The Big Story

What agents are selling around the world is the value of a Canadian education—and people are buying in droves, especially in places like Punjab, India. But they're not buying it for the value of the degree. Many international students have families who sacrifice everything to get their children into a Canadian post-secondary institution because it is seen as a pathway to permanent residency and a better life. And for some students it is—but only for some of them.Is this an ethical system? Is it regulated—and by whom? Who helps these young people and makes sure they don’t fall through the cracks? What happens to them when they do?GUEST: Nicholas Hune-Brown 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's no secret that our elders were the people hit hardest by COVID-19, but all the pandemic did was shine a deadly light on a system that has been broken for years. Canada's population is aging. Our long-term care facilities are passable at best, and we don't have enough of them. And we're staring down a critical labour shortage among caregivers. So does any party have a plan for this? And are any of them realistic?GUEST: André Picard, Health 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

You thought you were helping someone  when you put that bag of old clothes in a donation bin. But you probably didn't. A striking number of clothes donated in Canada and other wealthy countries end up clogging landfills in African nations. While a good suit or jacket might make a real difference to someone who needs one, the vast majority of donated clothes are cheap, fast fashion — and often totally unwearable. And the rise of disposable clothes has swamped the system, turning a process once intended to help into one fraught with inequality and pollution.GUEST: Linton Besser, Australian Broadcasting Corporation 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 week, Hurricane Ida rampaged through the gulf coast, leaving power grids and water lines strewn in its wake, and when it reached New York it caused massive flooding that has already resulted in at least two dozen deaths. Most North American cities — including Canada's — simply weren't built for the weather extremes we're now facing with regularity. And even 'safer' cities like Toronto and New York are now seeing massive floods. Can we adapt cities to handle this weather? What will it cost and do we have the will to do it?GUEST: Alex Steffen, The Nearly Now 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 more than a year, protesters have been keeping industry away from old-growth forest on this site, and for months there have been RCMP on the scene attempting to remove them. But the story of Fairy Creek is about much more than just police against Indigenous protesters. What's really at stake as the police up their aggressiveness to attempt to clear the site, and why should all Canadians be watching closely?GUEST: Jerome Turner 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

Sunny Ways aren't going to work for Trudeau and the Liberals any longer. People are tired and angry and wondering why we're even having an election right now. Trudeau is being confronted at rallies and the Conservatives have pulled even in the polls. So what can he run on this time? Will calm leadership and a caring attitude in a crisis convince Canadians that he's the guy to look out for them when things get tough? Or has he squandered too much of his electoral goodwill?GUEST: Max Fawcett, political columnist at the National Observer(This is the third in a series of episodes examining how the major party leaders could each become Prime Minister.) 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 seemed in the spring that kids under 12 might have a chance at getting vaccinated before school started. But that didn't happen, and it turns out the timeline is still in flux even now. What changed? And is there any chance of shots before November?Meanwhile, can we still convince Canadians who are eligible but haven't been vaccinated to get their shots? Or have opinions hardened by now? And will you be getting a booster while the rest of the world waits for their first shots?GUEST: Sabina Vohra-Miller, clinical pharmacologist 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

Julian Uzielli has struggled with chronic depression for years. Like many people with mental health issues, his symptoms were exacerbated by the pandemic, and his condition eventually deteriorated to the point where he was forced to take a leave of absence from his job.Therapist appointments and regular antidepressant medications were doing little to alleviate Julian's despondency, so he began looking into alternative treatments. During his research he encountered a clinic in Toronto called Field Trip Health, who offer a service called "ketamine-assisted therapy." Having exhausted all his other options, Julian decided to give it a go, and a few months later he's feeling better than he ever has.So what is ketamine? How accessible is it to Canadian's who feel like they could benefit from its use? Could this be the miracle drug that sufferers with treatment-resistant depression have been waiting for? 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 first couple of weeks of the campaign have gone very well for the Conservative leader. He's closed a gap in the polls to a sliver, and introduced himself to Canadians who didn't really know him at all. But now comes the hard part. In the coming weeks, as more Canadians begin to follow the race, O'Toole will have to define himself in the face of Liberal attempts to define him. He'll have to weather the storm of attacks that are sure to come from his opponents after labour day and he'll have to do it while keeping his base firmly in line. If he can do all that, it seems like he's got a real shot. Can he? And if so, how?GUEST: Stephen Maher, reporter and political commentator; contributing editor at 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

'Conscience rights' are what allow health professionals to refuse to provide treatment that goes against their morals or religion. In the past this has mostly meant abortion. But recently it's been applied to medically assisted death as well. And with a vague statement in the party platform, the Conservatives handed the Liberals a wedge issue, but also potentially did much more.Could a debate over how conscience rights are applied across the country, and who is allowed to refuse what to whom force the CPC to confront the difference between its leader's support for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians and the conservative base that has advocated for anti-LGBTQ2S+ policy?GUEST: Justin Ling, writing for 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