The Big Story

You might expect the world's biggest technology companies to have your data and know a lot about your life. But your favourite (or least favourite) coffee chain?! This is the story of what happened when one reporter saw a notification on his phone and followed it down a rabbit hole to find out what, exactly, Tim Horton’s knows about him—and you too, if you use their app. Also, why exactly do they need to know that stuff? And what do they do with it? And who else might be doing it? Because if your local coffee chain can compile this stuff...what’s stopping everyone else? GUEST: James McLeod, business and technology reporter, Financial Post 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 Hospital for Sick Children issued a report Wednesday that recommends children go back to school in September—even though it admits the virus likely won’t be eradicated by then. It says the risks of infection and transmission need to be balanced with the effects closed schools are having on their physical and mental health. What do we know about the long-term impacts of kids being yanked out of school and isolated from their friends for months on end? How does it impact different kids at different ages and in different situations, and how do researchers try to quantify it? What don’t we know right now? And what will be likely found out years down the line as the Pandemic Generation grows up? GUEST: Sarmishta Subramanian, Editor At Large, 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

It's a slogan gathering steam, and support--but not enough support to make it practical. Yet. What don't people understand about the phrase and the options on the table for police reform, which range from abolishment of the police, to superficial changes that advocates say won't make much of a difference? How well do we understand what needs to happen next? And what reforms can actually make a difference now? GUEST: Monica Bell, associate professor of law and sociology, Yale 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

It's been closed to all but essential travel for months, and polls show most Canadians want it closed for a good while longer. The border is the most visible symbol of the increasingly divergent paths taken by Canada and the United States—paths that began before COVID-19 struck. In the 208 year history of the "longest undefended border", the experience of crossing has changed several times, and each event has left a lasting impact. What does the future hold for the relationship between the two neighbours, the border itself and the communities that live on either side of it? GUEST: Alex Bitterman, professor at Alfred State College of Technology at The State University of New York; Contributor, The Conversation 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 a very specific image in our minds of what country music is. It shouldn’t be surprising—that's how it’s been promoted and sold for decades. But it wasn’t how the music was born. And it’s not representative of the artists who make it today, either. So what’s the real history of country music? GUEST: Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Editor of News Curation, BuzzFeed; contributor, Rolling Stone 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 a banner year for disinformation, and the past few weeks have been the worst of all. Coronavirus hoaxes and miracle cures are still circulating, but there's also been a deluge of confusion, lies and misrepresentation around what's happening at the protests that have taken over streets in almost every town and city in North America. So how do you tell the real from the fake, especially when the misinformation is sometimes coming from traditional sources of authority? What are the most common hoaxes surrounding these protests? What's the goal of them? And how close are these social media hoaxes getting to inciting real-life violence? GUEST: Jane Lytvynenko, senior reporter, BuzzFeed 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

Three months ago, Canadians were asked to adapt to a 'new normal'. We were told to stay inside, avoid contact with others, and limit trips to the bare necessities. It was awful, and scary, but we did it. Now, as case numbers of COVID-19 decline across the country, we're opening things back up—stores, parks, salons...even daycares. And some of us are anxious about returning to the world. What has the past three months done to our brains and the levels of anxiety we live with? Why have some people struggled to cope with isolation, while others are nervous to resume daily life? What will the long-term legacy of the pandemic on Canadians' mental health look like? And what are some coping strategies we can use if we're having trouble? GUEST: Judith Law, executive director of Anxiety Canada 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 rates of COVID-19 among Black and other racialized communities in the United States and around the world are staggering. It would be interesting to have that data in Canada...but we don't have the numbers. Only recently has Toronto begun releasing COVID-19 cases broken down by postal code, and the map of where the disease is spreading is exactly what you may have expected. Even in a country with "universal" health care, racism and classism still play a determining role in far too many medical outcomes. What data do we need to do something about it? What do health care workers on the front line say is needed? Are they getting it? And how can we ensure the systems we change for the better to fight COVID-19 don't regress when the pandemic is over? GUEST: Dr. Naheed Dosani, palliative care physician and health justice advocate. 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

Several of the world's leading technology companies—including Shopify, the largest in Canada—have announced that they don't ever plan to return to full-time office work. Other companies plan to stagger the return of employees as the pandemic wanes. Some may have to refit their entire floor plans in order to maintain social distancing if they want their staff back in the office. None of that is easy, or cheap. We might not know what the future of work looks like once a vaccine for COVID-19 is found, but it's safe to say that office work will never be the same. And what we've learned in the past few months, under the pressure of an emergency in a desperate situation, is not a fair proxy for what remote work in a normal world would look like. So what do we know about 'working from home' and productivity outside of a pandemic? What data will companies use to inform their decisions about how many employees return how often? And what should employees be doing to prepare for a future that might involve a four-day work week, or a drastically different schedule? GUEST: Nicholas Bloom, Stanford 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

Right now, Canadian businesses are vulnerable. Many of them are worried they won't survive COVID-19, and that makes them attractive targets for foreign investors. In some cases, it's a win-win: Canada needs foreign capital, and these companies want to acquire assets in a stable and prosperous country. But some of these deals raise real security concerns. When a state-owned Chinese company pays millions more than anyone else is willing to for a Canadian operation...why is that? What do they think they're getting out of it? How can our government balance the need for foreign money with the risk of handing over Canadian assets and property to other governments? And how many of us are even paying attention? GUEST: Stephanie Carvin, assistant professor of international affairs at the Norman Paterson School 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