The Big Story

Nov 21 2024 1279 ep. 23 mins 3.7k

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An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.

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Are we at risk of a nuclear war?

Nov 21 2024 22 mins

This week marked 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has updated Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine in response to Joe Biden authorizing long-range missiles for the Ukrainian military. Experts say the world’s nuclear temperature just went up. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is set to take back the Oval Office in January. He has threatened to pull U-S support for Uk

Will the Canada Post strike ruin the holidays?

Nov 20 2024 13 mins

The clock is ticking towards the holiday season, but what's casting a pall is the strike at Canada Post. One labour lawyer suggests people should start thinking about alternate arrangements for cards and presents. Our Cormac Mac Sweeney digs into how long it will last and what the impact could be.

Will Donald Trump come for Canada's water?

Nov 19 2024 21 mins

According to the former and future US President, Canada's water is like a 'very large faucet' that one could turn on, say, to help California in a drought, or any other Pacific Northwest state that might need it. According to scientists, it's ... not like that at all. But still, Canada has water. And increasingly, the United States needs it. Does Trump actually intend to ask for,

What are your parents worth? Meet the Jackpot Generation

Nov 18 2024 20 mins

For decades, it's been the dream that children will grow up to have more opportunities and a better life than their parents did. Not many young people see that as possible anymore. Wealth and income inequality, combined with the affordability and housing crises, have created a world in which a majority of them don't believe they'll be able to own a home. There are some who are sur

The hunt for millions of counterfeit toonies

Nov 17 2024 23 mins

We've had an update to one of our most popular episodes -- the counterfeit toonie. Enjoy! --------------------------------- They call it the "camel-toe toonie", and you will understand why as soon as you look at the front right paw of the polar bear on it. Since they were first discovered in circulation in 2020, estimates range from at least tens of thousands to likely millions of

Winter tires are expensive. But are they worth the investment?

Nov 16 2024 13 mins

The colder weather has finally arrived, and with it a big question: Is it time to put winter tires on the car? Climate change may have you questioning the necessity of winter tires, and the price tag is certainly not making that decision any easier. So we want to know, are winter tires worth the upfront cost? And what do they really do anyway?

The reasons clothing sucks now

Nov 15 2024 22 mins

Many of us have a favourite garment — a sweater we've been wearing for the last ten years, or a pair of sweatpants we throw on every night before cozying up in front of some Netflix. Then there's all those other clothes, the shirts you buy on sale that are lucky to survive ten wash cycles, or the sweaters that pill up almost instantly. Increasingly, it feels like more and more

Why a rape trial in France has transfixed the world

Nov 14 2024 29 mins

The crime is horrific. The details are as bad as you can imagine. The woman at the centre of it, though? Exhibiting incredible bravery, under the worst possible circumstances. The rape trial of Gisele Pelicot's husband, and 50 other men, has transfixed the world. Not simply because of the crime itself, but because of the way Gisele has wrestled the narrative away from the ones the

What if there was a better way to fight the climate crisis?

Nov 13 2024 24 mins

We tend to see the challenge we face in terms of raw numbers and targets that need to be hit. The number of dead from extreme weather. The all-time highs in temperature set in whatever city we're living in. The emission reduction figures we're definitely not on track to hit. And it can be depressing, and demoralizing, to say the least. But there's good news: Focusing on the number

These are the scams costing Canadians hundreds of millions

Nov 12 2024 24 mins

If the entire online ecosystem feels like it's trying to scam you these days, well, you're not alone. And you're not wrong either. The past few years have seen a truly seismic growth in the amount of money Canadians have reported as lost to fraud, and most experts will tell you that's just the tip of the iceberg. So what do you need to know about the most popular ones to protect y