The Big Story

For the past month, headlines have been dominated by leaked CSIS documents, intelligence sources, fears of foreign interference in Canadian elections and the political fallout of all that. But most Canadians don't know much about how our intelligence community operates. Which agencies do what? Who do they report to? Who can access their information? Why would they release it to the press?Because this is already shaping up to be the political story of the year in Canada, we wanted to lay out the basics. Here's what you need to know to understand what matters and why.GUEST: Stephanie Carvin, former national security analyst, Associate Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, author of Stand on Guard: Reassessing threats to Canada's National Security 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Twice in the last month, Canadians were shown just how open our Northern border can be. First, the Prime Minister ordered a UFO shot down. Then, we learned that Canadian Forces had found Chinese monitoring buoys in our arctic waters. As geopolitical tensions rise, the arctic is perhaps where Canada is most vulnerable. So how do we monitor it? What do we need to do to protect ourselves? How is a changing climate making it more vulnerable? And what keeps the security experts up at night?GUEST: Dr. Whitney Lackenbauer, Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North; Professor, School for the Study of Canada, Trent University 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

There are indeed medical reasons that require your driver's licence to be suspended. But there are a host of other issues, everything from depression to cold sores, that have been cited as medical reasons in licence suspensions in Ontario. What's happening here.At the core of the issue are MCRs—medical condition reports that can often trigger an automatic suspension, even for a condition that doesn't impact driving, or a condition the driver may not even have. Why is Ontario handing out hundreds of thousands of these suspensions? Who benefits from all these filings? And what recourse do people have when their ability to drive—and with it, often, their livelihood—is taken away?GUEST: Declan Keogh, Investigative Journalism BureauRead his most recent Toronto Star article about MCRs 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

It's Canada's most famous ongoing whodunnit. More than five years after the murders of the billionaire couple, the case is still open, the police are still chasing leads, and reporters are still getting new tips. But that hasn't resulted in a concrete suspect ... yet.Why not? What makes this case so hard to crack? And so compelling to the public? What could have been done earlier to make a difference in the information available? What are we still learning now? What might we learn in the months to come? And why does the reporter who has spent years investigating this case believe that we will, eventually, crack it?GUEST: Kevin Donovan, chief investigative reporter, Toronto Star; host of The Billionaire Murders podcast 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion in the country in 1973. The decision shocked many around the world, and has had folks wondering: could this happen here, at home, in Canada? And what led up to this historic moment in the U.S.? What are the real and current issues facing the state of abortion in Canada, and how can we make a difference?This two-part mini series is hosted by Sarah Sahagian, a feminist podcaster, writer, and non-profit executive living in Toronto. Her byline has appeared in such outlets as The Washington Post, The National Post, The Toronto Star, Refinery29, Romper, and Scary Mommy. In her previous life, she was a gender studies academic who studied parenting and mother blame. Sarah is also the co-host of Frequency Podcast Network’s The Reheat.  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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Morgentaler Decision. That landmark decision decriminalized abortion across Canada and turned the courageous Dr. Henry Morgentaler into a household name. As pivotal a part of Canada’s abortion rights story as Dr. Morgentaler was, many of us are unfamiliar with the stories of woman-identified activists who fought alongside him to ensure people who didn’t want to be pregnant wouldn’t have to be. So, who were the women who fought for abortion rights – and even helped others access illegal abortions – before The Morgentaler Decision? This two-part miniseries introduces listeners to a few of those voices. Hosted by Sarah Sahagian, a feminist podcaster, writer, and non-profit executive living in Toronto. Her byline has appeared in such outlets as The Washington Post, The National Post, The Toronto Star, Refinery29, Romper, and Scary Mommy. In her previous life, she was a gender studies academic who studied parenting and mother blame. Sarah is also the co-host of Frequency Podcast Network’s The Reheat.  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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Last month a horrific earthquake in Turkey made it clear that outdated building codes—or non-compliance with updated codes—can turn a normal disaster into an historic one. And while Canada may not have the same earthquake risk or code non-compliance that Turkey has, we have our own problems.Simply, our building own codes are an outdated, confusing mess, and we're finding out regularly just how unequipped the current system is for the extreme weather that's coming. What makes sense about the systems surrounding building regulations in Canada? How are we adapting, if at all, for what's to come? And why can't we figure out a solution that puts the whole country on safer, and saner, footing?GUEST: Kathryn Blaze Baum, investigative reporter, The Globe and Mail 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Some Canadians cannot see Canadian news on Google right now. It's because of what Google calls a 'test' that it only admitted when a reporter noticed it happening to them and asked the company. The government, meanwhile, calls it 'bullying' as it prepares to pass Bill C-18, which would force companies like Google to compensate Canadian media companies for serving up their content. If the bill passes, Google could theoretically block all Canadians from finding their news on Google.Will Google's flex work? The government says it won't back down, and that C-18 will pass, so it's preparing to call Google's bluff. What happens when a tech giant goes head-to-head with a government? And what does it say about the state of media that one company could hold such power over audiences?GUEST: Mickey Djuric, Canadian Press reporter 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

It costs more these days. But yeah, so does everything. What makes coffee a perfect product to explore the world's rising costs, though, is its ubiquity. You can get it absolutely anywhere in the world—but not only that, dozens upon dozens of countries grow, produce and export it, so no one factor in one nation or on one continent explains why your latte costs more.So how does the coffee industry work? Why and how is it changing? And what can that tell us about ... everything else?GUEST: Gavin Fridell, author of Coffee, Canada Research Chair in International Development Studies, St. Mary's University  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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

It used to be a threat almost exclusively to the poultry industry. But the current strain of H5N1 avian flu has spent the past year infecting millions of wild birds, thousands of mammals, and even humans. To experts who track the disease, it's clear something is up. But we're not yet sure what comes from it.The virus could become more contagious in mammals, but less harmful. It could remain difficult to transmit widely outside of bird populations. It could, theoretically, go away gradually. But it also might not. There is pandemic potential here and the questions on experts' minds is if we are sleepwalking towards another disaster...GUEST: Dr. Shayan Sharif, acting dean of the Ontario Veterinary College, professor of pathobiology 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 @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky