The Big Story

The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly clear: A growing percent of the population can't afford to live basic, comfortable lives — and they want answers. In Frequency's newest show, In This Economy?! Jordan attempts to get to the bottom of how we got to this point, and share tips for how to achieve your goals despite living in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Enjoy!

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ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES:

Suki is in the market for her first car. She would like to purchase an electric vehicle but doesn't know if she can really afford it.

Jordan interviews an auto industry expert to  better understand current market trends and develop a roadmap for buying a car right now.

Do you have a money problem? Call us and leave a message at 416-935-5935. Or email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok @InThisEconomyPod. Don't forget to leave a call-back number, so we can get in touch. 

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If there's been one progressive assumption about cities over the past couple of decades, it's that they need to be greener—more trees, more parks, more green projects on top of buildings, all of that. And while the goals are laudable, and the plant life will surely help in the climate era, a new books asks if we're so concerned with making cities green that we're forgetting to make them functional for the people who use them?

What exactly makes for a great city? Why does every development project you see now have a tinge of 'greenwashing' to it? Is there a way to make our cities better for everyone, and better prepared for the climate era that might not be as pretty, but would provide much more formidable infratructure and services?

GUEST: Des Fitzgerald, Professor of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at University College Cork, Ireland. Author of The Living City: Why cities don't need to be green to be great

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Shots fired at Jewish schools in Montreal. Slurs screamed as Muslims outside a mosque. Clashes of protesters on Canadian campuses and at weekend marches. General demands to pick a side, or be placed on the other one. While every day in Gaza and Israel brings more death and tragedy, and more allegations of atrocities, the fallout from the conflict here is taking its toll on the fabric of Canadian unity.

Where is the line between free speech and hate speech? What are police and governments doing to keep Jewish and Muslim Canadians safe? How can their neighbours help? And how do we find dialogue and push for human rights and freedom amid so much hate and death?

GUEST: Dr. Mira Sucharov, professor of Political Science at Carleton University, specializing in Israeli-Palestinian relations

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's not the old former players in charge of the NHL—the guys who thought banning pride jerseys and tape was a smart idea—who will determine the future of hockey. It's the kids playing now, with big dreams and bright futures ahead of them, who will ultimately create whatever the game becomes. 

So how do we make sure hockey really is for everyone? How different is the culture right now among young players? And how are the youngest players in the NHL now bringing a different approach to their locker rooms and benches?

GUEST: Brock McGillis, advocate and activist; first openly gay men's professional hockey player, speaker on the Culture Shift tour

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every week brings more layoffs and closures to local news outlets across the country, especially newspapers. It's a result of a business model that simply doesn't work anymore, say the owners making the decision, and it's tough to argue with that. But there is a business model that has begun to succeed—small, community- or subject-focused digital outlets that survive and even thrive thanks to government grants and funding from a small number of passionate readers.

These are the publications that might replace the outlets that are vanishing, but they need to find an audience. And Bill C-18, designed to help Canadian media survive in the digital era, has set the world's biggest platforms against these tiny but growing outlets, making an uphill climb even steeper...

GUEST: April Lindgren, principal investigator for the Local News Research Project (LNRP) at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism. 

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last year, Canadian restaurants took in roughly $100 billion in revenue, more than the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This year it's pegged to be $110 billion. Yet a third of all restaurants report they are losing money, up from just seven percent before the pandemic.

Even as lockdowns eased and diners returned, a complex set of problems face restaurants in particular—and now the industry's lobby group says we're beginning to see double the numbers of closing as openings. How did this happen, and how do we keep small, local restaurants afloat?

GUEST: Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly clear: A growing percent of the population can't afford to live basic, comfortable lives — and they want answers. In Frequency's newest show, In This Economy?! Jordan attempts to get to the bottom of how we got to this point, and share tips for how to achieve your goals despite living in a time of extreme economic uncertainty. Enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES:

Daniella wants to prioritize her health. But is having a hard time justifying the costs she has incurred trying to eat healthier and feel stronger.

Jordan interviews an author who has written about modern wellness culture to unpack the ways we've altered our understanding of health and wellness. Together they try to answer: How much should it really cost to take care of our well being? 

Do you have a money problem? Call us and leave a message at 416-935-5935. Or email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok @InThisEconomyPod. Don't forget to leave a call-back number, so we can get in touch. 

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Everyone knows by now about health-care worker burnout. Nurses fleeing the profession. Doctors retiring early. And the absence of so many of both leaving more crucial work for their increasingly strained colleagues, and the system as a whole. What you may not know, is that things are much the same for vets and vet technicians across the country—and it's taking a massive toll on the animal caregivers who remain.

Canadians adopted an additional 500,000 pets during the pandemic, and right now there are fewer vets to care for them than there were in 2019. And the ones who are trying to keep Canadians' pandemic pets healthy are seriously struggling.

GUEST: Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For months now, recent polls have been terrible for the federal Liberals—and specifically so when it comes to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A recent survey found that a majority of Canadians want him to step down before the next election in favour of a new lIberal leader, and a longtime Liberal senator recently called for him to do the same.

Surveys and suggestions are a long way from reality, though, and there's no clear idea if Trudeau will walk away, or if he does if any member of his cabinet would perform any better. There are rumours, though, about an outside who wants the job—a non-politician with an impressive resume and the credibility to be an instant contender. So who is he? And have we seen this movie play out before?

GUEST: Stephen Maher, writer, reporter, political commentator at ipolitics.ca

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Airline passengers in Canada have rights. They're called the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, and they determine how much you're owed if your flight is delayed, overbooked or cancelled for various reasons. The problem is, the compensation is often tough to get, and there's very little incentive for the airlines to simply pay it every time.

In an effort to simply get what they are owed, some Canadians take the airlines to small claims court. Sometimes they settle, and sometimes they even win. But the process is long and difficult and doesn't result in punitive action. Why is it so hard for some Canadians to get what they're owed when the airline gets it wrong? And what should you do if it happens to you?

GUEST: Gabor Lukacs, president of Air Passenger Rights

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.