
- The Big Story
Fire rages near Halifax: "Their house was already burning"
It happened so, so fast. Less than an hour after the first spark, thousands were evacuating, and crews were racing to close thew roads behind them on their way…