The Big Story

At the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two things became immediately clear. First, this would not go according to Putin's plans. Russia has met fierce resistance every step of the way and has been forced to retreat from its attempt to take the Ukrainian capital. Second, it became obvious that misinformation would play a role in what we learned and didn't learn about the situation on the ground. Russia, obviously, has some experience in that area. So how are Ukrainians surviving and resisting, and how long can they hold out?GUEST: Stewart Bell, Global News Online  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 supply chain is a problem. The cost of raw materials is rising. The cost of labour is up, too. But while we tend to assume inflation is caused by companies hiking prices due to reasons that are beyond their control, the truth is much more complicated. So, how much of Canada's current price hikes are due to market factors, and how much is simply companies taking the opportunity to increase their profits? And what can we do about it?GUEST: Jacob Lorinc, business and economics reporter, 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

Very early in the pandemic, Canada put a pause on deportations. Conditions were unsafe, the world had stopped, and a lot of these workers were doing jobs Canadians badly needed done. But the pause didn't last long, and since deportations have resumed more than 18,000 people have been sent back to their country of origin, even as frontline labour is at a premium and some of them face health and safety risks upon their return.What's the rationale behind this? What options do these aspiring Canadians have? And could we have found a different way?GUEST: Isabel Macdonald, researcher and writer based in Montreal, writing for 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

The housing crisis is one of Canadians' biggest concerns, and in last week's federal budget it got some top-line attention. But inflation didn't receive nearly as much attention, and the cost of everything is rising. How will the plans unveiled by the government make your own budget easier or harder to balance? And beyond personal finances, what's in store for the environment, defence and other critical national issues? And did the Liberals deal with the NDP make this budget bigger and better, or buy the government time to plan for the long term?GUEST: Mike Eppel, senior business editor at CityNews 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

Every year, most Canadian provinces release lists of the top wages among public servants. And every year, lots of people get mad about them. It's easy to say that it's unfair to publish these names and salaries, as it inevitably makes some people a target. But what if instead, we made more salaries public, not less?Secrecy around salaries is just another part of Canada's lack of transparency as a country. From government records to police investigations to any number of things, we prefer to keep things in the dark. And the darker things are, the easier it is for them to remain unequal. There are places in the world where everyone's salary is public. What would this country look like if your co-workers knew what you made, or vice versa?GUEST: Robyn Doolittle, 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

He returned to the province as a conservative saviour, uniting the right under one banner and vanquishing the NDP. But just a few short years later, Jason Kenney's own party—or at least a substantial chunk of it—wants him gone. A leadership review attracted so many interested voters that it was moved from an in-person event to a mail-in ballot, which has only furthered the cries of skullduggery from his opponents within the UCP. It also probably didn't help that Kenney was taped referring to them as "kooks" and "lunatics" in a leaked audio clip.What happened to Kenney's conservative support in Alberta? And what happens next if his party ousts him?GUEST: Jason Markusoff, Alberta-based staff writer, 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 @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

Hospitalizations are climbing again in parts of the country, and cases are rising in others. It's deja vu all over again. It's clear we're in for at least some sort of Spring rise in Covid-19, driven by the BA.2 subvariant, but how bad could it be? Is it possible this is a sign of a virus playing itself out? What can people who are worried do to protect themselves?And ... haven't we done this enough by now? Will we ever figure this out?GUEST: Colin Furness, infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto 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 federal government has ambitious targets set for the percentage of cars in Canada that will be electric by 2030. We're a long way from meeting them. But research shows hundreds of thousands of Canadians would like to purchase one. They just can't find one, can't afford one, or don't have the access to charging to make it worth their time.Meanwhile, the country's auto manufacturing hub needs help transitioning to be ready for the demand of the next generation of cars. All this adds up to problems at both ends of the supply chain, and a ticking clock making each project and incentive count.GUEST: Zoe Long, Research Manager for SFU’s Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START) 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

When you trust someone with your heart, you have to accept that it might get broken. Things might not work out. You might grow apart. But at the least, you would hope for honesty. And if not honesty then ... maybe, at least not outright fraud and theft?Sadly though, not everyone gets that — which brings us to a group of Canadian women, all of whom, had their hearts broken and bank accounts emptied by a con artist. And their sadness and loss could have been the end of the story. But it's not...GUEST: Emilia King, host and co-creator of Catch Him If You Can 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

For decades, Canada's men's soccer team was irrelevant at best, a punchline at worst. While the women's side went on to Olympic medals and World Cup runs, the Canadian men ... did nothing. Until a few years ago, when the tide began to turn. And then last year, when the unthinkable started to happen.Now Canada is not only headed to the World Cup for just the second time in its history, but the team also looks ready to do some damage when it gets there. How did the unthinkable happen?GUEST: John Molinaro, veteran Canadian soccer journalist, founder of TFC Republic(This episode originally aired on Feb. 2, 2022) 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