The Big Story

It depends what your definition of work is... but in announcing a 100% tariff on all electric vehicle's produced in China, Canada is following in America's footsteps. But we're a much smaller economy than the US, which means these tariffs may not have the intended impact.Of course, the intended impact also varies depending on whom you ask. Is it to score the government a few polling points? To protect Canadian EV production? Take a human rights stand? Get more Canadians into electric vehicles? There's no way even a 100% tariff can accomplish all of that... so what will this policy really do?GUEST: Moshe Lander, senior lecturer in economics at Concordia University in Montreal We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

It's expensive to follow complex disposal protocols for construction waste that can often contain toxins. It's a lot less expensive to find someone willing or desperate enough to simply allow waste to be dumped directly onto their land, with no regard for the health and environmental impacts.An Indigenous community in Kanasatake has dealt with this problem for years. Until some community members banded together, at personal risk, to get the story out there and force the government to take action. This week, the government finally did.GUEST: Chris Curtis, investigative journalist, co-founder of The Rover(NOTE: Nexus, a company named by reporters covering this story, has denied their role in a comment to La Presse: The company says it is only responsible for the soil transportation component and assures that it "has not at any time dumped soil into the Ottawa River." It assures that it "maintains a buffer strip between the natural environments and the deposit site" and reiterates that its "commitment to environmental protection remains unwavering”) We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

When public health finally figured out in June what was causing a listeria outbreak that has killed three and sickened more than a dozen others, it did so by finally cracking what every one of those cases had in common, and tracing the infections back to an unlikely source...GUEST: Hannah Alberga, health reporter, the Canadian Press  We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Safe supply programs across the country that aim to provide alternatives to street drugs are under scrutiny right now. But today's story isn't an official safe supply program... it's an activist-led attempt to purchase untainted heroin, cocaine and meth and deliver it straight to users.The creators of the program argue that it has saved lives. The federal government says that what they've been doing is simply drug trafficking. And it's charged them accordingly. But is it possible both sides are correct? And what does this truly renegade approach to the overdose crisis tell us about the state of Canadian drug policy?GUEST: Omar Mouallem, filmmaker; contributing editor and reporter at Maclean's We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

We've learned an awful lot about Covid-19 since the virus first hit us—but there are some things that we're still trying to solve. One of them, perhaps the most mysterious, is the phenomenon known as 'long covid'. We know much more about it now than we did in 2020, when some of those infected with the virus reported lingering symptoms, often debilitating ones.But there is still so much to learn—everything from who's most vulnerable to it, how to protect yourself, how to effectively treat it and if we'll ever find a cure. As the pandemic has eased, fewer resources have been allocated to this disease—but there are researchers still trying to crack this case, and we'll talk to one of them.GUEST: Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis; chief of research and development at the VA St. Louis Health Care System We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Today, we're revisiting a fun one from 2 years ago about one of the most unique ghost towns in North America. -----------------------------------------------------Kitsault was a mining town of 1,200 or so people in one of the most remote areas of British Columbia. It opened in 1981. It was empty by 1982. That was its first lifetime.Since then, however, something has happened to Kitsault. Unlike other abandoned towns, Kitsault has been maintained. First by the mining company, later by a private owner. So today it sits, almost perfectly preserved, ready for a small town's worth of people to show up and move in. Will they?GUEST: Justin McElroy, CBC reporter, personal Kitsault investigator We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Are you tired? In pain? Gaining weight? Experiencing any unusual symptoms? Welcome to what seems to be this summer's newest TikTok diagnosis from the wellness industry.On the surface, the trend is a grift. But people really are suffering from these ailments, and are dealing with a health care system that is either unavailable or dismissive towards them.So, is it just a money grab? Or are there real health concerns at play here?GUEST: Alex Sujong Laughlin, co-owner of Defector Media, co-creator of the podcast Normal Gossip We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

The WHO has declared an outbreak of the virus in Africa a "global health emergency"—but what does that designation actually mean? That doesn't mean we shouldn't take the disease seriously, or prepare vaccinations and public health strategy. But in a world where outbreaks of diseases are continually met with scary headlines, and many people grapple with trauma and anxiety in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, what do we really need to know about the next virus spreading across the world?So today, the facts: What is mpox? How dangerous is it? How ready are we? And should you be worried about it?GUEST: Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, associate professor in Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba; Canada Research Chair in the molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

