The Big Story

It begins on a dating app you use and trust, with a user located in your city. Not with emails out of nowhere or random DMs. Even the investment part makes you money at first, and you can withdraw and spend it, and check your portfolio any time you like. But then ... everything vanished, and you're left with a broken heart and an empty bank account.Welcome to the latest, incredibly sophisticated dating scam. And what we can do to get it under control.GUEST: Carlo Handy Charles, dual PhD Candidate, McMaster University and Université des Antilles; read his work 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

Fights over language have always been a part of Quebec politics, and of life in the province in general. For the most part, they tend to end in a begrudging compromise, with French protected and English available but not given equal billing. A new bill about to be passed by the province's majority Coalition Avenir Quebec government is threatening to change all that.The government says it's necessary to protect the province's official language. Everyone who isn't a native French speaker, from Indigenous people to Anglophones to new immigrants hoping to make a home in Quebec, say that the bill is far too harsh and will make things like doctor-patient relationships, workplaces and institutional services far more difficult to navigate. So what's in the bill? What does it actually mean? And what happens next?GUEST: Christopher Reynolds, Montreal-based reporter, The Canadian Press 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

You see it most visibly when party leaders like Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh are accosted outside of events. But ordinary MPs of all parties report increasing amounts of verbal abuse and threatening behaviour—both in Ottawa and their home ridings. And it's escalating.Some veteran MPs have walked away from politics because of it. And it's quite likely this toxic climate is preventing plenty more would-be public servants from ever running for office. So how did it get this bad? And how do we fix it?GUEST: Stephen Maher, writing in 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 secret to Uber's success was always supposed to be scale. The company subsidized rides and drivers, operating at a loss on each ride, as it grew into what is now a global behemoth. At that point, with a huge chunk of the market secured, the profits would naturally follow.Uber is now as dominant in its sector as any company could hope for. It has scale to rival the world's biggest companies and ... its posting losses. Big losses. What happened here? And what does it say about the future of the app?GUEST: Alison Griswold, London-based journalist, author of Oversharing 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

Mohamedou Ould Slahi is not a Canadian citizen. He's Mauritanian. But he did spend a few weeks in Canada, and during that time he was watched. It is that evidence gathered by Canadian authorities, he claims, that led to his eventual detention and torture, and 14 years in security facilities. Now he's suing the Canadian government for $30 million. How did a few weeks in Montreal change his life, and how much is our government to blame?GUEST: Michelle Shephard, terrorism and human rights reporter, filmmaker and podcaster 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, insurance companies devoted thousands of hours and millions of dollars to complex investigations of insurance claims, trying to determine whether claimants were lying or telling the truth. Now, a would-be fraudster can concoct an elaborate excuse only to find their scheme foiled by the gadgets within the very vehicle they may be trying to get fixed. As digital technology becomes a standard part of every car, so do tracking devices that can determine everything from the route you took, where you stopped and if you were, say, going even just a kilometre or three over the speed limit. What are the implications for drivers, and the insurance industry at large?GUEST: Aaron Hutchins, 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

The murder victim in Thailand was a known gangster who had spent years in and around Vancouver. One of the four men who died in the mysterious crash was wanted by Thai police for his alleged role in the killing. In between the two events is four months, multiple police investigations across the world, a second fugitive also on the run, two young pilots and dozens of unanswered questions.Who was Gene Lahrkamp? How did he end up dead near Sioux Lookout, Ontario? Why would he have travelled to Thailand to murder a gangster? What will happen when this story begins to be told?GUEST: Kim Bolan, crime reporter, Vancouver Sun 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

They call themselves the Norman Brigade, and they're led by Hrulf, who won't reveal his real name. But he's from Quebec, served in the Canadian military and has a Ukrainian wife and children. The brigade is composed of foreign fighters from around the world, including several Canadians. The brigade recruits through Facebook. They even sell merchandise.But former members question the leader's ability and the safety of the unit—citing poor accommodations, insufficient weapons and ammunition and a reckless leadership style. What is the Norman Brigade? Why are they fighting in Ukraine? And how dangerous are they, to themselves or to the Russians?GUEST: Tom Blackwell, senior reporter, National post 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

Looking at gas and grocery prices, it might be hard to believe inflation is anywhere close to stopping, but economists see some promising signs. Whether it has peaked yet or not, however, the real test will be if the inflation rate recedes or stabilizes at five percent or higher.How did we end up with this spike in the first place? What has (and hasn't) been done by Canada's federal government to control them? What should you watch for in the next couple of months, and how can you prepare for whatever comes next?GUEST: Pedro Antunes, Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada 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

It was supposed to make billions upon billions as an industry, and the investors were chasing millions of their own. Instead, thousands of Canadians were left holding empty bags, having lost jobs, savings and opportunities to the promise of fast money and an industry that could never have possibly matched the hype.How did (almost) everyone get the weed industry so wrong? And what happened to those Canadians who bought into the hype?GUEST: Omar Mouallem, reporting in Canadian Business 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