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 Canada can help mine the moon
We're already in another space race. The question this time is who gets the prize at the end of it. Both China and NASA have committed to plans to put bases on…
- The Big Story
Was the SVB crash a one-off, or a warning sign?
Everyone who lived through 2008 as an adult flinched when Silicon Valley Bank failed last week. But was the bank's crash a unique situation, or something that…
- The Big Story
The Canada Revenue Agency takes on a notorious Toronto bakery
Over the past couple of decades, five workers have died on the job at Fiera Foods, sparking protests, investigations and allegations of a dangerous workplace…
- The Big Story
Foreign interference and Canadian intelligence: An FAQ
For the past month, headlines have been dominated by leaked CSIS documents, intelligence sources, fears of foreign interference in Canadian elections and the…
- The Big Story
Arctic security is critical. Is Canada ready to stand on guard?
Twice in the last month, Canadians were shown just how open our Northern border can be. First, the Prime Minister ordered a UFO shot down. Then, we learned…
- The Big Story
Why is Ontario suspending so many licenses?
There are indeed medical reasons that require your driver's licence to be suspended. But there are a host of other issues, everything from depression to cold…
- The Big Story
Will we ever know who killed Barry and Honey Sherman?
It's Canada's most famous ongoing whodunnit. More than five years after the murders of the billionaire couple, the case is still open, the police are still…
The Big StoryBefore Morgentaler Part Two: Making It Legal
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion in the country in 1973. The decision shocked many around the…
The Big StoryBefore Morgentaler Part One: Law Breakers
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Morgentaler Decision. That landmark decision decriminalized abortion across Canada and…
- The Big Story
Canada's building codes are a mess, and the climate era's coming
Last month a horrific earthquake in Turkey made it clear that outdated building codes—or non-compliance with updated codes—can turn a normal disaster into an…
- The Big Story
Google vs. the Canadian government: Who blinks first?
Some Canadians cannot see Canadian news on Google right now. It's because of what Google calls a 'test' that it only admitted when a reporter noticed it…
- The Big Story
How your cup of coffee explains global inflation
It costs more these days. But yeah, so does everything. What makes coffee a perfect product to explore the world's rising costs, though, is its ubiquity. You…
- The Big Story
Avian flu is evolving. How worried should the world be?
It used to be a threat almost exclusively to the poultry industry. But the current strain of H5N1 avian flu has spent the past year infecting millions of wild…
- The Big Story
How far back do China's attempts to meddle in Canadian democracy go?
If the questions are "Who knew what, and when?", then Canadian voters aren't the answer. Not only have recent reports shed light on Chinese attempts to…
- The Big Story
Canada's getting a new electoral map. Who does it favour?
Thankfully, Canada's process for updating its federal electoral map is nothing like America's partisan nightmare. But that doesn't mean it won't have an impact…
- The Big Story
How "15-minute cities" somehow became evidence of a huge global conspiracy
It's such an innocuous term, intended to define a metropolis with neighbourhoods that are walkable and livable for citizens. It's been around for a long time…
- 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
Canada's airports are stable now, but we're just waiting for the next disaster
In the time in between peak travel windows, the problems at Canada's major airports seem to have mostly vanished. But does that mean airlines and airport…
- The Big Story
Inside the toxic train derailment in Ohio
Exactly what happened on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio? What do we know about the toxic gasses that were vented from a derailed train? What kind of effect…
- The Big Story
Why are police budgets increasing across Canada?
Almost three years ago, George Floyd's murder and the ensuing protests, brought the idea of defunding the police into the mainstream, and made the concept…
- The Big Story
Inside the abuse scandal at an Ontario megachurch
The Meeting House was meant to be a new kind of church; one that would appeal to those who felt alienated by mainstream Christianity. The church’s charismatic…
- The Big Story
How can Canada help Haiti without making a bad situation worse?
The situation in Haiti, especially in and around the capital Port-au-Prince, has deteriorated in recent months. In some areas gang violence and poverty is…
- The Big Story
The US military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, and things only got weirder from there
It started with a suspected Chinese spy balloon, shot down by the American military off the coast of South Carolina after being tracked floating over the…
- The Big Story
What might a post-Tory Toronto look like?
John Tory for a long time seemed like your archetypal career politician; adept at avoiding scandal, and keeping his private life out of the public eye. And so…
- The Big Story
Will AI kill the essay?
Every day brings new headlines of entrance exams Chat GPT has passed, or university essays the AI tech has scored solid grades on. And the technology will only…
- The Big Story
Tracking A Killer: Introducing Season Two
In October of 1988, 23 year old Tatiana “Tania” Anikejew was found in her Toronto apartment by a friend and her parents days after she had been stabbed to…
- 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
Keira's story: How a broken system left a little girl dead
Keira Kagan should be an anonymous little girl—going to school, playing in the park, growing up. Instead, after three years of her mother fighting for answers…
- The Big Story
Why it's been so hard to implement $10-a-day child care
In April of 2021, the federal government announced their intention to give all Canadians access to $10-a-day childcare, amounting to roughly $30-billion of…
- The Big Story
As the winter thaw looms in Ukraine, NATO tanks will be critical
A Canadian tank arrived in Poland on Monday, and will head off to bolster Ukrainian efforts agains a Russian invasion. The single tank, obviously, isn't…
- The Big Story
Employee monitoring goes to court, and we learn about "time theft"
What counts as "work" and what doesn't? If you're sitting there, doing nothing, thinking of how to accomplish your goals ... are you working? Well, if you're…
- The Big Story
Are we looking for aliens in all the wrong places?
Much of humanity's search for extraterrestrial life has focused on, well, our kind of life—the conditions that make possible the biology we see on Earth. But…
- The Big Story
Is Toronto's transit system entering a death spiral?
Even if you don't live in the city, you've probably heard about the recent spate of violence on Toronto's transit system. There have been some really ugly…
- The Big Story
We're still short on kids' fever meds, and those aren't the only drugs we need
Pain and fever meds for children—acetaminophen and ibuprofen, usually—have been in short (or no) supply across the country for several months. Purchases made…
- The Big Story
Will Canadians really accept two drinks a week?!
When new drinking guidelines for Canadians were released, it was the headline takeaway that got the most attention, and scorn. And viral interview responses…
- The Big Story
Two deals provide real hope for Indigenous land governance
It's fair to be skeptical of ANY deal announced by a government or resource company that will lead to natural resource extraction on Indigenous land. They…
- The Big Story
Inside the rise and fall of plant-based meat
It seems Impossible. Plant-based meat products were supposed to take us Beyond our love for beef, save the environment and maybe even make us healthier. For a…
- The Big Story
Why it's never been harder to get away with murder
In one word: Cameras. If you live in a city, you should probably assume there's at least one camera watching you at all times, never mind the phones that are…
- The Big Story
A Canadian team used AI to make a cancer drug. Is this a game-changer?
It's a process that can take up to a decade. And individual aspects of it can take up to a year or more. Or... it can take, like, a month. The drug development…
- The Big Story
Why food banks can't solve the problem of hungry Canadians
In 2021, Statistics Canada reported 5.8 million Canadians suffered some level of food insecurity. As inflation has spiked, so have stories of hungry families…
- The Big Story
Is Ontario's public health care on a slippery slope?
Canadians are passionate about their healthcare. Even when the system is in crisis, we're proud of having universal care, and we want it to work. So when…
- The Big Story
Hudson's Bay Company has a long and complicated legacy. But does it have a future?
It's probably the single brand most associated with Canada. It's also the single brand most associated with colonization, stolen land and genocide of…
- The Big Story
Canada has big immigration goals. Will we really do the work to meet them?
Many think of Canada as a promised land for immigrants from all over the world. That's because Canada literally needs newcomers to survive. As much as we love…
- The Big Story
'Zombie deer' are roaming the prairies. Should we be worried about this?
It's known as Chronic Wasting Disease, and it's been around for more than a decade. In recent years, however, it has spread across Canadian prairies and…
- The Big Story
Eight teen girls in Toronto are facing murder charges after an alleged swarming attack. What happened?
If that headline stunned you, you're not alone. Even veteran police officials and crime reporters can't recall a case like this one, in which eight teen girls…
- The Big Story
Who lobbies Trudeau's cabinet the most?
Lobbying is a tricky part of politics. It can be tricky to define, tricky to identify and really, really tough to analyze at scale. That's because of how it's…
- The Big Story
Why none of your stuff lasts anymore
Maybe it's the top you bought on Instagram or the flashy new appliance with a touchscreen. Maybe it's an Apple product that you can't repair yourself or a…
- The Big Story
You can call it 'The Kraken', and everything else you need to know about the new Covid variant
Stop us if you've heard this one before: It's more contagious, we're seeing it make up a higher percentage of cases, hospitalizations are beginning to climb…
- The Big Story
Will the cops or the courts stop Doug Ford's Greenbelt plan?
Since Doug Ford reneged on his promise to protect the Greenbelt in November, resistance to his proposal has been fierce. In the past week that has culminated…
- The Big Story
Fusion power won't solve the climate crisis. But we don't need it to.
In early December, scientists announced a major breakthrough on the way to a fusion-powered world of unlimited clean energy. It received reams of media…
- The Big Story
Who's to blame for Canada's holiday travel nightmares?
Canadians were stranded in Mexico. They were on VIA trains for 20 hours, stopped on the tracks. They were stuck in airports waiting for flights that never took…
- The Big Story
As single-use plastics vanish, how will restaurants have to adapt their takeout?
This year marks the beginning of a delayed phase-out of single-use plastics, mandated by Canada's federal government. As the rules change over the coming…
- The Big Story
Will 2023 bring a federal election, and will Pierre Poilivere's big plan work?
Unlike the most recent Conservative Party of Canada leaders to attempt to win a federal election, Pierre Poilievre has a new strategy. Since he won the job…
- The Big Story
Is it even possible to budget for this economy?
This is the time of year when many people try to organize their finances for the coming year—how much things will cost, how much to spend, how much to save…
- The Big Story
Can humans hibernate their way to Mars?
One of the biggest problems facing humans attempting to travel anywhere in space that's farther than the moon is the years it will take to get there. A small…
- The Big Story
Staff pick #6: What happened to our attention spans?
We asked different Frequency staff members which TBS episodes resonated most with them in 2022. As we take a break from releasing new episodes over the…
- The Big Story
Staff Pick #5: The hunt for millions of counterfeit toonies
We asked different Frequency staff members which TBS episodes resonated most with them in 2022. As we take a break from releasing new episodes over the…
- The Big Story
Staff Pick #4: What did the Pope's apology mean? And what comes next?
We asked different Frequency staff members which TBS episodes resonated most with them in 2022. As we take a break from releasing new episodes over the…
- The Big Story
Another year gone: The biggest stories of 2022
What mattered most? What changed us? What didn't we pay enough attention to? And what will we remember about 2022 in 2025 or 2030? As the year wraps up we…
- The Big Story
Fireside Canada: Two Winter Legends of the North
Grab a hot chocolate and settle in by the fire for two tales of supernatural wonder from Canada’s frozen north: one from the Yukon Territory, one from the…