Podcast
The Big Story
Episodes — page 58
- 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 wildfire season on record,…
- 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 been stressed for many…
- 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 large cities across C…
- 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 among the scientists who…
- 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 purchased via a link or…
- 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 reportedly asked about the…
- 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 attempts to use linguis…
- 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 mental health impact of…
- 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. So, you turn that infor…
- 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 you go to jail, and s…
- 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 well-known community leader a…
- 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 cater to, and widening ho…
- 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 have spent millions of…
- 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 downfall of Toronto's mo…
- 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 progressive Olivia Chow hol…
- 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 solution. That's annoyin…
- 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 rapidly running out o…
- 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 say, those days are ov…
- 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 Collegiate Institute…
- 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 downfall of Toronto's mo…
