It turns out Taylor Swift is coming to Canada after all! And if you're hoping to see her, you already know you'll be forking over hundreds of dollars. But in the past few years, even mid-tier concerts have crossed well into three-digit territory, and if smaller acts can afford to tour at all, they're taking a huge financial gamble to head out on the road. What's driven these prices through the roof? How has the streaming era impacted the life of a non-superstar musician? Will live music eventual...
Aug 04, 2023•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast On Tuesday Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, made good on a threat to block all news from Canadians on its platforms. Google is promising to do much the same thing, and has already tested its capacity to do so. Whatever side of the political debate over Bill C-18 you might be on, it's time to look at what the tech companies' retaliations to the bill will do in practice. How do Canadians find specific news without Google, Facebook and Instagram? If they're not encountering reliable news sour...
Aug 03, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast First it was fires. Then floods. Now the province, already devastated by two extreme events, will wait to see what kind of impact unusually warm ocean temperatures will have on this year's hurricane season. As the Earth heats up, the impact of the climate crisis is speeding up. Nowhere is safe, but places like Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, surrounded by so much ocean, might bear a heavier load. What can this summer of extremes teach us about the future of Eastern Canada? What comes next, and ...
Aug 02, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Recently a feature story in Maclean's magazine described parents who were "losing their kids to Fortnite." While some gamers may hear that and see the kind of rhetoric that has followed video games around since their inception, others heard recognition and acknowledgement. Many behaviours, including video games, can be addicting, usually to a very small subset of people. But what makes video games different is that they are constantly evolving, and rapidly—usually with the goal of increasing the...
Aug 01, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the story of a scam that lasted for decades, and cost its victims over $200 million. It was run by a Canadian man who now sits in an American prison. It sold the services of a psychic, but that wasn't the problem with it—the issue was that the scammer used a particular psychic's likeness without permission. How did the scheme work, and who fell for it? Can you really scam people who are already voluntarily paying for a service that promises to tell you the future or make you rich? What c...
Jul 31, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Since the last covid lockdowns ended in 2021, barely a month has passed without major job actions—union drives at huge companies, or massive strikes in the public or private sectors—making headlines. If you look at the numbers, we're seeing the kind of labour push we haven't seen in decades. From Hollywood's writers and actors, Canada's federal government workers, Ontario's education support staff and BC's port workers, employees from all over are fighting for what they see as long overdue gains...
Jul 28, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cabinet shuffles ahead of a fall session of parliament aren't unusual, but Wednesday's changes which saw most of Justin Trudeau's ministers switch roles or exit cabinet altogether definitely are. All told 30 of 38 positions were shifted in sweeping changes that clearly show the government is ... what? Are they terrified by their recent drop in the polls? Chasing fresh voices and new perspectives? "Listening to Canadians," as Trudeau put it in his announcement Wednesday? Or even preparing for an ...
Jul 27, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last year, a man was arrested and charged with the murder of four Indigenous women in the Winnipeg area. When the charges were laid police said they believed the remains of two of the women would be found at the Prairie Green landfill, but that they wouldn't be searching for them. This sparked outrage from the victims families and the Indigenous community, and a push for a search began. Experts weighed in, the federal government was petitioned, costs and concerns were cited and last week Manitob...
Jul 26, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every so often, federal and provincial governments reexamine plans they have made in the event of a nuclear accident or missile exchange, which have existed in one form or another since the beginning of the cold war. Last week, we learned those plans had been updated very recently, at least in part due to Russian control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. These plans cover everything from trying to protect Canadians overseas who may be impacted by an accident, to more classified documents ...
Jul 25, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Reaching net-zero emissions by 2035 will require major overhauls to Canada's national power grid. One of the major challenges to doing so is the patchwork of power-generation methods across different provinces, making it impossible to implement a one-size-fits-all approach to decarbonization. And political differences between provincial leaders and the federal government will only complicate things further. So what will it take to develop a clean national grid in Canada? What are the feds doing ...
Jul 24, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, after negotiations with studios and streaming giants failed to yield an agreement, the 160000 performers represented by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) decided to go on strike. They're joined on the picket lines by Writers Guild of America members — the first time both unions have been on strike simultaneously since the 1960's. Their demands differ, but both group's grievances boil down to two things: revenue decreases in the age of streaming, and concern about AI-induced job loss...
Jul 21, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Drug busts have long been a go-to tactic for law enforcement in the so-called 'war on drugs', but with the ubiquity of powerful narcotics like fentanyl, it's doubtful that they do much to actually stem the flow of substances to the street. And a new study out of the United States demonstrating a link between drug seizures and overdose deaths, suggests the approach may actually be making things worse. So what does this new research show, exactly? And if these old tactics don't seem to be working,...
Jul 20, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Asylum seekers come to Canada for safety and a better life, but instead a group of them ended up sleeping on the streets of the country’s biggest city. The Peter Street shelter intake office was thrust into the national spotlight after the city–dealing with an overwhelmed shelter system–started to refer asylum seekers to federally run programs. But when people in need showed up to Peter Street site they were met with long waits, forcing them to stay on the street out front for weeks with no othe...
Jul 19, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is guest-hosted by Erica Lenti, deputy features editor at Chatelaine. 27-year old Breeanna Bascombe was trying to rock her infant daughter to sleep when police descended on her parents' Brampton, Ontario home to arrest her, and charge her as an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. The charge was related to a crime allegedly committed by Breanna's ex-boyfriend that she had absolutely nothing to do with. Breeanna thinks her very public arrest was an attempt to coax him out...
Jul 18, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week we have guest hosts filling in for Jordan Health-Rawlings. Today, we have Justin Ling interviewing Erin O’Toole. Like many places around the world, politics has become more polarized. It seems that long gone are the days of trying to pander to the majority of voters, and now some parties have gone to their most extreme constituents for support. Probably the best example of this was the election of Pierre Poilievre as the new Conservative Party leader. No matter how you feel about Poili...
Jul 17, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the final episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. So far this week, we’ve covered problems facing small communities—from housing to the economy to health care. Although these issues are felt across pretty much every community, big or small in Canada, there’s one existential threat we must face globally: the climate crisis. We are hurtling rapidly towards a point of no return, and that’s pushing us towards alternative ways ...
Jul 14, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the fourth episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. The smaller your community is, the more likely it is to rely on a handful of employers to keep its economy stable. So when employers are looking for a place to set up shop—especially if that shop might be a little noisy or disruptive or require some tax breaks—they know that promising a certain number of well-paying jobs is a pretty good way to get the community on board. ...
Jul 13, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the third episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. With Canada having its worst wildfire season on record, people across the country are waking up to the reality of what it’s like to live with these natural disasters. But for many communities, the dangers of wildfire season have long been felt and understood. Perhaps few communities understand this reality better than Lytton, B.C., which was burned to the ground in 2021 aft...
Jul 12, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the second episode of Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. Canada’s health care system has been stressed for many years, but the pandemic pushed the threadbare system past its breaking point. And nowhere else has our capacity for care—in everything from family doctors to walk-in clinics to hospitals—been tested more than rural areas, and small towns. Emergency rooms in smaller areas have cut back hours, or closed temporarily, ofte...
Jul 11, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Small Town Week, a five-part series in which we examine big problems facing small communities. Access to affordable housing is not just an issue in large cities across Canada anymore—small communities are also struggling to provide affordable places for the people who need them. And perhaps nowhere is that crunch felt harder than Canada’s north. Everything costs significantly more there, from groceries to basic supplies to houses. To address the high cost of living, Nunavut relies hea...
Jul 10, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast We've known for decades the world is warming, so it shouldn't come as a shock when some records get broken along the way. But what has set off alarm bells among the scientists who study our changing climate recently is just how fast it's happening, in ways that don't match up with any previous models. From ocean temperature to sea ice, forest fires to heat domes and the world's daily average temperature record being broken at least twice just this week, warning lights are flashing. Is this truly...
Jul 07, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast This isn't about streaming services, like Spotify or Netflix, that rent you endless content for a monthly fee. It's about digital copies of art that you've purchased via a link or button that indicates a paid transaction. In many cases, the companies that sold them to you ... haven't, really. Earlier this year, this became abundantly clear when e-books by authors like Roald Dahl or Agatha Christie were changed to make certain phrases less offensive. Whether you agree with those changes or not, t...
Jul 06, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week three people were stabbed inside a classroom at the University of Waterloo. The class dealt with philosophy of gender issues, and the attacker reportedly asked about the subject before drawing a knife. For quite some time now anti-feminist and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has been growing harsher and more violent. Was it only a matter of time until something like this happened in Canada? How does a simple word like 'gender' become a red flag to disturbed individuals? What's stochastic terroris...
Jul 05, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast As awful as Canada's legacy of residential schools is, there are some in this country who don't want to believe it. In recent months, there's been a rise in attempts to use linguistic missteps on the part of journalists or Indigenous leaders to "expose" what minimizers claim is a lack of proof that thousands of children died at these schools. The case hinges on the difference between terms like "anomalies", "unmarked graves" and "remains" used when sites are explored with ground-penetrating rada...
Jul 04, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's here. It's become a part of summer in most areas of Canada. It's bad for you. What exactly makes wildfire smoke harmful to breathe? And what about the mental health impact of hazy skies and a darkened future? If we're going to live with this we need less speculation, and more science and solutions. Here they are. GUEST: Dr. Courtney Howard, emergency physician; Vice-Chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes....
Jun 30, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let's say you've been victimized by romance fraud. You are humiliated and embarrassed beyond belief, but you have evidence to prove the fraudster is guilty. So, you turn that information over to the police and hope there will be charges, maybe even a conviction. The truth is, in Canada, these cases are difficult to pursue, often leaving perpetrators free to go with a slap on the wrist and victims shocked and traumatized. But romance fraud is on the rise with more and more losses being reported e...
Jun 29, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you're held "on remand" it means you haven't been convicted of a crime yet, but also that you can't secure bail or a judge's release. Practically, it means you go to jail, and stay there while your case crawls through the courts. In some provinces there are thousands more people on remand in jail than there are convicted criminals serving jail time. It leads to crowding, illness and sometimes death. Should a person who hasn't been convicted ever die in jail? How is this system supposed to wor...
Jun 28, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nine days ago, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was killed in a targeted daylight shooting in a crowded area outside of a Sikh temple in Surrey, BC. Nijjar was a well-known community leader and pro-Khalistan activist who the Indian government has previously accused of terror offences— allegations he vehemently denied. His activism and controversial past have spawned many theories about who may have done this and why, but more than a week after his death, the public has seen little evidence to substantiate ...
Jun 27, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the age of the internet, it's understandable to wonder what function, if any, our libraries still serve. But the shifting needs of the communities they cater to, and widening holes in the social safety net, have actually made these institutions more essential than ever. As homelessness and mental health crises have spiked, libraries and the people who work inside them have become de facto social workers, sometimes tasked with everything from finding shelter beds to administering naloxone. Whi...
Jun 26, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's hard to believe but The Big Story launched on this date, five years ago, June 25, 2018. Since then we've recorded more than 1,250 episodes and listeners have spent millions of hours listening to this podcast. As a token of our appreciation, we made a special bonus episode, digging into the archives for some of our oldest, biggest, strangest and best-remembered clips. If you've listened to this show, even just once, thank you. We wouldn't be here without you. As always, you can find us on Tw...
Jun 25, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
