The Big Story

You've probably never heard of Line 5. It's an offshoot of Enbridge's main pipeline and it moves more than a half-million barrels of crude oil and natural gas from Alberta, through the United States and back across the border to Sarnia, Ont. Unless the state of Michigan gets its way and shuts it down on May 12. The pipeline is more than 60 years old, and though Enbridge claims it's safe, a study reports that a spill could devastate the shorelines of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. So Michigan wants it shut off. But an immediate shutdown would leave Sarnia in economic crisis and hike energy prices across Ontario and Quebec as fuel would need to be moved by truck or train. So Canadian governments want the line to keep flowing. It has all the makeup of at least a legal mess, and possibly an environmental one, too. GUEST: Hilary Beaumont, freelance investigative reporter (Read Hilary's story in The Narwhal) 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

We all want this pandemic to be over. But it's not. And vaccines alone won't stop the third wave of Covid-19 that's now rolling over much of Canada. The third wave is driven by variants, and you've probably heard them mentioned many times. But what are they? How are they worse than original Covid? What stops them and what doesn't? Do vaccines work on them? And what do we need to do in the meantime to keep Canadians alive until this is over? GUEST: Dr. David Fisman, epidemiologist, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, 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

Most of us have been isolated for more than a year. Many of us, though, have been isolated for longer than that, and will feel it even more sharply when those of us who do have lots of friends and family can resume seeing them. Before there was a global pandemic, there was an epidemic of loneliness spiking in many countries around the world. And if there's one thing capitalism knows how to do, it's how to take an unfulfilled basic human need and turn a profit on it—hence, the loneliness industry. Would you like to buy a hug, or rent a friend for an afternoon of shopping? Maybe you'll eventually need your own robot buddy. Have no fear, with enough money you can do all this and more! GUEST: Brian Bethune 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 ramped up with Canada's detention of a Huawei executive, and China's retaliatory detention of two Canadian citizens. But it didn't begin there. And tensions are not likely to end if and when Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, or Meng Wanzhou, are released. The truth is, the diplomatic relationship between us and the emerging superpower has been decaying for years, and the past six months has only added fuel to the fire. But as Canada stands up to human rights abuses and claims of genocide by China's government...should we even want to improve them? If we did, what would it take? And can we rely on our allies if China decides to flex its muscles on us? GUEST: Stephanie Carvin, Assoc. Prof. of International Affairs, Carleton 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

Its name is the Ever Given. It will forever be a part of the history of this odd time. And when it lodged itself horizontally in the Suez Canal last week, it launched a thousand memes—but also brought global shipping and supply chains to the brink of disaster. How could such a simple screwup cause so many problems? What could have gone wrong? What did the Stuck Boat Disaster teach us all about the fragility of both supply chains and human planning? And, uh, why was it so funny? GUEST: Lori Ann LaRocco Author of Trade War: Containers Don't Lie, Navigating the Bluster, trade columnist for FreightWaves, reporting on the Ever Given for CNBC 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

Picture the last story you read or heard about a woman killed by a man. Where did she live? How old was she? Why did you picture it that way? With much of 2020 spent under stay-at-home orders, it's not a surprise that Canada saw a jump in femicide. But what is surprising is what we do and don't do about it. And which stories get told. This is the pandemic you haven't been hearing about. GUEST: Julie Lalonde, speaker and educator, women's rights advocate, author of Resilience Is Futile 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 almost a year now, reporter Cynthia Mulligan has been staying in touch with people who caught Covid-19 early and survived, only to see their debilitating symptoms linger. What do their symptoms and experiences have in common? Not much, except for two things: None of them has fully recovered, and nobody has been able to figure out how to help them. With new research estimating that long-haul Covid can impact between 10-20% of people who catch the virus, science is scrambling to figure out how to help what could be tens of thousands of Canadians who may never again live a normal life. What do these sufferers need? From doctors, from governments, and from the rest of us? GUEST: Cynthia Mulligan, 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

Canada's Supreme Court issued an historic ruling yesterday, deciding by a 6-3 margin the the federal government does indeed have the power to implement a carbon tax (or a price on pollution) in provinces that don't set their own. The decision has implications on both sides of the fight, and on how future governments could use this ruling to perhaps expand their powers. What's in the ruling, exactly? What does it mean for Canadians, for the climate and for its political opponents? How will it impact the next election, and what will the premiers who fought so hard against it do next? GUEST: Fatima Syed, for The Narwhal 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

A long time ago, an amenity in a condo was limited to things like a pool, a gym or maybe a patio. Now, as units grow smaller and developers court buyers, they've become more and more luxurious. You want a rock-climbing wall? Access to communal BMWs? A rooftop running track that lights up at night? A full library and study area? No problem. But what happens when many of the services that used to belong to the neighbourhood become accessible to condo owners only? If nobody uses the neighbourhood pool, or library, or running track—because they already have a private one in their building—how long do cities fund those things? What does a downtown look like where every development is built to be self-contained, and nothing is made for everyone to access? 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 second graduating class of this pandemic is about to enter the workforce. There are still very few jobs and thousands of grads desperate for them. Plus, this year's grads have the added benefit of an entire year without mentorships, extra-curricular activities or all the other ways young adults make themselves more attractive to recruiters. (Also ... this year, what recruiters?!) What can governments and the private sector do to help spur the hiring of young adults? What kinds of work could they do? We've seen massive employment pushes before, and we still enjoy their legacies today. If we wanted to make sure today's graduates aren't still living at home waiting to launch a year from now, what has to be done and who has to do it? GUEST: Karim Bardeesy, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Ryerson Leadership Lab 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