The Big Story

Every day, Covid mutates. Many times. Most of the mutations are harmless or ineffective. Some—as everyone knows by now—are not, and can evade immunity and change the virus to better infect humans. Right now, doctors in Canada are worried about emerging variants spiking infections this fall. But how worried should they be?Today we'll go inside the network of scientists that coordinate their efforts to better understand each emerging variant, how much of a threat it might pose, and what we need to watch out for. Before you read about a new rise in infections in the news, these are the folks sounding the alarms.GUEST: Dr. Sarah Otto, evolutionary biologist, professor at the UBC’s department of zoology, expert at the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network. 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

So are women, by the way. So is everyone, regardless of gender. For years, studies have shown that young people aren't having as much sex as in generations past. So it's not a surprise. But a recent study sparked a discussion around what young men, in particular, might do if they can't find a partner. The numbers were used as the basis for the increasing number of shootings in the United States, and even a proposal of a "right to sex". But what do the numbers actually say? And why, when everyone is having less sex, are young men the focus here?GUEST: Jude Ellison S. Doyle, feminist author of Trainwreck and Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers 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

Interest rates have risen again. Inflation has not declined. Almost everything costs more right now, especially groceries. Meanwhile, in the wake of two major companies announcing temporary price freezes within hours of one another, Canada's competition bureau has announced its intention to study why grocery prices are so high, and if having more players in the market would lower them.Are higher prices a result of inflation, profiteering, or both? How can we tell, anyway? Did the price freezes spur this investigation, or was this something planned all along? And is raising interest rates to combat inflation really our best option? What else could we try if this doesn't work?GUEST: Jim Stanford, Economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work 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 seemed like there was a fight for the soul of the party that also governs the province. Until there wasn't. A week before the vote, the challenger with all the momentum was disqualified from the race, paving the way for longtime MLA David Eby to become leader, and the province's premiere.So what happened? What was the split dividing the party, and how did the contest come to such an abrupt end? What happens now to challenger Anjali Appadurai and the thousands of new members she'd recruited? And what does this do to Eby's forthcoming attempts to govern a province on the front lines of Canada's climate crisis?GUEST: Arno Kopecky, BC-based environmental journalist, covering the race for Canada's National Observer  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

Our friends across the pond are about to have their third Prime Minister in two months, without an election. Boris Johnson was finally ousted, only to be replaced by Liz Truss, who managed to tank the economy before resigning last week. Now Rishi Sunak is set to take on the role, and the Conservatives hope he'll hold it until a general election that's still ... 18 months away.But why is an election so far away? How exactly did Johnson manage to resign and then almost get his old job back? Exactly how did Truss screw things up so badly so fast? And just ... in general ... what the hell is going on over there?GUEST: Professor Matthew Flinders, Politics, University of Sheffield; Founding Director, Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics 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's a reason OnlyFans almost banned the content that drives the vast majority of its revenue last year. It's the same reason sex workers who sell content online speak in code on social media and sometimes call themselves "accountants". If identified as someone who sells adult content, all of a sudden any financial transaction can become ten times harder, even simple things like banking or buying airline tickets.A new case that will make its way to the Supreme Court of Canada may decriminalize all sex work in this country, but even that may not stop financial discrimination. In the year 2022, why are creators who sell perfectly legal content and services still facing this discrimination?GUEST: Maggie MacDonald, PhD candidate, University of Toronto, research focus on pornography platforms. Read her article in The Walrus here 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

Covid is only part of the problem. For any musical act that hasn't hit 'star' status, the current reality of putting together a tour, and keeping it on the road, is basically a highwire act. And one that can very easily lose money rather than make it.Why is it so tough to perform live music right now? Who's cancelling tours and why? And what happens to Canadian music if only the superstars can afford to show up for the fans? How do artists stay afloat?GUEST: Kyle Mullin, writing in Exclaim 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

A week into an inquiry looking into the so-called 'Freedom Convoy''s occupation of Ottawa, and the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act, and we've already heard several stunning revelations. It's clear there's a whole lot more to come.So what do you need to know about how this works? Who will testify? What we have learned so far and what are we still hoping to find out? And what, if anything, will come of this whole process?GUEST: Cormac Mac Sweeney, Parliament Hill reporter, 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

Mahsa Amini was not the first woman, not even close, to be arrested by Iran's morality police for how she wore her hijab But when she died in police custody, a 22 year old, full of life, snuffed out. A spark was lit.More than one month later, protests continue to rage across the country, and the regime's brutal crackdowns have not stamped them out. What happens next is unclear, but the situation is not tenable, and change is coming, fast or slow. So what should Western democracies be doing to help the protesters? And what happens if they succeed?GUEST: Maziar Bahari, Iranian Canadian journalist and filmmaker, editor of IranWire.com and author of Then They Came For Me 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

Last week, a Swiss bank's annual ranking put Toronto No. 1 and Vancouver No. 6 on its list of the world's top housing bubbles. And although both cities have seen home prices decline this year, it's nowhere near close to matching their recent gains. So ... is this really a bubble, or will we not know until, oops, it pops?What does a popped housing bubble actually look like in cities with limited supply? What would it do to homeowners who have their life savings in their property? And what would it mean to those who currently feel like they will never be able to own a home in these cities?GUEST: Ari Altstedter, Reporter at 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