The Big Story

We almost didn't have baseball back. In a winter filled with loss and discontent, maybe that wouldn't have mattered much. But the return of the game mattered a lot to millions of people looking for signs of spring. And it mattered even more to a Toronto Blue Jays team that was counting on this season to make a big push towards a World Series.A labour deal got done at the 11th hour. A full 162-game season is on the books. And the Jays wasted no time in making more moves designed to load up a talented team with even more players. So, just how good can this team be?GUEST: Shi Davidi, senior baseball columnist, 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

Thunder Bay, Ontario already had a reputation as a place with a racist police force, uninvestigated Indigenous deaths and missing persons who were barely even searched for. So it shouldn't be shocking that new reports this month confirmed more of exactly that. But somehow it is.These issues have been well known for many years now—why has nothing changed? What is the municipal government prepared to do about it? What would actually make a difference?GUEST: Willow Fiddler, 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

By now many people assume we'll be getting annual covid boosters for the rest of our lives. That's possible, but there are other possibilities, too. In the past two years we've learned so much about how to rapidly create and deliver vaccines that there are projects in front of us that could offer much more optimistic futures.At McMaster University, one of them involves no needles at all... and might eliminate the need for yearly updates.GUEST: Dr. Matthew Miller, Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University 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

These last few weeks, the war in Ukraine has been at the front of everyone’s mind, and rightfully so. And while we in Canada have so far been insulated from the conflict and its worst humanitarian and economic impacts, we are starting to feel its effects, at the pumps.Across Canada, gas prices have hit historic highs, and experts say they could, and likely will rise even more in the coming weeks and months. Even if you don’t drive to work every day, or even own a car for that matter, you will feel the rising cost of energy as it drives up the price of virtually all goods and services.So what’s really behind skyrocketing gas prices? How high could they go? And is there anything anyone can do to bring them back down?GUEST: Roger McKnight, Chief Petroleum Analyst at En-Pro International Inc.  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

Tse Chi Lop immigrated to Toronto from Guangzhou in 1988. As part of a collection of criminal associates known as The Big Circle Boys, he worked alongside the Montreal-based Rizzuto crime family to allegedly build one of the biggest heroin smuggling operations in history. The effort would eventually earn him six years in an American Federal prison. In the years following his release, Tse allegedly turned his attention towards Asia, specifically the region's burgeoning appetite for methamphetamines. With ready access to cheap precursor materials, a global network of criminal organizations, and a business proposition that was just too enticing to turn down, Tse and his criminal network known as 'Sam Gor' allegedly dominated the Asian meth trade, and raked in billions of dollars while doing it. So how was Tse allegedly able to build not one, but two of the biggest drug smuggling rings the world has ever seen? How was he eventually caught? And what's happened to his alleged empire since his arrest?GUEST: Stephen Marche, Freelance Writer and ReporterRead the Toronto Life​​​​​​ ​story 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

For the first time, this year's JUNO's Fan Choice award will be decided in partnership with the social media platform. TikTok has allowed a new era of Canadian musicians to find their way into ears and hearts around the country in a space that has no CanCon requirements. At a time when artists are increasingly dissatisfied with streaming platforms like Spotify, traditional record sales are almost zero and the most notable independent music platform was just purchased by a gaming company, it's worth considering how the platforms we listen on shape the music that we hear.GUEST: Richard Trapunski, editor of music, tech and local business at NOW Magazine 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

This isn't intended to scare you. But with Vladimir Putin making clear threats towards potential nuclear warfare, it's certainly a question worth asking. And a question that not very many people have considered for decades now. So, what's the status of our nuclear defenses? How do they work? And what would it take to be ready for a worst-case scenario?GUEST: Dr. James Fergusson, Deputy Director, Centre for Defence and Security Studies; Professor of Political Studies at the University of Manitoba. 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

One of the reasons the carbon footprint was created was to put personal responsibility for the climate crisis onto ordinary people, instead of large corporations. If we are constantly feeling guilty for eating red meat and driving, how can we possibly criticize companies who are hurting the planet but paying it off with carbon credits?!Today, a new way to think about your personal contributions to the climate fight. Should you still walk instead of drive? Of course. But the concept of a 'climate shadow' takes into account everything a person does to work on the climate crisis, not just what a calculator can attest to. If you've been searching for a better way to figure out what you can do, this one is for you.GUEST: Emma Pattee, creator of the climate shadow 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

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has deep Ukrainian roots. Depending on who you ask, those roots have been an asset or an anchor over the past few weeks, as she has been able to lead the political movement to sanction Russia, while also starring in a number of misinformation campaigns based on her history. But there is no doubt that she has been a major global player in the finance fight against Vladimir Putin, and has given Canada its first tangible foreign policy strategy in some time.GUEST: Justin Ling, freelance investigative reporter 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

Will it all probably be fine, or are we asking for another wave? With Alberta already ending masking, and Ontario promising to follow suit, it's likely that much of Canada will be Covid-restriction free  by April.Cases and hospitalizations are trending down, and much of the country has at least two doses of vaccine. But with a new subvariant already here, and showing infection rates higher than Omicron, will wee see another spike? And it's also important to ask, as the pandemic closes in on its two-year anniversary ... if not now, when?GUEST: Dr. Raywat Deonandan, Global Health Epidemiologist and Associate Professor with the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa 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