The Big Story

At some point the "how did we get here?" questions about the current state of inflation become less relevant than "how do I deal with this?" With inflation reaching its highest point since the early 1980's this week, and little relief in sight, that time is now for many of us.We've done episodes about the Why and How and what happens next, but today we're trying to prepare for what we're going to be dealing with for the foreseeable future. So how should you handle your day-to-day expenses? Your savings and your investments, if you're lucky enough to have them? Your future retirement, or your next mortgage? Unless you're squarely in the top half of the 1%, you've probably been worrying about some of that, so let's ask some practical questions.GUEST: Jason Heath (no relation to the host), financial planner and personal finance columnist with The Financial Post and MoneySense 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

By now, you might be familiar with images of RCMP officers using an axe to break down the door of a tiny house built by Indigenous land defenders on Wet'suwet'en territory. The structure was part of a camp that was blocking access to a site run by Coastal GasLink, who is currently building a natural gas pipeline through the territory, without the blessing of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. The raid made headlines across the country, in part because two journalists ended up being detained by the RCMP along with protestors. Why they were arrested, is just one of the questions that remains unanswered about the RCMP and B.C. government's conduct before, during and after the raid.Guest: Matt Simmons, Northwest B.C. Reporter for The NarwhalRead Matt's coverage 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Canada's Supreme Court said "yes," back in a May ruling. Now the federal government is tabling a bill to say "no," in June. The defence itself is narrow and nuanced, but the idea of allowing intoxicated people to to shirk responsibility in court is highly divisive.So what is the actual definition of "self-induced extreme intoxication"? What happened in the cases that set this precedent? And what would the impact be in the day-to-day operation of our justice system?GUEST: Pam Hrick, Executive Director & General Counsel at LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

And why isn't it a bigger story? Perhaps it's because the circumstances around their detention — the discovery of $25 million worth of cocaine in bags in a plane's maintenance bay — are so mysterious. But either way five Canadians have spent several weeks first in jail and then essentially under house arrest, without being charged with a crime. And even if they never are, it may still be months before they get home.So what has the Canadian government done for them? What do authorities in the Dominican Republic have to say? What is the airline doing about it? And what happened to the seven people the crew was supposed to fly back to Toronto before the plane flight was halted when the drugs were found?GUEST: Tracey Lindeman, writing in The Guardian 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Wealthsimple started with the goal of making investing, and long-term wealth building accessible to millennials. Then they became one of the first in Canada to become a regulated cryptocurrency exchange. And it went well for a while. The company made huge profits during the pandemic. But over the last month, cryptocurrencies have seen their value decrease substantially, and many investors saw their wealth evaporate.Was Wealthsimple wrong to make such a huge bet on crypto? And what does it mean for the future of the company?Guest: Jacob Lorinc, business reporter at 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Scrolling through your social media feeds, especially if you work in any sort of public-facing position, can be hazardous to your mental health. A big portion of the blame belongs to the trolls, who capitalize on their online anonymity to hurl misogynistic or racist abuse at strangers. But a big part of the issue is the social media platforms themselves, and the opaque algorithms they employ that populate our feeds with derogatory posts or disinformation.What if we could wrest control of our online experience back from these media conglomerates and make sure that we're only being shown the things we want to see? How do we do that without reinforcing the filter bubbles that contribute to the social fragmentation of our societies? And could this be the first step towards a safer and more equitable online future?Guest: Tracy Chou, Founder and CEO of Block Party  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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Last week, LIV Golf held its first tournament, in London. Under normal circumstances, there would be no reason for anyone who isn't a diehard fan the sport to care. These, however, are anything but normal circumstances.LIV Golf is backed by a Saudi Arabian fund that invests in projects to help burnish the image of a regime that has a dismal record on human rights. That money has been used to lure away some star golfers, including Phil Mickelson, from the PGA Tour. And when Mickelson found himself defending his decision while asserting publicly that he has "deep, deep empathy" for the survivors of the 9/11 attacks, it became pretty clear something had gone badly wrong somewhere...GUEST: Donnovan Bennett, Sportsnet 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

The more the public learns about the events in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, the more disturbing it gets. And the public hearings currently running on (most) American networks are offering a deeper look than ever before.So what are we learning that we didn't know before the hearings began? Are they really non-partisan? Could they lead to criminal charges against Donald Trump or members of his administration? And the most crucial question of all: Will they matter to voters, who will vote, both in November and in 2024, at least in part on the issue of free and fair elections?GUEST: Aaron Rupar, American political journalist, author of Public Notice 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

The new threshold, included in an amendment to the Customs Act, is a "reasonable general concern". What's the legal definition of that? Here's the thing: There isn't one.In an attempt to create a higher barrier to opening Canadians' devices on entry, the Alberta Court of Appeals struck down the previous threshold, but left it to the government to create a new one. That's where "reasonable general concern" comes into play—and privacy advocates as well as a Canadian Senator are very concerned about the implications.GUEST: Senator Paula Simons 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

In short? That it was a huge mess. But that's not enough. An inquiry is trying to get to the bottom of the police response to the worst mass shooting in Canadian history, and around every corner seems to lurk a new detail about delays, misinformation, too many commanding officers and, above all, inaction.As Canadians learned in horror how police in Uvalde, Texas stood by while a shooter was murdering children in a school, they didn't have to look hard for a Canadian example of how utterly a response to a gunman can be botched. So what are the details? What do we still have to learn? And will there be any change, consequences or closure?GUEST: Greg Mercer, Atlantic Canada 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter