PODCAST

The Big Story

Frequency Podcast Network

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

news daily news

All Episodes

00:24:18

These are the scams costing Canadians hundreds of...

The Big Story ·

2024/11/12

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 yourself before you get drawn in? Where did this fraud boom come from? And why do police seem powerless to stop it? GUEST:

en-ca

00:27:49

What do we know about the impact of online sports...

The Big Story ·

2024/11/11

It's been three years now since single-game sports betting was legalized in Canada. And since that time, it's become available...everywhere. Especially on your phone, in any number of apps, 24 hours a day. At the time there were concerns about what that easy access would do to problem gamblers. And we're finally getting a pretty clear picture of just what that has wrought.So what can we tell about the increase in problem gambling? What did the initial legislation get right and wrong, and what's

en-ca

00:23:08

Why we’re all paying different prices online

The Big Story ·

2024/11/10

With some already starting their holiday shopping, we bring you an episode from our vault on dynamic pricing. Enjoy!---------------------------------You and a friend might be given two different prices by the same website for the same item. Heck, you might be given two different prices yourself depending on where you are when you're browsing the site. It's a phenomenon that began as dynamic pricing—a computer balancing supply and demand to ensure everything was sold at a price the market was

en-ca

00:18:57

How to limit spending without ruining the holidays

The Big Story ·

2024/11/09

This episode first aired on November 7, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand the systems behind their money problems so they can make informed decisions about their personal finances. If you like what you hear, please consider giving us a follow! This holiday season, about one third of Canadians are planning to either buy fewer gifts, or spend less on the gifts they do buy because they're struggling with their finances

en-ca

00:21:14

Inside a bitter battle to bring down butter bandits

The Big Story ·

2024/11/08

It's been a tough news week, let's end it on a butter note. Thieves in Guelph, Ontario—but not just in Guelph, Ontario—have been stealing hundreds of pounds of butter from grocery stores, making off with about $1,000 worth of the yellow gold with each successive heist. It's been happening for months, and the only people police managed to charge so far ... have vanished.So why butter? Why so MUCH butter? What do you even do with a hundred pounds of butter at a time? Who's buying it and what are they

en-ca

00:23:59

What does Donald Trump's return mean for Canada?

The Big Story ·

2024/11/07

In the end, it wasn't even particularly close. And now Canada and the world can only prepare for what a second term of President Donald Trump might look like. As the United States' closest neighbour, Trump's plans have the potential to impact many aspects of Canadian life—from trade to immigration to defence spending, our next federal election and much more than that.So what should Canada do now to prepare? Is there really anything we can do? Where might Trump's biggest impact on Canada be felt? And

en-ca

00:26:33

Why has Canada's productivity taken a nosedive?

The Big Story ·

2024/11/06

Over the past several years, measures of economic productivity have seen Canada tumbling. First slowly, then rapidly. Once nearly at par with the United States, we've fallen far behind them—and by some measures we're one of the developed world's least productive countries right now.How did this happen? Which industries are lagging behind and dragging us down? How much of this fall was within Canada's control, and how much was due to external factors? And when we speak of a country's or a province's

en-ca

00:22:55

Will the US election also decide Ukraine's fate?

The Big Story ·

2024/11/05

With the invasion of Ukraine nearing the 1000-day mark, there are questions about where Ukraine's defenders find themselves. Russia has been making a strong push to stake out more ground, and in Russian-occupied territory there a reports of its soldiers hunting civilians. Despite an offensive into Russia earlier this year, the situation seems to be dire.And when America votes today on its next president, few countries will have as much at stake as Ukraine, which faces the possibility of being all

en-ca

00:23:46

Will Quebec sovereignty rise again?

The Big Story ·

2024/11/04

It's been almost 30 years since a narrow vote in the 1995 referendum ended the last threat to Canadian unity. And while it's not as though there hasn't been idle talk since then from angry provinces and their citizens, there's never again been a serious question of a province seceding from Canada...But history repeats, and as the 30th anniversary of the 1995 vote looms, a look at the underlying political conditions reveals some striking similarities—particularly if as expected the Conservatives

en-ca

00:23:54

How Toronto lost its war with raccoons. Badly.

The Big Story ·

2024/11/03

This week, with all of the wrappers and candy scattered around after Halloween, we're revisiting a episode from 2023 about Toronto's so-called trash bandits. Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------One hundred years ago, raccoons were so rare in Toronto, that a mysterious creature rummaging in a garbage bin warranted a newspaper report. Today, raccoons are basically the city's mascot—literally, the creatures are on all sorts of Toronto memorabilia. The war Toronto waged on

en-ca

00:18:13

Everything you need to know about switching banks

The Big Story ·

2024/11/02

This episode first aired on October 31, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand the systems behind their money problems so they can make informed decisions about their personal finances. If you like what you hear, please consider giving us a follow! Many of us, at one point or another, have thought about changing banks. But with those thoughts comes a little uncertainty. How much time will it take? How much money will it

en-ca

00:24:28

How Taylor Swift takes over a city (and an industry)

The Big Story ·

2024/11/01

Two weeks from today, Taylor Swift will land in Toronto for the first of six shows in the city on the Eras Tour's Canadian leg. In December she'll play three more shows in Vancouver. And when the Eras Tour comes to a city, it makes its presence felt in the form of hundreds of millions of dollars, tens of thousands of fans, security challenges, snarled traffic, price gouging and more.So what happens when Swift lands in Canada? What should we expect? And exactly how did a teenage country singer out of

en-ca

00:17:24

How did a Canadian snowboarder end up allegedly...

The Big Story ·

2024/10/31

In 2002, Ryan James Wedding was a member of Team Canada at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Today, if you know where he is, the police will pay you $50,000. In the 22 years in between, he's alleged to have been a part of everything from trafficking and distribution thousands of kilos of cocaine to a series of contract killings in Ontario. How did an Olympic athlete come to this? It's a story police and reporters and still trying to untangle...GUEST: Calvi Leon, reporter, The Toronto StarWe love

en-ca

00:17:45

Inside BC's insanely close election

The Big Story ·

2024/10/30

If anyone ever tries to tell you that your vote doesn't matter, you can tell them about this election. The final results of BC's vote took a week to calculate—and even then two ridings need judicial recounts. It was as close as an election can possibly be, and that means that the government it produces will be ... precarious, to say the least.So why was it so close? Where was the election ultimately decided? Will David Eby's NDP actually be able to form a government? If they do ... how long can it

en-ca

00:26:38

Mice, neuroscience and the debate around "curing" autism

The Big Story ·

2024/10/29

One of the tools scientists have used in autism research has been lab mice, genetically engineered to display similar behavioural characteristics as some humans with autism. But the value of those experiments, has become the subject of fierce debate amongst neuroscientists.It's also that debate that gets at the heart of what we do and don't understand about autism: Should we be trying to "cure" it by identifying its genetic causes? How? What exactly would that look like in practice? Where should we

en-ca

00:26:20

How consumer rage defines Canadian politics

The Big Story ·

2024/10/28

For our guest, it was a sandwich. For you it might be a box of cereal or a favourite candy bar. It doesn't matter what it is. What matters is that it makes you mad. There are plenty of signs that things are looking up in terms of affordability: Inflation is down and interest rates are declining fast—but somehow none of that is impacting how the economy makes Canadians feel.How has consumer rage becoming the defining issue of today's political landscape? If it brings down one federal government, what

en-ca

00:26:51

Canada and the world get serious about UFOs

The Big Story ·

2024/10/27

This week, in honour of Halloween, we're revisiting an episode from 2023 about a quintessentially spooky topic: UFOs. Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------Right now, Canada is working on a process to improve our tracking and reporting of sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects. In late May, NASA and the US Department of Defence help a joint public meeting, where it was revealed that the Five Eyes—an alliance of intelligence agencies including the US and Canada—held a

en-ca

00:16:30

Is the Canadian job market really improving?

The Big Story ·

2024/10/26

This episode first aired on October 23, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand the systems behind their money problems so they can make informed decisions about their personal finances. If you like what you hear, please consider giving us a follow! You may have seen recent headlines about Canada's economy adding 47,000 new jobs in September and full-time employment seeing the largest gain in two years. These numbers sound

en-ca

00:26:47

What's it like inside a park encampment?

The Big Story ·

2024/10/25

You've walked past them or through them. They're in every Canadian city and town. The result of the housing crisis colliding with the opioid crisis and slamming into a pandemic. And for all the reporting has been done on them, for all the politicization of the camps themselves and what they do to a neighbourhood, perhaps not much is understood about the people inside them. Who they are, how they got there, what they need to get back on their feet and where they might get it.Today's episode, whatever

en-ca

00:24:00

Are BC's salmon farms doomed?

The Big Story ·

2024/10/24

For years, advocates have been citing the damage open-net salmon farming does to the environment off the BC coast. And in recent years the government has agreed with them. But salmon farming is a key part of BC's identity, and economy. Now a deadline has manufacturers looking for ways to sustainably farm the lucrative fish, but many are skeptical there's a way to make the switch in time without going bankrupt.What does the future hold for BC's salmon farming industry? What's so wrong with the

en-ca

1,413 results

The Big Story

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci