The Big Story

You remember it, even if you've forgotten how to pronounce it. Oumuamua was a cigar-shaped object that passed through our inner solar system and mystified plenty of scientists. It didn't fit any of the categories we have for space debris, comets or meteors. So what was it? Where did it come from? When will we find more? A new book by a Harvard University astrophysicist makes the case that Oumuamua was proof of intelligent life beyond Earth. And as we build more powerful instruments, he says, it will only be the first of many we'll find. GUEST: Avi Loeb, Harvard University, author of Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth 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

Today we meet the woman who can win over a crowd of cowboys in one of Canada's whitest places. All while telling jokes about systemic racism. She is one of the only Black women comics in Alberta, maybe the only one in Calgary. But she wields her power on, and off, the stage to make her province a better place. Guest: Adora Nwofor You can watch the documentary on Feb. 22 at 10 p.m. EST on CityTV or on-demand later at CityNews.ca. 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

Remember when flour disappeared for a brief moment as we stocked up for the pandemic? It wasn't because we bought up all the flour in the world. Companies were just struggling to mill it, package it, and transport it to us as quickly as we were using it. Take King Arthur Flour, one of the oldest companies in the United States. It saw sales skyrocket by 2,000 per cent. When demand started to shoot up, their mills had the flour to replenish supply but had run out of packaging. So how did they cope? And will the unprecedented demand for flour continue in 2021? Guest: Meghan McCarron 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 February 2020, RCMP officers raided Wet’suwet’en camps along the route of the $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C that plans to transport natural gas through Indigenous territory. Police arrested dozens of Indigenous people, including seven matriarchs gathered to pray for missing and murdered Indigenous women, who refused to cede their land for development. The events led to protests of solidarity across the country but little has changed in the time since. So how do the people of Wet'suwet'en carry on? And what happens next in the clash between the oil and gas industry and Indigenous communities? Guest: Freda Huson Host: Fatima Syed 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 history of every Canadian city isn't always what we think it is. We stumble upon some of it, on plaques in parks or benches across our cities but a lot of it remains unknown, especially the contributions of Black Canadians. This is the story of Oakville, Ontario, a predominately white, affluent neighbourhood that was shaped by 400 Black people who escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad in the mid 1800s. Through their entrepreneurial work, they shaped the city into what it is today. What other Canadian cities have similar unknown histories? And do we do enough to recognize those who really help create and shape the cities we live in? Guest: Genelle Levy 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 a breakaway from the pains of the pandemic, today we bring you the sappiest Canadian love story we could find. She was a master's student visiting London, searching for someone to see her favourite show with. He already had tickets. It was love at first sight. Ten months later they were engaged. Yes, the pandemic forced them to cancel their big 200-member transatlantic wedding, but a quiet elopement and a perfect first dance in their living room somehow made things even more special.Guests: Sharmin Rahman and Tom GoldsmithHost: Fatima Syed 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

As new variants of Covid-19 spread around the world, we're all a little worried about the strength of our masks. New guidelines are now emerging from various health agencies around the world recommending that everyone should double-mask: that's a cloth mask over a medical mask. So how do we best do that? Is it a sure-fire way to keep us safe from the aerosol transmission of Covid-19? What's the difference between a mask and a respirator? And how can we know if the masks we’re buying are the real deal or counterfeit products? Guest: Dr. Jennifer McDonald 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

Earlier this month, Toronto City Council approved a plan to build its own high-speed broadband network. It’s an ambitious idea that will be tried out in three low-income neighbourhoods. The goal: to combat rising internet prices at a time when access to a good internet connection is becoming an essential need. Will it work? Guest: Vass Bednar Host: Fatima Syed 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 June 2020, Canada established its COVID-19 vaccine task force. The federal government recruited 11 vaccine and infectious disease experts from across the country. The task force helped make more purchasing agreements than any other country in the world, but along the way they also learned the missteps we took in our vaccine strategy. Yesterday we looked at how the Canadian government scrambled to secure millions of vaccines. Today we ask what could Canada have done to get vaccines more quickly? Guest: Dr. Alan Bernstein Host: Fatima Syed 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 efforts to secure vaccines started with a phone call between a trade commissioner in Boston and a senior member of Moderna. In the weeks and months that followed, the federal government has scrambled to secure the most doses per person than any other country in the world. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured us the vaccines are coming, but they're not coming as quickly as we expected. Is this another government failure? Or is this, like the pandemic, just another extremely complicated thing out of our control? Guest: Nick Taylor-Vaisey, 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