It's been more than a quarter of a century since a Canadian Prime Minister touched down on Saudi Arabian soil to meet with the country's leader. That was until PM Carney headed south from Turkey to visit the Kingdom last week.

The trip is a part of Carney's quest to find new global alliances and trading partners aside from the US.

Host Maria Kestane speaks to Sabine Nolke, former foreign service officer for Global Affairs to discuss what exactly Canada could be getting out of a relationship with the gulf nation, and whether or not Carney is missing the mark when it comes to picking countries that align with Canadian values.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Enjoy this special feed drop from our sister show 'In This Economy?!'.

Today on In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Richard Lachman, professor of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. He recently published a book called “Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI,” designed to help policy-makers, professionals, educators, and regular citizens understand all the impacts this groundbreaking technology could have.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $100-billion dollar contract to replace Canada's submarine fleet will be awarded to Germany and Norway, marking the largest contract of its kind in Canadian history. The choice though, goes beyond the subs themselves and sends broader signals to who Carney is eyeing to create lasting trade relations with.

Host Caryn Ceolin is speaking with journalist David Pugliese about why the fleet needs updating, what the decision could signal for Canada's relationship with the Indo-Pacific, and what these new subs will mean for Canada's military overall.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Prime Minister Carney has made his first Senate appointments - including a sitting Conservative MP and the PM's former Principal Secretary.

When Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister, he ended the practice of making partisan appointments to the Senate, kicking every Liberal senator out of his caucus, and creating an independent panel to make senate recommendations. But now, Carney seems to be going back to the old way of doing things-- with a twist.

Host Maria Kestane speaks with Eleanor Wand, a political reporter from the Hill Times, to discuss what the move by Carney might mean, what political choices might be being made, and what it all means about Carney's approach to Parliament's upper chamber.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

Bill C-22 has sparked wide controversy surrounding its potential threat to privacy, as well as the way it's been rushed through parliamentary processes.

Not only that, but experts are sounding the alarm on its potential connection to the US Cloud Act, which gives American government officials the power to demand user data from tech companies.

Host Caryn Ceolin speaks to Kate Robertson, a senior research associate with the Citizen Lab to discuss the implications of Ottawa's Lawful Access Act on your data and privacy.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

It seems like you can place a bet on anything these days-- and in some places, you pretty much. With sites like Polymarket and Kalshi, you can put money on whether or not a politician will utter a phrase, major geopolitical events, how many goals an athlete might score, and more. But in Canada, stricter regulations have prevented these sights from spreading north of the U.S. border. But that's about to change. Wealthsimple, a Canadian finance company, is bringing Kalshi to the great white north-- if in a limited capacity.

Today on The Big Story podcast, host Caryn Ceolin is speaking with Elliot Goodell Ugalde, a Ph. D candidate at Queen's University, specializing in political economy and the governance of artificial intelligence about the risks are of bringing prediction markets into the country, what the government could do to mitigate them, and how they could affect society.

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky