Podcast
The Big Story
Episodes — page 101
The RCMP’s ReckoningIt’s an iconic image of Canada: A Mountie, donning a red serge, Stetson hat, combat boots, standing on guard for thee, which is usually taken to mean “all of us.” But this image, a…
How Canadian media’s whiteness fails all of usRadiyah Chowdhury first thought about leaving the media business when she was still in journalism school. Back in her first year classes, sitting amongst a sea of white peers, she…
Inside Canada’s first major case of the #MeToo eraMatthew McKnight was a fixture in the Edmonton bar scene, known for partying in colourful animal themed jumpsuits and sometimes only his underwear. He’d buy rounds of drinks, distr…
Data, Dating Apps and Danger for LGBTQ People OnlineBy now we've become at least semi-acquainted with the idea that advertisers and social media companies scrape and use our personal information in ways we can't even begin to compre…
Anne Applebaum on the Harper’s Letter and the rise of authoritarianismLast week, Harper’s magazine published an open letter, speaking out against a culture of “intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency…
Could decriminalizing drugs save lives and fix the opioid crisis?Last week the Canadian Association of the Chiefs of Police announced their support for decriminalizing the personal possession of illicit drugs. Drug use and addiction, they said,…
Nature’s calling but there’s nowhere to answer. Why we need to make public toilets a number one issue.We can joke as much as we want about it, but the reality is that we all go to the bathroom, every single day. It’s a basic human need. Yet many cities are failing at providing acce…
Labour Day is weeks away. Why is the safe return to school still not a priority?When the entire country went into lockdown a few months ago, it meant kids would be staying home and most of their parents would be too. But now, as businesses reopen and people st…
Three countries are shifting international political order. Why now?In nearly a single week, three global hot spots ushered in some dramatic changes. Russia made a constitutional amendment allowing Vladimir Putin to add 16 additional years to a 20-…
Sports are coming back! But should they?We're just a few weeks away from the return of the NBA, NHL and MLB. The NFL plans to join them soon afterwards. It could be a wonderful few months for sports fans ... but it's als…
Inside the world of contact tracingIf Canada is going to keep COVID-19 under control, contact tracing and tracking will have to play a huge part in it. You hear about contact tracing in every interview or article ab…
Can big brands force Facebook to change in time for the US election?There's another public outcry about Facebook! Shocking, right? But this time over 800 companies are putting their advertising dollars behind it, in an attempt to force the social m…
What’s the story behind the Liberals’ cancelled WE Charity deal?The organization was supposed to distribute more than $900 million in student grants, but the reaction when the deal was announced was immediate and intense. There's now an ethics…
Inside the month Canada lost to COVID-19Warning bells were sounding. Some of the country's leading scientists were writing urgent emails to politicians and public health units. There was an emergency coming. It was going…
Why we need to market masks like condomsIt's clear from the politicization of masks in the United States, and the mandatory mask policies being enacted in Canada, that we're not seeing enough voluntary compliance to impa…
We have a rare opportunity to reimagine the way we travel. Will we take it?Since the pandemic put a sudden stop to foreign travel, places around the world that were once overrun by tourists have had a chance to breathe. And the people living in them have…
Migrant farm workers are dying of COVID-19. What’s being done to stop the spread?Hundreds of migrant farm workers in Ontario have tested positive for COVID-19 and three have died, leaving behind wives and children. Health officials say the workers arrived healt…
Internet Folklore: The case of the heart-shaped honeycombYou may have seen the picture during one of its many trips around the internet over the past seven years. It's a honeycomb shaped like a heart, allegedly made by the bees themselve…
A Turning Point: Race Relations In SportsIn this special episode of the Big Story, Arash Madani of Sportsnet hosts a discussion of racism and activism in sports. The games we love have been at the forefront of many waves…
Why do ‘wellness checks’ keep ending in killings?In a perfect world, a "wellness check" would be exactly what it says. A person seems like they’re having trouble or are in crisis, so we call someone to check on them, to help them…
