The Big Story

Last week, an unlikely research project made a startling discovery: Phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus. That's something that, as far as we know, is created by living organisms. Our efforts to find signs of life on other worlds, and a lot of our space dreaming in general, tend to focus on Mars. But all of a sudden we need to take a closer look at our other planetary neighbour. So how can we find out if there's really life right next door? What do we know about Venus and why has it been so hard to figure out so far? What else could possibly cause the presence of Phosphine and what would it mean, to space exploration and everything else, if this is really true? GUEST: Neel Patel, space reporter, MIT Technology Review 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

Because the coffee bean is in danger. A rapidly spreading fungus is threatening both the plants themselves and the farmers who make a living from them. The fungicides that used to stop it no longer work in many cases and climate change is making life easier for the fungus every day in areas where coffee grows. How long until there's a coffee shortage? Or until we start losing some of the more unique varieties? We don't know, but there is still time to fight the problem. GUEST: Maryn McKenna, science journalist and author 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

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Quebec police estimate threats made against public officials are up about 400 percent. Most of the people arrested for making those threats show evidence of believing in conspiracy theories. In fact, belief in these theories, as well as distrust in the mainstream media, is rising quickly in the province. And not all of these theories are coming from the United States. Some of them are coming from inside the province. So what should police and governments be doing? Because things seem to be getting dangerous quickly. GUEST: Jonathan Montpetit, CBC Montreal 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 not Donald Trump’s fault. He’s just an accelerant. America has been churning towards a crisis of democracy for decades. Our guest today created a model that predicted the 2020s would be the ultimate test for the future of America. The crisis point is here, so how will America respond? And what does it mean to Canada if our neighbours fail the democratic test? GUEST: Jack Goldstone, George Mason 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

On this show, we usually talk to experts—and that means during Covid-19 we've been speaking with doctors and infectious disease specialists, researchers and scientists, pundits and journalists, but not very often with average Canadians. Fortunately, someone has been. A new documentary that airs tonight follows several Canadians through the past six months, and takes us into their homes and virtual offices, giving us a glimpse of how all the big issues we discuss on The Big Story end up impacting folks who are just trying to live their lives in these "unprecedented times". GUEST: Pat Taney, Reporter/Producer, 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

In 1988, Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby represented the family of a young man named Michael Wade Lawson. Though neither Ruby, the family or anyone else involved at the time knew it, it’s a case that's had a profound impact on how police forces in Canada’s largest province do—and don’t—hold themselves accountable. Michael Wade Lawson, you see, was 17—a young Black man who was shot and killed by the police. After his death, amid a public outcry, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit was created, to investigate cases of police misconduct that resulted in injury or death to civilians. And that’s where today's story begins. GUEST: Clayton Ruby 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 November, accused killer Alek Minassian will face trial for the 2018 Toronto van attack that killed 10 people and injured 16. In the aftermath of that attack, we learned that Minassian subscribed to the incel ideology—which has been linked to mass killings around the world. Incels entered the public consciousness as lonely people obsessed with other people's sex lives. But in recent years they've become increasingly deadly. How do young men find themselves radicalized into the incel subculture online? Where are they slipping through the cracks? And how can we respond more effectively to signs of violence before it happens? GUEST: Katherine Laidlaw 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

There are a lot of things that provincial back-to-school guidelines don't cover—because they can't. Every school is different, and so are the neighbourhoods they serve. And as students return, teachers and administrators often need answers, quickly, to problems they couldn't have foreseen. This is where a new program led by hospitals and doctors in Toronto's east end comes in. Each school is matched up with a doctor or hospital worker who can take their unique questions and come back to them with solutions. How can we do safe screenings with hundreds of kids and little outdoor space? How do you get toddlers to wear masks? What if physical distancing is impossible in my classroom? And at what point do we have to worry about uncontrolled outbreaks and school closures? GUEST: Dr. Janine McCready, infectious disease physician, Michael Garron Hospital 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 been 25 years since the Ipperwash crisis and the killing of Dudley George. Long enough that there's a generation that doesn't remember it—but they have plenty of examples of modern-day land defenders standing up against the government. But the original protesters, who took back land the government had promised to return to them 50 years ago and won? They're still there. Still living at Stony Point. Still waiting for the military to clean up the mess it left behind. Still holding out hope of returning the land to its lush former glory. And in the meantime, they're trying to live on what the government left behind. GUEST: Cristina Howorun, 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

Are you addicted to the news? Don't lie! It's understandable. This year has been hard, and everything feels like a crisis sometimes, and some of us can't look away. Not knowing what's happening in the world at all is not an option, but what if we don't have to know everything absolutely immediately? Is it possible to regulate the way you consume the news without missing out on the things that matter? Is it possible to go cold turkey for a little while to break the habit? GUEST: Peter Laufer, James Wallace Chair Professor in Journalism at the University of Oregon, author of Dreaming in Turtle and Up Against the Wall: The Case for Opening the Mexican-U.S. Border. 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