This week, the biggest names in US Democratic politics are united in Chicago for one purpose: To give Kamala Harris the momentum she needs to defeat Donald Trump. Thus far, her campaign has been a stunning success, but can that really last until November? When the good vibes start to fade, what will it take for Harris to keep rolling? How will she define herself—and her opponent—this week? And in the middle of a campaign that pits anger against hope, does anybody wants to talk about actual policy?GUEST: Jonathan Weisman, political reporter, The New York Times We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

A UN envoy said last week that the temporary foreign worker program was a breeding ground for just those conditions. And that's amid a rapid recent expansion of the program, which used to focus heavily on agriculture but now funnels workers into the service and construction industries and the health care sector.Why has the program expanded so quickly? How much merit is there to the UN's criticism? Are there really no Canadians to do all these jobs? Or is this a program exploited by employers to hire workers with few rights and hold wages down?GUEST: Ghada Alsharif, work and wealth reporter, the Toronto Star We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

In 2008, an experimental treatment led to the first documented case of someone being effectively cured of HIV. The man, who was called 'The Berlin Patient,' greatly advanced our understanding of the disease, and sparked hope among the millions of HIV-positive people around the world. While treatments and prognoses for the illness have improved dramatically since then, an actual cure has proved elusive. But now, the case of a person being called 'The Next Berlin Patient,' is leading to renewed hope that HIV could go from a chronic to curable condition. So what's different about this case compared to the other handful of people who have seen their HIV go into remission? And how do scientists take it from a case-study to a mass-producible treatment? Guest: Dr. Christian Gaebler, Physician scientist and immunologist at the Charité Hospital in Berlin We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

If you listened to last week's Fixing Canada series (which you should check out if you haven't!), you may have noticed one key issue was conspicuously absent: housing. A big reason for that is we recently talked at length about potential housing solutions with journalist, Gregor Craigie. And there was little we could say that wasn't already discussed during that conversation. So today we're revisiting that episode for your listening pleasure. Enjoy! -------------------------------------------------------------------------Canada is not the only country in the world experiencing skyrocketing costs and a shortage of available housing options. Across the world nations are coming up with creative solutions to deal with their own housing crises.There’s no silver bullet for fixing the Canadian housing market, and addressing the issue will require a whole slough of short and long-term strategies to alleviate the current crunch, and accommodate future population growth. It does seem as though most governments at all levels are waking up (albeit, slowly) to the fact that real action is needed to address our housing woes, but we’re in desperate need of ideas.So how are other countries coping? And what can Canada learn from them?GUEST: Gregor Craigie, host of CBC's On The Island and author of Our Crumbling Foundation: How We Solve the Housing Crisis We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

[You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that, but there's no denying some key aspects of the country aren't working well for many of us. And complaining about that is easy, it's fixing it that's the tough part. This week, The Big Story is trying to do that with Fixing Canada—a five-part series featuring deep dives into five issues that touch every Canadian, looking to experts to diagnose the problem—but most importantly, to prescribe the cure.]Today, the final episode of our  series, our polarized political climate. If you want to know why it's so hard to make real progress on the issues we've discuss for the past four days, this is a big part of that answer.How did we get this way? Can we just blame the internet or do we have to look in the mirror, too? What can years of research into our growing polarization show us that actually works?GUEST: Justin Ling, investigative journalist, author of the Bug-Eyed and Shameless newsletter We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

[You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that, but there's no denying some key aspects of the country aren't working well for many of us. And complaining about that is easy, it's fixing it that's the tough part. This week, The Big Story is trying to do that with Fixing Canada—a five-part series featuring deep dives into five issues that touch every Canadian, looking to experts to diagnose the problem—but most importantly, to prescribe the cure.]For part four of our series, we’re talking about health care. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have heard constantly about our crumbling system. But the cracks didn't just start four years ago. Many health care workers have said the system may soon be pushed past the point of repair - or already has been. So can we spend our way out of this? Or do we need to reimagine the entire thing?GUEST: Dr. Alika Lafontaine, physician, former president of the Canadian Medical Association, and the first Indigenous doctor listed in Medical Post's 50 Most Powerful Doctors We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

[You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that, but there's no denying some key aspects of the country aren't working well for many of us. And complaining about that is easy, it's fixing it that's the tough part. This week, The Big Story is trying to do that with Fixing Canada—a five-part series featuring deep dives into five issues that touch every Canadian, looking to experts to diagnose the problem—but most importantly, to prescribe the cure.]For part three of our series, we’re talking about immigration. An issue as politically charged as it is a problem that needs solving. You can be as far left or right as you like and still think our approach to immigration is seriously flawed.So what we need to do somehow, is find a way to thread the needle. And there are ways to do that, if we want to get serious about it.GUEST: Rupa Banerjee, associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada Research Chair in Economic Inclusion, Employment and Entrepreneurship of Canada's Immigrants We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that, but there's no denying some key aspects of the country aren't working well for many of us. And complaining about that is easy, it's fixing it that's the tough part. This week, The Big Story is trying to do that with Fixing Canada—a five-part series featuring deep dives into five issues that touch every Canadian, looking to experts to diagnose the problem—but most importantly, to prescribe the cure.Today we’re talking about transportation. A system that you only notice when it breaks and your 20 minute commute turns into an hour.Is Canada's transit -- both public networks inside of cities and larger routes between them—truly as bad as it sometimes seems? And how could we do better?GUEST: Reece Martin, creator of the RM Transit YouTube channel and substack. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

You've probably heard—from politicians, experts or even just friends and family—that "Canada is broken". Everyone can draw their own conclusions about that, but there's no denying some key aspects of the country aren't working well for many of us. And complaining about that is easy, it's fixing it that's the tough part. This week, The Big Story is trying to do that with Fixing Canada—a five-part series featuring deep dives into five issues that touch every Canadian, looking to experts to diagnose the problem—but most importantly, to prescribe the cure.Today we're talking about competition. Or rather, Canada's lack of it. You may have noticed consolidation in high-profile sectors like groceries or telecommunications. But the problem goes well beyond that. Right now competition is vanishing in sectors like medical technology, funeral services and even veterinary care. How do we get it back? Guests: Vass Bednar and Denise Hearn, authors of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians, available for pre-order here We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Canadians love our toonies. And that might explain why a story about bogus ones became our most listened to episodes of all time. So on one of the last remaining summer weekends, enjoy this trip inside the shadowy world of Canadian coin counterfeiting, and make sure to take a look in your own change bowl to see if you've been carrying around any fakes. 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 them reaching circulation.But who is behind it? How do you counterfeit toonies at scale and get them into the banking system? And ... why toonies?GUEST: Brent Mackie, creator of cameltoetoonies.ca, numismatist, treasurer of Waterloo Coin Society  We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

We've all done it. Life is hard, the week is long and rather than force yourself to be out and about on a Friday night, you just need to unwind. All by yourself. Maybe do a little online shopping or pamper yourself however you please... so you turn down the invite, sit down on the couch and practice a little "self-care".There's nothing inherently wrong with this. We all need breaks! But you should be aware that it's not that simple. There are trillions of dollars to be made from self-care practices and products, and the industry is only growing as we become more isolated and lonely. So next time you feel like backing out of something to stay inside alone, maybe ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Is it just because it's easier?GUEST: Allie Volpe, senior reporter at Vox We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Last month, Alberta phased out coal years earlier than expected. It was an impressive achievement for a province synonymous with fossil fuels. Next up: Oil and gas? Probably not, but like it or not the time will come when the world moves on from the fuels that has been driving Alberta—and Canada's—economy for decades.When that happens, are we ready? What can the phase out of coal, in Alberta or elsewhere, teach us about how we do move on when the time comes? Where can we look for examples of how to scale down without crushing our economy? And can we find the will to be proactive about a change we likely won't have any control over when it arrives?GUEST: Arno Kopecky, environmental journalist and author, writing in The Walrus We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemailOr @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter