Podcast
The Big Story
Episodes — page 95
Other provinces learned from the first wave. Ontario failed to protect long-term care residents.Covid-19 devastated long-term care facilities across the country in the Spring of 2020. But over the summer months, many provinces found ways to reinforce the places that care for…
How can Canada stop the growth of hate groups?Yes, it's worse in America. But it's not great here, either. The past few years have seen an alarming rise in hate groups in Canada—and there's nothing on the horizon that appears…
Why do more than half of Canadians not have paid sick days?We're now 10 months into a global pandemic and solidly into its second wave. And across the country, many workers are still not staying home when they're sick—because they simply c…
Can we build 15-minute cities where we live?Most of us have spent the past year closer to home than ever before. And for a lot of Canadians part of that process has involved realizing just what their neighbourhood does and d…
Is free speech actually in danger online?Our host would be fine with never seeing another Donald Trump tweet ever. But is that fair? Is it a slippery slope? Social media companies, and other service providers, have the ri…
Is the internet breaking your parents’ brains?Our parents warned us that the Internet could harm us—from stalkers to kidnappers, pedophiles, the dangers of too much screen time and countless other things—but did they heed thei…
Will Canada’s transit systems change forever?Ridership is down by more than half, while costs to keep vehicles clean and employees and passengers safe are higher than ever before. Covid-19 has put an incredible strain on tran…
“It’s like walking in darkness”: One year since Flight 752At the time it seemed like it might be the worst disaster of 2020. When Flight 752 was shot down in Iran, 176 passengers and crew, including 55 Canadians, were killed. In the month…
What now for America? And could it happen in Canada?The world watched as an angry mob stormed the US Capitol Wednesday. It was a scene few imagined we'd ever see—but it was also, somehow, inevitable. In the weeks since the election…
Teachers are doing their best. But they’re at the breaking point.The past year has been hard on all of us—but especially for those to whom we entrust our children. From a rush to online learning with schools closed, to a hasty back-to-school pla…
How worried should you be about the new Covid-19 variant?In some parts of Canada—especially Ontario—hospitals are close to the breaking point. At the same time, tests are finding a variant of Covid-19 that may spread much faster than the…
Covid? Rising. Vaccines? Slow. Politicians? Travelling. Inside a bad month for OntarioThis past week, Ontario broke its seven-day average Covid-19 case record. Its hospitals are nearly full. Its vaccine rollout is slow. And the government lost its finance minister,…
You’re going to pay more for food this year. A lot more.Welcome to 2021! It's going to cost more to eat this year. The unprecedented events of 2020 combined with longer-term issues will lead to a massive spike in the prices the average…
How do we learn to be empathetic?It's the ability to put ourselves in another's shoes and it's been needed more this year than ever. But what kinds of experiences teach us empathy? How do our childhoods shape the…
What happens when we run out of space to bury our dead?Blink and you could miss it—the Richview Memorial Cemetery sits nestled on a thin slice of land between two of North America’s busiest highways. The cemetery is guarded by one Rand…
“Christmas is a little different this year”: An interview with SantaOver the past ten months we've been accustomed to seeing our daily routines change in ways large and small. Covid-19 has popularized phrases from "in these unprecedented times" to…
A pandemic makes local news more critical, but also more endangeredTen months into this pandemic, after so many of us rediscovered how vital local news can be, there are even fewer local newsrooms in Canada than when it began. How did we end up h…
Is Canada’s new climate plan finally getting serious?It's as ambitious as any Canadian government has been so far—but is it enough? A new climate plan rolled out by Justin Trudeau last week takes aim at some real metrics for change.…
‘Tis the season for mass evictions?A moratorium on evictions in Ontario was once part of Premier Doug Ford's plan to "make sure you and your family can stay in your home during this difficult time." But that morator…
As vaccination begins, how can we convince hesitant Canadians to take the shot?There will always be a group of people who flatly refuse to get vaccinated, and public health messages probably won't convince them. But there are far, far more Canadians who might…
