Global shipping faces challenges from COVID, conflicts, accidents, and now a water shortage in the Panama Canal. The reduced capacity leads to price hikes, product shortages, and potential new shipping lanes. The impact of drought and El Nino worsens the situation. Delays in the canal increase consumer costs, leading to industry consolidation and nearshoring. Climate change and alternative routes are discussed as potential solutions.

The names aren't official yet, but a look at a roster and a little research will tell you that the four remaining players who have yet to surrender to police to face charges in a 2018 sex assault case play in hockey's biggest league. There has long been talk of a 'reckoning' for hockey culture—which has usually referenced perception, culture and lessons that are imparted behind locker room doors. This case, which will result in household names in major professional markets facing courts and consequences, has the potential to blow all that wide open.What do we know about what happened that day? Who will be charged, and with what? Has anything changed in the six years since the attack allegedly occurred?GUEST: Laura Robinson, investigative reporter and author of the 1998 book Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport 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 state recently asked the US FDA for approval to purchase Canadian pharmaceuticals wholesale, and the US regulator said, "sure." And why not? As many Americans who live near the border know, it can be significantly cheaper to fill prescriptions in Canada. But while we may not mind doing it for a few folks making the trip, supplying a state of 21 million people, when we already have our own drug shortages, is pretty much impossible.Canada has passed regulations against foreigners buying in bulk, but there are grey areas and loopholes to contend with—not to mention the US-Canada relationship in general to keep in mind. But Florida isn't the only state that wants to try this gambit, so it will be up to Health Canada to say no, and then enforce that no. What happens next?GUEST: Joelle Walker, Vice President, Public Affairs, Canadian Pharmacists Association 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

Rachael feels trapped in her Toronto rental because she can't afford to move. She has no plans of ever owning a home and wants to know what, if any, rental protections exist to curb rising rates. Jordan talks to political economist and author Ricardo Tranjan about how policy can help protect renters in 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

Most of the large record chains of the heyday of physical music are gone now. If the chains haven't vanished entirely, most of their stores have, and the last few are disappearing one by one. But somehow...not Sunrise Records. In recent years the chain has been expanding across Canada, buying up Canadian HMV outlets and now boasts more than 80 stores and hundreds of employees. But ... why? And how?What made Sunrise the last Canadian music chain standing, even as music industry revenues crashed, streaming services swallowed the market and much of physical retail in general began struggling? The result is a fascinating look at what distressed businesses are worth, and what consumers really want from their retailers...GUEST: Richard Trapunski, digital editor at Billboard Canada, writing in The Walrus  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

Experts predict the Bank of Canada will begin to lower interest rates later this year—just not Wednesday when it held the rate flat. But as inflation has slowed in many areas, it's created an interesting problem for the bank and a troubling one for many Canadians.One of the main factors driving inflation right now is the cost of shelter—otherwise known as rising rents and mortgage costs. Those increases are driven by ... the high interest rates the bank is waiting to lower.  The BoC wants to follow through on its "soft landing" by taking a cautious approach to lowering rates. But by waiting too long, are they courting disaster for millions of Canadians trying to make their monthly home payments?GUEST: David Macdonald, senior economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ National Office 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 would expect that advances in forensics and genetic technology would lead to fewer and fewer wrongful convictions. The truth is that we have no idea how many people are in prison for crimes they didn't commit—we only know that we keep finding them. How do wrongful convictions happen in the age of DNA evidence? How hard are they to overturn? And what about all the wrongful convictions that aren't murders? Do we ever try to grapple with those?GUEST: Kelly Lauzon, PhD student in the department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University; cohost of Real Life Wrongs 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

Over the past several years, the number of international students Canada admits has exploded—to more than one million in 2023. While these students have struggled to find housing and work, they've also often been deceived by marketers in their home country, promising a top-tier education that they don't actually get.Will the federal government's cap, announced Monday, help ease the burden, both on students themselves and the Canadian rental market? What does it mean for schools that rely on these students for revenue? And how did they problem become so massive the government thought this action needed to be taken?GUEST: Laura Dhillon Kane, Ottawa bureau chief, Bloomberg 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

The New York Times is suing the creator of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence bot the Times alleges was trained on millions of its copyrighted articles. It's not the only such lawsuit, but it is the biggest. What this all boils down to are questions that will determine the future of a technology that has the potential to change the world, for good or ill.How different are a human and a computer, when each is learning from example? As machines become able to mimic the creative endeavours humans have mastered, what compensation is owed to the creators they learned from? And can bots like ChatGPT even survive without free access to a world of copyrighted material?GUEST: James Grimmelmann, Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law, Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School 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

Explore the challenges of planning a wedding in today's economy, including hidden fees and unexpected charges. Discover the impact of the pandemic on wedding costs and strategies for managing expectations. Get advice for avoiding extra costs and building trust with vendors. Learn how to cover wedding costs without encountering hidden charges.