The Big Story

If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know about The Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic downfall of Toronto's most notorious mayor, Rob Ford.  With Toronto in the midst of its first wide-open mayoral race since 2010, we thought now would be an opportune time to revisit this narrative, which captures a moment in politics with some...

Bad information, and the things that make us vulnerable to it, can spread like a virus. It's everywhere and at this point even the most savvy news consumers need to be in the habit of checking things twice. And with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and deepfakes, the problem will only get worse. But we're not without weapons. Models show that misinformation spreads just like an illness, and res...

Technically, the Ontario Liberals aren't officially a party anymore. They lost that status when they were shellacked in the 2018 election after being in power for 15 years. When the Ontario Progressive Conservatives won a large majority last year, the Liberals won eight seats and finished a distant third. It's not an exaggeration to say the once-proud party is in shambles. Last week, the first per...

Nobody who covers the business of sports can remember a bidding process quite like this one. For one thing, everybody's talking! Normally this is a behind-the-scenes process that only goes public when a winner is chosen, or a final bid or two is being examined. But this time, ever since actor Ryan Reynolds threw his hat into the ring early, the whole saga has largely played out in public. And not...

Last week's exchange that saw each country expel a diplomat was called a "spat"—but really it was the latest volley in a low-heat diplomatic conflict that's been simmering for years. Every new twist, from takeovers to arrests, from allegations of election interference and threats of retaliation, only makes the next more likely. How did China and Canada end up here? What have we learned in the past...

On Halloween night in 2020, a mass shooting took place near the resort community of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. Three people are found dead in a make-shift encampment deep in the woods. Beside them, four dead dogs and a burned-out trailer. Now, more than two years on, the case is at a standstill.  This week, a new podcast, Island Crime Season 5: Whiskey Creek explores the secrecy and fear su...

If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know about The Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic downfall of Toronto's most notorious mayor, Rob Ford.  With Toronto in the midst of its first wide-open mayoral race since 2010, we thought now would be an opportune time to revisit this narrative, which captures a moment in politics with some...

Whether or not you think it's "becoming more efficient" or "being dismantled piece by piece", it's pretty clear Universal Health Care in Canada is changing. This week, Ontario passed Bill 60, which allows private clinics to perform some surgeries and procedures—theoretically at no additional cost to the patient. This is already happening in Quebec and British Columbia, and Alberta's election is cu...

Last week, police in Peel, Ontario charged a man with aiding or counselling suicide, after they allege he preyed upon people in distress online and sold them sodium nitrite intended to be used for suicide. The charges relate to two Canadian deaths, but reporting in other countries has linked at least seven deaths to the substance—which police claim Kenneth Law sold online and encouraged victims to...

That's not a metaphorical question. As Alberta deals with an ongoing wildfire situation the premier has called "unprecedented", the province goes to the polls in less than three weeks for the closest election in decades.  Over the weekend a state of emergency was declared and the federal government promised support. But though temperatures have cooled, the scorching weather blamed for starting the...

Last week, the World Health Organization announced that Covid-19 was no longer a "global health emergency"—a declaration that can be seen as either a hopeful sign or dangerously naive. But while many people have gone "back to normal" or "learned to live" with the virus, the search for understand of long covid continues. We've learned much about the condition in the past three years—but not enough...

Welcome to the 'psychedelic renaissance', as anyone who follows research into and access to this class of drugs will call it. The past few years have brought a perfect storm of new knowledge, loosening of restrictions and curiosity from new users searching for medical solutions. Right now, in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, you can buy psilocybin, also known as 'magic mushrooms' in storefront d...

Whatever your opinion of the monarchy, it's always fascinating to walk into a history textbook. Saturday's coronation of King Charles III was the first such event since the 1950s, and the rituals performed go back a millennium. On a rainy London Saturday, Canadian broadcaster Lisa LaFlamme was live from the ceremony, taking in all the pomp and circumstance, as well as the challenges and uncertain...

If you're a newer listener to The Big Story, you may not know about The Gravy Train, a podcast we released in 2019 chronicling the meteoric rise, and tragic downfall of Toronto's most notorious mayor, Rob Ford.  With Toronto in the midst of its first wide-open mayoral race since 2010, we thought now would be an opportune time to revisit this narrative, which captures a moment in politics with some...

There are exactly three spotted owls not in captivity left in the entire country, only one of which was originally born in the wild. That's a steep precipice from which to revive a majestic bird, especially when its habitat is shrinking. But all is not lost, if the federal and provincial governments can work together, the remaining habitat can be preserved and programs designed to repopulate the o...

The streaming era has changed Hollywood forever. Unfortunately it's made things worse for the people who write the shows and films we love (or hate). In an effort to level the playing field the 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America are on strike for the first time in 15 years—and it looks like this could be a long fight. How will the writers' strike change the shows you see on your favour...

Most of us would assume that child sexual abuse material hides in the corners of the dark web, far from easy detection. But it doesn't. It's also found on websites and platforms you likely use every day. Project Arachnid is the work of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. It has flagged at least 10 million suspected cases of child pornography. And it's only after the images have been flagged...

It's the biggest piece of broadcast or media legislation in this country in decades. You would think we'd have a clear picture of its implications. But despite receiving royal assent and becoming law, not even leading experts in the field can say what the bill's many changes will look like in practice. There are basic parts of the law — What counts as a streaming service? what counts as digital Ca...

We'll probably never know if Hassan Diab, a Lebanese Canadian sociology professor, had any role in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured dozens more. But he's been found guilty, in absentia, by a French court, anyway. This is the second time France has attempted to punish Diab for his alleged role in the attack, and the evidence has been described as flimsy. The...

It's known as endovascular thrombectomy—or EVT—and in the decade-plus since it was developed it has evolved to be something of a miracle for people unlucky enough to suffer a stroke, but lucky enough to be able to access it quickly. If performed in time it can turn a potentially deadly or life-altering stroke to something that can be rehabbed in a couple of weeks. But it's an incredibly complex pr...

There are about 28 million pets in Canada. And on any given day, most of them are probably bored to tears. This doesn't mean their owners don't love them, or provide for them, or even try to exercise and stimulate them regularly. It just means that they are animals, mostly or totally confined. So they're bored. Does that mean we shouldn't own pets? Maybe, but it's safe to say that ship has sailed....

It's hard to overstate just how dire things are in Sudan's capital right now, with violence on the streets and almost no access to food and water for millions, including Canadians and their families. Our government's initial response was scorned, but things are changing rapidly as the situation evolves. So what is happening right now on the ground? Who is getting out, and how? What is Canada doing...

Everything still feels expensive, but if you look at the numbers, inflation is falling quickly. Grocery prices are falling too, but they're still well above the overall inflation rate. And that makes prices three or six months down the line much tougher to predict. It's been well over a year since food prices began to spike all over the globe, and a number of complex systems have been behind the f...

It's been a long time since Canada saw a strike this big, and as the Public Service Alliance of Canada's action nears the one-week mark, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Meanwhile, services in many federal departments are reduced to emergency-only levels, and unions and employers across the country watch to see what comes next. Why is this strike so important? Because it's massive, and co...

His name was Gabriel Magalhaes, and he was minding his own business at Keele subway station in Toronto. His alleged killer's name is Jordan O'Brien-Tobin, and he had been released from custody just a couple of weeks ago. He has been in and out of jail for years. The death shocked the city and the country, and in the immediate aftermath, calls for harsher sentencing and bail reform were understanda...