The Big Story

So, now the AstraZeneca vaccine is OK for people over age 65? What about the blood clot risk?! Why are some pharmacies taking walk-ins for people in their 60s right now, but some government portals are only booking for people 75 and up? Why is it suddenly alright to go four months between doses? Why are we leaving so many vaccines in the freezer? Is there enough supply or not? Why do Quebec, Ontario and Alberta have such wildly different priorities when it comes to who gets it? The first few months of Canada's vaccination rollout have been slow, and extremely confusing. When supply was limited, perhaps that wasn't such a huge deal. But with two million doses at least expected every week for the next month, now is when push comes to shove. Is this just about to really get going? Or have our governments dropped the ball? GUEST: Sabina Vohra-Miller, clinical pharmacologist, co-founder of the Vohra Miller Foundation 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

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have lost loved ones to this pandemic. And most of them lost them without being able to say goodbye or to properly mourn them. Grief over a death is challenging at any time, but how are we coping without the two parts of the process that can offer us comfort. A last hug or hand squeeze, a wake and a communal gathering have been part of our grief as long as we've been human. For the past year we've done without them. How will that impact us when all this is over? GUEST: Dr. Mary Fernando 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 Simpson family's circumstances have barely changed at all over 30 years—but the world around them has dramatically shifted. When the show debuted, Homer and his family were holding onto the bottom rung of the lower class, and were portrayed that way through all sorts of financial crises. But by today's standards, Homer—who has a steady job that pays enough for Marge not to work, belongs to a union, owns his own multi-bedroom home and can afford annual vacations—would be among the most economically stable millennials. The way income inequality has shifted the window of dreams for a young family can be clearly seen in TV's longest-running sitcom. But how did it happen? GUEST: Dani Alexis Ryskamp, freelance journalist, The Atlantic 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 12 months, Asian-Canadians and Asian-Americans have been targeted for harassment, assault and worse. In the early days of the pandemic, it was words. Then actions. Then violence. And all along they have found it difficult to get a real, comprehensive response from police or government—often being forced to document their own assaults and collect databases with entries from community members to be taken seriously. And then Tuesday night in Georgia, eight people were shot, allegedly by the same man. Six of those eight people were Asian women. In the aftermath, police are still hesitant to label this a hate crime, but anybody who has been watching the steady rise in both the number and intensity of these incidents recognizes what's happening. So the question now is who will step up to help? What can we do? And where does this end? GUEST: Amy Chung, freelance reporter and writer 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

Dr. Jennifer Kwan is just one of dozens of ordinary Canadians who decided early in the pandemic to spend their free time presenting data on the virus to the masses via easy to understand charts. These unlikely dataviz experts have been integral to the general public's familiarity with things like waves, exponential growth, positivity percentage and other key indicators. How and why did they decide to start making these graphs and charts? What has come along with their status as virus experts online? What holes in government communications are they filling? And when, oh when, will they finally make their last chart and get some rest? GUEST: Dr. Jennifer Kwan 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

And will Canada ever remove the monarchy? A week ago, it seemed like a tipping point was at hand, as the world reacted with shock and scorn to allegations of mistreatment and racism from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. But what has happened since the interview aired? How did the Royal family defend itself? What are Commonwealth nations planning to do in response? And what would it take if Canada really wanted to get the Queen off our money? GUEST: Patricia Treble, 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

...and what our governments can learn from it. While crowdfunding sites were originally intended to help with getting projects off the ground, over the past decade they’ve increasingly become a last-resort for people who have fallen through the cracks of the services government provides. It’s not just raw funds that the digital safety net provides where governments don’t—it’s everything from reddit users helping you navigate complex taxes, or benefits to crowdsourced neighbourhood childcare. Should Canadians facing eviction have to rely on going viral to stay in their homes? The obvious answer is, no, they probably shouldn’t. But they are anyway, so what should we do about it? GUEST: Vass Bednar, Executive Director, Master of Public Policy Program at McMaster University; author of Regs 2 Riches 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

In 1994, a small Toronto church gave birth to a bizarre spiritual movement that spread across the country and the globe. It was known as the Toronto Blessing, and among its many eventual destinations was a church named Bethel in Redding, California. More than a quarter century later, Bethel is one of the most powerful—and strangest—churches in America, featuring worshipping that has been described as cult-like, flaunting public health orders and claiming evidence of all sorts of supernatural phenomenon. How did this church become so huge? What role did the Toronto Blessing play in its evolution? And how much power do its leaders wield in the United States and beyond? GUEST: Tara Jean Stevens, host and creator of Heaven Bent 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

If there's one thing this pandemic has taught us, it's how poorly we care for our elders in Canada. The stories of the carnage in long-term care facilities have been endless and bleak. The gaps in the system have been laid bare for all to see. That's the bad news. And it's horrific. But the good news is that this is fixable. This is not an insurmountable challenge. The only question is we are ready and willing, finally, to pay for it? And where do we need to start? GUEST: André Picard, Health Reporter, The Globe and Mail; Author, Neglected No More 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

In most Canadian towns and cities, public health is still trying to vaccinate people 80 and up. In Canada's North, it's a whole different story. In larger northern cities, 40-somethings are getting their shots. And in small, more remote places, everyone over 18 has been offered a jab. No, it's not practical in places like Toronto or Calgary because of sheer scale—but it's worth noting that Northern communities have traditionally been underserved when it comes to health resources, and COVID-19 outbreaks in these settings can spread like wildfire. And so far at least, all levels of government have gone to extraordinary lengths to get needles to everyone. How much had to happen for this to go so right? GUEST: Kent Driscoll, APTN National News 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