The Big Story

Our neighbour is in trouble. Whatever the results of the American election on November 3, there's only a small chance they won't be contested. The upheaval could last for months. It could get violent. It could fracture America. All of this obviously impacts Canada, so what are we doing to prepare? What should we be doing? How can our government gameplan for whatever happens in the coming months, and what are the best-case and worst-case scenarios for Canada if chaos reigns to the south? GUEST: Balkan Devlen, senior fellow at McDonald Laurier Institute, Superforecaster for Good Judgment, 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

Many of us take pride in Canada's diversity—but not all of us embrace it. And critics cite large numbers when discussing immigration policy. What that does is take the power of individual stories out of the equation. A new podcast examines the refugee journey through one man's harrowing journey across borders and an ocean to his new home, and what it can tell us about our country and what drives the Canadian Dream. GUEST: Shayda Omidvar, host of The Hopeful 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 mid-September, commercial fishers began to protest and threaten First Nation lobster fishermen who were exercising their treaty rights to make a moderate living out of season. Traps were cut, boats burned and flares were fired. But it's not a new story. This is a decades-old problem that's never been solved. Why is a supreme court ruling from more than 20 years ago still largely ignored? Why do Indigenous communities face so much anger over such a relatively small catch? And what are the authorities—from the fisheries department to the RCMP—doing to protect a group that's just trying to take what Canada's courts have already granted them? GUEST: Trina Roache, APTN Investigations 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 federal government may not be working towards decriminalization of banned substances, but if you follow the proper procedures, as some churches have, you can receive permission to import and use them. Recently a church in Winnipeg became the latest organization to receive permission to use daime tea, a psychedelic substance also known as ayahuasca. How did they receive permission? What is the drug and how do they use it? And what does the growing number of these exemptions say about the future of Canada's drug policy? GUEST: Rachel Browne 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 all goes well, sometime in the next six months, one of the many Covid-19 vaccine candidates will receive approval for human use. It will be a day to celebrate. The end of the pandemic will at long last be in sight. But what happens next? Who gets the first doses? The second batch? How do you actually vaccinate billions and billions of people, quickly and safely? A vaccine isn't the end of the road, as today's guest will tell us, it's more like an off-ramp. GUEST: Danielle Groen 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're a good citizen, so you probably toss your plastic into the recycling bin. Especially if it has those little recycling arrows on it. Why wouldn't you? Public service campaigns have been telling you to do this forever. But what if those campaigns were a lie, designed to make you feel better about the plastic you use? What if plastic recycling was never going to be effective, except at selling more plastic? GUEST: Laura Sullivan, NPR News investigative correspondent 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

September was a month for rising COVID-19 case counts in British Columbia. October will be a month for an election. Why now? That depends on who you ask. The NDP claim they need a mandate to govern more responsively during a pandemic. Their opponents say it's a power grab because the NDP's poll numbers are high. What will British Columbians think? Will they punish the NDP for forcing them to the polls? Will they lock in a government they appear to approve of? And how do you run an election in a pandemic anyway? What will be different about this one, and how can other provinces learn from what happens in B.C. this October? GUEST: Liza Yuzda, Legislative Reporter, News 1130 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

Cases are increasing exponentially. Hospital admissions are beginning to follow them. The doctors who oversee ICUs are nervous. And the public is looking for clear rules they can follow—only those seem to vary by public health unit. Dr. Michael Warner runs an ICU in Toronto. He can see the line from his hospital's COVID-19 assessment centre stretching down the road from his office. Along with other doctors and epidemiologists, he's been sounding warning bells about how close COVID-19 is to being out of control all over again. So what needs to happen now? GUEST: Dr. Michael Warner 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

They played zero games in Toronto. They spent the first three weeks on the road. They lost their best hitter for half the year. Their ace welcomed a baby during a pandemic. They were written off as young but not ready. They ended up in the playoffs, by clinching a spot that had never existed until this season. The Blue Jays are a bunch of talented kids of former big leaguers, a South Korean ace and a handful of fireball arms out of the bullpen. They are flawed, but they don't care. They're not supposed to be here and they don't care about that, either. This is an unlikely team in the most unlikely of circumstances. So what do they do with it? GUEST: Arden Zwelling, Senior Writer, 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

If you think that parents are nervous about Back To School, imagine how the kids are feeling. You’re going back to school, or maybe trying to learn from home. You’re not allowed to hang out with your friends except with masks and at a distance, yet you’re still supposed to share rooms with them. Your teachers are masked. They’re measuring space between your desks. You're worried about a virus you could spread to your parents and grandparents. And you’re supposed to go on with your school year as best you can. That’s...not easy. So how are kids coping? We spoke to one, and got some advice. GUEST: Andy Binau 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